Yesterday, Papa had to attend a wedding lunch so Mama and Cass went to Tanglin Mall to get the back float. The back float is supposedly much better than arm floats as it allows freedom of the arms in the water as well.
After getting the float, Mama had lunch at Don where Cass spilled half the bowl of miso soup onto the tray. Cass was good though, didn't make a fuss but imitated this guy who stood up and waved to the waiter for more rice. It was so funny. Imagine little Cass waved her hand and said 'Rice'. And she gave such a sweet smile after that.. :)
Grandma called to say she's at Uncle Jeff's place, so we took a cab there. The taxi driver was a very nice lady who helped with the stroller. It was later that Mama realised Cass lost one of her sandals. The expensive sandals from Adidas, a gift from Auntie Nonie. Oh dear...
Monday, November 28, 2005
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Mines Resort City
Last Saturday, the whole family went on a 3 day 2 nights trip to Mines Resort City and stayed at Palace of the Golden Horses. The place really lives up to its name, with lots of horse motives everywhere, but no horsing around there :) pun intended... cos it was a 5-star hotel and strictly no shorts and singlets allowed.
We went by coach from 5 stars tours, 25 seater and it was a relaxing ride with huge comfortable seats with plenty of legrooms. You could almost lie flat on the reclining seats! Cass had a wonderful time looking out the huge windows on the bus and alternating between Mama, Papa, Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle Vic's laps.
We were well prepared for the trip except for the what-to-do there part, cos Mama wants a break from planning too much. However, old habits die hard, so most of the planning was done for Cass' needs instead. So we had enough warm clothes for the coach, change of clothings for the entire stay including long pants, handkerchiefs, socks, milk bottles, milk powder, cereal, baby food jars, hot water thermos, spoons and of course, diapers. Papa also prepared the MP3 player with Cass' favourite alphabet songs and Mama brought along Cass' favourite bilingual animal book to entertain her along the way.
The coach was full and we were surprised to be the only ones to get off at the Palace of the Golden Horses. Seems like the other people on the bus were headed for the Mines Resort and Spa. Initially Mama wanted to book at this resort instead, as the name has the words, 'resort' and 'spa', so should be quite relaxing, right? Wrong! The little picture of the beach on the brochure is actually a little cornered off pool of water with sand in it beside the lake. Thank goodness we took the palace instead. And like Papa said, how good can a resort be in urban KL? Guess he was right this time round.
At the resort there is a shopping centre and a small theme park which is only open from 5pm to 11pm. We had to take the water taxi to cross the lake from the Palace of the Golden Horses and cruise right into the shopping centre. The canal even has a system (forgot what's it called) like the UK ones to raise/lower the water taxi between the different water levels of the canal.
On the 1st day, we went to the shopping centre and had dinner at PuYen vegetarian restaurant and gallery. The shopping centre is quite huge with lots of reject shops and children's boutiques. Mama targetted some shoes which after discount were like less than $10 a pair and bought 2 pairs in diff colours! Mama also bought Cass a few sets of clothes, shoes and socks and wet wipes from the Tenderly brand. Mama likes the cheap and good Tenderly brand from Malaysia, plus they smell good too! Grandma also bought 2 huge bags of tissue packs cos they were RM$1.99 each :)
On the 2nd day, we went to KLCC and had lunch at the Royal Thai Restaurant which also had a vegetarian menu. Cass played 'Sawadikup' with the waitresses while we were busy eating. We didn't get to shop in KLCC and took a cab back to the Mines Wonderland. There we took the train ride to see the white tigers, bengal tigers, sun bear and monkeys. Cass was especially delighted to see a little 'farm' with lots of fluffy bunnies and guinea pigs running about, talking parrots and white peacocks too!
