Our Little Precious

Work before play

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:19:00 +0000

Precious did a fair bit of work this evening. She started out with her revision for English Spelling and then went on to practise her Math.

They were simple pattern recognition about addition and subtraction.

Then she went on to complete her Chinese homework.

After the serious work, she spent some time playing with her play-doh. :) Soon, it will be story-reading time and she would call it a night.

'It's a dragon!'

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:24:00 +0000

Cheryl did an art work to usher in the Year of the Dragon.

Daddy teased her and commented that it looked more like an earthworm. Hahaha but Precious said very convincingly that it was a dragon. :)

uniform...

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:53:00 +0000

Several years back, we have developed this culture of dressing in similar styles when it was the new year. Actually, we do it even when it isn't the new year too. Haha.

I always get tees that are of similar designs or colour and this year, we were decked out in the latest craze; Abercrombie & Fitch. :)

:) nice! and I love the cheery colours.

Cheryl wishes her teachers...

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:56:00 +0000

Even in her pre school days, C and I had this habit of sending her teachers little well wishes and this year we continued this tradition.

Last year, we packed our mandarin oranges in the same manner for her teachers at Josiah too. However, when she realised that we had only prepared for 4 teachers, she exclaimed very loudly, "What about the other teachers?" Ha ha!

I had to explain to her that the number of staff in a primary school could amount to as many as 80 people and we would not be able to prepare the packages for all of them. She smiled and agreed that as long as the teachers who teach her received them, she was happy. :) We wrapped up the oranges and put a personalised ang bao at the front. Of course, Precious put her name down.

Math on the Internet

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:12:00 +0000

This evening, C returned with A note from Ee teacher. Precious can now log in a site that the school has subscribed and practise her math.

The website has several math concepts and topics put in place and Precious can go through the topics and solve the problem sums online.

C tried some sums on Money and she had the sums corrected online too.

Each time the online tutor told her that she had done the sum correctly, Precious broke out in a grin. :) We did not have to pay any subscription this year and since Precious liked the exercises so much, I think we will be visiting this site very often.

la la la...

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:14:00 +0000

This evening, C said she wanted to practise singing her school anthem and school creed.

She had music class today and she was happy that she had learned the songs.

The School Anthem

The School Creed

When we purchased our books from the book store, we had to get this disc too and it was good that these important songs are in there because then we can practise singing the songs at home. C is rather diligent, she was looking at the creed and learning the bibical verses.

Life as a pupil...

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

This week, with school in full swing, Precious returned with homework.

Daddy and I whisked her off for ballet after she slighted from her bus ride. She changed into her dance gear in the car and arrived just in time for her class with Ms Blue.

An hour later, she was back and after her shower and dinner, we sat down to complete her homework: Social Studies and Math. Precious also learned her Spelling for next week. :)

So sweet!

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:20:00 +0000

C has been to school for 3 days now and she is managing well. She had been well taken care of by her senior and this very thoughtful Primary 5 girl gave Precious a parting gift.

The girl even wrote Precious a note.

C loved her little doggie and had it with her as she slept.

Tomorrow on, Precious will be on her own. A little weary, she asked to have her lunch box packed. Daddy assured her that she would be fine. :)

a step forward...

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:35:00 +0000

This day came finally. Initially, it was anticipation when we did our registration, then all excitement when we had our orientation and as the date drew closer, we became rather anxious.

The night before, we had a prep talk with C, similar to the one we gave her when she started preschool. We stressed that if she was unsure of things or didn't know where to find some teachers, she had to ask. We reminded her that rules and regulations are now bigger things in a primary school and she must follow them.

This morning after she got back from her dance class, she had a quick shower and had her simple lunch of porridge. We had some extra time and she sat herself down to play her toys. When it was almost time to go down to the bus stop, we got her to dress herself. C put on the uniform herself as we wanted her to know how to do it.

C eating her lunch.

Then we went down to the bus stop.

Father and Daughter...

While waiting for the school bus to arrive, we couldn't resist but took these pictures. :) She has grown so much.

After she boarded the mini bus, we headed off to school.

C arriving at the school gate after an hour of ride. She was ushered off by a prefect who directed them to the school hall.

Parents were not allowed in school so Daddy and I didn't get to take any more shots of her. We only returned to school during the dismissal time to ensure that she knew what to do: she had to look out for the stand of her bus number and then after that, get on board the bus when all the children had arrived.

