Car Booster Seat

Dearest Skyler,

After the party at Godma Audrey's, we went down to Takashimaya to buy a booster seat for you, Skyler! You are growing taller and the car seat is no longer tall enough for you - the seat belts actually have to curl upwards over your shoulders which may not be the safest thing. Thus we decided to get you a booster seat and maybe you should start using the car seat belt.

We were a bit worried about the safety issue still as though you may be too tall for a car seat, you're still a bit too short to use the car seat belt comfortably. Thus, we wanted to get a full back one but the seat back would not last long as you would outgrow it quite quickly so we did not think it was cost effective to get it. In the end, we got you a Ferrari booster seat. It is red in colour which was what you wanted and the colour matches the car seat that you are currently using.

We probably will not have you using the seat until you really outgrow your current seat, Skyler. It is safer for you to use the current seat until you really cannot fit in it any longer.

We love you lots, Darling.

Birthday Celebration Part 2

Dearest Skyler,

We went to Godma Audrey's place today where we met up with Mama's friends to celebrate Christmas and we took the opportunity to celebrate your birthday once more, Skyler. We had lots of sweet foodstuff and another cake to celebrate your birthday again, Skyler.

You both had lots of fun playing with all the other children and the amazing thing is that all of them are girls too! There were eight children there and all of you are girls! The other funny thing is that you are all going to be schoolmates as Mama's friends are all her former schoolmates and all of them will be sending their daughters to their former school like what we intend to do with you and Mei-mei!

Skyler's 4th Birthday

Dearest Princesses,

We had a birthday party for you today and invited Renee & Ivy to attend, Skyler.

Their mothers had come along and stayed throughout. You and Ashley, shared all your toys with them. The problem was that they did not really play with you both. It was quite sad for us as you were trying so hard to play with them but they kept on ignoring you. Sigh ... What kind of friends are these - too young? Maybe they just simply have not learnt the appropriate etiquette but it was sad that their mothers did not seem to notice and educate them. Oh well ... It was nice that the two of you played with each other though.

Grandma came a bit later and we had cake. We are glad that you had a birthday party and you seemed to be okay with it. We are glad that you had friends to celebrate it with.

We love you both so much!

Christmas

Dearest Princesses,

Today is Christmas Day. We went for church service with Grandma. After that, we went for lunch.

Bubu & Moh-moh came later in the day to celebrate the day with us and they gave you both your presents.

We asked Grandma to stay another night as we were afraid of a recurrence of her memory loss and we did not want her to be alone if it happened.

Christmas is a wonderful day for us to remember Christ's arrival on this earth, Darlings. Regardless of what happens as you girls grow older, you must always remember that we spend Christmas with family.

We love you both!

Christmas Eve Party

Dearest Princesses,

We went to Uncle Joo Shan's place for a Christmas gathering with our church group. We had invited Grandma along. Almost everyone in the group was there and therefore, there were lots of other children you could play with.

Skyler, you and Mama played the violin together as part of the evening's activities - almost all the young children played some musical instrument. It was very fun watching you all perform. Well done, all of you!

At the end of the evening, we headed home and suffered a scary episode when Grandma lost her memory. She kept on forgetting the events that had just taken place that day though she remembered everything else i.e. she remembered who we were, etc but she simply could not recall the day's happenings.

Papa in desperation called Mako in Canada and Pek-Pek in Cambodia. Mako said that there was nothing to worry about as this was something that had been happening with her friends - they would suffer a temporary memory loss but would regain their memories in a short time. However, they would have forgotten everything that took place during the memory loss.

It was an effort to get Pek-Pek but we finally got him and managed to have Grandma Skype with him and Che-che Reika. Grandma eventually regained her memory as she spoke with them and everything that had taken place in the last few hours were as if they never transpired! We decided to not ask her about it as we were fearful of triggering it again and we soon all went to bed.

What a day!

We love you both very very much!

Our Anniversary

Dearest Princesses,

Ashley, you slept through most of the night which was amazing. This gave us the opportunity to sleep for a longer period of time!

We woke up for a buffet breakfast fairly early in the morning. Papa did not really get to enjoy much of it as Papa had a tummy-ache but still we ate quite a bit - after yesterday's hi-tea buffet no less.

After breakfast, we went back to the room to nap. As there was time, we went to the swimming pool after the nap and then bathtubbed again after that. You so enjoy playing with the water in the pool, Skyler. Now, we just need you to want to learn to swim. We are still wondering when to bring you for proper lessons, Darling.

We then packed and checked out.

What a wonderful weekend. You girls are of a good age to enjoy the stay now. Thank you for sharing our anniversary with us. You girls are such important parts of our lives.

We love you both so much!

Hotel Stay

Dearest Princesses,

We checked in to a hotel for an overnite stay. The bed was huge and the linen soft and it was all so comfortable. After checking in, we went for a buffet lunch at the hotel restaurant. As usual, we ate our fill as we quite like the spread that they provide.

Later in the evening, Bubu & Moh-Moh came to visit for a short while.

After they left, we bathtubbed for a while together. Later in the night, we slept very well - even you did not really wake up in the middle of the night, Ashley.

Bookfest

Dearest Princesses,

We brought you both to the Book Fest at Suntec City. We got Pop Kids cards for both of you. Not totally sure what we can use them for but as they are issued by Popular Bookstore they should be useful for something.

They also had a craft station there where you painted a styrofoam Christmas ornament bell. You all painted nicely coloured bells. We also had a family photo taken. Skyler, you went through a football trial and we bought lots of cheap books!

What an eventful outing!

Friends

Dearest Princesses,

Mama brought you both to your school friend, Renee's, to play in the afternoon, Skyler. In case you forget years down the road, Renee's your classmate from Nursery Class. You all ended up sort of parallel-playing though; with little actual interaction among all of you. But the important thing is that you have friends to play with.

Ashley, you keep on trying to put on pants on her own. That is so cute. You still do not have the physical ability to do that but your independence is impressive!

We love you both lots!

Sunday School

Dearest Princesses,

We brought you both for Sunday School today. Ashley, actually, the class is supposed to be for toddlers two years old onwards but we decided to let you try out the pogramme.

You went through most of the activities quite willingly and happily but you probably did not really understand what it was you were supposed to have learnt.

Skyler, in your class, Mama was shocked when one of the teachers-in-charge grabbed one of the naughty boys by his cheeks and scolded him. As he had not been endangering anybody, we were perturbed by why the teacher felt it necessary to do that.

Oh well ... On the whole, you girls are learning what most Sunday School classes teach.

We love you lots!

'I love you one hundred.'

Dearest Skyler,

You're such a lovable girl! You've been learning how to count and currently you've managed to count to one hundred.This is a huge number to you and now, whenever you want to express something huge, you would place it at that 100 level as in, 'I love you one hundred!'You're so sweet, Lil One!

Papa and Mama love you so much!

Vocaluptuous

Dearest Princesses,

After we were done with our Hi-5 visit, we crossed the road to catch the performance by an acapella group named Vocaluptuous. We love their singing.

We had to wait a bit before the performance so we chatted with the group since they were just there and we even had a photo taken with them.

During their performance, we sat on the kerb right in front of the make-shift stage. This gave you girls the opportunity to stand right of them as they performed. (They were performing on the steps of Paragon along Orchard Road.)

As usual, they were quite good and after the performance, we bought their CD before heading home.

We hope you enjoyed the evening, girls!

We love you both so much!

Hi-5 Revisited

Dearest Princesses,

We printed the photo that you had taken with the Hi-5 team from the previous time that we went to Ngee Ann City and decided to give them a copy. We went back to Ngee Ann City that evening to do so.

They were ending the performance part of their show when we got there and we joined the queue for the meet-and-greet so that you could hand them the photo, Skyler. You were very brave as you were ready to get onto the stage all by yourself to do that.

We were in the queue for sometime and while we were waiting our turn, several other groups of people were fascinated by your carrying the photo. They were probably surprised that someone would do this. We just figured that they should be given a memento of what they did here.

The team received the photo with their customary enthusiasm. I have to assume that very few people do such a thing for them. Hopefully they will appreciate our effort though the photo may not mean anything much to them as they probably have lots of publicity shots of themselves.

We had you and Ashley take another photo with them since you were already on stage, Skyler, before we headed off.

We realised that they were giving away a Hi-5 Hand plush toy with a purchase from Takashimaya and as we needed to buy some stuff, we decided to get the Hand for you girls. We have the Hand now. Hope you girls like it.

Papa and Mama love you girls lots!

Labour of Love

Dearest Princesses,

We decided to compile a collection of your favourite songs, Skyler, to listen both at home and in the car. Thus, we searched the Net for videos of the songs, captured the audio tracks and burned them into a CD for you.

It took a bit of time but we finally got it done. We like the compilation too as the songs are ones we like too.

We hope you both enjoy the songs as most of them are from the TV programmes that you watch.

We love you both very much!

Mall Shows Galore!

Dearest Princesses,

We trawled the malls today in search of shows to bring you girls to!

In the early afternoon, we headed over to United Square to catch the Barney show. It was a fairly good show. The Barney costume still amazes us with how flexible and manoeuvrable it is. You girls enjoyed the show quite a bit as they performed many of the songs that you are familiar with.

After that, we headed to Suntec City and we managed to catch the start of the Spongebob Squarepants show. It was not really good as they had a man dressed up as a pirate to front the show and the characters played second fiddle to it. He dominated the show but in the actual show there is no such character at all. It was actually quite tedious watching it. Oh well … We didn’t bother to stay until the end of the show.

Later on, we headed over to Millenia Walk to try to catch the Hello Kitty show. Again, it was fairly poorly conceived show. Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel characters were literally people dressed in the costumes and they didn’t really interact with each other except that they danced with each other quite a lot. Oh well … Anyway, it was a bit nicer than the Spongebob show so we stayed til the end.

