CE's Birthday Celebration

CE turned 5 on Sunday. We had a small do for him at home, together with BIL and family. The birthday boy wanted to eat pizza so we had pizza, KFC and fried noodles for dinner. I did some simple decorations with alphabets (from the alphabet mats) and balloons (a must-have for their birthday parties). I don't think the balloons are hung nicely (and always at the same boring place) but I doubt the boy minded. As long as there're balloons, he's a happy camper.

~ I asked him to pose near the wall deco, he wanted
to "pose" with his artwork from Art class ~

~ the very simple balloon deco ~

As for the cake, he actually requested for a number 5 cake. I checked with the bakery, the minimum weight is 2kg. Last year, we got him a 2kg number 4 cake and we took many many days to finish it. I'm not going to torture ourselves again. So I drew a big circle with a number 5 inside it and showed it to him for approval. Luckily he agreed. Phew... problem solved. I ordered a mango cake from Suki Bakery. It was very nice -- soft and fresh, with mango chunks inside and mango slices on top.

~ mango cake with number 5 on top ~

In order to make the kids sit still after dinner, I let them do sand art. Haiyo! It's not so easy to do when you don't have big containers for sprinkling the colours. And messy too! Luckily I covered the table and floor with newspapers. I'm not sure if those are of low quality stuff (RM3 per pack), but the boys had difficulty peeling it off. So I peeled for them but they decided on the colours to use. Good thing jie jie can do it all by herself. They really enjoyed it and were very proud of their masterpieces. Now that I know they like it, the next time we see sand art at the malls, will let them try again. No more doing sand art at home. :-)

~ sitting still doing sand art ~

After the arts and crafts activity, it's sing-birthday-songs (have to sing in 3 languages -- I guess they followed the custom in kindy :D), blow-candles, cut-cake and eat-cake time. XN (CH's mei mei) missed this part coz she was napping on the sofa.

~ halfway through singing the 3 birthday songs, he put his
hand around jie jie's shoulder. Awww... I think he was shy ~

~ the boys giving their thumbs-up ~

~ his presents -- the t-shirt he's wearing, a cheapo tool set with
belt and helmet, and a Swatch watch (from CH and family) ~

1st Semester Progress Report

Went to kindy to collect CE's exam results and discussed his progress with his class teacher, Ms W. He did quite well in his exam. His scores are all above 90, with full marks for English. Anyway, I'm sure the teacher helped/guided him during the exam coz I saw some erased pencil marks for the wrong answers. hehehe Anyway, to me, exam at this level is not important. It's just to gauge how much the children understood what was being taught in class.

In the developments grading (social and emotional, language, cognitive and motor), he got mostly average and good. The teacher highlighted that he's not very good at cutting with scissors and doing tear and paste work.

Behaviour wise, he's generally ok in school. Ms W commented that he's not the talkative type. She said 5-year-olds are usually quite talkative (probably coz they're more familiar with the surroundings, especially for those who started at 3 or 4 years old). He doesn't really mix and talk much with his friends. He'll answer when teacher asked him questions in class but he usually won't initiate a conversation. I suppose he's the type that only opens his mouth when necessary. :-) In a way, isn't that good? hahaha

The teacher's note in his Report Card :
CE gets along well with his classmates. He can follow teacher's instructions very well. He is good in BM & English reading. He can further improve in Mandarin writing.

Hello Everybody!

Long time no see! Wow... this is the longest break I've taken in the cyber world. Whoosh! 3 months just flew by. Better clear the cobwebs and get back in action before I lose all my blogger friends. hehehe As it is, some have already given me warnings. o.O But seriously, it's really heartwarming to know that there are friends out there (you know who you are) who care and wonder how you're doing when you've been "missing" for some time. Thank you so much for your warm thoughts, girls!

Hmmm, where do I start? Ok, here are some random updates :
* Mother's Day 2011 -- we went back to PaPa's hometown on Saturday to attend his grandma's 80th birthday celebration. We only spent a night there. Didn't even celebrate Mother's Day for MIL as we left after lunch. No celebration for me either. No mood anyway coz CE was sick. I got a card each from the kids.


* CE had his first exam last week. But he has 2 more papers to go because he was sick. Had high fever due to throat infection/gastroenteritis -- diarrhea and stomach cramps.
* Due to his prolonged cough, doctor suggested that CE take Alvesco Inhaler (started on 24 Mac). It's not sprayed directly into the mouth, but used with the AeroChamber. His condition improved after 1 month of usage. He still coughs every now and then, but for a much shorter period compared to last time.
* 19 Mac -- went to the dentist to extract XY's lower right lateral incisor.
* XY started piano lessons in March.
* CE started Mandarin classes in April -- once a week after school hours in his kindy.
* Brought the kids for a haircut in April. Finally snipped off XY's over-the-shoulder-length hair to chin level.
* I went back to Penang for Cheng Beng, alone. It was a good 3D/2N trip away from the kids. :D But too bad I had diarrhea so didn't get to enjoy all the hawker food that I've been craving for. Never mind, will be bringing the kids back again end of May, during the school holidays. Then it's payback time. muahahaha
* Have been watching a lot of tv series -- Hong Kong and Singapore dramas.
* Started eating oats for breakfast (not everyday though) and exercising on the trampoline 2 to 3 times a week to control my cholesterol level. Really hope to keep this up.
* Will be busy preparing XY for her mid-year exam, which will start on 23 May.