Daddy and I then drove back where we waited for her at the bus stop again.

C soon got back and she was overjoyed to see us!

Daddy Dearest with his Precious Princess. We were so proud of her.

She then showed us her gift from a new friend she got acquainted with on board the bus.

C was tired when she got back. She related that she had fried rice in school during recess and even bought herself some coloured paper at the book shop. She did some colouring in class as well and read her story book; which she commented was too short and simple. The Reading Period was about a period long and she read her book at least 3 times that day. So when we were packing her bag, she insisted on bringing a thicker book for reading the next day.

Precious' time table.

After our dinner, C went back to her toys before she retired for the night.

As for Daddy and myself, we went to bed late... . And it was a rather emotional episode for us. Daddy, in his tears, commented that C was growing up way too fast and that things would be different now that C is no longer a baby. I guess he fears that his little Princess would not want to be with him / us as she matures. Both of them are so close and alike: they both are gamesters, love the Xbox (so much so that she complained that I wasn't a good game companion) They can go on and on about the different games they have and play on the iPad. She would climb onto him during bed time to rest on his chest while they talk about the day and he would ambush her by rubbing his iron-hard hair against her tummy and they would both laugh and giggle the night away... .

I assured Daddy that though things would change, what we had with her would never. The bond that we foster now will see us through the many years to come. She would not become a stranger because we would not let that happen. We would praise her when praise is due, lecture her when she needs one and always love her, whatever happens.

This is our promise to you, Cheryl.

First swing of 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:55:00 +0000

We spent the afternoon at the range.

Coach Philip didn't have that many students today and C was able to spend more time practicing her chipping and putting.

Initially, Daddy was telling me that we might have to do our weekly golf sessions at another venue. Thankfully, Coach was able to work that out with the management and we would be staying put. :)

a (sort of) new bed...

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:46:00 +0000

C was outgrowing her old one... . Not surprising because she had been sleeping in her cot for the past 6 years.

We had the cot converted to a junior bed some years back but the length of the bed could not be adjusted. There was talk about getting her a new bed a long time ago but because we couldn't find something we liked, we had been putting it off. C was growing fast and we finally decided that something had to be done when her head and her feet touched the bed frame of her cot.

We dug out an old bed frame from the store and had it fixed up. The old cot-converted bed was dismantled and put away. Then in the evening, we headed off to Ikea to get her a new mattress and some new sheets. :)

C loved her new single bed; she arranged her favourite mates to let them share her space and then she called it a night. :)

HappyCall Pan Feast to end 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:24:00 +0000

There was no fanciful dinners out, instead we decided to have a feast at home! A HappyCall Pan feast.

Grand Mummy, Aunt Di and Jules prepared the dishes and when it was near dinner time, we started our BBQ. The HappyCall Pan was our latest investment. So far the experience of using the pan has been wonderful. :)

The finger-licking food that we ate. Which was our favourite? Well, they were all good, and I don't know where to start. Haha! There was the beer marinated chicken wings: juicy to the max and then of course, our mushroom, french beans with carrot bacon wraps and the kway tiao which was done to perfection! I guess the company made it even more precious. :)

Everything was cooked in our pans. :)

We also celebrated Uncle Fong's birthday.

So this would be my last post for 2011...

"Happy New Year, everyone and let 2012 be better than 2011!"

It's painful but FUN!

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:13:00 +0000

On the final morning of 2011, we paid a visit to the ice skating rink at Kallang Leisure Park.

C has always wanted to ice skate but Daddy and I put it off because we do not know how to and we are afraid that she would get hurt.

Well, we decided that we should at least give it a try and off we went.

Precious putting on her skates.

And they were both ready in no time. Okay, so we fell and fell so many times! Haha! Daddy took his first time on the rink really seriously and by the time he had gone around the rink once, beads of perspiration was dripping off his face literally. As for C, her bums took most of the fall.

My bruises on my poor knees. Daddy also scrapped his elbows.

However, on a positive note, Princess remains undaunted about her first experience at the skating rink. It does look like we will be hitting the rink more in the future. :)

Dino Alive!

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:59:00 +0000

We spent the afternoon at the Science Centre because we wanted to catch some dinosaurs in action.

Posing for a picture before we entered...

The lighting indoors was dim and made taking pictures rather difficult.

We bought Precious a passport and she went around collecting stamps for it.

There was a little play area for kids and C got to try out her hands at excavating and unearthing some bones.