We caught so many shows today. We hope you girls enjoyed yourselves though we felt that shows could have been better produced.

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Carebears Show

Dearest Princesses,

We brought you girls to SSC to watch the Carebears Show today. Bubu and Moh-moh joined us there.

It was not really crowded like many of the previous shows that we had brought you to these holidays so it was quite comfortable. They only showcased three of the carebears and they performed a couple of dances with people who were not dressed in the bear costumes. It was not a very good show compared to the others we have caught but it was okay, I guess.

After the show was over, we had photo-taking opportunities once again so we brought you girls up on stage to have a photo taken with them.

Wow! We have caught so many mall shows this time around. Hope you are enjoying them, Darlings!

Papa and Mama love you both lots and lots!

Church Friends

Dearest Princesses,

Mama brought you both to Aunty Chui Yin's place for a visit. Che-ches Christabel and Magdalene were there to play with you.

They had small pets of several types like hamsters and fish. They had also put up lots of art work that the girls had done up on their walls.

When you all were leaving, they gave you both books and such.

It was a good visit made better as we are becoming better friends with people from church. We have not had done so so much before.

Papa and Mama love you girls lots!

Busy Day

Dearest Princesses,

What a busy day we had. Skyler, you had a violin leson in the morning before Papa brought you and Ashley for your gym camp in the afternoon.

Your violin teacher came in the morning and you got to practice playing your violin for a bit together with Mama. You're gradually getting better at this, Skyler. We hope you will come to inherently enjoy playing this instrument, Darling, and not feel like we are forcing you to learn and thus play it grudgingly.

After the lesson was over, we had a quick lunch and then headed out to your gym for a two hour camp. When we arrived, we found the gym almost empty - surprisingly, there were only two other children besides you, Skyler.

Teacher Vicky led the group today so she gathered the three of you and conducted the programme. To her credit, though there were so few of you, she still went through it with gusto and you all seemed to enjoy it.

Papa asked if you could join in, Ashley, since there were only three participants but Teacher Vicky did not allow you to. Oh well ... Thus, Papa brought you out for a walk in the neighbouring kids' shops, etc.

Skyler, for the art and craft segment, you got to make a maracas out of a plastic cup and red and green beans.

What a day! We're so glad that you had so much fun, Darlings!

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Night Picnic

Dearest Princesses,

We went for an night picnic today. We packed some food and drove down to the Botanic Gardens in the evening and had our dinner on a mat amidst several Christmas trees.

The Gardens had come up with a programme where several organisations such as schools could decorate the Christmas trees that the former had brought in as part of the Christmas celebrations. The whole path where the trees were were so gaily lit, the effect was quite beautiful.

The spot where we chose to have our meal was in the middle of a cluster of brightly lit Chistmas trees and that was nice too.

We hope you girls enjoyed yourselves.

Papa and Mama love you!

Hi-5 @ Ngee Ann City

Dearest Princesses,

We brought you girls to Ngee Ann City today as the Hi-5 team was going to be there for a meet-and-greet.

The stage area was totally packed with parents and their children when we arrived though we were there some time before it was scheduled to start. The organisers tried to get people to vacate the space before the stage so that they could move aside the containers of goods so that there could be more space for the audience. It turned into a nightmare as a few of the people refused to move for fear of losing their place while others dashed off to the designated area to queue having received the promise that they were the ones who would be allowed into the seating area.

By the time they had moved the containers, both groups squeezed back in with those who had obeyed the instructions to queue realising that they now had no place to sit as those who had not moved had occupied most of the space.

Lots of complaints were made but the staff manning the area ignored them all as they simply could not do anything.

After some more time, the Hi-5 team came on stage and it was all high energy as usual from then on. They performed a few of their songs before preparing for the meet-and-greet which turned out to be the main part of the programme. There was no quota so everyone who was there could go on stage to have a photo taken with the team. A number of parents decided to give up the photo opportunity as they had already spent so much time there. We had no other plans so we stayed.

When you all got onto the stage, you both had lots of attention from the team and we had the impression that Casey remembered you, Ashley.

It is always nice to meet with this team of performers, Darlings, as they seem so warm and sincere. We hope you had fun, Girls!

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Cranky Ashley

Dearest Ashley,

We'd been out for a very long by the evening and you were completely tired and cranky, Ashley.

The last thing we needed to do that night was for Mama to have something done at the spectacles shop at Ngee Ann City. As it took a bit of time, you got restless and wanted to walk around on your own. Your che-che and Papa followed you around and tried to keep you safe but, you dashed off all of a sudden and bumped into a corner of one of the many shelves in the store and it must have hurt badly as you cried so piteously! Soon, a huge swelling appeared on your forehead! Poor Darling!

You simply have to be a whole lot more careful, okay? Sigh … so poor thing!

We love you lots!

Sesame Street Show

Dearest Princesses,

We went for the Sesame Street show at the nearby shopping mall today and we had the chance to join in the Meet-and-Greet session with the characters – Elmo, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster and Abby Cadabby.

It was a fairly popular show at the Point and as we didn’t want to disappoint you both by failing to get the ticket for the meet-and-greet, we joined the queue for the ticket quite early and ended up waiting for a long time before we were allowed to collect the ticket.

We managed to sit down on the floor in front of the stage so our view of the show was unimpeded. It was a fun show with lots of singing and dancing. After the show, we quickly queued for the photo opportunity and we managed to get someone to take a couple of decent shots for us.

We hope that you girls enjoyed yourselves. This was yet another holiday activity that we managed to participate in.

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Smaland

Dearest Skyler,

Ashley and you were brought to Ikea today and you wanted to play in the Smaland area so we let you.

You were so brave in there. You went in alone where you met another little friend who stayed with you throughout the time you were in there. You had fun playing with her - running around doing stuff in there.

We're so glad that you have become more independent and are willing to do things on your own sometimes.

We love you, Darling Girl!

Sisterly Love

Dearest Pincesses,

It's so heartwarming to see you two displaying sisterly love, Lil' Ones. So often you both will hold hands while walking and it's such a sweet sight.

You two have also started to want to hold hands when we are carrying you both! That makes it so difficult for us to walk but it's funny too.

We love you both lots!

Gym Show Day

Dearest Princesses,

Skyler, it was Show Day at the Gym today and we had invited Grandma and Popo to come watch you perform.

We got there early and met both of them at the gym. Skyler, you and your classmates were brought in first by Teacher Pearl for a briefing before we were allowed in. All of your class then went through the skills that you had learnt in the past term. We were so proud of you as you did everything without being shy about it.

Ashley, you were so gung-ho throughout che-che's show day. Every time che-che and her friends queued to perform a skill, you joined the queue too though you didn't appear to know what was going on. Thankfully, Teacher Pearl knows how to manage children so she was okay with you joining in. You had even joined in the queue for the term souvenir!

Well done, Skyler, you did very well today! We're proud of you.

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Gymnastics

Dearest Princesses,

We brought you both for a trial gymnastics class today. It was at a new outlet along East Coast beach. It was a fairly serious gymnastics place unlike your previous gym, Skyler.

The teachers were all fairly serious in teaching gymnastics skills and all the students could try out a couple of apparatus. Skyler, you tried the balance beam and trampoline. You enjoyed yourself quite a bit.

Ashley, you were so cute! You insisted on queuing for your turn at the apparatus but, sadly, the teachers just ignored you.

It has always been strange to us how businesses that purport to cater to young children do not seem to know how to relate to them.

Oh well ...

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Where is the Green Sheep?

Dearest Princesses,

We went for the ‘Where is the Green Sheep’ dramatization today at the Forum. The story is based on a book of the same name and the drama team had brought the story alive through acting, sheep cut-outs and other props.

As the seating capacity was limited, we had to go early to get tickets to enter the seating area. We had to wait quite a bit of time before we were allowed to be seated in the viewing area. We had to squeeze quite a bit but as they had limited the number in the audience, it was not as bad as it could have been. There were actually quite a number of people who had wanted to watch it but they couldn’t get tickets.

We watched the dramatization and it was really quite good. They had created sheep cut outs representing the different sheep from the book and they animated them ending with the hidden green sheep. It was really really fun.

After the show, we were so impressed with the story that we bought a copy of the book for you both to read again and again.

They had also prepared art and craft lessons centred around sheep and we had signed you up for them, Skyler. At one of the sessions, you even made a hand puppet of a sheep.

Grandma came a bit later and since we were so enthralled by the show, we decided to queue for tickets and watch it again. This time, Papa stayed outside so that Grandma could join you all inside to watch the show. Even though we knew what to expect this time round, we still enjoyed the show lots.

This just goes to show how a simple story can come alive with a bit of imagination, Lil Ones. We have the book now, read it and enjoy!

Papa and Mama love you.

Good Service

Dearest Princesses,

We ate at the Pasta Shoppe at Wheelock Place today and found that the outlet manager was a very nice man.

It was fairly late when we decided to have dinner there. While ordering, we made a couple of requests for a menu change and he happily obliged at no extra cost.

Towards the end of the meal, he declared that you girls were entitled to a scoop of ice cream each graitis! It was a pleasant surprise!

What a nice experience it was to have such great service.

We love you both lots!

Growth

Dearest Princesses,

It's so interesting how you girls and your relationship develop.

Ashley, you'd refused to sit in your stroller for some time now but recently, you keep on climbing onto your stroller. Looks like you don't mind being in your stroller again.

It's so heartwarming to see you girls walk around hand-in-hand. There have been occasions where Ashley would not hold our hands while we were out for a walk but would hold your hand, Skyler. We're so glad to see you both this close.