We also took the road tram around the park to see the various gardens with huge lantern structures of coins, 7 wonders of the world and the Admiral Cheng Ho exhibition. We all enjoyed the musical fountain the best! The emcee was great to engage the crowd that we were all singing and clapping along, before the show started. Cass was dancing, clapping and laughing away, clearly enjoying herself throughout! :) It was great to end the day with a water taxi ride across the lake back to the hotel.
On the 3rd day we had to check out by 12 noon, so we all went swimming after breakfast. Cass really loves to swim! She kicks her legs and waves her arms to propel herself in the water. After we checked out, we had lunch at the cantonese restaurant 'Kim Ma' on the hotel grounds.
The little darling was so exhausted that she slept for hours on the coach! :)
We went by coach from 5 stars tours, 25 seater and it was a relaxing ride with huge comfortable seats with plenty of legrooms. You could almost lie flat on the reclining seats! Cass had a wonderful time looking out the huge windows on the bus and alternating between Mama, Papa, Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle Vic's laps.
We were well prepared for the trip except for the what-to-do there part, cos Mama wants a break from planning too much. However, old habits die hard, so most of the planning was done for Cass' needs instead. So we had enough warm clothes for the coach, change of clothings for the entire stay including long pants, handkerchiefs, socks, milk bottles, milk powder, cereal, baby food jars, hot water thermos, spoons and of course, diapers. Papa also prepared the MP3 player with Cass' favourite alphabet songs and Mama brought along Cass' favourite bilingual animal book to entertain her along the way.
The coach was full and we were surprised to be the only ones to get off at the Palace of the Golden Horses. Seems like the other people on the bus were headed for the Mines Resort and Spa. Initially Mama wanted to book at this resort instead, as the name has the words, 'resort' and 'spa', so should be quite relaxing, right? Wrong! The little picture of the beach on the brochure is actually a little cornered off pool of water with sand in it beside the lake. Thank goodness we took the palace instead. And like Papa said, how good can a resort be in urban KL? Guess he was right this time round.
At the resort there is a shopping centre and a small theme park which is only open from 5pm to 11pm. We had to take the water taxi to cross the lake from the Palace of the Golden Horses and cruise right into the shopping centre. The canal even has a system (forgot what's it called) like the UK ones to raise/lower the water taxi between the different water levels of the canal.
On the 1st day, we went to the shopping centre and had dinner at PuYen vegetarian restaurant and gallery. The shopping centre is quite huge with lots of reject shops and children's boutiques. Mama targetted some shoes which after discount were like less than $10 a pair and bought 2 pairs in diff colours! Mama also bought Cass a few sets of clothes, shoes and socks and wet wipes from the Tenderly brand. Mama likes the cheap and good Tenderly brand from Malaysia, plus they smell good too! Grandma also bought 2 huge bags of tissue packs cos they were RM$1.99 each :)
On the 2nd day, we went to KLCC and had lunch at the Royal Thai Restaurant which also had a vegetarian menu. Cass played 'Sawadikup' with the waitresses while we were busy eating. We didn't get to shop in KLCC and took a cab back to the Mines Wonderland. There we took the train ride to see the white tigers, bengal tigers, sun bear and monkeys. Cass was especially delighted to see a little 'farm' with lots of fluffy bunnies and guinea pigs running about, talking parrots and white peacocks too!
We also took the road tram around the park to see the various gardens with huge lantern structures of coins, 7 wonders of the world and the Admiral Cheng Ho exhibition. We all enjoyed the musical fountain the best! The emcee was great to engage the crowd that we were all singing and clapping along, before the show started. Cass was dancing, clapping and laughing away, clearly enjoying herself throughout! :) It was great to end the day with a water taxi ride across the lake back to the hotel.
On the 3rd day we had to check out by 12 noon, so we all went swimming after breakfast. Cass really loves to swim! She kicks her legs and waves her arms to propel herself in the water. After we checked out, we had lunch at the cantonese restaurant 'Kim Ma' on the hotel grounds.
The little darling was so exhausted that she slept for hours on the coach! :)
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Cass' party
Today being a public holiday, Mama decided to hold Cass' birthday party so she can play with the other babies and toddlers too!
