Nicholas & Joanne’s Wedding Ceremony

It’s such a joyous occasion; it’s Nicholas and Joanne’s Wedding Day, and the two little ones are the flower kids for the night.

Early last year, Nicholas planned an elaborate proposal for Joanne, at a movie premier event. The stars for the movie was our very own Fann Wong and Christopher Lee, for a few days after, glimpses of the couple could be found in articles covering the event in the major local papers.

Our circle of friends were all kept in the dark, we did not know they were dating till news of Joanne accepting Nicholas’ proposal was out.

Nevertheless, it’s a match made in heavens, both bridge and groom have great personalities, and we are so glad to share in their joy. The kids were so proud and excited to share some of the limelight.

And here’s wishing the couple many great years to come!

~ Princess and Prince having a good laugh ~

~ Princess with Daddy ~

~ Right before the march-in; feeling butterflies in tummy! ~

Pinocchio the Musical, at DBS Arts Centre

Lady luck shone, Mummy Eliz won a pair of tickets to Pinocchio the Musical at DBS Arts Centre, and the sister-brother pair went for the show themselves.

Well, of course, a 5 year old girl cannot possibly bring a 3 year old boy, thus Mummy and Daddy brought them to the venue, and the two of them enjoyed the musical by themselves.

Movie-and-Library date with Audrey Jieh-Jieh

Princess is supposed to go on a movie-and-library date with Audrey Jieh-Jieh, and the morning itself, she exclaimed, “Yeah, today is the day, I am going out with Audrey Jieh-Jieh!”

And every couple of minutes, she went, “How long more before I meet her? I can’t wait!”

And so, she spent a total of 7 hours plus with Audrey Jieh-Jieh alone on Thursday, and when Mummy Eliz picked her up, she went, “Mummy, I’m so sorry, I had so much fun with Audrey Jieh-Jieh that I forgotten to think of you.” *faint*

On Friday, Audrey Jieh-Jieh helped to pick Princess from her cookies-baking class, and Mummy came shortly, Princess grumbled, “Mummy, why did you come so fast?”

Mummy Eliz should let Princess go on a sleepover at Audrey Jieh-Jieh’s place, then that would surely make her day.

Additional Photos from the Pulau Semakau Outing

Mummy Eliz hopes that Princess Chelsea remember this trip, and the valuable lessons learnt in many good years to come, and that she would grow up to be someone who loves, appreciates and protects the natural environment.

~ With Daddy on the ferry ~

~ Staring hard at the starfish ~

Fun, Vibrant Off-Shore Trip to Pulau Semakau

With special thanks to Mervin Khor-Khor, Daddy Tiong and Princess Chelsea had a chance to visit the Pulau Semakau Landfill – an unique offshore landfill with scenic landscaping and vibrant diversity.

The tour included a NEA briefing on landfill operation, a tour of the visitor centre, a landfill tour and a intertidal walk. It’s an eye-opening experience for Princess Chelsea; she got to hold starfishes using her bare hands, and see all kinds of creatures up close.

Princess Chelsea is like a city girl, unused to time under the sun, and thus Mummy Eliz was initially worried that this might be an outing too tiring and boring for her. But she came back all excited and satisfied.

Daddy Tiong came back with heaps of praises for the dedication and professionalism for the guide, Uncle Joseph, who showered Princess Chelsea with attention as she was the only child in the group.

Imagine Mummy Eliz’s surprise when she found out that it’s the same Uncle Joseph Lai from the Singapore Home-schooling group, a Daddy who shown the same dedication towards his kids’ education.

~ Understanding more about the intertidal walk ~

~ Following closely behind Uncle Joseph ~

~ Handling the starfish using bare hands ~

~ Group photo; tired but satisfying day ~

Here’s some quick facts and photos to share about Pulau Semakau:

- Located 8km south of Singapore with an area of 350 hectares, Semakau’s landfill is the world’s first offshore landfill created entirely from the sea space.

- Construction began in 1995 and landfill operation started on 1 April 1999.

- A 7km perimeter bund lined with impermeable membrane contains waste within the landfill area to keep surrounding areas free from waste.

- Currently, about 1,400 tons of incineration ash and 600 tons of non-incinerable waste are disposed off at Semakau landfill daily.

- Through planting and landscaping, western coast of Semakau is now a scenic and idyllic recreational destination with pristine water, fresh air and a green natural environment thriving with vibrant and rich biodiversity.

- Opened up in Jul 05 for sport fishing, intertidal walk, bird watching, stargazing and recreational outing comprising bait fishing, cycling, barbecuing and camping.

Princess caught in action for Sports Day 2010

Thanks to Aunt Apple's husband, the unofficial photographer, we get to view the pictures of Princess in action during the family relay race.

~ Daddy Tiong passing her the baton ~

~ Holding onto the baton ~

~ Running for her life! ~

S’pore Home-School Group Sports Day 2010

Fun! Fun! Fun!

