Our little guy turned five in August 20th.

I know. I know. That’s close to TWO weeks ago. This post is so out of date (Which reminds me - I haven’t blogged about Brie’s birth story too! And she’s 3 months old already!! Gee. I better get that post up sometime soon!!)

Anyway.

About a week before Vai turned five, I casually asked if he wished for any particular ‘birthday cake theme’ this year. I thought it’s only fair that I also asked him this same question that I asked Anya earlier this year (ie. Before we ended up making a Rapunzel birthday cake for her)

And he replied, ‘Hmmm. Robots? Transformers?’

(You see, LEGO robots have kind of been very popular at home in the past few months. He knows about the very cool robot-car Bumblebee in ‘Transformers’ too, though he doesn’t watch the movie =)

As I heard his reply, two things immediately came to mind:

1) I knew hubby would be away that week (which meant I’d have my hands full handling all 3 kiddos, and little time to prepare for his birthday cake)

2) There’s NO way I could ever make such a complex Transformers robot! =)

So, in the end, hubby and I decided to buy one Bumblebee robot-car for him instead! Sticking that robot on the cake should do the trick, we thought! =)

As for his cake, I made these:

Butter cake + Marshmallow Fondant + Apartments/city houses made of a cereal box and just one ‘bumblebee car’ made of fondant! =)

Here are some behind-the-scene photos:

I knew I didn’t have much time to ‘decorate’ the cake, so I decided to build the ‘city houses’ out of a cereal box instead.

It was like my own fun craft project, hehe.

I did involve Anya and Vai in painting parts of the cereal box, BUT I did get a little paranoid.

I was like, ‘Careful with the box! Please be gentle. If it’s squashed, I won’t be able to make another one in time!’

Working on it at night when both Anya and Vai were fast asleep was better for me, because I could fully concentrate and do things faster. But then of course there’s Brie =) And she happened to wake up frequently that night.

So I was like: Carry baby. Feed baby. Check Facebook. Put baby down. Continue crafting. Pick up crying baby. Soothe baby. Put baby back to cot. Mold the fondant.

=)

Anyway. I was satisfied with the overall result. And I thought the cereal box building did make quite an impact to the whole ‘robot-in-the-city scene’ =)

[To make the cake look more '3D' and fun, I decided to have the cereal box building as the background and have the words 'Levi' and 'Five' placed 'upright'. They're all 'wonky though coz I cut out the alphabets with a knife, hehe]

[*Yay* Vai's very own Transformers Birthday Cake! =) ]

…

We celebrated his birthday at school and … I think we got one happy boy there =)

Mission accomplished.

…

Birthday boy was happy.

Mommy was happy.

Everyone was happy.

=)

We thank God for watching over Vai all these five good years, and for entrusting him in our care.

And we continually pray that our little guy grows up to be a man who is a blessing to many others, and most importantly, a man who is after God’s own heart.

We love you, Vai.

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If you have ever visited this mall, you would definitely have seen their indoor ice skating rink. I myself have always known about the rink (and watched how the skaters glide, wobble and fall!), but never have I actually gone inside.

Last July, during our trip to Jakarta, I took all three kids to check it out though. For our first time.

It was on a weekday afternoon, and because it was towards the end of the school holiday, it was still rather packed.

(Luckily some schools have apparently started that week, so it wasn’t SUPER crowded!)

The ticket price was slightly higher than usual because it was the school holiday.

They charged Rp 48,000 per child, which worked out to be just about S$7 actually. Skates rental is included AND it was for the first two hours of skating! (Additional hour is charged at just Rp8000/hour)

Definitely worth checking out, I thought!

When compared to ice skating rates here in Singapore, their price is of course much better!

(I read somewhere that ice skating rink at Kallang Leisure Park charges about S$17.50 per adult and S$15 per child, for the first 2 hours, including skates. Someone please let me know if the info is incorrect yeah)

Oh btw.

They do conduct ‘training sessions’ for beginners too.

The fee is Rp90,000 (about S$13) and you’ll have a coach teaching you the basics of ice skating in the first 30 minutes. After that, it’s free and easy ice skating time. The Rp90,000 fee basically covers your first 2 hours of ice skating there. Reasonable, I thought.

