Sera's birthday party

We had a lovely celebration for Sera's 2nd birthday with family and good friends. Her cousins and uncles (all below the age of 8 years old : ) played with her at the pool, just before they dug into dinner. I hope everyone had a good time because Sera surely did. Thank you dear family and friends for celebrating Sera's 2nd birthday with us, for the generous gifts and also the many well wishes from family and friends from abroad. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SERA!

After a swim, the girls were relaxing on the sofas, checking out the karaoke selection

The colourful balloons brightened up the room, thanks kor, ma, auntie Ivy and Sue for the balloon decorations!

Of course, there was an abundance of yummy food ....

Birthday cake time! Sera was singing along while everyone sang the 'Happy Birthday!' song


"Sera, check out the bees on your cake. Grandma made them just for you!"


She cuts the cake


And pulls out the candles ... she appeared to know the steps to cake cutting. Apparently there's been too many cake cutting sessions in the family!


A happy family

The long awaited arrival ... well, actually second to the new baby

Papa's longest work day and longest flight to Singapore came to an end today when he FINALLY arrived! We were at the airport to receive Johan but didn't tell Sera why we were actually there. The whole idea was to see her reaction when she spotted her papa by herself. Ha ha. So when he was just a few metres from the glass sliding door of the arrival hall, we asked Sera, "Who's that?" She curiously looked, went on tip toes and even strained her neck (there was reflection from the glass doors) to see who we were referring to.

And when she saw Johan, her immediate reaction was to run towards the sliding doors crying out, "Papa ... papa ... papa!" It all happened too fast for us to react, but the security guard quickly ran towards her, attempted to stop her from entering the Arrival Hall. Ha ha! What a scene. Johan picked her up and she had this unbelievable, lovestruck look on her face. "Papa ... papa ... papa", she kept on whispering while touching his face, followed with kisses, hugs and many "I love you". Yup, she was deliriously happy and her emotions were unstoppable and overflowing. Her papa was finally here, with her ...

She leaps into Johan's arm and doesn't let go until we reach the car

Reunited, at last ...

She didn't even mind it when Johan placed this hat on her. Sera does not like anything on her head, per se.

Playing 9 to 5

Playing is hard work, at least for Evan and myself, two pregnant moms, who had to play hard with our little girls yesterday. Thank goodness grandma was around to watch over Sera! We set off at about 9am and didn't return home till 5pm ... and I was the most tired among all. Ha ha!

First stop, in the morning, was to Jacob Ballas Garden, at Botanical Garden, a lovely interactive garden made especially for kids till 12 years old. We took a leisurely stroll through the garden and then serious playtime happened when they stepped in the sandy playground and the water sprinkler pit. We spent the most time at the water pit just because it was literally the coolest place for parents and kids to cool off. Sera tried her hardest to keep dry, avoiding the sprinklers but mischievous grandma had something else up her sleeve!

Sera and grandma on the swinging bridge. Sera didn't like this one bit. Everyone was persuading her to get on it, which she finally did, albeit cautiously and not so enthusiastically.

Sera and Chloe at the sandy playground, helping themselves with toys that weren't theirs

At the water pit, Evan shows how to pump water manually.
The girls were quite fascinated by this simple contraption.

Ok, the following sequence is quite funny courtesy of grandma. Sera was trying her hardest not to get hit by the sprinklers. The problem was that she didn't realise that they came on and off every few minutes. So unbeknownst to her, grandma sneakily plonks her in the Danger Zone.

First STRIKE! She was doused in the sprinklers. She immediately went on all fours, and crawled miserably out of the downpour.


The shocked, little drenched 'rat'

STRIKE TWO! Again, grandma puts her in another Danger Zone. The other kids seem to know that the water was going to gush out from round metal plate in the middle. She joins them, unaware that ...


... she was, once again, being tricked by grandma! Ha ha ha


All dried up and clean, Sera and Chloe feast on healthy snacks prepared by Evan

We decided that we still had more room to have fun, so we drove to the other end of the island, to Downtown East. After lunch, which Sera slept through, we headed to Explore Kids for more monkeying around with the girls. After processing their 'club membership', we spend an hour in the indoor explore play park. Honestly, I was quite beat by then so grandma went into the Mega Play (a 3-storey obstacle) with Sera, climbing, crawling and bouncing around. Ha ha ha. Grandma will always be young considering she has to re-live her childhood over and over again with every grandchild!