It's also so funny that you want to carry Ashley so often, Skyler. Every now and then, you would just declare that you want to carry her and you then grab her and struggle to remain upright! It's so funny and scary at the same time as we can't be sure if you would both topple over!

We love you both lots!

Sisters

Dearest Princesses,

You girls are so sweet!

Skyler, you were sleeping in the stroller just now. Ashley, you, on your own accord, brought Cheer Bear and che-che's vitamin bottle to che-che to let her hug them while sleeping. That's so sweet!

We pray that you girls will continue to do sisterly things for each other and love each other.

We love you girls lots!

End of Year Concert

Dearest Skyler,

Your school held a concert today and you performed a song and dance with your class.

You had been rehearsing with your classmates for quite some time and we had enjoyed watching you practice your routine at home. So, on the day of the concert, we were very excited to catch the whole performance.

Papa had to go to school in the morning but Papa had gotten permission to leave for a few hours to attend your concert. Papa was not going to miss your first ever concert.

Mama got you dressed in the morning in your performance dress and hairband and helped you apply a bit of makeup as required. You were in a white dress that the school had chosen. We had to shop for your shoes though – took us a while to find a suitable pair after visiting several shops.

We got to your school quite early and we left you with your class while we made our way to the hall.

As this was the very first concert that we were watching you perform in, we were very excited. We were also thrilled that you didn't seem to have any trepidation in performing in front of a fairly huge audience though you are naturally shy.

Every class put up a performance and yours was one of the earlier ones! You were so sweet, Lil' One! We were so proud of you! You'd performed all the steps correctly and you were enjoying yourself in the process! Well done! Papa went berserk and just continuously snapped photo after photo. Mama video recorded parts of your performance too. Mei-mei was just so mesmerised by the whole thing that she sat there attentively throughout.

After the concert, we helped you have photos taken with your friends and teachers. You even got a stage decoration as your teachers were taking them down while we were still around.

We'd ordered a video recording of the whole concert so that we can watch it again and again. What a grand treat it was. Thank you, Lil' One for a great experience!

We love you so much!

Fear

Dearest Skyler,

You were still fearful of Will carrying out his 'threat' of beating you today even at Sunday School. You didn't want to attend because of this fear.

Sigh ... It's a silly fear, Lil' One, because we doubt that he even remembers telling you that. But since it was such a real fear for you we had to ask your teachers to watch out for you and explained to them why.

As we expected, nothing happened. You were totally safe and Will didn't say anything about it.

You have to stop worrying unnecessarily, Lil' One.

Papa & Mama love you lots! We won’t allow anything untoward happen to you if we can help it!

Fear

Dearest Skyler,

Will 'threatened' to beat you up today. You took his statement so seriously that you became so fearful of him and worried that he would really attack you.

Darling, you will learn over time that many people say a lot of things they don't mean for a great variety of reasons. Will will probably not hit you. Even if he did, you need not be so fearful of him. Just inform your teachers or us and we can address it.

Don't worry, okay? Nothing serious will happen. We really don’t think Will will do anything.

Papa & Mama love you lots!

Ride On Toys

Dearest Princesses,

You girls are so cute! Ashley, for some reason, you decided to turn the giraffe toy into a ride-on! We'd never thought that it would be used that way but you just put it on its side, sat on it and pushed yourself around on it like a car! We were so amused when we saw that!

Skyler, you then mounted the spaceship car and both of you started to travel around the flat on your vehicles! It was such funny sight!

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Bye-bye, Cousins!

Dearest Princesses,

After leaving your cousin Yuping's, we dashed over to have a farewell dinner with your other cousins, che-che Reika, kor-kor Yujin and kor-kor Kenji. They are returning to the country that Ah-Pek's been posted to tomorrow.

We had dinner with them and Grandma. After dinner, you girls continued to play with them for a while before we said our farewells and headed home.

What a busy evening we'd had, Lil' Ones!

Papa & Mama love you both lots!

Cousin Yu Ping's Birthday

Dearest Princesses,

We brought you girls to Cousin Yu Ping's place to celebrate his birthday this evening.

We got there early and we happened to be the first few people there. As it was a dinner party, they invited us to have some food first as we had told them that we would have to leave early to go for your other cousins' farewell dinner.

Skyler, you had a bit of fun playing with your 'Dai-bat Gong' as he seems to enjoy playing with you too.

After we were done with our meal, we had to go.

We love you lil' Princesses so much!

Inline Skating

Dearest Princesses,

We decided to try out your new skates, Skyler. We got you all geared up with safety pads and helmet and let you skate along the corridor outside our flat.

Papa had wanted to bring you downstairs to skate but with Papa having to care for Ashley while helping you, Papa thought it might be better if you skated along the corridor where you could hold onto the walls for support.

It was such a stressful experience! Papa had to carry you, Ashley, while supporting you, Skyler! Papa gave up after a short while as it was just too difficult! We'll try again another time, okay?

We love you girls so much!

Going Ahhhh …! (In Satisfaction)

Dearest Ashley,

You're such a cute girl. Mama had playfully shown you how to drink water and show great satisfaction by going 'Ahhhh ...' and you totally emulated her!

Repeatedly, you would drink from your bottle and go 'Ahhhh ...' You're so cute!

We love you so much!

Safety Pads

Dearest Skyler,

We bought a set of safety pads for you to use when you inline skate today. We had not done so the other day as we were wondering if we could get a nicer set at another shop - we couldn't.

So, Papa made a special trip back to Carrefour to pick up a set that we had seen the other day. We hope you like it, Lil' One.

Papa and Mama love you!

Godmei-mei Sarah

Dearest Princesses,

Your Godma Steph had given birth on Friday to your Godmei-mei Sarah. We paid them a visit today.

They had yet to be discharged so we visited them at the hospital. Godpa Ben was there when we got there. This was one of the rare occasions we got to visit your godparents.

You got to see Godmei-mei Sarah and she was so small.

We have to make a greater effort to visit them more often.

We love you both so much!

Inline Skates

Dearest Skyler,

We decided to buy you your own pair of inline skates today. We'd been told that Carrefour sold cheap and acceptable ones so we decided to check it out.

We first went to the outlet at Suntec City and we spent some time looking through what they had to offer. We finally decided on a pair but when we were going to pay for it, we realised that neither of them had a braking mechanism. Initially, we thought that it was defective but everything looked intact! It was then that we realised that what we had thought was a pair of skates was actually two left boots! When we pointed it out to the store assistant, he was at a loss to know what to do.

Anyway, we obviously could not buy that set of skates but we had gotten you excited about owning a pair. We decided to go to the outlet at Plaza Singapura to have a look.

There were a few sets that could be found there so we managed to get a pair that fit you and also looked quite good. Thank God! The pair you got actually was better than the one we almost got from Suntec.

Well, you have a pair of inline skates, Darling. We hope you'll be able to learn to use them safely.

Papa and Mama love you lots!

Learning to Talk

Dearest Ashley,

You're beginning to experiment with making recognisable sounds, Lil' One. You've begun to make animal sounds - sheep, dog, lion, etc. It's so cute!

Just to help you practise, we would name animals and have you make the sounds and you get so thrilled when you do it. Well done, Lil' One!

Papa and Mama love you lots!

Ballet Trial

Dearest Skyler,

We brought you for a trial ballet class today. It was Renee's ballet class in a nearby community club like place. Her Mama had informed us about it as we had expressed interest in letting you attend lessons. We had shared with her about how terrible your previous trial lesson teacher was and she had suggested that we give Renee's class a try. Since we live close-by, we did so.

You were so excited to meet Renee there and you went through a bit of the pre-session warm up happily. As it was a trial session for you, Mama was allowed to stay with you but all the other parents had to leave so Papa brought Ashley home to wait for you.

After the lesson started, everything went wrong. The teacher was of the old school type, that is, she was very serious about ballet and expected all her students to be serious too. She was very fierce and she totally scared you. You gave up and refused to participate after a short while. You just clung to Mama for the rest of the class.

You declared that you were not going for the class anymore though Renee was there. Oh well ... We are not going to force you, Darling.

Papa and Mama love you very much!

Bubblegummers Fans

Dearest Skyler,

We are such Bubblegummers fans! We had to buy you new shoes today as your current pair is quite worn out. We headed to Bata as we have decided that we would get BBG shoes unless we have no choice.

BBG shoes give us value for money - something not overly expensive while it lasts for some time. It's really difficult for us to get more expensive shoes anymore as it doesn't make sense to us to spend too much on shoes that you will outgrow very quickly. And we're not sacrificing comfort or support in the process.

We love you lots!

Inline Skating

Dearest Princesses,

We brought you, Skyler, for a trial inline skating lesson today. There was a roving group of inline skaters who were hoping to conduct lessons near our place so we decided to let you try.

We all went so of course you came along to watch your che-che, Ashley. You were so curious about what was going on that you kept on following che-che and Mama around as they practised what they were being taught.

Skyler, you got to learn everything from the basics - how to stand in the skates, walk and move forward. Oh! And also to fall safely. You were so gung-ho in trying it all out! Well done!

We love you both so much!

Fish-Shaped Mat

Dearest Ashley,

We'd bought a fish-shaped anti-slip mat to shower you on as it is somewhat dangerous for you to stand on the bathroom floor as you'd slipped a couple of times.

Papa showered you on it today and you cried throughout the time you stood on it! You were so distressed by it, Lil' One! We're so sorry! It was such a cute looking mat we didn't think you would react the way you did to it.

We've decided to place it at the entrance to the bathroom to discourage you from entering it on your own as you could slip and hurt yourself quite badly, Lil' One.

Papa & Mama love you!

