Teluk Bahang Forest Park

Last Monday was a public holiday (Thaipusam replacement holiday) so we decided to take a drive to Teluk Bahang for the girls to visit the Butterfly Farm. But when we arrived, we found out that the Butterfly Farm was under renovation! So as not to disappoint them too much, we decided to check out the Forest Park next door. It's also known as Taman Rimba Teluk Bahang.

There is nothing much there, really, the main attraction being a waterfall, which was pretty crowded since it was a public holiday. Besides that, there was a suspension bridge (not really suspending though).

Since there was nothing much to do, we took pictures and selfies! Haha.

Little Helene now wants to "walk, walk!" everytime we are out and this time was no different. However, her legs being a little shorter than her sisters', found herself a bit behind them :)

Never mind, Mummy. I'll walk at my own pace.

Or maybe not. Hey, wait for me!

Helene @ 21 months

Helene is turning 21 months this Saturday. It has been some time since I last posted her update at 18 months so she has progressed a lot since then!

She is still quite into helping with the laundry, so hopefully she can help me with my chores next time if her sisters don't want to!

I took her for a trial session at Gymboree at Gurney Plaza a couple of weeks ago. She really enjoyed herself at the play area. But when it came to listening to the teacher and following instructions, it didn't work so well! Eventually she did manage to follow through, but as the teacher said, it was hardly to be expected of a 20 month old toddler!

Following the lesson..the teacher asked the kids to pick up the balls, walk across the "bridge" and drop the balls in a sack.

This was one occasion that I asked her to help wake Heidi up in the morning. After several calls of "Heidi, wake up, Jie Jie get up" and lots of patting, Heidi still didn't move, so little girl climbed on top of her and did this :)

She now likes to feed herself and doesn't want to be fed. So we just put a bib on her and let her do it. It used to be the case that most of the food ends up on the floor, on her shirt and everywhere else except her mouth, but nowadays, 90% of it does get into her mouth. She still loves her food and will eat almost anything, even spicy food! Here she is enjoying some kuay teow th'ng with fishballs :)

Her speech has improved a lot too, so much so that she will copy everything you say, especially the last few words of your sentence. There was one incident when we were at Penang Sports Club and a nice friendly lady came in to the lobby area where we were. When she saw Helene toddling around, she exclaimed "Oh, how cute!" And little girl copied her "Cuuttee!" The nice lady had a good laugh and asked me how old she was. When I said she was going to be 2 in April, the lady said "Oh, she's so tiny!"

Our dear Helene, you may be petite in size, but your big big smile sure makes up for it!

Happy new year!

Okay, so I'm a little late, seeing that it's already the 18th day of the year, but better late than never! It was a busy start to the year, with 2 kids starting school, but 2 weeks into the school year, we are happy to report that we are more or less in a routine, and everyone is settling in well.

So just to rewind a bit, we ushered in 2016 at Maritime Waterfront Hotel with some close friends. The room was really very nice (it was a duplex suite) and the kids had lots of fun playing with each other.

Best of all, the hotel is located at Karpal Singh Drive, so we had the best view of the fireworks from the hotel window without having to push through the crowds downstairs, where they were having the countdown. Only Helene missed it as she was already fast asleep.

The following week, it was time for school! Hannah started primary one and we were allowed to visit before and after school, and during recess time. We did not cater from the school canteen for her, so she takes packed food from home everyday. There was an incident that her exercise books got mixed up with her classmate's so I had to buy another set for her, but other than that, everything is going well. Some of the mummies of her classmates have set up a WhatsApp group chat, so we can keep each other informed about things that happen in school, and homework updates, thanks to the advancements of technology!

Heidi on the other hand, started 2 days later as it was orientation week at her kindergarten. We were quite concerned about how she would fit in as she can be quite a non-conformist and likes to do things her own way. We were also expecting some tears, but surprisingly, there were none! She also likes to sleep in and it can be quite hard to wake her up in the morning, but the 2nd day of kindy, she woke up herself and said "Mummy, faster, I want to go to school!" So it was good that she adapted really well.

Today is the beginning of the 3rd week, and she can now walk in herself to her classroom without us having to follow her in.

Our early morning routine is now as such. Hubby will wake up early and get Hannah ready for school. I usually also wake up around the same time, so to help him get her ready and give her breakfast etc. Then they leave the house by 6.45 and she gets to school by 7.20. He then goes to office to get some work done.

I get myself ready first before Helene wakes up (but usually she is awake once I am awake), and then wake Heidi up and get her ready and give her breakfast. I then leave the house around 7.45 am, drop off Helene at aunty's house, then go to pick Hubby from office before we drop Heidi to school. Then we go for breakfast, and I drop him back at office before going to work.

This has been working quite well, so we'll see how it goes. Another 2 years and Helene will also be going to school. All the girls are growing up so fast!

Here's wishing everyone a very happy belated 2016! Cheers!