I didn’t send Anya and Vai to the ‘training session’ though since I thought it’d be a good experience for the kids if they tried to learn how to ice skate all on their own.

(note: Wilson and I believe that our kids don’t need to always attend ‘classes’ in order for them to ‘learn a skill’. We feel it’s a good thing to let our kids learn the art of working things out for themselves too. If they wish to know how to ice skate ‘properly and seriously’ later on, then of course a lesson from a coach is fine =)

So, to prepare them ‘mentally’, as they put on their skates, I had a chat with them and shared these things :

- That they’d be learning how to ice skate on their own (read: No one would be holding their hands and telling them how/what to do)

- How I learned how to ice skate on my own when I was a teenager. How I wobbled and fell many many times. How I chose to get up and just skate again. And how fun ice skating is when one has finally learned how to glide on ice without falling =)

- How it’s important to never give up even when we feel like giving up, and when things get difficult.

Once the skates were properly worn, they went to the rink together and I watched them from the side (Brie was sleeping in her pram near me).

I saw them wobble and fall.

I saw them get up.

And I saw them trying to walk without losing their balance.

Anya knows how to rollerblade a little bit, so it wasn’t a completely ‘new’ experience for her. After some 15 minutes or so, she could more or less move about on the ice rather confidently (though she still did fall quite a number of times too)

Vai, on the other hand, has yet to learn how to rollerblade. So he slipped, lost his balance and fell on the ice so much more often than Anya did.

After 30 minutes or so, he came to me and said he didn’t want to continue ice skating. He wanted to stop skating. He told me how he’s tired, how he couldn’t skate and how his hands hurt. I talked to him and encouraged him to not give up, but he still was determined to stop skating. And I let him.

Then something interesting happened.

Wilson dropped by from work to meet us, and when I saw him coming, I turned and excitedly said to Vai, ‘OH LOOK!! Daddy’s here! Go! Go back to the rink and let him see how you already learned on your own how to balance yourself on the ice!!’

And guess what?

He went straight to the rink in less than 15 seconds!

AND, he went on and on, and didn’t stop.

[Well, he did come to me - every few minutes or so -  to let me know about what he did or what happened to him, and he'd leave soon after giving me his 'reports' =) ]

All in all, we were there for a good three hours! Yes, that’s one EXTRA hour in the rink. And no, I didn’t mind the wait at all =)

I thought it was worth the ‘learning experience’ for them both!

They went all out on their own to the ‘jungle’ full of people much bigger than them. They knew they could’ve been accidentally pushed by others, they knew they would definitely fall down, but it didn’t stop them from moving on, learning and gradually enjoying the session.

Well done, kids! =)

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Here’s a video of them, taken some two hours after they’ve learned how to ice skate on their own:

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Some useful tips to share when you go ice skating there:

- Bring along your gloves and socks

- The shop sells socks and gloves too. Btw, the yellow coloured gloves (sold for about Rp7000 / pair) are all in ‘one size’, and I thought they kinda look like the ones worn by durian sellers =)

- I found it rather cold inside the rink. I’d recommend bringing along an extra layer of warm clothing if you’re going ice skating

- You may want to bring along an extra pair of pants as well for the kids =) If they keep on falling on the ice and on their buttocks, their pants will most likely be rather wet afterwards

- Do NOT lose your admission tickets. And when they say ‘two hour session’, do remember that’s calculated from the time you go in till the time you leave, ie. Stop skating and return skates, etc BEFORE the two hour period is up.

-  Quite a lot of seats available if you’re waiting around for your kids

- Check out their ‘maintenance timings’, ie. Every few hours or so, they’d get everyone off the ice, as they need to ’sweep’ the ice for about 30 mins

- Avoid school holidays, where possible. It’s super crowded and you’d need to queue for a VERY long time to get your admission tickets

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Fingers. Thumb. Fist.

Our 14 week old Brie has been putting them into her mouth in the past week or so.

I imagine, if babies could speak their mind, they probably would say, ‘The journey of exploring the world begins with the exploration and taste of one’s own tiny finger.’

=)

…

Anyway.