Bring-a-Friend Day

Dearest Skyler,

Today was 'Bring-a-Friend Day' at the gym and we'd invited Renee to come. Renee's parents agreed to bring her so you had a school friend with you at the gym.

Renee's whole family had come along so it was a fairly interesting time getting to know your friend and her famly.

You had a fun time tumbling around with Renee and showing her how to execute the skills you'd learnt over the time you've been attending lessons.

We're glad that you have friends, Lil' One.

Papa & Mama love you lots!

Violin Lesson

Dearest Princesses,

We brought you for a violin lesson today, Skyler. Mama kept you company by taking the lesson with you. You kept on being shy so there were several things you didn't want to do in front of the teacher. It's a good thing that Mama's learning with you so she can teach you at home.

We had to wait for them downstairs, Ashley. We ended up walking around and around the swimming pool area to while away the time.

We love you both so much!

Ashley's a Foodie

Dearest Ashley,

You're such a foodie, Lil' One - you're always looking for food! Papa had a sandwich today and Papa didn't share it with you as the filling was not good for you yet. You kept on trying to get a bite even though Papa had refused to give you any. After Papa was done with it, Papa crumpled the wrapper and you cried so tragically!

Everytime you see someone with food, you'll always approach that person in hope of getting something! That's so cute and dangerous, Lil' One, as you even go up to strangers like that!

You really like food, Lil' One!

We love you so much!

Flying Kiss

Dearest Ashley,

You're so cute, Lil' One! We've been trying to teach you to do a flying kiss and somehow you came up with a single finger flying kiss - you would touch your pointing finger to your lips as your flying kiss! It's so cute!

We love you so much!

Papa & Mama

Violin

Dearest Skyler,

We bought a violin for you today.

We'd been wanting to let you learn to play a musical instrument for some time. We have an organ at home with which Mama had tried to interest you in music. You did start playing with it a bit but it's been difficult trying to teach you how to play it as your hands are still quite small.

We decided that violin would be a good way to start as it came in sizes that could fit you.

We went to this place called Synwin to get one. They had many violins are various sizes there and the people appeared fairly professional in their service. We managed to get one that fit you and one that fit Mama too as Mama was learning with you.

It's been a long time dream for Mama to learn to play the violin and we finally got her one. :D

We hope that you'll enjoy playing the violin, Lil One. We also hope that you'll continue to develop an interest in music and learn to play several musical instruments like Mama.

We love you!

Illness

Dearest Skyler,

You scared us over the weekend.

You'd had a fever Saturday night but the fever subsided after you'd had some medication on Sunday so we thought that was that. However, on Monday, you vomited and this worried us thus we decided to bring you to the doctor to see if it was possible to determine what was wrong with you.

At the doctor's, you were found to have some serious problem after they did a urine test and the doctor insisted that you be rushed to KKWandCH. She thought that you might have some problem with your kidney and such. We were so worried that we rushed there immediately. After waiting for a very long period of time, it was your turn and after the doctor checked you and had your urine tested again, it was found that there was absolutely nothing wrong with your in this area. What a relief!

However, in the process, it was discovered that you had another problem that was worrying too. It was a surprise to us that you had such a problem but it didn't really affect you now so we were told to just apply some cream for a while to see if the problem could be resolved.

What a strange day for Papa and Mama, Lil One.

Poor Ashley was brought all over the place today though you were so tired.

Papa and Mama love you both!

Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration Again

Dearest Princesses,

We celebrated mid-Autumn's Festival yet again!

This time, it was held at our place - the big open space downstairs. We'd invited Bubu and Moh-moh to join us. Mama'd also invited her China friends to join us. And we'd also had a family in our church CG who happened to live in the same estate as we do join us too.

We'd bought this portable picnic table so we brought that down to set up our 'picnic'. It'd rained earlier in the afternoon so we were afraid that the event would be washed out but the rain stopped just in time and everyone was out in force.

There were many people lighting up sparklers all over and carrying lanterns and walking around. It was all very festive and fun for us.

Well, that rounds up our celebrations for mid-Autumn. Didn't realise that we would do it so many times this year. :D

We love you both lots!

Violin Lesson

Dearest Skyler,

We brought you for a violin trial lesson today. We'd brought you to her home to have the trial lesson and you borrowed a violin that she had for it. You were quite comfortable with her so we've decided that we'll have you learn the violin from her.

She's a Vietnamese lady who has gone around the world learning and playing the violin. She's a member of some sort of orchestra and performed at a few big events.

We hope that you'll enjoy learning the violin, Darling.

We love you lots!

Dinner with Ma-em

Dearest Princesses,

Ma-em came back to Singapore for a very short visit and we had dinner with her. We seldom see her or Ah-Pek or your cousins so every time they return, we'll try to have a meal with them to catch up with them. She was very nice to you both.

We love you lots, Darlings!

Children's Day Celebration

Dearest Skyler,

You celebrated Children's Day in school today. You received lots of presents today from a myriad of sponsors who provided stuff to put into the goodie bag that you received.

You also had a concert of sorts that the teachers put up for you.

What a fun day it was for you.

We love you lots!

Improvement in Sleep?

Dearest Ashley,

You were able to sleep for a 4 hour stretch the past couple of nights! What a relief for us! This gave us a bit of uninterrupted sleep. It's not much but it's definitely a great improvement over the 1 to 2 hour stretches that we'd been having since you were born! :D

We love you, Darling!

Lanterns in the Park

Dearest Princesses,

We brought you both to a big Park that was near our home for a mid-Autumn Festival celebration. The different Residents' Committees in our area had combined to organise this big festival at the park and we'd bought tickets to be a part of it.

There were lots of people there and many of them were lighting sparklers and such resulting in the place being completely enveloped in smoke. The air quality was really bad! :p

We were quite keen on leaving soon after due to the smoke but Skyler, you insisted on staying to watch the dragon and lion dances. We kept on waiting and waiting but it just didn't start. We were all quite tired by then but you kept on insisting. In the end, we gave up and brought us all home.

While we'd been waiting, our Member of Parliament made his rounds and we got to have a photo taken with him. :D

We were quite happy having brought you both there to experience the event but the smoke was really bad.

We love you both lots!

Zoo Babies

Dear Princesses,

We brought you both to the zoo this morning as they had organised a talk on zoo babies. They held it in the auditorium and they had one of their staff talking about how the babies of a few of the creatures that they have there are born and what they looked like, characteristics, etc.

As part of the event, we got to touch caterpillars, stick insects, live chicks and rhino beetles. It was all a fairly interesting experience for us as we otherwise wouldn't have touched any such thing! :D

You girls were so brave in daring to touch these creepy crawlies - except for the chicks, of course. :D

We love you both lots!

Sleep

Dearest Ashley,

Sigh ... you still can't sleep properly this whole week. You're still waking up every now and then throughout the night, Darling. We're so tired having to get up to care for you and help soothe you back to sleep.

We know that you don't mean to wake up as it's terrible for you too but it's so tiring for us! Sigh ...

We love you so much!

Popo's Birthday Celebration

Dearest Princesses,

Popo came over to care for the two of you today and we decided to celebrate her birthday with one more cake. We'd already celebrated it before but since today is her actual birthday, we felt that we should celebrate it. :D

Popo so loves to care for the two of you. You girls bring her such joy! Thank you, Popo for always coming and giving a hundred percent to both the girls!

We love you girls lots and lots

Mid Autumn's Celebration

Dearest Princesses,

We celebrated Mid-Autumn's at Popo's with a dinner tonight. We had also lit a few lanterns and hung them outside in the garden. Unfortunately, while you were staring at one, Skyler, it caught fire and burned right in front of you. You were so totally traumatised by the sight that you were unsettled for a while. Poor Darling.

However, you recovered fairly quickly and all was well soon after. Thankfully, there wasn't any further damage caused by the fire.

We love you both so much!

Dukw Tour

Dearest Princesses,

We went on a Dukw Tour today. We had some discount with SAFRA so we decided to bring you both as you had missed out on the one that your school had gone on, Skyler.

It was a mad rush for us to get there on time as Papa had to work today. Mama and you both came down to pick Papa up and Papa's event had gone on for longer than planned. Thus, once it was over, Papa dashed off to meet you all.

We then rushed down to the Singapore Flyer where the Dukw Tour was to begin. We managed to get there with some minutes to spare but we couldn't get into the carpark! They had shut down the first level of parking to do some work and the second level was full! Thus, we decided that Mama would bring you, Skyler, if Papa couldn't get a parking lot and dash to the office in time. Thus, Mama brought you first, Skyler, while, Ashley, you stayed in the car with Papa.

After Mama and you had gone, Skyler, Papa still had to wait anxiously to get into the car park. Papa was praying over and over that we would be able to take the ride together when all of a sudden, several cars were allowed into the car park all at once - including ours!

Papa made a mad dash up the car park and managed to find a lot. In fact, there seemed to be several lots available at that point in time so we don't know why we weren't allowed in sooner. Anyway, Papa then grabbed you, Ashley, and ran to the office across the road to catch up with Mama and you, Skyler.

Thank God! We managed to reunite before the vehicle set off and we were allowed onto the boat together! Yay!

However, we had to sit separately as the 'boat' was very crowded and Papa sat away from you all. The 'boat' then entered the water at the river before going into Marina Bay and up to the Merlion Park. While it was on the water, Papa went forward to be with you all. When it got back to land, Papa had to sit down as it got bumpy on the roads.

There wasn't much to see on land as this was the period of the F1 Grand Prix and lots of the buildings had fences in front of them. Anyway, it wasn't as if the route was that scenic. Oh well ...

After we got back to the office, we got off and took a few photos around there.

