Ethan Chai's 2nd Birthday @ Gymboree

Denise attended Ethan's 2nd birthday celebration at Gymboree, Marine Parade Central on May 29th. It was real fun for the children! There were activities planned for them and Denise enjoyed herself thoroughly...:) The teachers even commented that she has great social skills as she had no problem participating in the activities except for a few occasions where she wanted us to help her up and down the ladder.

The cake was a very nice Mickey Mouse! And the host prepared home-made mini-pizzas and chocolate crepe for us! Even the drinks provided was "less in sugar"...:) It was a totally healthy and child-friendly party which both the adults and children enjoyed!

Fever!!!

Denise was down with a fever last Tuesday (May 1). Her fever usually does not last more than 2 days and we were not too worried either. However, her temperature escalated in the night and we decided to bring her to the doctor. See how hip she is even though she was sick...:p

Doctor gave her paracetemol and antibiotics to ease her throat infection. But it didn't help...:( I took 2 days off on Thursday and Friday to look after her at home. Finally we couldn't take it anymore! Brought her to Gleneagles on Saturday evening and her temperature was 39.8 degrees!!!

Doctor gave her a suppository which should bring her temperature down fast. Supposed to ward her but only 4-bedder rooms left. As isolating her would be a better choice, we decided to bring her home with the stronger medication given.

Praise God! She obediently took all the medication and her temperature is much lower today...:) Usually I am not too worried about viral fever but 6 days of fever?!? After I came back from the hospital, a friend told me, "See, I told you that it is a viral fever...ha..." I was a little mad!!!

By the way, I already knew that it was a viral fever...but what virus is that? Denise never had fever for more than 2 days and I am not taking chances... Read too many horrible stories of parents losing their young children to bacteria attack...and I AM NOT TAKING CHANCES!!!

Anyway, she is well and up again! Will keep her away from school for another day. Back to work for me and school for her on Tuesday!

Denise the Photographer (1)

These are Denise's first photography display!!! :) Snap-shots of her DVD collection and things she finds in the house, including me working on my laptop....hahah....

Potato-Man

Part of Denise's school curriculum is Art & Craft. She has been bringing back many interesting works that she did in school. We bought Ikea boxes to keep them in her room. This Potato-Man is one of the more interesting ones but doubt if I can keep it for long since it's made from REAL potato... Better snap a picture before it starts to rot!

Denise - Miss Universe

We just bought a new digital camera. It is very slim and convenient to be brought out to anywhere. We went to Centrepoint today and bought Denise her first real sunglasses and couldn't resist the temptation to take photos of her with our new camera!

"Astro-Girl" - Denise

Found this interesting shop in Bugis that sells Astro stuff. The salesgirl even allowed Denise to take pictures with the figurines!

That "SMILE"

The 2 photos of Denise that never fail to bring a smile to my face!
Isn't she adorable? Even the small eyes look good on her...hahaha....

Denise's Best Friends

For those of you that subscribe to Disney Playhouse Channel, you will notice a Yellow Clay that appears on screen to introduce the next program. There is one particular segment where he will introduce his best friend, Green Clay.

Last night, when that segment appeared, I casually asked Denise who her best friends are. She replied, "Daddy, Mummy and Baby Debbie!"

It is heart-warming to know that she has already included Debbie into the family! This is our 1st family portrait!

Denise, My Girl!

JX and myself brought Denise to the market and I had fainting spells. As it wasn't the first time, Denise did not make a fuss when we had to cut-short the trip and head back into the car. Usually when JX goes and get food, Denise will insist on wanting to follow. However, that night, she told Daddy, "I will stay in the car to take care of Mummy!" I was so touched! My girl has "grown up"....:)


All the late night feedings, frustrations when she doesn't take instructions, wetting of bed, constant whining... Sigh, it's all worth it!

Denise Back in Action!

It's been a looooo.....nnnnng time since I last posted for Denise. Sigh...blame it on my complacency...

Anyway, this is the latest with Denise...