Here’s some useful info from babycenter.co.uk on ‘Why babies put everything into their mouth‘:

- Until a baby is about 7 months old, he can’t really use his hands and fingers to explore objects. So, since he can control his lips and tongue, he’d mouth and gum objects as he pleases.

- A baby’s mouth has more nerve endings per square  millimetre than any other part of her body!

- If a baby really wants to find out what something feels like, he’d put it in his mouth. So, if you don’t want something to go into your baby’s mouth, don’t leave it where he can get hold of it!

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If you are a family with kids, then MILK is definitely in your grocery shopping list, yes? =)

And, if they’re ‘bigger kids’ (like mine, who are 7yo and soon-to-be 5yo), then my guess is … you have stopped buying powdered milk in tins?

Anya and Vai have been drinking fresh milk since they’re about 3 years old.

I’d usually pour some to the kids’ mugs and let them drink their milk cold. They’d have it with their breakfast cereals too.

As for me and Wilson, we either drink it cold too like the kids, or mix it with Milo =)

Recently, I was asked if I’ve ever CHECKED where the milk product I buy is actually from.

THAT made me stop and think, because hey … come to think of it, I have NEVER checked!

I know very few people who actually check the product labels (and expiry dates) whenever they go and buy something.

But err, I’m not quite like that.

When it comes to buying milk for the family, I have a few brands in mind and usually I’d just scan the rows of milk, look for our usual brands, and … grab the ones on sale, haha!

So, just recently, the kids and I spent a little more time at the supermarket.

We looked at a few different ‘fresh milk’ brands and checked out the labels.

And hey hey … interesting findings!

You see, I personally prefer ‘Australian Fresh Milk’, simply because I feel the milk from Australian cows are … better =)

I mean, the cows there are exposed to green pastures, fresh air and sunshine, and I somehow believe milk from such cows are higher in quality and somewhat tastes better! =)

Now.

After checking out the different labels, I actually found out that apparently, NOT ALL that I thought are ‘from Australia’ are actually ‘100% fresh milk from Australian dairy cows’!

Okay, check this out:

- GREENFIELDS
The pack (and its promoters) says that it’s milk from Australian dairy cows. Naturally, consumers assume Greenfields milk is from Australia.

But, a closer look at the product reveals that it is in fact ‘fresh milk from dairy cows IMPORTED from Australia’.

Now, I never knew that!

They ARE apparently Australian cows, that are farmed in Indonesia!

…

- I then took a closer look at MEIJI.

I’m sure I’m like many others who are under the impression that Meiji is made in Japan. But, hey hey … after a quick check on its label, it actually says, ”Made from 100% Fresh Milk’ and is ‘Product of Thailand’ (though it’s under ‘License and strict quality control by Meiji Dairies Corporation, Japan’).

Ah. So it is NOT made in Japan then?

Interesting.

- I checked out MARIGOLD Fresh Milk as well.

Frankly, I’ve never read their labels closely, well … not until that day at the supermarket. All this while, at the back of my mind, I sort of ‘assume’ that it’s probably from Malaysia or something.

But then the label says, ’Ingredient: Fresh Milk’ and ‘100% Australian’!

.

I went on to check and I found out that MARIGOLD Fresh Milk IS from Australia, and it contains 100% fresh milk from Australian cows (Click the link to read more about it)

What a nice surprise!

The ones that I thought are from Australia and Japan are not really ‘fresh milk from those countries’, and the one that I thought is from Malaysia actually is fresh milk from Australian dairy cows, that are farmed in Australia!

(I wouldn’t have noticed all these facts / misconceptions, if I hadn’t checked the labels more closely)

If you haven’t taken a closer look at your milk products’ details all this while, I’d really recommend that you go and check them out before you grab your next bottles / cartons of milk.

And perhaps, just like me, you’ll be surprised too by what you’ll find!

Extra info to share :

- Singapore does not have a milk farming industry apart from the goat farms in Lim Chu Kang.

- Most milk found on our supermarket shelves are apparently imported in bulk from countries like Malaysia and Australia, and packed in Singapore, while some others are packed and imported from Thailand.

- Sometimes, the same brand of milk in 1-litre cartons and 2-litre bottles may come from different countries!