(uploading at the moment)

The exhibition was rather small and we covered it in no time though. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing outdoors and exploring Science Centre. :)

Thank God for Labels

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:12:00 +0000

The labels that I got for Precious were handy indeed. The name stickers went nicely on all her stationery and books. The iron-ons went on all her uniforms.

And then there were labels for her shoes.

I finally got down to stitching her name tags on all of her uniforms. Though they were iron-on, I felt that they wouldn't last on the uniforms and didn't want to risk them coming off after a few wash. Hence, I decided to stitch them on after pressing them.

It took my a while to finish the task as I didn't have a sewing machine and had to do it by hand. Come to think of it, It has been eons since I last picked up a needle and thread. I only managed 4 sets last and and finished the other 2 this evening. My fingers were sore and my back was killing me. Haha. But I was happy with my work. :)

A miner

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 02:24:00 +0000

Aunt Jules gave Precious this wonderful gift. She became a miner for the evening as she sawed and chiseled the precious gems out.

In the end, all 10 gems were uncovered. C was extremely pleased and she went around showing them to us.

Real Pizza!

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:16:00 +0000

We all love pizzas but I have never fancied pizzas from Pizza Hut as the crust is way too thick. And no matter what they did to entice people; crust stuffed with cheese and 3 different types too, I wasn't impressed and would eat.

So when I found this eating joint, I was clearly overjoyed. :)

Our pizzas, made right before our eyes.

It was quite amazing to see this actually. :) Really good to know that our food is fresh.

The pizza chef was explaining to us the type of firewood that he needs to fire up his oven.

Our lunch! Okay, the pictures are tinted rose because we were seated outdoors and under the afternoon sun. But the pizza was delicious and we cleaned out everything on the plate.

Trans Studio

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 01:36:00 +0000

We flew out to Makassar in Sulawesi, Indonesia to check out this theme park.

The theme park is enclosed within a huge and I must say, luxurious shopping mall. Thankfully it was indoor because the weather in December is rather wet and to have the theme park outdoors would mean that many of the rides would not be able to take place.

There is a Disneyland feel to the place though of course Disneyland takes the cake. But for now, we were not disappointed. C and Daddy went on several rides and Precious was extremely excited.

The ship tossed us like we were on a rough sea.

Picture with Santa. :)

Then we headed out for dinner at Pizza Hut. Precious suddenly had a craving for pizza that needed to be satisfied.

Overall, it was a good experience. C enjoyed herself and she was game enough to try almost all the rides.

Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:38:00 +0000

Cheryl was working on this just before we headed off for our vacation. Today, she finished it.

She was very pleased indeed. :)

We always enjoy seeing her master pieces.

being a proficient swimmer

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 09:57:00 +0000

When C first started swimming, it was because we wanted her to be stronger. She used to have weak lungs and would cough ever so often. It has been more than 1 year since and the frequency of her coughing episodes has indeed decreased.

We learned that swimming would be part of C's primary school physical education programme and then recently, C's coach advised us to let C take the Bronze Stage of the SwimSafer Programme as this was a programme that most if not all local schools adopt.

Hence after some deliberation, Daddy and I agreed to let C take the test.

The following information is taken from Happy Fish Swim School:

SwimSafer Stage 4 Bronze Test Criteria: Personal Water Survival and Stroke Improvement Skills
Development of your child's stroke technique will be a focus here, along with coordinated breathing in deep water while swimming 100 metres. Principles of water crafty safety will be introduced, as well as continuous work on rescue and personal water survival skills.

Entries and Exits: Enter water using a compact jump

Sculling and Body Orientation: Demonstrate a backward and forward somersault in the water

Underwater Skills: Search for and recover an object in 1.5m of water depth. Demonstrate a feet-
first surface dive.

Movement/Swimming/Strokes: Swim 100 metres continuously (25m Front Crawl, 25m Breaststroke, 25m
Backstroke, 25m Survival Backstroke or Sidestroke.

Survival and Activity Skills: Dressed in swimwear, shorts and t-shirt. Swim slowly for 3 min using any
appropriate swim stroke, changing each minute.

Rescue Skills: Perform a throw rescue using an unweighted rope over a distance of 6 metres.
Wade to a person and deliver a flotation aid in deep water. Approach in
"Ready" position.

Knowledge: Principles of water craft safety

(This is the theory part that the children need to know. There are a total of 3 questions pertaining to safety on board a water craft and how the children should conduct themselves.)