She has been tying her hair in school. Finally I can keep her hair long without having to worry about them falling all over her face...:)

This is Denise and her nursery friend, Ethan. See how they have grown when they met again in nursery recently!


And this is the latest photo we took of her when we brought her to the Arcade last weekend. This Super-Mario car racing machine allows you to take a picture before the game begins. This is Super-Denise!!!

A Trip To Sentosa (Jan 3-4)

During my 2 week's break, I was too tired to travel overseas. However we wanted to do something different with Denise. Decided to travel "overseas" to SENTOSA! (ha..ha...)

Went to the beach; the weather was super-good for beach. As it was a weekday, the Siloso beach was near empty. We had a fun time building sand-castle and letting Denise get herself wet and dirty in the sand! Initially she was afraid of the muddy water, then she decided to venture deeper into the water...:)


We checked into Siloso Beach Resort for a night. It is a new resort, located just beside Siloso Beach. Its facilities is very new and all their hotel rooms face the beach! The pool is huge; it has a water slide and a giant water feature! We could even enjoy the sea view when we had breakfast at its rooftop the next morning!


For the 2D1N trip (...:p), we visited the Siloso Beach, Musical Fountain, Underwater World, Dolphin Lagoon and even had lunch at Sakae Sushi. It was enjoyable because we did not have to rush through the visits and when we were tired, we even get to nap in our room. Not bad for a Sentosa trip...:)

Outing To The Zoo (New Year Day)

This is a super-outdated update.

We brought Denise to the Zoo on New Year Day (Jan 1) with Joshua and the Choong family. Her 1st visit was when she was 8 months old. This time, she could appreciate the animals more.

We arrived at 9.30am; the weather was super good - cloudy and the air was fresh. By the time we left at 12.30pm, the crowd was pouring in and the sun was up too! To the kids, it was a fun day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Look at the mountain of presents I've received this Christmas!

A BIG Thank You to all Uncles and Aunties for your presents!

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Denise 3rd Birthday Celebration

Denise's actual birthday falls on Dec 27, which is too near to the end of the year. We decided to celebrate her birthday earlier in school.

I think 3 years old is a good age to start celebrating a kid's birthday. Everything that she had that day was decided by her...
- A Barney cake
- A Barney "pull-string" pinata (each child takes turn to pull a ribbon; only one ribbon releases the candies inside. Recommended for younger children as they do not have much strength to hit the usual pinata)
- Yakult for every friend
- "wang wang" biscuit

It was truly a tiring affair for me but the children enjoyed themselves. Especially when the candies dropped from the pinata, they went wild! Everyone was on all four, trying to grab as much candies as possible.

Thank you to Denise's friends for all the presents! You certainly made Denise's day!!!

Bob The Builder

Whenever we drove past United Square, Denise will exclaimed at the sight of Bob The Builder's banners hanging on the street lamps. I, very much, wanted to bring her but felt that the ticket is a little too pricey for a 45mins show.

Thank God for nice colleagues! One of them gave me 2 free tickets to a Friday afternoon show. Immediately I took half day leave to bring Denise. Sure enough, it was nothing spectacular. If the tickets were not free, I would not have brought Denise. Watching the VCD at the comfort of our living room would have been more enjoyable for me. But of course, this is never about me, isn't it?

Denise was totally thrilled!!!

December 10, Milestone for Denise

December 10, 2006 marks an important milestone for Denise's development! She finally stopped after nursing for 2 years, 11 months and 13 days!!!

It was easier than I thought. I told her that "mummy has a baby and she needs to give mummy's milk to baby" and explained to her that she is old enough to eat other food and drink Milo but baby is very young; baby only drinks milk. Initially she says she will "share" but eventually agreed that she will "give" the milk-milk to baby! How sensible!

Since then, she has not been nursing at all!!! There are times that she will ask me if she can drink milk-milk, but when I remind her that baby needs milk, she will not ask anymore.

