"She's paying off"

Johan and I have this silly joke about how Sera is already "paying off" when she does little chores around the house (even without me asking!). She proudly calls herself my 'little helper' and most of the time, she really does help me. Yasmin, on the other hand, definitely needs some training. ha ha.

Pushing the trolley cart at the supermarket


Lining our waste baskets after taking out the trash ... perfect!


Feeding Yasmin ... she just loves doing this. Check out Sera's mouth!


This one, on the other hand is TROUBLE, with a capital T! Drawers, cupboards, bins, shoe rack, my bag, CDs, laundry basket, remote controls ... NOTHING is untouchable to her. 'groan'

We have even resorted to our first ever child-proof gadget purchase (the carton already being chewed by Yas) since we had Sera.

All she wants to do is walk ...

Here's Yas making a round through our kitchen, into our living room, pass our dining area and back. One full circle!

All she wants to do is walk! from Que Sera Sera on Vimeo.

4 years later

A phone call, this morning, from Johan ...

"Baby, this is your husband of 4 years .... "

Yah, that's Johan ... his romantic version of wishing me on our 4th anniversary. As a couple, we don't typically celebrate dates. We'll comment or remark on it but that's really about it. No flowers, no gifts, no cards. We do have one gift exchange exception and that is, our birthdays. I've put my foot down on that simply because birthdays are special and unique. But yes, it's been 4 years. It has been a wonderful and admittedly, a tricky journey. I'd never have imagined this life that I have now, but I wouldn't change it for anything. Not ever.

No Sera and Yasmin ... unimaginable!

Cakes, better yet with candles, always get our girls all excited (photo courtesy by Sera)

Who said you can only blow out candles on your birthday?

Thanks ma and pa for the lovely flowers!

Our big little Yasmin

We are definitely guilty as charged when it comes to being a little blase about Yasmin's baby milestones. That is not to say we don't get excited but in fact, are extremely proud of her little achievements. It just gets applauded in delayed fashion. Tsk Tsk!

Yas, we love you and we do realise that you have been calling us 'mama' and 'papa' for a while already. Your walking has improved by leaps, literally. You not only walk all over the house steadily but you carry things (pails, books and toys ... ) while walking! You play by yourself so very independently and you no longer need your food pureed. You're becoming such a big girl, always wanting to immulate your sister, Sera. You and Sera communicate very well but at the same time, you both can really rile each other up. But I always make sure both of you kiss, hug and make up immediately.

Keep it up Yas! Big hugs from your mama, papa and Sera ...

She's all ready for her holiday in Tioman!

Little Miss Chatterbox

Johan and I have grown to love being parents to our two girls. We got excited with every single milestone that Sera achieved (as with Yasmin now) and when she started to talk, we wished she would never stop. And when she started singing, we thought, "we didn't need the radio or music CDs ... Sera's singing was all we needed!"

Boy, were we so wrong ...

Sera just does not stop talking. And when she sings, she just does not stop singing. When we read her a story, she ends up 'reading' her version of the story. When we tell her a story, she ends up telling us her story. When we sing her a song, she'll hush us, and end up singing us a song.

Don't get us wrong ... we love that she loves to talk and sing but ... Sera darling, sometimes silence is really golden!

Here is a video of Sera just before bedtime singing a song about two cheeky monkeys that were teasing Mr. Crocodile, and in the end being snapped by him. Enjoy!

"Two cheeky monkeys ... " from Que Sera Sera on Vimeo.

Yas' fringe

I've been thinking about it, to give her fringe or not. ha ha. Yes, such deep and important thinking I do these days. I think she looks sweet with her fringe swept to the side with a clip but the clip NEVER stays on. I spend a good part of the day, re-fastening her hair clips ... like I have nothing else better to do. Well, aside from mulling over whether to cut her fringe or not. So this morning, I did it. And then I instantly regretted it!

It's only hair, it'll grow back. And she's just a baby ... she wouldn't know how I've butchered her hair. Sorry Yas!

But that forlorn look she has is not dismay over her fringe ... Yas is sick, with a fever and a throat infection. Poor baby, bad hair and a bad throat ... the worst combination ever!