Mama would like to thank all the friends and family. Thanks for bringing the kids and all those presents! Mama regrets Papa did not take enough pictures, left out some guests as well :(
Here is Cass, freshly showered with hair neatly combed. She must be thinking today's going to be an exciting day. She keeps smiling and grinning to see the furniture shifted and balloons popping up from under the dining table.
Papa gives Cass a pink balloon. Look.. the balloon is bigger than me :)
Ding-dong! Here comes the cake in a very big box.
One of the first guests, Uncle Adrian and Auntie SK.
Mama's and Papa's friends came to the party with their kids. Auntie June with Terese, Tricia and Jaden.
Here's Nigel, staring at the cake. He's waiting to sing the birthday song and help to blow out the candle.
Cass is so happy to be with these 2 fine gentlemen. Who wouldn't be? ;)
Everyone's ready, let's pose for the camera and start. Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday to you.. Happy Birthday to Cassandra... Happy Birthday to you!
As Uncle Leonard says in his blog, the birthday girl or boy always gets emotional. :) That's Auntie Liselle in the corner. (Sorry no proper pics with you..)
Nigel helping to blow out the birthday candle.
Mama's buddies from SIM, Uncle Leonard, Uncle Desmond and Auntie YaLing are here except Auntie Nicole. Here's Uncle Leonard's family: Auntie Celest, Nigel and Shannon.
Very proud parents!
Cass' grandparents and cousin Casey.
Papa's aunt and sister, Grand auntie and Auntie Swee Hia, Casey's mum.
It's hard work being an Australian Idol, says Jaden.
Cass would very much to play with Darilyn, if only she were not so shy. She was clinging to Auntie Doris the whole time. Uncle James had to fetch food for them. Say, Darilyn's birthday should be coming up soon.
Here's Colin, Cass' favourite chum. Colin's only 6 months old, but he's strong. In the corner is Kyran. His one-month old brother, Cayden, was also at the party, but he's sleeping in Auntie Aileen's arms.
Auntie Janice and Uncle Raymond were late, so Colin wasn't present during the birthday song. So were Kyran's. His dad is Uncle Sebastian.
Tricia playing with balloons. On her right is Uncle Raymond, Colin's dad. On the left is Uncle James, Darilyn's dad.
Mama would like to thank all the friends and family. Thanks for bringing the kids and all those presents! Mama regrets Papa did not take enough pictures, left out some guests as well :(
Here is Cass, freshly showered with hair neatly combed. She must be thinking today's going to be an exciting day. She keeps smiling and grinning to see the furniture shifted and balloons popping up from under the dining table.
Papa gives Cass a pink balloon. Look.. the balloon is bigger than me :)
Ding-dong! Here comes the cake in a very big box.
One of the first guests, Uncle Adrian and Auntie SK.
Mama's and Papa's friends came to the party with their kids. Auntie June with Terese, Tricia and Jaden.
Here's Nigel, staring at the cake. He's waiting to sing the birthday song and help to blow out the candle.
Cass is so happy to be with these 2 fine gentlemen. Who wouldn't be? ;)
Everyone's ready, let's pose for the camera and start. Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday to you.. Happy Birthday to Cassandra... Happy Birthday to you!
As Uncle Leonard says in his blog, the birthday girl or boy always gets emotional. :) That's Auntie Liselle in the corner. (Sorry no proper pics with you..)
Nigel helping to blow out the birthday candle.
Mama's buddies from SIM, Uncle Leonard, Uncle Desmond and Auntie YaLing are here except Auntie Nicole. Here's Uncle Leonard's family: Auntie Celest, Nigel and Shannon.
Very proud parents!
Cass' grandparents and cousin Casey.
Papa's aunt and sister, Grand auntie and Auntie Swee Hia, Casey's mum.
It's hard work being an Australian Idol, says Jaden.