The S’pore Home-Schooling Group had its inaugural Sports Day at the Singapore Sports School located at 1 Champions Way [What a lovely address!].

For the 6 years old and under, they had 3 stations where games such as three-legged race, fill-the-bottle, chairs-across-the-river etc were played and at each station, there was also a free play area for the 3 years and below.

For the 6 years old and above, it’s the typical events like 100m race, 200m race etc. Mummy Eliz and Daddy Tiong also took part in the Daddies and Mummies race, and our whole family was in the family relay event too.

~ Getting ready for the first game, Prince behind Princess ~

~ Pass-the-ball game ~

~ Three-legged race ~

It’s great team-work on display, helpful mummies and strong daddies were around to ease everyone’s burden, and with the workload shared among many parents, everyone had a fun time.

Thank you so much Auntie Shan Shan for the great coordination work, and planning effort.

~ Sun, Clouds and the Blue Sky ~

~ Moment of idling fun ~

~ With their medals; presented upon completion of games ~

PS:

Princess Chelsea really loves the sand, here's a picture of her enjoying extended sand-play while everyone else is attending the award and certificates presentation ceremony.

~ Sand play; Princess’ favourite ~

Our New Sleeping Arrangements

For those of you who had been to our humble place, it is common knowledge that all four of us co-sleep on the same queen-sized bed. Thus one can imagine how packed like sandiness we are, with hardly space to turn.

Aunt Marie passed us a kids’ car racing bed, and it was meant for Princess Chelsea. It is going to be in the same room, and Mummy Eliz’s initial idea was to shift this car racing bed to the next room once Princess Chelsea got used to it.

But, Princess would sneak back every night, and now, it is Daddy Tiong who is enjoying the car bed by himself. The two little ones want to be near Mummy Eliz all the time, even in sleep.

Uncle John’s Graduation Photo Taking

Our family had a photo taken at a photo studio, in conjunction with Uncle John’s graduation from NTU. Here’s a preview, taken after the session, using Daddy Tiong’s camera.

~ Mummy’s two darlings ~

Completion of Great Eastern Woman’s 10km

Progression from a 5km run last year to the completion of a 10km run this year, in 1 hr 31 minutes. Not a fantastic run in terms of timing, but at least a completed one.

It was an enjoyable run this year, thanks to the MP3 player loaned from Aunt Anne.

Disney Halloween Princess Tea Party

Just over the last weekend in October, Princess Chelsea finally got a chance to dress up as Cinderella to attend a Disney Halloween Princess Tea Party at United Square.

It’s a 2 hour program, with games, snacks, craft and a short visit to a miniature horror house. And while there’s no wow factor to the program line-up, it was interesting to see so many little princesses gathered together.

Musical Chairs was played, and a bullying accident happened, an older girl around 9 years old, in her desperate attempt to win, used her bums to push a smaller girl around 4 years old, and she fell hard.

The little one ran crying to her mummy, and the game proceeded on, with the 9 years old girl ultimately emerging the winner, with the desired prize.

The mummy of the little girl spoke to the organiser, who somehow had not witnessed the incident. After discovering the truth, the organiser asked the older girl to give up the prize to the younger one, and also to apologize.

Kudos to this mummy, had it been Mummy Eliz, she would likely have just swallow everything, and walked away instead of having the courage to right the wrong.

~ Princess is standing up, in a Cinderella costume ~

PS:

For Princess Chelsea, she made it into the quarter-final round of the Musical Chairs, and voluntarily gave up the chance to continue for the next round, her reason being that it’s too rough and that she would also enjoy herself dancing to the music on the stage, while waiting for the next activity.

Princess Chelsea’s Idea of A Special Day

Princess Chelsea said, it’s a special day for her when Mummy Eliz bring her to her classes, well, it’s not to say that Mummy Eliz never brings her to swim, ballet, or piano, but that’s her way of expressing how special Mummy Eliz is to her.

Down the memory lane – October 2007

October 2007, Princess was 2 years 4 months old, and Prince was a mere 7 months old.

It’s just so heart-warming to see already how loving they are, at such tender ages. Here’s some shoots that were taken then, found when Mummy Eliz was reviewing old digital images.

~ Helping with the buckle ~

~ Guiding Prince for a shoot ~

~ Feeding her little darling ~

Prince Christian Protecting Mummy’s Photo

There was a night, when at 2am, Prince Christian woke and started asking about death, and started saying things like when Mummy dies, he cannot hug mummy anymore.

He started rambling on, listing a whole list of things that Mummy cannot do with him anyone when she dies, and started sobbing uncontrollably.

Princess Chelsea had this experience too, the fear of losing a loved one. Her experience was being documented here:

http://chelsea-and-christian.blogspot.com/2008/02/birth-age-illness-death-cycle-of-life.html

No amount of consoling worked, when he talked to his contentment, he simply said, when that day comes, he would just kiss Mummy’s photo, and protect it against robbers, enemies etc.

The dedication of a little boy to his mummy is so just sweet and enduring.