New babies

Sera and Yassy adopted two babies a few days ago. An African baby called Zara and a Hispanic baby, Leila. Ha ha. Ok, baby dolls I might add. They are a little obsessed with them at the moment but it's also really sweet to see the girls go about their 'pretend play', and at the same time, very disturbing to see them carry the babies by their hair or necks. Gulp.

Yassy with baby Leila, who immediately pees when you feed her

The babies stashed on the trailer, going for a ride in Yassy's new tricycle

And Sera takes all of them for a ride

4 is a big deal!

Sera has finally turned 4! Not that we're in a hurry for her to age but after attending so many other birthday parties, she was counting down the days to her birthday. Turning 4, apparently, is a big deal to her. Since forever, she has been making a list of things she can do by 4. According to her, by 4, she'd swim without floaties (that she has been doing for a couple of months already) and she'd be cycling on her 'big' bicycle. However, unaware to her, is the practise that must come before the actual act.

I wanted to throw her a party, a very small one. Johan suggested 4 friends for her turning 4. Great idea in my opinion. So a few weeks before the party, I visualised the party in my head. A week before, I gave out the handmade invitations and started to add in more details in my mind. And two days before the party, I decided I really should have started preparing for the party. Hmm. Wanting to make it somewhat special for Sera, I took it upon myself to make the birthday cake and the butterfly pinata. I have to say, I enjoyed making the pinata especially designing and crafting it. But I should have sought Johan's help when it came to making sure the pinata would work, technically. For the birthday cake, all she wanted was a chocolate cake and I could not even deliver! Well, to be fair, it tasted yummy (using only the best wholesome ingredients) but aesthetically, it was an earthquake of a cake. Literally. The top half of the cake cracked into 3 parts. Groan. Oh yes, it was very bad. It was un-salvageable. And it was 1.5 hours before the party too. So thank you Baskin Robbins for the delicious chocolate chip ice cream cake which everyone loved and devoured in the end.

On the whole, the party was a success, chaotic as most kids' parties usually are. Sera was thrilled to have her close friends with her and even her papa came back for the afternoon. She couldn't have asked for more.

Ahh, I sob when I see this 'perfect' ice cream cake

Presents!

The butterfly pinata

that didn't rip apart when the kids tugged at it ... Johan had to give it some assistance

Complete mayhem but so much fun for the kids

Winding down

The celebration continued at school today ... it was also her last day at school

Sera looking awfully shy but I'm sure very happy to have her classmates with her

Finally, a big goodbye hug to Ms Andrea, her German form teacher

Yassy's play date

During the week, a few moms and I would take turns holding mini play dates, well, not big ones, preferably no more than 3 kids. Yasmin doesn't like crowds, which is the total opposite of Sera at this age. She comes out of her 'shell' when the environment is less chaotic, calm. So here one morning this week when we had Frederick over for some fun.

Painting ... and in the end, making a beautiful mess!

Snack time ... err, this was one of 3 snack times. These two have very good appetites!

All girls weekend

This weekend, we spent it with another mama and her two girls, whose papa also had to work. It's always better when the papas are around but thankfully, we all had a good time. We packed the weekend by spending the whole morning at the pool, back home for the younger ones to nap, and then to the park for play and a picnic dinner. The girls had a deep, deep sleep that night.

This morning, Sera had ballet. Again, I think Sera is not very impressed with ballet. When I peek into the room, I see her doing her own version of 'freestyle ballet', not at all dancing in unison with the other girls. Hmmm. Oh well. The minute class ended, all she can say is, "Mama, let's go to the aquarium!" And to the Aquarium we went. We spent the rest of the morning at the Aquarium and then Discovery Centre. We went to Candyland (the biggest candy store I've ever entered). The girls got to choose one piece of (big) candy each. After lunch, we found the girls' favourite carousel and the kind attendant let us stay on for more than 5 rides. It was free of charge anyway ...

Hope everyone else had a good weekend. Enjoy!

Big sisters doing their thing

For Yassy, the higher the better!

Yassy and Lotte goofing around in the gazebo

Sera and Fine by the pond, all flushed from the infamous summer heat

First ride ...


and finally, their 6th ride?

His little belles

It's been a busy week, especially since Johan was away for work. So busy that I didn't have time to post anything ... well, actually more like feeling a little melancholy without Johan. Ha ha. It's true. Once the girls are in bed, it is nice to have some adult conversation going on and his company. So anyway, he's just hours from returning home and I'm feeling lighter already.

This photo taken last week before Sera's ballet class. Sera is so tanned, like a roasted chestnut and Yassy, hmm ... her smile just cracks me up!