Cass would very much to play with Darilyn, if only she were not so shy. She was clinging to Auntie Doris the whole time. Uncle James had to fetch food for them. Say, Darilyn's birthday should be coming up soon.
Here's Colin, Cass' favourite chum. Colin's only 6 months old, but he's strong. In the corner is Kyran. His one-month old brother, Cayden, was also at the party, but he's sleeping in Auntie Aileen's arms.
Auntie Janice and Uncle Raymond were late, so Colin wasn't present during the birthday song. So were Kyran's. His dad is Uncle Sebastian.
Tricia playing with balloons. On her right is Uncle Raymond, Colin's dad. On the left is Uncle James, Darilyn's dad.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Where is Papa?
Poor Cass misses her papa. She woke up at 5.30am yesterday, called out for her papa while mama went to prepare her milk. Today she woke up at 4.30am, again called out to her papa but no response.
Ask her where's papa and she cocks her head to see if he's in the bathroom. Then she remembers she last waved goodbye to him at the door, so she points to the door and made a little wave. :)
Papa's coming home from Malacca tonight!
Ask her where's papa and she cocks her head to see if he's in the bathroom. Then she remembers she last waved goodbye to him at the door, so she points to the door and made a little wave. :)
Papa's coming home from Malacca tonight!
Thursday, October 20, 2005
"Children are like sponges"..so the saying goes
To me, it definitely holds some truth.
Cass picks up hand gestures, facial expressions, sound effects (luckily no bad habits yet!) from those around her. Say 'brush teeth' and she does a up and down motion with her fist holding an imaginary toothbrush, or say 'shower' and she rubs her chest with imaginary soap :)
Although i don't totally agree with the word 'sponge' cos most of the things she does with intuition and thinking too. Take the case of the comb. When i bought her a new one, totally different from the one we used on her 'early' hair, she immediately put it to her head and brush it around. The amazing this is she would switch hands to comb the other side. Now that is defintely not 'sponging' :)
Cass picks up hand gestures, facial expressions, sound effects (luckily no bad habits yet!) from those around her. Say 'brush teeth' and she does a up and down motion with her fist holding an imaginary toothbrush, or say 'shower' and she rubs her chest with imaginary soap :)
Although i don't totally agree with the word 'sponge' cos most of the things she does with intuition and thinking too. Take the case of the comb. When i bought her a new one, totally different from the one we used on her 'early' hair, she immediately put it to her head and brush it around. The amazing this is she would switch hands to comb the other side. Now that is defintely not 'sponging' :)
Monday, October 17, 2005
Carsick?
Recently, Cass has been sticking her tongue out or chewing on her finger (guess her gums must be itchy). This makes her gag and likely to throw up if she just had her meal.
Here's a pic where Grandma is holding up a plastic bag for Cass in the car.
Here's a pic where Grandma is holding up a plastic bag for Cass in the car.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Mama and Cass' special moments
Cass' 1st birthday is coming up and Mama is preparing a small party with lots of little children to play with Cass.
After shopping for the party stuff, Mama tried baking a cake...as it's been a long time since she last did one.
For those of you who like 3D pictures, see if you can make out the wordings on the cake. :)
Here's Cass enjoying the breeze and looking at the birds flying by..
Cass' new wardrobe and sleeping net
Mama has been busy picking out and setting up Cass' new wardrobe. The little angel has so many dresses from all the well wishers, it's time she gets a wardrobe of her own. We used to house all her clothes in Mama's dresser, so they were always a little creased. :(
Mama picked out this wardrobe from Ikea and Vic helped to set it up one night. Pasted some bunny and flower stickers to give it a finishing touch.
With the recent spat of dengue fever going around in Singapore, thought it might be a cool idea to put up a net for Cass. Especially since the nights are cooler now with the rainy season, no need for airconditioning at night. With windows open, all sorts of inserts can find their way into the house.