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I know it’s the ‘third time round’, but I still can’t help but love holding Brie’s little hands, watching her little fingers wrapped around mine. They’re all so tiny, so fragile, seemingly ‘in need’ of our protection and care.

This shot reminds me of the Bible verses that we read out together last Sunday though. They’re taken from John 10:27-29 :

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

…

As much as I love our little Brie, and as much as we care and watch over her, nothing can truly beat having (and placing) our lives in the hands of the unchanging, holy and everlasting Almighty who loves and cares for us so much,

so much so … that HE died for us.

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This is one simple recipe you can surely try out!

No mixer needed!

Just sift the flour, mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl, and plonk the pan / tin into the oven. That’s it!

And, enjoy the home-made banana bread aroma while waiting for the nice little ‘ding’ sound from the oven =)

We had this on Saturday night, while we all enjoyed our Family Movie Nite together in bed!

Here’s the recipe!
(Thanks to Nic for sharing it with me)

…

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups self-raising flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons grated orange rinds

2 medium-sized bananas, mashed (I used 3! =)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used unsalted butter)

…

1. Sift flour into bowl

2. Add sugar, orange rinds and mashed bananas. Mix.

3. Stir in egg, orange juice and oil / butter

4. Pour into tin / pan. Bake at 180deg celsius for about 45 mins.

5. Stand 5 mins, turn onto wire rack to cool.

[Trying serving it nice and warm with butter. Yumm!]

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Here’re some thoughts that inspired me today, which I’d like to share with you.

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It’s better to be someone who has learned a lot but continually feel like it’s not yet enough,

than be someone who has NOT learned much, but feel like he/she has learned and known a lot.

…

It’s better to be someone who shares and gives a lot to others, but continually feel like he/she has been receiving too much instead and needs to give and share more with others,

than be someone who has NOT given / shared much at all with others, but feel like he/she has given a lot to others, and there’s no need to share anything more with others.

…

When WE are the former (the ones who’ve done our best but sincerely feel we should do more for others, eg), it will drive / push us to become a better person everyday.

Hope you had a blessed Sunday, everyone!

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Here’re some quick, interesting facts on 13-week-old babies’ developments:

- Should be sleeping for about 10 hours at night

Brie >> Yes, she does now. Yay!*

- Can see objects up to 6m away! The view of baby’s world is very different from ours, so it’s always recommended to get down on the floor and see what baby sees.

Brie >> On this one, I remind myself to check on Brie every now and then - when we’re going out during the day and she’s on the pram - to see if sunlight directly shines to her face!

- Baby can sit when supported by the hips, and enjoys sitting in a semi upright position. This position is also best for learning and for play.

Brie >> She now also mostly sits in a semi upright position when on the pram.

- Baby’s hands are now open most of the time, and he/she will shake and hold a rattle, or grab at your hair and jewelry.

Brie >> Oh yes, she’d grab my shirt, or my necklace, but she can’t quite grab a rattle for long just yet.

- Baby will smile and laugh more, cooing, whimpering and gurgling. Because you talk to him/her, baby is beginning to understand a message is made up of syllables, and that’s why baby will also start making sounds such as “ooh” and “aah”.

Brie >> Oh, I love this part! I love it when I look into her eyes, smile and talk to her softly and she’d smile and coo back to me.

…

Yes, I must say, it’s just SO heartwarming to have a little baby around.

Love you, lil Brie!

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[In red and white, the Indonesian flag's colour!]

I was recently asked by at least three people about our kids and how they speak in Bahasa Indonesia to each other.

The questions were more about : WHY we teach them Bahasa Indonesia, and aren’t we worried that they can’t cope with the english-speaking schools here.

Since today is Indonesia’s Independence Day, I thought it’s ‘timely’ to share our answers (read: our personal take) to the two questions above today =)

Here they are.

> WHY do we teach our children Bahasa Indonesia? (Especially since they’re born in Singapore and have always lived in Singapore)

I’d say, why not?

Wilson and I were born in Indonesia. We speak to each other in Bahasa all the time. We go to an Indonesian-speaking church service. We have Indonesian friends here in Singapore. We love Indonesian food. Our parents all live in Jakarta too.

So, it’s only natural for us to teach our children Bahasa Indonesia.

