Bye Manu and Gaston ...

The 5 days went by really fast and we had to say goodbye to Manu and Gaston ... but it was really nice having them over for a visit. On the final morning, we played one more time at the playground and had brunch at a nearby cafe. Hasta luego Manu and Gaston!

Sera loves this playground and visits it everyday. Climbing this rope ladder thingy took a while but she's a pro at it now.

Gaston was more than eager to climb it and very soon he was doing it effortlessly

It was a lot of playing and eating the past few days but it's the holidays ...

... so why not? And we all know Gaston always has a big appetite!

As usual, it was impossible to get everyone to pose for a photo ... but this will do!

Schaapje, schaapje, heb je witte wol?

Sera does oma proud when she sings an entire song in Dutch. I think its the Dutch version of Baa Baa Black Sheep?


Sera sings in Dutch? from Que Sera Sera on Vimeo.

36 years!

Happy Anniversary Ma and Pa!

Reunited

It was like watching one of those movies, where two people run towards each other, after being apart for years and years. The difference was these were kids ... Sera and Gaston. Ha ha. Yes, the meeting (after 7 months) was that dramatic but oh so sweet. Sera and Gaston were calling each other's names, while running, but the most comical thing was when they met and collided, they just stood still and looked at each other. Shocked, confused ... errr, what do we do next? So Manuela and myself were like, "Hug each other ... kiss each other!" Kids, do we have to tell them to do everything???? ha ha ha.

But it was like the old times, the two of them clicked right away and rekindled their happy times in Doha. For the rest of us, it has been really sweet to see two little friends together again.

She insisted on wearing this dress which was still too big for her but she loved it and called it her 'Christmas Princess Dress'? Guess she wanted to look good for Gaston but on hindsight, I think he was stunned to silence when he saw her running to him in this dress. Ha ha.

Evening walk around the village

Yasmin joining the two friends after breakfast

Sera was very excited to show Gaston around and. of course to ...

... The Dubai Aquarium

Friends together

Johan dancing ... priceless!

Dance papa dance! from Que Sera Sera on Vimeo.

PTM

Parents Teacher Meeting. Our first one for, none other than, our first daughter. And we brought the whole ging-gang along, oma and Yasmin included. So we arrived, very promptly, at Kangaroo Kids for our 12PM slot. We waited at the reception while Ms. Trish and Sera came down to join us at the meeting room. Sera was surprised to see us all at the reception, gave us all a round of hugs and then, followed Ms Trish into the meeting room. Hmm, very composed I thought to myself. School is doing her some good after all ... ?

So into the room, with little chairs and little table, we went. Ms Trish took out a big book, a colouring book, where she then started to explain Sera's evolution/exploration of colouring. Yes, this is all very serious ... I mean, we're talking about colouring here.

Ms Trish: "So you can tell from her first colouring attempts that she was rather timid at first".

We immediately looked at the picture of a ... gosh, I can't even remember what it was but I did notice that Sera had only drawn a pink line in all that white space. Hmm, yes ... very timid indeed.

Ms Trish: "I like to see the the children colour out of the lines, beyond the picture ... I encourage them to go WILD!" (no, no ... she didn't start to roarrrr!)

Yes, yes go WILD ... we all nodded unanimously but I could see Johan starting to frown. I just KNEW what he was thinking. "Teach them to colour outside the picture??? What kind of a school is this?"

So Ms Trish flips the pages to show how Sera's colouring had evolved over the months. Yes, they definitely did get more wild, much to Ms Trish's delight and approval.

Ms Trish shared with us Sera's interaction with the rest of her classmates, saying how she is actually very quiet in class just because she is also the second youngest so there are the older and louder children, who are more present. However, Ms Trish went on to say that when given a chance, Sera can really 'take the stage'. But on the whole, she is more the observer.

(Yeah, so observant that just a few days ago, she made a very loud and keen observation at her last paediatrician visit. "Look, Doctor no hair ... papa a lot of hair!")

Ms Trish went on to praise Sera for her excellent table manners, how she'd wait for her classmates to finish their meal before she left the table or even pace her eating so that she'd finish her snack together with the rest. And together, we all said, "Yeah ... right!!!!!" Ha ha ha. "Is this the same Sera you're talking about?"