Vic and Jeff also had a hard time drilling a hole in the ceiling for the net. Cos the bit was broken and the good one was still in Jeff's home. Finally it's up and Cass enjoyed tugging at the net and waving it around.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Grandpa's going home
Thank you Grandpa for the Adidas sandals, Grandma for the new dress.
Today Grandpa will take the Air Asia flight back to Miri, before heading to Brunei. So he has to take the bus to JB's Senai airport.
Grandpa is sad to leave Cass, came to Mama's room early in the morning to carry her. While Mama went to prepare milk, Grandpa noticed Cass is chewing away and grinning. He discovered it was a lump of toilet paper and Cass bit anyone who tried to remove it. Too late, she swallowed it. And she washed it all down with a big bottle of milk. :)
Monday, September 26, 2005
Monday, September 19, 2005
Jeff and Veron's wedding dinner at Quality Hotel on Sept 18, 2005!
Everyone's having a ball of a time, including Darling Cass! It's her first night out for dinner at a restaurant. She stayed up till about 8.30pm, then slept in the stroller which we brought along.
Here's Grandma, Grandpa and Cass before the dinner, taken at the hotel's family suite.
Here's Vic looking like a bouncer! On the left is Great-Grandma 'Ah Tai', on the right is Nonie.
Papa and Cass' cousin, Casey.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Cass' first trip to the Singapore Zoological Gardens.
Yesterday, after Mama left work, she brought Cass and the other visitors from Brunei to the Zoo. Cass had a great time, from the moment she step inside and saw the monkeys at the entrance to the farm animals and ponies at the children's park.
She was very exhausted after that, slept in the stroller along the way out. :)
Today, Cass went to the Jurong Bird Park. We left by LRT then MRT all the way to Boon Lay, where we had lunch at Jurong Point before boarding the bus.
Cass loved the penguins the most but silly Mama didn't manage a nice photo of Cass with penguins. So here are some swans and ducks instead. :)
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Hi Mama...
Mama is trying out the Hello kitty digital camera cum camcorder, which Papa got from the Fujitsu convention in Japan.
Not bad pics, eh?
Check it out at http://www.che-ez.com/vu2_sanrio/index.html
Not bad pics, eh?
Check it out at http://www.che-ez.com/vu2_sanrio/index.html
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Yum Yum..
When it comes to food, nothing escapes Cass. Her favs are bee hoon, noodles, kway teow and pasta, be it fried or soupy.
Here she is, munching on fried tom yam bee hoon Grandma made for Mama's breakfast. Munching away like a cow munching on grass.
I am very intrigued by what nature has intended, for babies to naturally munch food on their front 4 teeth without being taught to do so.
You should have seen her gnaw away on bananas and corn-on-the-cob!
Here she is, munching on fried tom yam bee hoon Grandma made for Mama's breakfast. Munching away like a cow munching on grass.
I am very intrigued by what nature has intended, for babies to naturally munch food on their front 4 teeth without being taught to do so.
You should have seen her gnaw away on bananas and corn-on-the-cob!
Naughty Cass
Cass is so mischievious, Grandma has to 'contain' her in either the laundry basket or shopping trolley. There's even a wooden stool for her to sit on, lest she gets tired of standing.
But the little darling is like 'ah pek at kopitiam', see her one leg on the stool...
Those yellow sandals with a little green crocodile motif were from a departmental store in Miri, Sarawak (East Malaysia). There were about RM$3.90 (less than S$2) !!
But the little darling is like 'ah pek at kopitiam', see her one leg on the stool...
Those yellow sandals with a little green crocodile motif were from a departmental store in Miri, Sarawak (East Malaysia). There were about RM$3.90 (less than S$2) !!
Monday, September 12, 2005
Great-grandma is here....