Like what Pastor Ulf prophesied about her during her baby dedication, "she will understand complicated things"... Indeed, at such a young age, she is already understanding complicated things...:)

Trip To KL

This week, we went to KL to celebrate Auntie Sharon's birthday. Denise was very excited as she was looking forward to visit her best friends, Nicole and Joshua. When we were there, she did not even want to go out with us. We just left her at their place and she played with them the entire day!!!

It was a 4 day trip that left us even more tired. Denise woke up with puffy eyes this morning. Must be due to the lack of sleep...:p

Daddy Away For Business Trip

JX has been away for business trip since Sunday. He is finally coming back tonight!!! Denise has been asking "where is Daddy" and "is he in Bangkok" etc... And she has been rather bored at home because Daddy is not around to play with her.

Finally I can tell her "Daddy is coming back tonight!" and we are fetching him from airport after CG. We are looking forward to all the presents he has bought....:)

A Trip To The Market

This morning I brought Denise to the food centre for breakfast! She wanted to bring her "baby" along. She promised to push the trolley herself and that's a good way to ensure that she walks on her own. The entire trip was smooth except for a short while when she whined for ice-cream and refused to push her trolley...:)

Tomato Ketchup!

There's just something about Tomato Ketchup that it seems all kids are crazy about! One friend of mine told me her child will eat ANYTHING as long as she adds tomato sauce to it. Initially I taught that was funny until I discovered Denise's love for tomato sauce...

Whenever we bring Denise to fast food restaurant, she will ask for "sauce". And if we eat at home, she will go to the refrigerator and take out the bottle herself.

Yesterday, our couple friend ordered room service before their wedding banquet. Guess what came with the food? 4 BABY BOTTLES OF HEINZ TOMATO KETCHUP!!! With our friends' permission, JX brought 1 home for Denise...:p

Now Denise has her personal bottle of Tomato Ketchup...:) See how cute it looks!

First Manicure Session

Denise was very fascinated by my nail polish. She volunteered to hold the bottle while I was applying them to my nails. Suddenly I had an inspiration! I asked her if she wanted some on her nails....:p

Guess what was her response? Can you see her pink finger nails?

FEVER!!!

Denise had fever on Monday night; had to bring her to the doctor on Tuesday. She was very obedient and cooperative. Doctor prescribed medicine for cough and running nose (the usual stuff). JX and myself took turns to look after her on Tuesday and Wednesday.

She went back to school on Thursday. When I picked her up, I saw her art & craft being displayed outside her classroom. Like a "kiasu" mum, I cannot help but compared her artwork with her classmates...:p

They are learning the letter "X" this week.

Hahah....comparing to the red one next to her, I must say Denise's purple X is a much nicer and neater one....!!!

A Trip To The Arcade

Brought Denise to Marina Square last week and she was "attracted" to the sound and lights of an arcade. Have you seen a little girl on a Para-Para Dance machine?

Here you go... Denise dancing away to the demo music!

Denise "THE FLOWERGIRL"

Last night, Denise finally walked down the aisle for Wee Boon and Dorcas' wedding...:) To be honest, I was not expecting that she will because before the Holy Matrimony, she refused to change into her dress!

However, before the banquet march-in, she was playing with the other flowergirl and the basket of rose petals when she suddenly told me that she wants to march-in. We did not even have a rehearsal! I just told her to walk beside the "jie-jie" and throw the petals on the red carpet.

When the music started, she walked and threw the petals like a pro! She just followed the red carpet and marched boldly to the front of the stage. Hahah...not bad for her first attempt!

Denise The Flowergirl

Denise's 1st Flowergirl experience was for Mike and Vina's wedding in May this year. She attended the rehearsal but refused to walk down during the Matrimony. Nicole had to do the "job" herself!









Then Willie and Jeslyn requested for her to be their Flowergirl early this month. They even bought her a very nice dress! However, I pre-warned them that she may be too shy to walk on actual day. Days before, we prepared Denise mentally and even promised her an ice-cream buffet!!! On the actual day? The other Flowergirl had to walk down with the Pageboy...hahha...