In summation, Ms Trish said that, judging from Sera's behaviour thus far, she is very independent for her age, she is a peacemaker and in fact, moves away from rowdiness therefore in life, she'd very unlikely be a risk-taker.

"Any other questions?"

I looked over at Johan. He looked a bit stunned or was he trying to hide his mounting amusement? Oma looked a little bored. Did I have any other questions? Hmm, well I did actually.

"You know the red paint mark on Sera's white tee shirt ... it didn't come off even though you said it was washable paint." (secretly, I knew oma wanted me to ask that too!!!)

Ms Trish looked a little dumbfounded by my question.

"Oh ... it didn't come off? Err, I haven't the slightest idea why not?"

And with that, our first PTM for our little Sera was over.

First day of the last month of the year ...

First morning of the first day of holidays in Dubai.

First day of December - HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE FIONA!

So school will be closed for 10 days. Just 10 days ... but 10 days are MANY,MANY days. The day started fairly smoothly with Sera chatting non-stop with Yasmin in the morning. But a fever very quickly crept up on her and thus began her un-Sera day. An un-Sera day, as I've mentioned before can be difficult because it means a 'NO' day for her. For example ...

"Sera, do you want to play a puzzle?"
"No."

"Do you want to go to the playground?"
"No."

"Sera, do you want to go for a walk with Oma?"
"No."

"What do you want to do?"
"Watch TV."

Gulp. And she did.

But she managed to pull herself out of her sulkiness (and fever) by dinner time, and did a great job helping oma make pannekoeken for dinner. Good job Sera!

Rise and shine Yasmin and in comes Sera ...




Hello ... hello ... hello? from Que Sera Sera on Vimeo.

Sera was very thrilled to be in the kitchen helping oma with the cooking

What is wrong with this picture?

Opa for the weekend

Opa flew in from Doha, for the weekend and what a treat for all of us, most especially for Sera who was buzzing around him like a bee the entire weekend. The family was still recovering from the flu so we didn't venture out too much. But we did play 'tourists' on the second morning, taking photos with the 'high tower' (Burj Dubai) and the surrounding areas. Looking forward to Opa's next visit!

Playing 'dolly' with opa ... err, I think this has got to be his first! Ha ha.

Look at that grumpy one! She just wanted to head on to the Aquarium, not pose for photos

The Burj Dubai behind us and the entrance to The Palace hotel. Think opa will have to lie on the road to get a shot of the entire tower

Such happy 'tourists'!

That's the best thing about grandparents ... they will keep swinging you ... non stop!


Behind us is The Palace hotel, in front of us is a construction site

Taking a rest at Shakespeare cafe ... there was a storm coming

Even Sera gets a refreshing smoothie

Ah - chooooo!

It's been a trying week ... one by one, we've fallen ill. Sera, who has been battling her cough for the longest time, also succumbed to a cold. Next was Yasmin, followed by me and finally Johan. Tissue paper is running out faster than we can say 'ah-chooooo'! But despite their red runny noses, long sleepless nights and discomfort ... they wake up every morning (amazingly) with a smile and more.

I've been waking up, only wanting to crawl back to bed ... but seeing the girls together helps to jump starts my day like no other

Yasmin has this perpetual serious look if she's not smiling. Sera, surprisingly, was a little photogenic this morning

Ahhh, these two have great conversations ...

Evening walk ritual

Someone is in dire need of sleep (and a shave)! Yasmin nodded off even before we could go out for our evening stroll. Every evening, she'd complain loudly and continuously if she's not strapped unto Johan, anticipating her walk around the village. It's getting cold and windy in the evenings thus the beanie.

Car ride with the 'crab'

I made a very 'un-Desiree' purchase ... I bought a 'light and sound buggy driver'. Huh? Yah, that's the crazy gadget that's strapped across Yasmin's car seat. It was a nerve wrecking purchase because really, it is not like me at all to buy these kind of toys, gadgets ... what do you even call these things? Baby pacifiers ... 'preventive baby crying tools'? But I was desperate and clearly, I was still shaken by last week's car ride incident ... thus the drastic measure of this purchase.