And on the insistence of auntie Evan, we saved our littlest bit of energy for the Ferris wheel ride. Each family sat in their own little cage and needless to say, it wasn't just the kids that was so fascinated and maybe confused by the wheel, the adults were equally thrilled.

It was a long day but one that was filled with so much fun ... thanks Evan and Chloe for being so much fun!

Taking a photograph for her club membership

Bumping along in the Mega Play obstacle

Pausing for a photo before they continued their gruelling trek

Sera and grandma in a 'submarine' like tube

Disco like ball pool

The girls had a great time swimming in the clear plastic ball pool that had lights from below that changed every few minutes

All caged up in the Ferris Wheel


A top view of Evan and Chloe in the cage below us

Sera was clearly amused by the Ferris Wheel and was looking out for Evan and Chloe throughout the ride

A contented Sera, after a long day of play, watching Hi 5 ...

Happy Father's Day!

Dearest Papa,

Just for you, on Father's Day, I wore this pretty lime green dress! Check out this tiny white handbag grandma bought for me, and the bracelets that she made me wear! What a 'tai tai' I've become yah?


We went to Artz Pizza, at East Coast Park, for lunch. It was a very nice, quirky place and very laid back ... there was even a mini Merlion there?


I had your favourite Marguerita pizza, topped with mushrooms, and ice cream (but of course) for lunch.


Grandma, mama and I went for a stroll, by the beach. I was chasing and trying to catch the many birds ...


I stopped to check out the big footprints on the pavement ... '1, 2, 3, 4, 5 toes'. When you're here, I'll count to 5 in Spanish for you yah?


I made a friend, Crystal, a white fluffy dog with black boots ...



Her owner and grandma were coaxing me to pet her, look how they grabbed hold of my hand to touch her!


In the end, I couldn't resist and petted her on my own ... she was very sweet!


I love you papa ... see you very, very soon!


Liefs,
Sera Ling

Kung Fu cousins

It was Kung Fu Panda movie time for the three cousins this afternoon. As expected, the three of them were uncontrollably excited about going to the movies. And to add to the hyper trio, Chloe also joined us! So just before we entered the cinema, all four of them were kicking a storm outside the lobby area. The rest of us adults were just lounging on the sofas, looking at their tireless energy. The animated movie was entertaining for all of us. The kids didn't fidget and were glued to their seats, transfixed by all the action on the big screen.

Isaac and Sera posed sweetly for me, while Aaron continued to run around

Isaac, continued to stay put to pose for me. Ha ha!

Finally, I got Aaron to stay put for 2 secs and then he was off again

Grandma with Sera and Isaac ... and too late, Aaron zipped away


They settle into their comfy seats, rapidly stuffing popcorn into their mouths.
Shhhh ... movie is about to start.

Isaac's birthday

Isaac's fishing party was blessed with the biggest downpour ever. Despite the bad weather, we braved the rain and travelled across the island to spend the morning with the birthday boy. It was a bit of a mess - everyone got wet and some of us caught a fish or two. But there was delicious food, the company was good and the ice cream cake was yummy ... that's all we needed for a good time! Happy 6th birthday Isaac!

Isaac looking a little glum because of the rain but he was the first to snag a fish

The fishermen in action

Isaac and his friend, Brian, getting live bait

Finally, a big smile from the birthday boy!

The Great Singapore Sale

The famous Great Singapore Sale, which lasts for nearly two months, lures shoppers near and far unto our shores for their luck in getting good bargains. Well, I don't really buy into any of these sales ... really! But there were these cushions that were crying out for me to buy them ... and of course they were on discount! Ha ha. As you can see, Sera wasn't too pleased with all the bags around her.

http://www.greatsingaporesale.com.sg/

The colour blue

"Sera, what colour are the leaves on the trees?"

"BLUE!"

"What colour is your dress?" (it's pink)

"BLUE!"

What colour are the eggs? (they're white and brown)

"BLUE, BLUE ... BLUE!"

Apparently, her world seems to be very blue ...? Last Thursday, she was down with a flu, which later aggravated to a nasty cough.

"Sera, what colour are you feeling?"

"Blueeeeee ... "

Well at least she got that right. 'Blue' photos of Sera ...