All in all, the ride wasn't really that fantastic. It was a good experience for what it's worth but it's not something that we'll repeat. Not much value in it. Also, the tour guide wasn't really very good and she was actually quite insensitive - not good at all.

We love you girls lots!

Skyler's Friends

Dearest Skyler,

You asked for Mama to help you ask the Bus Aunty to let you sit next to your classmate, Renee on the bus today. It's so cute for us to know that you've favourite friends.

So, Mama had to try to ask the Bus Aunty to let you do so but it was quite difficult to get the message across as the Bus Aunty didn't really know the names of the children on the bus - she only knows you all by the block that you live in. Anyway, it took a bit of effort but she finally understood Mama. But we're not sure that she'll do it though as they may have a sitting arrangement planned out based on some rationale or other.

But it's great that you've friends in school, Darling. We must get to know them too.

We love you very very much!

Ashley Hugs!

Dearest Ashley,

You are such a warm little girl! You've started hugging people!

You're so cute! You're still quite small but it's so heartwarming when you reach out your little arms and wrap them around people and give them a nice little squeeze! You can so hug people and totally melt their hearts!

Good job, Little One!

We love you lots!

Buffet All Afternoon

Dearest Princesses,

We had a buffet at a hotel today. We had a good deal - a 50% discount for our food and this gave us all access to the buffet and we only had to pay for one person as both of you dined for free as you are below the age that they start charging.

We spent the whole time trying out the different foods and went back for multiple servings of the food that we liked. We were quite nicely full when we were done but we were wise enough not to over-stuff ourselves. :D

It's always good to have a good deal on food.

We love you both so very much!

Gym Camp

Dearest Skyler,

We brought you for your Gym Camp today. You had quite a bit of fun today as you got to do the gym stuff for twice as long and you had biscuits and art and craft too.

You so enjoy playing with the apparatus.

We love you so much!

Rainforest Kidz World

Dearest Princesses,

Grandma and Papa brought you both to the Rainforest Kidz World today to play at the water play area. Skyler, you'd been wanting to go for some time but we just couldn't do so as we didn't think it safe for Papa to bring you all alone without another adult to watch you in case we had an emergency.

After we got there, we quickly got changed into our swimming attire and went to play. Grandma hadn't brought her swimming attire so she opted to sit down at a table and wait for us. Papa had to carry you, Ashley, around the place while Skyler, you just dashed around to play. You were very obedient, Darling Skyler, and stayed near Papa almost the whole time.

The thing that you enjoyed playing the most was the slide, Skyler. You kept on returning to it after having slid down it and Papa had to slide with you. Of course, this meant that you, Ashley, had to slide with Papa. We kept on going down the slide over and over again until Papa felt a bit embarrassed - there were zoo staff managing the crowds on the rides and they saw us going down again and again. Oh well ...

Ashley, you didn't really enjoy yourself as much as you were very sleepy by then. Poor Darling Girl.

After some time, we washed and headed home. We don't know when we can come again, Princesses, but we should be doing so sometime in the future.

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Beach Park

Dearest Princesses

Papa brought you both to a nearby park next to a beach this afternoon.

You'd wanted to bring your bicycle along to ride at the beach so we did so, Skyler. It became a bit of a struggle for Papa though as Papa had to juggle both you on your bike and mei-mei in her stroller.

We'd also brought along your sand castle building equipment and our firs stop was the sandy area so that we could build sand castles. Ashley, Papa initially didn't want to let you out of your stroller as you have a tendency to put your hand in your mouth but after some time, Papa relented as it was so boring for you to be stuck in it all the while we were there. And after you got out, you immediately stuck your hand into the sand making it dirty. Sigh ...

Skyler, you spent quite a bit of time playing with the sand and you also insisted on collecting water to splash onto your 'buildings' resulting in your sandals being completely soaked through. Oh well ...

After we were done with the sand, you continued to cycle around the park until we got to the playground where you both had some fun on the swings and slides. We spent quite a bit of time there before we headed home.

Skyler, you can cycle so well now. All you need is a bit more confidence and you'll be a great cyclist.

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Hi-5!

Dearest Princesses,

We brought you both for the Hi-5 Concert this evening.

We got there a bit earlier so that we could have some dinner before the concert and after we were done, we were still quite early so we decided to just head back to the concert hall and shop around the gift shop there.

The gift shop was selling quite a variety of Hi-5 products - balloons, hands, tutus, etc. We didn't buy anything before the concert as we didn't want to have to deal with them during the concert but Mama was sure that she had to get something for you girls to bring home as a memento of the occasion.

We headed to our seats and waited for the concert to begin soon after. While we were waiting for the concert to start, you girls were mostly very patient! When the concert started, Skyler, you were so engaged that you even danced with the cast at various parts of the performance. Ashley, you danced too! It was so cute to see you both enjoying yourself.

However, the concert was marred by a family of people who didn't seem to be that interested in the concert but were just there. They even tried to get a father and his daughter to move away from their seats so that they could sit together - this was bad because the seats were that father & daughter's and the seats were quite well situated. It was not nice of them to demand that they move just for their convenience. To make matters worse, they were not supposed to sit anywhere near there. They were supposed to sit behind and they decided to move forward to be closer to the stage. To top it all off, they were talking to each other at various parts of the concert totally distracting us from the concert!

Girls, you must never behave the way that family did, okay? It was downright rude and inconsiderate! It was so unacceptable!

Anyway, that family aside, it was a very enjoyable experience for you both. After the concert, we went to the gift shop and bought you both a Hi-5 Hand-shaped balloon and a Hi-5 tutu. We then headed home.

We're so glad that we brought you for this concert.

Papa and Mama love you both so much!

West Coast Park

Dearest Princesses,

Papa brought you both to the beach park today after having brought Mama to work.

Skyler, you wanted to build sandcastles and do a lot of things so Papa decided to bring your sandcastle kit along. We didn't really go all the way to the beach area to play as there was ample sand at the playground area for you to build sandcastles with.

Ashley, you played with the sand as well but since you couldn't really manipulate the shovel and rake and such as well, you just used your bare hands to pick up the sand and let it flow back between your fingers. What a stressful time for Papa as it was such a dirty thing to do and you're still sucking your thumb (and fingers!).

After playing with the sand for some time, we went to have a meal at the fast food restaurant there. Skyler, you can eat so much now. You finished a whole burger by yourself! We then had ice cream as well for dessert.

After our meal, we went back out to play with the apparatus at the playground as Mama still wasn't ready to be picked up as yet. You girls got to play quite a bit there but it was again quite stressful for Papa as he had to watch both of you at the same time and Ashley, you can't do a lot of things yet as you're still not very stable on your feet.

When Mama was ready, we set off to get her and both of you were so tired by then.

Papa thinks you had lots of fun today, Princesses!

We love you both lots!

A Visit to the Dentist

Dearest Skyler,

We brought you for your second visit to the dentist today. We brought you to the same place as previously as we felt that you would be familiar with the place by now. We daren't try a new place in case you got traumatised all over again.

You kept on telling Mama that you would be brave today and allow the dentist to work. Mama and Papa were still scarred by the experience of bringing you to the dentist the previous time so we were very apprehensive about bringing you again this time and what would happen now.

To our great and pleasant surprise, you really were very brave and allowed the dentist to do all that she needed to do! It was over so quickly because you were so cooperative that Papa didn't even have the chance to park the car - Papa and Ashley had brought Popo home after dropping you off at the dental clinic and after we got back to the clinic car park, Mama had called to say that you were done!

Well done, Princess! You made us so proud! You were really really really brave! Good job!

Papa and Mama love you lots!

Ballet Class Trial

Dear Skyler,

We brought you for a ballet class trial at the children's school at the nearby Civic Centre. It was a terrible experience for you.

We'd borrowed the tights and bought a tutu for you so you were appropriately dressed for the trial and you were so excited by it as you'd wanted to learn ballet for sometime. I guess it was due to the Peppa Pig influence.

We were not allowed to be in the room with you so we just waited outside the room for you. However, we could peep in the small window in the door so we would now and then look in to see how you were doing.

To our utter shock, you didn't seem to do anything connected to ballet at all! The whole class just stood around and didn't seem to be doing anything at all. In fact, it sounded as if the teacher had spent the whole day scolding you all instead of teaching you all anything. We were curious as to what was going on and what kind of ballet lesson this was turning out to be.

At the end of the lesson, you ran out crying! You'd wanted to come out to look for us during the lesson as you were traumatised by the incessant scolding that the teacher was delivering but you couldn't. So poor thing!

Anyway, we're definitely not signing you up for ballet lessons here, Darling. Sigh ... What a terrible experience.

Papa and Mama love you lots!

Hi-5 Roadshow and Art & Craft Trial

Dearest Princesses,

We managed to get free tickets for the Hi-5 concert that will be on soon!

There was a promotion at a shopping centre somewhat nearby where if we spent a certain amount of money in the mall, we could redeem a pair of tickets. Mama and Papa were worried that many people would rush for these tickets so we got up super early so that we could purchase the necessary goods to redeem the tickets then join the queue for the tickets.

When we got there, there already was another person at the counter. Mama and Papa took turns to go and shop so that the other could remain at the counter in the queue. We were a bit unhappy with the woman who was ahead of us though. She was not there at all in the queue! She just depended on our good graces to acknowledge that she had come ahead of us while she and her companions went around shopping! They were never in the queue for any amount of time! Oh well ...

Anyway, you both were very patient the whole time we waited for the redemption to begin! Skyler, you just sat on a stool there and did some drawing and such and Ashley, you had a bit of bread and just generally just walked around there. You were both so good that it was a fun time just being together there.