These pictures were taken while C was out practising for her Bronze test which she took on 11 December. Well, it looks like she cleared the test. :)

Landscape

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 04:04:00 +0000

C's landscape piece.

Remember that day where I was treated to a session with her during lesson. She came back with it today. :)

Mauritius - (IV)

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:41:00 +0000

We went to Port Louis for some shopping.

The Central Market where fruit and vegetables were sold. There were several souvenir shops as well.

Mauritius, Land of the Dodo bird. Vanilla pods were sold and they gave out such a sweet scent.

We took their public bus to the capital. On the journey, Daddy noticed that the elderly travel for free and the fare was a flat rate regardless of whatever distance travelled.

Just before we left... C wanted to bring Mauritius home and we went to the beach.

Lovely!

Mauritius - (III)

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 12:02:00 +0000

More of Mauritius as we went on our sight-seeing tour today.

Chameral Waterfall, also known as the Veil of the Bride.

Along the way up, we saw that the Mauritius people make their own salt from the sea waters around them. In fact they are very self-sufficient people as they also grow their own vegetables.

7-coloured earth. This is a real beauty.

Tortoises are protected in Mauritius, just like how swans are in England. :)

Then we went to a rum-making factory where we saw how rum was made from sugar cane. In fact, all parts of the sugar cane is used for something and nothing goes to waste.

We were tasting the rum for the first time. Mine was vanilla while Daddy's was coffee flavoured.

More pictures of the rum-making factory.

This house is interesting. Except for a lack of colour, everything in the house is ready and people actually live in it. We learned that it was because as long as the house looks incomplete and still under construction, the people who built the house need not pay taxes.

Look at what we found!

Our trip out to sea was probably the highlight! We saw dolphins!

The sun was shinning and though it was hot, we couldn't resist the deep blue waters.

C on the wheel!

I was admiring this view and told Daddy that this is probably the best infinite pools in the world. :)

C getting ready to hit the waters.

Both father and daughter frolicking in the cool Indian Ocean.

And for the rest of us...

Lunch was on board too and the food was absolutely delicious.

C enjoying her meal.

Enjoying the breeze ...

and one more dip in the waters before we headed back to shore.

The pair at the pool to cool down before dinner.

Mauritius - (II)

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

Early next morning, we headed out for breakfast. C was happiest at breakfast because she had toast and cheese and cereal. Yeah, she is simple like that. :) Just these few things and she would be beaming away. And of course, tea. Somehow, she has acquired a taste for tea and would welcome a cuppa.

After breakfast, we headed out for some sightseeing and a visit to the Bird Park. Along the way, we saw many sugar cane plantation, not surprising considering that sugar-making is huge in Mauritius. However, most of the sugar produced are for local consumption rather than export.

At the Bird Park. C preferred to play at the playground instead. Haha. There was a safari ride to watch the lions but C was underage to be travelling on the open vehicle so we couldn't do that.

Then we went shopping! These carpets were hand sewn and they were so nicely done.

Next we visited another handicraft workshop where model ships were made.

C went "Oh and Ah" when she walked into the showroom.

On our way back, we stopped by a post office where C picked out several post cards for her friends. She carefully wrote her message and then mailed them. Look out for yours in your mail boxes. :)

Lunch was spaghetti in our room and C was famished by then.

Then we went out to explore the beach. Just look at the smile on her face. :)

C definitely preferred the pool and after about 15 minutes on the beach and playing in the waters, she begged to hit the pool.

It was almost dinner time and we were invited to dine on the beach.

BBQ dinner! This was really a treat and the food was finger-licking good.

a tropical getaway - Mauritius! (I)

noreply@blogger.com (Mummy N) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:01:00 +0000

Planning for this year's holiday was.... let's just say, almost impossible. There was hardly any time to plan and we were making changes all the time. But we did eventually decided that Mauritius would be it and on the morning of our departure, we were up bright and early.

We have checked in and just waiting for time to pass.

C with her new plush toy.

"Bye, bye, Singapore!"

meal and in flight entertainment to last us during the 7-hour journey.

Sugar Beach Resort. We were treated to their national dance and the lemon grass drink was simply refreshing.

Walking up to our room... and a beautiful view greeted us.

Our lodging was comfortable to say the least.

I love the pineapples and I am not a pineapple person. Never liked it until this day where I tasted heaven. I think I ate at least 1 whole pineapple each day. Haha.

And at 6.30pm, a beautiful sight greeted us. :)