Sunday

Sundays are pretty relaxed and quiet in our household. It's the first day of the work week here and we, the three girls, usually just hang out at home, reflect on the (usually packed) weekend past ... well, just enjoy each other's company.

And today, Sera realised that grandma was really not staying with us. 'gulp'. We had a busy weekend so she was caught up in the activities but today, she was a little glum, had a 'I miss grandma' meltdown followed by a short phone call to grandma, which instantly put a big smile to her face and mood. Yasmin is walking a lot more since a week ago. Her steps are more steady, a little wider and the cutest thing is how we always catch her practising, tongue hanging out of her mouth, determinedly.

We miss you ma but will be seeing you very soon ... better yet, we'll be holidaying with the whole family in a few weeks. Yeah!

Sera was supposed to finish the rest of Yasmin's yoghurt but ended up feeding Yasmin ... she did a pretty decent job for her first attempt at feeding Yas

Sera wanted a crown for her 'princess' dress so I decided to be a little crafty and create one from leftover scraps. She wasn't so impressed though because she readily gave it to Yas

Hanging out on the balcony after lunch. This photo of Yas taken by Sera

The girls flock to Johan and do not leave him (or his food) alone when he comes back from work

Who wears it best?

The drill

The four of us having breakfast.

Sera: "Papa, I need to pooooooooo."
Johan: "Ok, Sera, go to the toilet then ... you know the drill."
Sera: "I don't know how to drill .... !!!??!!!"

Her quick response (albeit wrong in context) was really candid (and caught us off guard) because she really thought Johan was being silly. Johan and I looked at each other and we just burst out laughing. This sassy girl of ours. Sera started to laugh and then of course, Yas decided she just had to join in too.

Ok, it was funny ... you just had to be there.

Five little steps

Nothing goes to waste in this house!

Today, just two days shy of turning 10 months old, Yasmin walked ... five little steps! Our kitchen here is a lot more spacious than in our previous apartment, thus we've been hanging out in the kitchen quite a bit. Yas has also taken to using some 'tools' in the kitchen - the kitchen bin, the plastic stools and the empty water containers - anything that enables her to move around the house. Way to go Yas!

5 little steps from Que Sera Sera on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Grandma's birthday from Que Sera Sera on Vimeo.

Sera and I had an important errand to run today and that was to get grandma a yummy birthday cake. Sera was so very excited. She wanted to cut the cake right after we bought the cake but she had to wait till Johan got back from work. She sang for grandma and for all her patience, she finally got herself a slice of the cake. Yasmin didn't even ask, she just plunged her fingers into the cake and helped herself to the cream frosting.

We have moved!

We have finally moved into our apartment at Green Community after two intensive days of packing (we had hired help of course!). Sera and Yasmin were thrilled by the new apartment and were exploring it, mindless of the dust and the utter mess. We managed to unpack and put things away in two days, despite having both girls down with a cold and in our face all the time, myself with a throat infection and Johan, recovering from a cold too. I know, what awful timing to be sick right? But the most important person, grandma, remained very healthy and VERY HELPFUL. We would have been hopeless without you ma!

Green Community, tucked away at the furthest south of Dubai, is literally a green and very lush haven in the middle of massive construction. I know, it's almost impossible not to live beside some sort of construction here. Sera has, as expected, adjusted to her new environment very eagerly and honestly, just loved it at first sight. Seeing so much greenery, children playing outside and believe it or not, hearing birds chirping all day, has opened her eyes and mind to many happy thoughts and endless possibilities. Hopefully this 'brand new day' optimism will always be kept alive in her.

So thank you one and all for your kinds thoughts, support and most importantly, prayers ... everyone is invited to visit and stay with us!

Moving on

We say goodbye to our friends, our cosy apartment and the pretty village of Old Town with some sadness but also look forward to a new beginning (and to Johan driving less for work) at Green Community, far south of Dubai. We've had great memories of our time at downtown Burj Dubai but now, we're ready for a new adventure!

At Burj Dubai Lake