After we got the tickets, we went off to the Forum along Orchard Road for an art & craft trial session. Skyler, we'd registered you for it as we thought you would enjoy some art and craft. Mama and you got to do several types of craft work both in the morning and afternoon. In between, there was a meet and greet with Geronimo Stilton mouse character from a popular children's storybook series.

While che-che and Mama were busy with the craft sessions, Papa brought you for a walk, Ashley. We visited the Thai Embassy Open House and the newly opened shopping mall, Ion Orchard. The Thai Embassy Open House consisted mostly of craft and food stalls and since neither appealed to Papa, we sped through the space quite quickly before leaving. At Ion Orchard, there wasn't really much to look at either so we headed back to be with Mama and che-che.

After the trial sessions were over, you had completed lots of craft works, Skyler! :D

Mama and Papa then wondered if we should go back to the Hi-5 Roadshow as they had a Meet and Greet session in the afternoon / evening. We decided that it would be a nice thing to do for you both - especially you, Skyler, as you'd asked sometime ago for Stevie (a Hi-5 member) to carry you. So, we went all the way back there to see if we could get a meet-and-greet pass.

When we got there, they were just about to start one of their sessions so we went to watch it - they performed a song and basically promoted their upcoming concert. You enjoyed it a bit, Skyler. After that, we went to grab some dinner and also redeem a pass (we had to spend a bit more money to do that).

We then walked around the mall a bit before going back for the Hi-5 show again and then queue for the photo-taking with the group. We decided that we should go somewhat last as we wanted you, Skyler, to have the opportunity to take a photo with Stevie alone and we figured that if there weren't anybody else waiting behind us, they would be more willing to oblige.

The group members were very warm and friendly! We managed to get photos taken with them and Stevie carried you, Skyler and had a photo taken with you too! They even sincerely thanked us for being there to support them! :D Ashley, Casey was the one who carried you and she kept on fussing over you. It seems that she loves babies lots! :D

What a packed day!

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

No More Bibs

Dearest Ashley,

We are no longer going to use bibs with you anymore, Lil One. You keep on removing it from around your neck and we spend equal amounts of time putting it back on and actually feeding you! What a use of time! :p

Anyway, we're going to pack away all the bibs since neither you nor your Che-che need them anymore.

Papa and Mama love you!

Parks and Gardens

Dearest Princesses,

We tried to bring you girls to the kite festival at the West Coast Park today but it was next to impossible to have fun there!

We'd gotten there quite a bit after the start time and the roads were jammed with cars. There was no way to find a parking space anywhere at the Park so Papa let Mama and you both off before heading to the nearest housing estate to look for a place to park.

Mama brought you both around the place but could hardly find any space for you all to set up our picnic mat or even stand comfortably to watch the kites being flown though there really were many kites in the air. It was also very hot and Mama was worried that you both would get sun burnt.

Meanwhile, Papa had driven round and round the housing estates trying to find a parking lot to no avail. Finally, when Papa found one quite a distance away, Mama called to inform Papa that we should go off as the conditions were not good at all. Thus, Papa drove back to pick all of you up and we set off for the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden instead.

Papa and Mama were quite curious about what this Children's Garden was like since your school had brought you there for a picnic, Skyler. After we got to the Botanic Gardens, we walked quite a bit before finding the entrance to this Garden. It was filled with quite a number of fun things to do.

There was even a slide and Papa brought you up to slide down it, Ashley. Skyler, of course you couldn't resist it and you slid down on your own. There was also a hollow tree where we could be fascinated by how it could survive being so hollow and all. We walked over the suspension bridge just for the fun of it as well.

When they closed this Garden, we went to look for the swans at the pond. While we did find the swans, they were too far away for us to feed with the bread we had brought. However, we did encounter a water hen where we were by the pond and when we offered it some bread, it happily took it. The amazing thing was that there was another water hen in the bushes and the first one passed the bread to the second one which then brought it back into the bushes. This kept happening every time we gave the first one bread! It would take the bread then pass it off to the second one before coming back for more. It amazes us how cooperative these birds were!

The problem was that there were also pigeons around who also wanted the bread. Thus, the pigeons, which were quite numerous, would come and try to fight for the bread. We then split up and Papa tried to distract the pigeons with some bread while you fed the water hens, Skyler.

All in all, it was an interesting experience at the Botanic Gardens.

Papa and Mama love you girls lots!

School Picnic

Dearest Skyler,

You had your school picnic today. Your school teachers brought all the students to the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden this morning.

You'd brought your cookies along to share with your classmates and you got to share in the goodies that THEY had brought as well. Your teachers besides bringing you all around the garden to explore what they had there, also got you all to play games and all-in-all, you had lots of fun today.

Thank God for that as you'd been prepping for this picnic for quite some time now. Mama and Papa were very worried that the picnic would be washed out or that you would have to miss it for one reason or another as we were afraid that you would be so disappointed. When it rained in the morning where we were, we feared the worst! You can't imagine how heavy our hearts were when we thought that the picnic would be washed out!

When you got home, we immediately asked if you'd enjoyed yourself and whether the picnic had indeed been carried out. You were so nonchalant about it and when you informed us that yes, you'd gone for the picnic and that you had enjoyed yourself, we were so relieved!!! Sigh ... sorry, Lil Girl, we're just being parents who love you Princesses so much!

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Water Area in the Zoo

Dearest Princesses,

Skyler, Godma Audrey took leave today to spend time with you and mei-mei.

Mama and Godma Audrey brought you both to the zoo today to play with the water at the Kidzworld. You had so much fun there together. Each of them took charge of one of you so that both of you could play. You had so much fun there.

After some time, you all quickly had a shower and dashed off to find shelter. You hadn't had lunch yet and it was going to storm. Thank God! You all made it to the restaurant just as it started pouring cats and dogs! Praise God! You all made it safe and dry.

You all had a nice little lunch there while it was storming outside. After a while, the restaurant staff closed the restaurant as they needed to prepare for a dinner function later that evening but as you all were still eating, they left you alone. Unfortunately, the zoo visitors that came after that were not allowed in and they couldn't get any food or drink there while it was raining outside.

When it stopped raining, you all headed out of the zoo but had to stop for toast as you wanted some, Skyler.

Thank you, Godma Audrey, for coming and helping to watch Skyler and Ashley so that you all could have some fun at the water play area!

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Fun Activities - Baking Cookies and Riding a Swing

Dearest Princesses,

We had some fun today.

Skyler, as your school is taking you all out for a picnic soon, Mama decided that she would bake cookies for you to bring along to share with your classmates. You had so much fun baking with her as well. Together with Mama, you mixed the cookie dough and Mama put them into the oven to bake.

While Mama carried on with the baking, Papa brought you both out to the Park to play. We got to the playground where you both stayed to play for some time. Papa put you in the swing as it is designed for toddlers like you, Ashley - it's all covered up and totally safe and you wouldn't be able to fall out of it. Skyler, you pushed mei-mei in the swing for a while and both of you enjoyed that for a while.

Skyler, you also played with the slides, one of your favourite equipment in all the playgrounds we've visited. Papa also brought you up to slide, Ashley.

After spending quite some time there, we headed home to an flat filled with the smell of freshly baked cookies! Thank you, Mama, for baking so many yummy cookies!

What a great day!

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Trying To Sleep

Dear Ashley,

We're left so tired by your inability to sleep through the night or even sleep through a few hours at a stretch, Lil One. We need to sleep to have enough rest and energy for the next day's activities but you keep on waking up every couple of hours and this is wreaking havoc on our systems. We've been carrying you to soothe you back to sleep all this while but we're so exhausted now. So, we decided to see if you can learn to soothe yourself back to sleep.

We let you cry it out last night just as some 'experts' say we should do so that you can learn to soothe yourself back to sleep as the belief is that we are preventing you from learning that by carrying you when you wake up and cannot go back to sleep. It totally didn't work! You cried and cried until you were hoarse and you had cried for more than an hour by the time we gave up. This is not something that we feel is right for you - to hurt your throat for so long. Thus, we gave in and carried you until you fell asleep again.

Sigh ... well, our love and compassion for you have ruled the day once more. Until another time.

To sleep ... perchance to dream!

Papa and Mama love you!

I Want My Mama!

Dearest Princesses,

It's so great that you both are reciprocating Mama's love and dedication to you both.

Mama sacrificed her career and is suffering quite a bit trying to balance her studies with taking care of you both full time and so it's quite satisfying that you both love her so much! While it's an added burden to Mama when she wants a break, it's also reassuring that you both love her so much that you both need her to be with you rather than someone else! We think it'll be very saddening for us if we'd had a maid and you both clamoured for the maid instead of either of us.

Skyler, you'd a bad night the night before. You couldn't sleep and ended up sleeping very late at night. Then, you woke up super early to see Papa off to work with mei-mei and went back to bed again a bit later in the morning. Thus, when Mama had to go to school, you were still asleep. Mama didn't want to wake you earlier as you'd had so little sleep. When you got up, Popo had come to care for you. You were so distressed that Mama wasn't around that you cried and cried for her. This resulted in your having to skip school as Popo simply couldn't get you ready for school.

While this is distressing and stressful for us, Papa is glad that you love and need Mama so much.

Ashley, you're very similar to your che-che! You'll always have moods where you'll choose who you wish to be with. Most of the time, you'll seek Mama out and want to be carried by her or just be with her. It's so sweet!

We're so glad that you girls are so close to your Mama! We pray that we'll always be a close-knit family.

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Good Teachers

Dearest Skyler,

We are constantly being reminded how important it is for you to have good teachers.

We brought you for your weekly gym session today and your usual teacher, Pearl, was on duty. She really seems to be in a different league compared to the other gym instructors there. She's able to manage all of you very well and she really ensures that each of you is taught properly and affirmed after every attempt at a skill. We don't see the same firmness and assuredness in the others. We can see why you like her so much.