Anyway, Sera aptly calls it the 'crab' and this morning, we tried the gadget much to Johan's scepticism. The verdict - Yasmin didn't cry the entire journey to the doctor, from the doctor's to the mall but she did cry from the mall back to our home. Did she play with the 'crab'? Oh, for about 5 seconds ...

Yasmin getting ready for the car ride ...

Sera all smiles, unaware she'd be screaming from the two injections she'll be receiving

That's me, wedged between the girls

Oma, in the front, enjoying the ride

What in the world did mama buy for me?

I caught her singing

If I ever get her to look up or smile at the camera, I count myself very lucky. I must have traumatised her since young with the camera flash in her face, because these days she shuns the camera! So today was my lucky day ...


Four little ducks from Que Sera Sera on Vimeo.

"Four little ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away. Mother duck said quack, quack, quack, quack. And one little duck came swimming back."



Two little monkeys from Que Sera Sera on Vimeo.

"Two little monkeys jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head. Mama called the doctor, and the doctor said, No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

You could say we are a bit overwhlemed ...

... well, maybe more than a bit. Yes, we have been put to the ultimate test since grandma returned to Singapore last Friday. Honestly, Johan and I were nervous but we have risen to the challenge and the post mortem is that, we are surviving but at the same time, having a possible meltdown. And these past few days, I keep hearing Johan muttering, "My great-grandmother had 13 kids." And together we'd say,"How did they do it?"

So since my last post, several things have happened.

Sera at school
Sera came back from school on Sunday, sad. First time in her short span of schooling years. She held out her finger and said she was bitten in school (this is actually the second biting incident that I'm aware of). Yah, apparently there is a 'biter' in her class and it's a girl. I was a little disturbed that this 'biter' was picking on Sera. Sera was visibly shaken and she even said she didn't want to go back to school. I was upset, of course, and called up her school to to have a chat with her teacher, Ms Trish.

Ms. Trish wasn't aware of any biting incident so I just let it go. I mean, I can imagine it's tricky trying to keep track of all 16 kids in her class. But she did share with me that Sera was 'Miss Popular' in class and that the "kids tend to gravitate towards her". Ha ha ha. I wanted to laugh but I managed a "oh is it?"

Anyway, Sera had yet another biting incident today and this time, Ms Trish reported it in the little blue notebook. Sera, I think has accepted that her fingers will get bitten once in a while, because she simply showed me her finger and asked me to kiss it. Oh dear, the things she has to go through ...

Sera and cereal
Sera has abandoned all food except for her sudden love of cereal and milk. She can eat cereal and milk for all three meals (if I let her). Right now, she's getting cereal and milk for breakfast and lunch. So by dinner time, unless I can whip up something so irresistably delicious, she'd push her dinner away and ask for cereal and milk. Yah, she can be that obnoxious!

Yasmin and her car seat
Yesterday morning, I decided to run some errands with her but it was a COMPLETE disaster. We were on the road for about 15 minutes (though it felt like 15 hours). She went completely berserk in her car seat! By the time we reached the mall, she was so tensed up and close to having fits. I was in tears when I saw her and I had the hardest time comforting her. In the mall, she let everyone know how traumatised she was by wailing at her lungs' full capacity. She eventually tired herself to sleep, during which time I managed to get some things done but you can only imagine the car ride back. I told Johan I'm never, ever going to do that to her again ... I'll only go to a mall if I can walk there with her in the carrier. Period.

So that's the highlights of the past few days, oh wait, I forget to mention that our fridge has broken down and our apartment has been overtaken by mosquitoes. Can you blame us for feeling overwhelmed?

Aside from her obsession with milk and cereal, her current toy obsession is her zoo lego. By the way, that's Johan's attempt at a giraffe.

Yasmin woke up in the morning, a bit confused by her outfit. Ha ha. You see ... she wet the bottom part of her one-piece pyjama so instead of changing the entire outfit, I just slipped on another bottom and pair of socks for her. Come on, it was dark and I was half asleep.