I noticed that even though Denise is an independent child; she tends to shy away when the attention is on her.

Despite all these "no-shows", Denise still have 2 more "guest appearances":-

- Oct 29 (Sun) Hyatt Hotel
- Dec 9 (Sat) Laguna Country Club

Watch out this space for updates if she eventually marches down the aisle!

Denise FIRST Arise & Build

Last Christmas, Francis and Cheng gave Denise a Piggy Bank. It is one of those clay piggy bank where you can design and paint it yourself. At that time, Denise was too young to paint on her own and I kept it in the storeroom instead.

During service last week, I was thinking of ways to get her involved in our coming Arise & Build and I was reminded of this piggy bank. Finally, it has come to great use! We will use it to save for Denise's FIRST CHC Arise & Build!!!


You can imagine her excitement when I took out the box. Without hesitation, she decided on a BLUE Piggy Bank. With my help, she added flowers, sun and other designs on it! We kept telling her that she must put money in to build God a GREAT House!

Her first contribution? $0.90 from JX...:)

Charity Car Wash

Pat's Schoolhouse is having their Charity Car Wash this week to raise funds for Chen Su Lan Children's Home. Parents are encouraged to drive in and have their cars washed at $20. As a supportive parent, I decided to register and pay $20 for my own daughter to wash my car....:p


Denise and her classmates were so excited! You can see their enthusiasm in the way they washed and scrubbed... Sure, it was fun and play for these toddlers but they were very serious with their work. They even scrubbed my car plate for me! I must say, with the help from their teachers, they did as good a job as those car wash you get from a petrol kiosk!

$20...well-spent for a good cause! I am sure it is an experience that Denise will not forget!

Happy Children's Day!!!

Oct 2 (Monday) was a school holiday. I decided to bring Denise to Auntie Bilin's condominium for a swim. It was something that I have always wanted to do with Denise. She was so excited! We reached the pool at 11.30a.m. Thank God it was cloudy and it was not that hot. We played and swam for about 1.5 hour.
By the time we reached home, she was so....so.... tired.... And both of us took a long....long....nap! Haha....great way to zap her energy and tire her out....:)

Different Hairstyles

Playing "hairdresser" with Denise at home; trying out different hairstyles.

Funny Faces

Denise made some silly faces the other day... haha.....

HAPPY...

ANGRY!!!

Denise's Study & Play Area

This is the Study Area that JX has setup for Denise; a place where she does her drawing and colouring. It is also a little corner where we keep her books. See how busy she is working on her laptop!


This Kitchen Set is a gift from Mel; one of Denise's all-time favorite toy!

First "Makeover" Session

Look at Denise; the natural lady-in-making! She must have observed how I put on my make-up every morning... She ia a professional when it comes to using the right applicator for the right feature!



She even had her dangling earrings and pearl necklace on!






All ready for her dinner date!!!

"Mummy, Please Don't Go..."

Last night was CG day. It was the first time Denise "begged" me not to leave her. "Mummy, please don't go..." She was whining all the way from the food centre to home. I carried her home, said goodbye and walked out of the house bravely. But knowing her, she calmed down quickly and even finished eating the WHOLE bowl of "ban mian" all by herself!

When I reached home at 10.45 p.m., she was already sleeping soundly on JX. In fact, that was how we used to calm her down when she was a baby. She was such a light sleeper that the only way to keep her sleeping for a long time was to put her on us! Look how she has grown!

Back To School...Finally...

Today is a DAY OF CELEBRATION...for both Denise and myself! :)

After a week of rest, Denise is finally going back to school. She was so happy when she went to bed last night. It was easy waking her this morning. She wanted to wear her Barney dress and even carried her own school bag....:)





I thank God that we never had to struggle with leaving her in school or Playgroup in church. She always look forward to learning and socializing with other children. She makes it easy for us. We never had to feel bad leaving her behind; knowing that she will enjoy herself!