You also have fairly caring teachers in your nursery as well. Teacher Sherlyn has been very patient thus far and you seem to like her lots too. We've been in regular contact with her because of requests, etc that we have to make on your behalf or to explain your absence in school and she has always been nice about it.

We so hope that your experiences with teachers will always be good, Lil One.

Papa and Mama love you lots!

Summer Festival @ The Japanese School

Dearest Princesses,

We brought you both for the Summer Festival @ The Japanese School this evening. This is something that we watched on Japanese TV programmes before where school students will attend a fair / carnival of some sort to celebrate the coming of summer in Japan. The female students would dress up in yukatas (Japanese ethnic attire) too.

When we got there, we were told that we could not park within the school compound. We were directed to the industrial estate nearby to park. We went one big round to get to it and then had to walk back to the school. Thankfully, it wasn't too far away to walk. We decided to leave the stroller in the car as we felt that it would be too crowded to push a stroller in the school and we were right. However, this meant that we had to carry you again, Ashley, which of course left us tired once again.

There was a long queue for tickets to get into the fair but the queue was quite smooth flowing so it wasn't too bad. After getting the tickets, we went in and looked around.

To our disappointment, there didn't seem to be many things going on. There were only a small number of games stalls and food stalls. The queues were super long though as the crowd was huge but the stalls were few. However, there were a few girls dressed in 'yukatas' though many of them looked Singaporean.

While we were walking, Papa was carrying you, Ashley. At one point, we had to stop for a short while for Che-che to do something and Papa overheard a group of Singaporean girls behind us talking about how cute you are! One of them even took a photo of you! Her companions then chided her for not asking permission from us before doing so but she never did so. :p Anyway, Papa didn't bother to turn around as this has happened quite a number of times.

However, after we got to where we wanted to go, we stopped and Papa let you stand on the floor! Imagine our surprise when we saw you holding onto a yo-yo balloon (something one of the stalls had - a water-filled balloon tied to a rubber band so that one could play with it like a yo-yo). Where on earth did you get that! You must have held on to it for quite some time! Did the big che-ches give it to you?

Anyway, we decided to queue to fish a yo-yo balloon for you too, Skyler, so that both of you could have one. You managed to get one that had stripes on it. It was so nicely designed that mei-mei wanted it too! :D

We then walked around a bit more to see what else they had - not very much as it turned out. However, there was a stage that they had set up on the school field where several groups of students took turns to perform on. Skyler, you wanted to go onto the field to have a picnic and while we wanted to let you do that, it was getting too late and it was still very crowded so we decided to give up on that. Also, we couldn't get any food for you to picnic with as the queues to the food stalls were simply way too long!

We ended up at a stall where they encouraged people to play a few games to get a souvenir. Mama ended up playing all the games - five stones, chatek, memory-matching, and Skyler, you played 'kuti-kuti' with erasers with a lady in charge there. We got a 'ketupat' as the souvenir.

We were exhausted by the time we left. It had been so crowded and it'd been one long day. We also had to walk the whole distance back to the car!

We hope you girls enjoyed yourselves.

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Another Buffet Lunch

Dear Princesses,

We went for yet another buffet lunch this afternoon. As our favourite buffet place has given a 1-for-1 deal for lunch, we decided to take advantage of it and go as often as we can.

This time around, neither of you fussed very much and we had the longest lunch at the dining table ever!

You didn't feel sleepy at all during the lunch, Ashley, so neither of us had to help you to sleep. Thus, we just ate and ate and ate! You are able to eat quite a bit of food that we eat now so we fed you whatever we thought you would eat. Actually, you would try everything! However, your lack of teeth right now limits the number of food stuff that you can try.

Skyler, you weren't so hungry though today so you didn't eat a lot. But you did eat your usual favourites like ice cream and cake and such.

Towards the end of the meal, both of you got bored of sitting around eating and wanted to go for a walk. As Papa was full, Papa brought you both out for a walk in the lobby. Ashley, you were so excited with climbing up and down the stairs. Thankfully, the steps were few in number! We also walked around the lobby a bit until Mama was done.

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Choices

Dearest Skyler,

We have been trying to teach you the need to make a better choice and today was yet another opportunity to do so.

You woke up a bit cranky today as we'd gone to bed so late yesterday and you woke up so early this morning. Anyway, we were clearing out the kitchen and we took out the tub of love letters that had been bought around the Chinese New Year period at the beginning of this year but never got around to eating. Thus, they've been around for a few months. We wanted to try them to see if they were still edible.

You spotted the tub and insisted on eating one of the love letters. We were reluctant to let you do so as they'd been around for so long. We then tried to discourage you from eating it by telling you to choose between eating this probably stale love letter and having fresh Pocky biscuits later during lunch. You started whining about wanting to eat the love letters then and there and that you would forego the Pocky biscuits that you love so much! We felt that this was a bad mistake and a very poor choice but to make you stop whining, we decided to give in to you.

Papa gave you one love letter after trying one himself. It was still crispy but tasted somewhat stale. It wasn't nice at all. But Papa knew that you were not going to stop whining until you took one yourself no matter what Papa might say. Papa felt that it was still safe to eat though not nice at all so Papa gave you one. You agreed with Papa that it was not nice at all.

But you were a very good girl. At lunch, you didn't ask for a Pocky biscuit at all! You got your marshmallows instead as we agreed while we were at home that you were not allowed Pocky biscuits but you were still allowed marshmallows. However, we really didn't want to deprive you of your favourite Pocky biscuits so towards the end of the meal, Mama asked you if you wanted the biscuits and you of course replied that you did and we allowed you to have a few.

We do hope that you learn to make the right choices in life, Darling. This is a very minor decision as far as repercussions go but these are the baby steps you need to take to learning how to make decisions that count.

Papa and Mama love you lots!

Sea Creatures

Dearest Princesses,

We decided to make it a family day today. We'd not really gone out to do something together due to our business so we decided to do so this afternoon. We had several options but several of it was disqualified due to the rain in the morning. Finally, we decided that we would all go to Sentosa to visit the dolphins and the Underwater World! By this time, actually, the rain had stopped and the clouds had cleared. But we decided to visit a place that was sheltered in case the rain came back.

It was a fairly long drive down to Sentosa as it is directly opposite to where we live on the island so we had to cross the island. It was a good thing that both of you had a short nap in the drive down or you would have been so much more tired there.

We managed to get a tram to the dolphin lagoon and buy tickets in time for the dolphin show. It was so funny there. We managed to get into positions where you both could see the dolphins but you both lost interest in these creatures soon after the show started. Ashley, you preferred to stare at the pigeons that were flying over head and walk around on the sandy beach. Skyler, you preferred to play with the sand - you used your naked hands to dig around and when we chided you for doing something so dirty, you used your shoes instead to sweep the sand around. Sigh ... What about the dolphins??? :D

Anyway, since neither of you were interested in the dolphins, we decided to head over to the Underwater World and beat the crowd that would be heading to the buses when the show was over. When we got there, we decided to have a short little picnic at the tables there as we were thirsty and you girls were a bit hungry.

At the eating area, there were several peacocks. The amazing thing was that these peacocks were on the roof of the sheltered walkway, etc! It was a sight to behold when one of these peacocks spread its tail feathers out on the roof.

We then viewed the huge sea turtles in their pond before playing with the fish in the pools at the entrance. You girls were quite fascinated by all the different sea creatures on display. The rays kept on splashing in their pool too making quite a lot of noise. Skyler, you wanted to touch the fish but as you had a paper cut on one hand and sort of a sore where you suck your thumb when you sleep on the other hand, we didn't allow you to as we were afraid of your getting an infection in the less than clean water.

In the revolving underwater section, we were somewhat bemused by you, Ashley. Instead of viewing the underwater creatures, you were more interested in climbing up and down the stairs and trying to find out how the conveyor belt worked! We ended up spending our time making sure you didn't hurt yourself and we couldn't really view the sea creatures. It was a good thing that you were interested, Skyler, so we could take turns to help you look out for interesting creatures.

There was an incident that was so tragically funny! There was an exhibit that allowed people to crawl into to view the fish from inside a dome. As you are not tall yet, Ashley, you could just walk right into the section. Of course, you were too short to see the fish but that wasn't your aim anyway; you just wanted to walk through it. You kept on doing it over and over again and laughing all the while. Once, you were about to walk into the space when you realised that there was an uncle in it! You were so shocked by his being there that you started crying! So poor thing! You made the uncle feel so bad! :p

Anyway, by the time we left, it was quite late already and both you girls were exhausted. But so were we as we'd not brought your stroller, Ashley, so we had to carry you for the most part as you still can't walk for long. And we didn't really want you to walk at a few places as it was dangerous since you have a tendency to wander off.

We hope that you girls enjoyed yourselves being with family the whole day!

Papa and Mama love you!

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Dearest Skyler,

You were still fearful today of your teacher's red nose. Sigh ... While we acknowledge and accept that your fear is genuine, we also feel that you have to overcome it quickly. It isn't something to be fearful of to begin with and it's not a nice thing to have people know that you're scared of them because of a skin irritation that they have no control over.

To help you overcome this fear, Mama related to you the story of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It's a Christmas time story that has the main idea of how a little reindeer was ostracised by his fellow reindeer because of his shiny red nose. However, Santa Claus (this fictitious Christmas figure) chose him to lead his sleigh on Christmas Eve as it was really foggy that night as the story goes. After Rudolph had been shown this favour, all his reindeer friends were willing to play with him. Mama hoped that this story would teach you to accept your teacher's nose and not be afraid of it. And that just because she had a red nose, it wasn't a reason to fear her and make her feel bad.