The girls playing together after their afternoon nap

Grandma is on a plane and 'zoomed' to Singapore!

Ok, this is NOT going to be a sad post ...

Even though, I heard from Johan that Sera screamed and wailed when grandma went through the departure gate. She was in total shock that grandma didn't come running back when she cried out her name. She went to bed last night, asking to sleep with grandma ... and she had a very sleepless night, whining in her sleep. Never mind that she has made me read the little note, a dozen times today, that grandma had written to her. Hmm, I did say that this wasn't going to be a sad one, didn't I? But honestly, it's difficult for a 2-year old to understand the nature of farewells.

Sera's going to be ok, I'm sure, in a couple of days. She's a resilient little cookie and she's going to be on the phone with grandma often, no doubt.

However, I do want to remember all the precious and wonderful times we had, when grandma was staying with us. I mean, what a privilege and luxury for us all. Yah, it's heartbreakingly sad, especially for Sera and Yasmin, but we'll always have the memories. Thank you mama for being so much a part of this family. We love you ... and we'll see you very soon!

Gosh, Sera has sure grown these past months. That's us in Singapore, having dinner with Evan and Chloe. You can tell I'm still heavily pregnant.

Along came Yasmin ...

One of our many park visits, in Dubai.

Finally, just taken 2 days ago, the girls in matching tees given by grandma. Bye Grandma ... we love you!

No sleep this night

'Poinky ... poing ... poing ... '

It's 11.55pm. I'm sitting on my gym ball with Yasmin, bouncing away. It doesn't lull her to sleep, so I walk around the apartment with her.

'Poinky ... poing ... poing ... '

It's 12.45am. Second attempt on gym ball. No success, just gets her more excited now.

Oh dear. What to do ... what to do? I bring her to the window and we gaze out at the skyscrapers. Maybe she'll sleep? Or should I go to the swing in the garden? But the mosquitoes are going to be merciless!

'Poinky ... poing ... poing ...'

1.30am ... ! Back onto the gym ball again.

She sleeps ... she finally sleeps at around 2am. I crawl into bed ... wondering how Johan managed to sleep through all that?

4.00am ... Wakes for milk

5.30am ... Knocks her head into the side of the cot

6.45am ... Little Miss Sunshine is awake. 'Groan'.


Another night ... another sleepless night.

Can't tell she had a bad nights' sleep huh?

Turban-ed Yasmin ... hee hee! My sweet revenge for keeping me up last night.

She's too heavy!

I was just capturing this moment randomly, not even knowing what Sera was trying to do. It was a hilarious few minutes for me (you can hear me giggling all the way) and grandma, who refused to help Sera just because she was still in her pyjamas and thus didn't want to be in the video. Poor Sera didn't understand why grandma didn't want to help her with Yasmin? Check out her dishevelled hair from all the pulling and shoving!!! Ha ha ha.

Cookies anyone?

Sera doesn't sleep in on the weekends. I know, she doesn't know what she's missing!!! So anyway, I try to keep her occupied and refuse the temptation of simply plonking her in front of the TV. Hee hee. So this Friday morning, we baked cookies together. She had a good time though (surprisingly) the cookie jar is still full? And you're so lucky ... I have photos!!!

1. Make the cookie dough

2. Roll it out and press cookie cutters into the dough

3. Decorate cookies with chocolate chips ...

Did you say chocolate chips? Nah, you've got to be kidding? Why waste them on the cookies when I can eat them straight from the packet? And she happily did ...

4. Wait impatiently for the cookies to bake

5. And finally, the taste test. Errr, what's with that face Sera? The verdict was that she preferred the chocolate chips without the cookie.

Mama paparazzi

Sera is kind of fed up with my incessant and excessive photo taking. To her, I'm like the 'serial mama paparazzi' trailing her every move. Nowadays when I whip up my camera, she drops her head, looks sideways or give her infamous 'spaced out' look. It's that automatic. But that's not going to stop me. Ha ha!

Spaced out

Ok, Sera' s smiling but what a totally plastic smile. Yasmin is already getting fed up.

'Yasmin, you're blocking the TV' pose

A solo shot ... what's with the mismatched sock?