It's been 5 months since Cass last saw Great-Grandma, so Cass only smiles and waves to her from afar... the minute she holds her, she purses her lips and start whining. :(
Cass has forgiven Grandpa, or so it seems, for letting her slid to the ground (see other story), but all was spoken too soon. Grandpa just had to brush her hand to his stubble before he shaved, that scared her too, sent her wailing... again. So Grandpa has to wait again. Sigh..
It's been 5 months since Cass last saw Great-Grandma, so Cass only smiles and waves to her from afar... the minute she holds her, she purses her lips and start whining. :(
Cass has forgiven Grandpa, or so it seems, for letting her slid to the ground (see other story), but all was spoken too soon. Grandpa just had to brush her hand to his stubble before he shaved, that scared her too, sent her wailing... again. So Grandpa has to wait again. Sigh..
Friday, September 09, 2005
Something amusing...
Everyday Cass is learning new things and eager to show them to us, like clapping hands, playing twinke twinkle little stars, and patting her chest to indicate she's afraid :)
Yesterday, we were at the playground. Grandpa put her on the rocking seat. He let her sit for a second to take her picture and she slid to the ground. She wasn't hurt as the playground was rubber padded, but boy, did she cry...
Cass rarely cries, so when she does, she'll show the whole world ;)
She didn't let Grandpa come close to her after that... not even after her nap. It's like she remembers the incident very dearly. Ouch! I'm sure Grandpa felt hurt, after all, he dotes on the little darling and just arrived in Singapore the night before... :)
This morning, she was all smiles again. When she saw Grandpa snoring in his sleep, she woke him with a 'Eh...' and a slap to the hand.
Everyday Cass is learning new things and eager to show them to us, like clapping hands, playing twinke twinkle little stars, and patting her chest to indicate she's afraid :)
Yesterday, we were at the playground. Grandpa put her on the rocking seat. He let her sit for a second to take her picture and she slid to the ground. She wasn't hurt as the playground was rubber padded, but boy, did she cry...
Cass rarely cries, so when she does, she'll show the whole world ;)
She didn't let Grandpa come close to her after that... not even after her nap. It's like she remembers the incident very dearly. Ouch! I'm sure Grandpa felt hurt, after all, he dotes on the little darling and just arrived in Singapore the night before... :)
This morning, she was all smiles again. When she saw Grandpa snoring in his sleep, she woke him with a 'Eh...' and a slap to the hand.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Bubbles... Cass is having a great time with grandma. She loves to pop the bubbles with her finger.
Later, we went to Miao Yi restaurant at Coronation Plaza for lunch. Jeff wanted to try the food, see if it's good for his wedding buffet.
Papa gives Cass a hug and kiss for being a good girl. Cass finished her meal and never once made any fuss at the restaurant, even when she missed her nap.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Yippee! Shopping with grandma, mama and auntie Poni.
Grandma's looking for a new dress for Jeff's wedding in Sept. Off we went to Plaza Singapura, where we found 'Rose of Sharon'. The salesperson kept persuading grandma to try this and that. Take your time, Grandma... Cass waiting patiently or just hanging around, 'literally'.
She's taking a long time and those suits and dresses are quite 'standard'.
Now try the greyish blue dress, try it, try it... finally she relented.
Grandma's looking for a new dress for Jeff's wedding in Sept. Off we went to Plaza Singapura, where we found 'Rose of Sharon'. The salesperson kept persuading grandma to try this and that. Take your time, Grandma... Cass waiting patiently or just hanging around, 'literally'.
She's taking a long time and those suits and dresses are quite 'standard'.Now try the greyish blue dress, try it, try it... finally she relented.
Huh, it's that you, grandma?
We won't be revealing the actual dress anytime soon :)
Can I have $1, please? This doesn't work without coins..
It's the first time Cass sat in the kiddy ride (err.. stationary one as we didn't have any $1 coins). Can you believe it? Back when i was a kid, it was like only 20cents per ride?
Later, Papa came and we had pizza at Pasta Mania before going home. Cass was late for bed, at 8pm. Anyway, she had a reason to... Happy Birthday, Papa!