Mama also played you the song over our audio set and you kept on listening to it over and over again. It must have surprised our neighbours to hear Christmas music being played at this time of the year.

Anyway, you agreed to be brave and go off to school and you did. You came back still scared of the red nose but you promised to continue to be brave and continue to go back to school.

Well done, Lil One!

Papa and Mama love you!

The Red Nose

Dearest Skyler,

You came home last Friday sharing with Mama about how scary one of your teacher's red nose is to you. You seem to be genuinely afraid of the redness of her nose, Lil One as you keep coming back to it.

It finally came to a head when you declared that you were too afraid to go to school as you didn't want to see your teacher's red nose. We know that you were not trying to play truant as you were really really scared but we couldn't really figure out why a person's red nose would create such great fear in you. Poor Darling.

Mama called the school to ask your teacher about this and she was informed that the teacher in question suffered from skin irritation and her nose would become red under certain circumstances. Apparently, she'd always suffered from this so we wonder why it is that you're only commenting on this now.

Hmmm ... did Tai-po's passing away affect you resulting in this situation? We really don't know how much you've been affected by her passing away and our attempts to explain to you what death is about. We just hope that you'll not have any concerns that you can't share with us so that we can help you deal with them.

Anyway, we let you skip school today so that we can comfort you and give you time to build up your courage to go back to school to confront your teacher's red nose. We do pray that you get over it quickly. You can't keep on skipping school on account of that!

Papa and Mama love you lots!

The Wanderer

Dearest Ashley,

You are really a little wanderer!

Papa had brought you along to Che-che's gym session today. Mama had some work to do so she couldn't come along. As such, Papa had to care for you both alone. The thing was that while Che-che was in the gym, Mama wanted Papa to video record her so that she could watch what Che-che did today. Of course this meant that Papa had to split his attention between you and Che-che and video recording Che-che!

Papa did fairly ok for most of the time until Che-che ended her session! Papa had brought you outside to sit on the kiddie rides and for a short walk around the gym area while carrying you back to the gym so that he could record Che-che's activities. At the end of her session, Papa was helping Che-che to clean up and thus had to focus his attention on her for a short while. As we were in the gym reception area which was an enclosed area, Papa was willing to do that for the short while necessary to help Che-che. However, when Papa looked up, you were no longer in the reception area!

Thankfully, Papa spotted you just outside the gym doors! A family had just left and you had taken the opportunity to go out with them! Papa then had to dash out the doors to grab you while you were happily running off to who knows where! What a heart-stopping moment!

Papa was so unhappy with that family! That family had little children of their own and they had noticed that you had walked out with them and there wasn't anyone with you and they didn't bother to stop to find out what you were doing with them and bring you back inside the gym to look for your companions! Sigh ...

Anyway, thank God that Papa spotted you in time otherwise, ... (shiver!) Papa wouldn't know how to look for you! You were so fast!

Don't ever do that again!

Papa and Mama love you!

Riding a Whale

Dearest Skyler,

You had such a great time at the gym today.

Teacher Pearl had come back from her conference and she was running the class again. You had lots of fun doing all the activities and the activity that capped it all off was your riding the 'whale'! Teachers Pearl and Gerry had lined up several of their gym 'cushions' and then surfed you kids along all of the them across the length of the gym! You were taken for this ride twice! You had such great fun! You were laughing throughout the 'ride'!

You're becoming so much more confident with the skills that they are teaching, Darling. It's so great to see you progress not just in being able to perform the skill but your willingness to try. Well done, Lil One!

Papa and Mama love you lots!

Car Seat

Dearest Ashley,

Darling Girl, we have finally turned your car seat around to face the front. You'd slept for quite a bit of time while we were waiting for Skyler to end her gym session and then over dinner. By the time you got up, we figured that you were NOT going to sleep on the journey home and you would probably protest all the way back.

Thus, we made the decision to turn your seat around so that you could see what was going on. We were quite reluctant to do so as this is supposed to be more dangerous for you as you are still very young and your body may not be able to absorb the shock of an accident as well.

However, we felt that it would be good for you to face the front and be able to see more the world as we drive past it rather than be on your back all the time and only catching small glimpses of the sky through the back window of the car.

You were totally thrilled by the novelty of facing the front! You could see both Papa and Mama and of course Che-che. Not only that, you could look out the window and watch the scenery and other cars as we passed by them. You didn't make a sound of protest at all on the way home!

Of course, we also benefitted from being to watch you all the time and being able to interact with you.

But we're still very cautious about being involved in any accident as it is still quite dangerous.

Papa and Mama love you!

Comic Convention

Dearest Princesses,

We visited the Comic Convention at Suntec City today.

We saw lots of people in costumes walking around. Most of them were dressed in attire worn by characters in comic books, movies, etc. Both of you were fairly intrigued by most of these people and their costumes.

While we were walking around, came a booth manned by members of the local chapter of the 501st Legion - a group of people who are fans of the movie franchise 'Star Wars'. This movie series is something that both of us are fans of. Papa has most of the novels based on the characters in the movies. We also have a few toy replicas of the ships and such from them.

Anyway, there were a few members of the 'Legion' dressed in the Imperial Guard, TIE Fighter Pilot and Storm Trooper uniforms. They were willing to have a photo taken with anybody who donated a sum of money for the 'Make-A-Wish' Foundation. As we were fans, we decided to have a photo taken with them and donate a bit of money as well. The problem was that both of you got very scared by the costumes! Ashley, you started crying and Skyler, you kept on trying to get away though both of us were carrying both of you.

We quickly had our photo taken and dashed off so that you both would calm down. Poor Darlings. You must have been so frightened by the fact that you couldn't see the faces of these people as they were hidden by their helmets.

Oh well, hopefully, we can introduce you girls to these characters in the future so that you won't be so frightened by them.

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Manual Dexterity

Dear Ashley,

You're developing much better control over your fingers, etc. You've taken to walking around the flat and pulling and pushing, picking up and transferring items that you can reach. You've also started pushing whatever buttons you see including the buttons controlling the fans that we have in the flat!

Sometimes, you happily push the button to switch off the fans and then you just leave them off resulting in our feeling a whole lot warmer but you don't seem to mind that! And when Papa switches it back on, you take that as an invitation to switch it off again just to show that you can! :p

You've also tried to switch off the power outlets that you have access to. Sigh ... That's so dangerous but there's little we can do about that except ensure that those you can reach are safe enough.

Oh well, it's great that you're growing up, Lil One. But you must remain safe, okay?

Papa and Mama love you!

Bedtime Routines

Dearest Princesses,

We've evolved our bedtime routines a few times over the years since you joined our family, Skyler. Now, we've to include routines that include you, Ashley.

Once we declare that it's bed time, we have to ensure that so many things get done. We try to get you to help clear up the mess, Skyler, before we head to the bedroom. Then, we have to force you to try to clear your bladder before you get into bed as we are afraid of you needing to get up in the middle of the night to ease yourself as this might wake Ashley up as well and we would end up trying to help both of you to fall asleep again.

By the time you get to bed, we'll then say a little prayer before Papa brings you out to the living room, Ashley. By this time, you're so used to the routine now that it takes only a short time for you to fall asleep. However, as it takes you, Skyler, a longer time to fall asleep, Papa would lie down on the chair and pouffe with you, Ashley, asleep on Papa's chest and wait for either Mama to come out to signal that Skyler, you had fallen asleep, or after a sufficient amount of time, Papa would carry you, Ashley to your bed.

The only problem of course, Ashley, is that you are still unable to sleep through the night! You keep waking up every hour or so - sometimes sooner, sometimes later. You will then scream until we attend to you. Sigh ... We're so looking forward to the day that you can sleep for a longer period of time!

Oh well ... :D

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

Soup

Dearest Princesses,

It's interesting that we frequent Han's so frequently nowadays. We'd lived fairly near it for so long but we just never stopped over to have a meal until we were pregnant with you, Ashley. Since we started going there for meals, we've continued all the way until now.

And now that you're ready for solid foods, Ashley, we've introduced you to the food there as well. One of the current items that we all share is the mixed vegetable soup! All of us will drink the soup because it's so tasty! We've also taken to mixing the soup into your cereal, Ashley, and also giving you a few pieces of the fish as well.

Skyler, you also love soup now. You're becoming just like your Mama. But now, you prefer the sandwich to all the other food items that they have so you'll always have that with a mug of Milo. You really love Milo too!

Well, looks like we'll continue to go there for meals for the foreseeable future.

Papa and Mama love you both lots!

National Day

Dearest Princesses,

Today, we celebrate our country's 44th National Day - once again, this is the day our nation became independent.

Skyler, one of the lessons that you've learnt from school is the trappings of a national identity. Your teachers taught you how to sing the National Anthem 'Majulah Singapura' and how to stand when the Pledge is recited - with fist on heart. The amusing thing is you mispronounced most of the words of the Anthem! When we tried to correct you, you insisted that you knew the words and continued singing the Anthem using whatever sounds you liked! :D

You were also taught the song 'Count on Me, Singapore' and you came home teaching us the actions to go with the words. When the song was played during the broadcast of the National Day Parade / Show, you immediately got up to sing the song and perform the actions. It was so cute watching you do that as you had such an intense expression on your face while you did it! :D

Skyler, you're becoming a true blue Singaporean! :D

Ashley, obviously, you're too young to understand what is going on with regards to nationalism and such so you were tottering around the flat while all this was going on. Well, you'll learn soon enough, Lil One.

You girls will continue to learn what it means to be Singaporean as you grow older, Lil Ones. There is no rush as yet. Our country has achieved much over the years. However, the challenges facing our nation is still many. Your generation will have to face them soon enough.

Papa and Mama love you both lots!