We wish for our children to communicate and relate well with their grandparents, cousins and relatives back in Indonesia. We want them to know that their parents were born there and Bahasa Indonesia is their ‘mother tongue’. We also wish for them (in years and years to come) to actually ‘understand’ what’s being said and shared during the Indonesian-speaking service we attend every Sunday.

Wilson and I also believe that the more language one can master, the better too, as it will allow them to reach out, communicate and relate to MORE people, more communities, around the world.

[The best people who can teach them a 'foreign language' - a language that's not commonly spoken in the country they live in -  from day one are their parents, yes? =) ]

If Wilson and I could speak any OTHER languages, we would definitely pass them on to our kids too! Too bad we’re stuck with just English and Bahasa Indonesia so far (Okay, and a liiiiittttle bit of Mandarin. Anya and Vai know Mandarin so much better than us though by now, haha)

…

> Are you not worried that your children will find it difficult to speak English when they enter nursery school?

We believe children are really like a sponge. They absorb knowledge and information very fast and well. When it’s time for our children to enter school (eg. Nursery school, when a child turns 4yo in that particular year), we believe that they WILL learn how to converse in English, how to write in English, etc.

We saw it happen when both Anya and Vai started going to N2 (Nursery 2).

In their first 2-3 weeks of school, … yes, they spoke in ‘mixed languages’ =)

Vai, for example, did say something like this: ‘Mommy, di kelas tadi so cold, Vai mau wear jacket besok!’

=)

But you know what, after that initial 2 - 4 weeks, our kids started speaking English at school.

With NO problems.

They continue speaking to us in Bahasa Indonesia though (and I guess it’s because it’s something that we do since the kids were born).

There’s one interesting thing I noticed though: Anya and Vai always speak in Bahasa to each other, but somehow when they’re with their friends (even if they’re Indonesian friends), everyone automatically speak in English to one another.

Perhaps they kinda feel like they’re with their school friends, and at school, everybody speaks English to each other?

…

Anyway.

We don’t just teach our kids to speak in Bahasa Indonesia. We also introduce them to some Indonesian folklore stories, Indonesian songs and of course the National Anthem - Indonesia Raya =)

And, to close today’s post, I’d like to share with you this video we made today.

It’s of Anya and Vai attempting to sing ‘Indonesia Raya’ (only the reffrain) earlier today =)

Enjoy the clip!

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Last year Mister Maker (yes, the guy from Cbeebies channel!) dropped by Singapore and we joined his exclusive arts and crafts session! Anya and Vai had lots of fun!

I uploaded our video on Youtube last year!

Here’s the news!

Mister Maker will be in Singapore again!

At the end of THIS MONTH!

And you know what’s even MORE awesome?

YOU (Yes, YOU and YOUR CHILD!) can meet him in person too and join his exclusive arts and crafts session when he’s here in Singapore!

Here’s how :

1. Leave your answer to this simple question: ‘Which country is Mister Maker from?’

2. Subscribe to my feed, by clicking THIS LINK

3. Share this contest on Facebook, Twitter or via Email to friends!

That’s it! =)

Contest will close on Thursday, 18 August, 11.59pm. Then, I’ll be selecting THREE winners randomly (using a generator) and announce the names on Friday, 19 August!

Three winners and their children (one child per parent) will then get to meet Mister Maker and take part in his exclusive arts and crafts session! *WOOHOO*

Here’re the details of the session:

Date: Friday, 26 August 2011
Venue: Forum Shopping Mall (atrium), 583 Orchard Road
Time: 10.30am – 11am

Quick! Leave your comments! Getting your chance for your little kiddo to meet Mister Maker can’t be simpler than this!! =)

All the best everyone!!

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[Added, 21 August]

Three numbers have been picked out by random.org, and hey hey … CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING LUCKY WINNERS :

1) Lacy

2) Samantha

3) Adora

The winners’ kids (one child to each winner) will get to attend Mister Maker’s exclusive arts and crafts session on Friday, 26 August, 10.30am session!

Winners, please email me your contact number yeah (latest by Monday, 22 August, 5pm), as I need to pass them to the organiser! Thanks heaps!

To those who didn’t win this contest, I have another giveaway contest happening this week! Look out for it yeah!! =)

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