~ Easter celebration @ Nativity Church ~

This is an outdated post as we have been sick all week. It was Easter last Sunday and there was a mini-carnival at Nativity Church. We went down for a quick peek and got to enjoy our free breakfast. Denver & Gladys had loads of fun with the free games (fishing, shooting, throwing) and they were rewarded with chocolates, sweets and packets of cheese balls. That really brightens up the Sunday morning. :)

~ Handicraft - Easter Bunny Hat ~

Gladys was very upset when she missed her Creative Play & Learn lesson due to a persistent fever. She has been looking forward to Saturday and even packed her bag last night.

To ease her sadness and disappointment, we did a little handicraft ourselves. Since it is Easter Sunday tomorrow, Mommy suggested to make an Easter Bunny Hat. That idea surely cheer Gladys up a lot. It's really easy to make and didn't take up a lot of time. I used the strips of the cardboard as the base of the hat. Then, I drew the outline of the bunny ears while Gladys helped to colour them. We cut out the 'bunny ears'  and paste it to the cardboard.

There you have it! An Easter Bunny Hat!

~ Three down in "sick bay" ~

The week began with a series of fever attacks. Denver started with a mild fever on Sunday night and the temperature gone through a few roller coaster rides consecutively for the next 3 days. He was put on antibiotics and just as I thought he was feeling better already, his fever spiked up again in the afternoon and went back to normal in the night. The comforting thing is Denver seems to be pretty active and I'm praying hard that he is on the road to recovery.

Unfortunately, Gladys also developed a high fever earlier today. Unlike her brother, she is feeling restless and not her usual active, bubbly self. Just moments ago, she was extremely reluctant to let me paste the fever plaster on her forehead. Gladys cried and ran to hide under the dining table. Daddy & Mommy had to hug and coax her into giving her consent.

Hubby is also not in his tip top condition as he is suffering from an ear infection which is affecting his teeth. The table top is filled with medicine and everyone (except me) has fallen asleep. Long weekends are coming up and I'm hoping all of us will be well by then.

~ Birthday Party @ Mcdonald ~

A couple of weeks ago, Denver received his very first birthday invitation from his school's classmate, Steffi. We've never been to a birthday party at Mcdonald before and it was our very first as well. Initially, the plan was to put Denver there and take Gladys out for dinner. Unfortunately, Gladys is very persistent on attending the party with her brother and extremely reluctant to leave. Hence, Gladys gets to join in the celebration (Thanks to Steffi's mom) while Daddy & Mommy waited.

 PS: Denver just got a tooth extraction yesterday and we can see his adult tooth is growing. :)

The children are so happy to put on their party hats. Gladys is not feeling shy at all and mingle around with the other older kids. We noticed that Denver is the only boy (from his school) that came to the party. He was surrounded by a group of girls and being the only 'grass' among the flowers. ^_^

The children indulged in their happy meal, had fun chit-chatting and played games like musical chair and word puzzles. Not to forget singing the happy birthday song, eating the long-awaited delicious cake and receiving their little toys. Denver & Gladys really had a lot of fun and I'm sure everyone had a good time. :)

~ Handicraft - Gladys' Tree ~

Gladys always love art and handicraft. Every weekday, she will scribble and draw on papers, fold and wrap around with rubber bands and giving it to me as my daily present after work. It could be a simple "Gladys love Mommy", "Mommy love Gladys" to a picture of both of us together. :)

Today, she did her very own handicraft without Mommy's instruction! It's amazing to see how creative a child's mind can get and it all started with a toilet roll.

Here I was helping Denver with his art homework while Gladys sat down to do her own art work as well. By the time she calls me, she has made some cuts at the bottom of the toilet roll, placed it on a paper and drew some shapes around it.

I couldn't make out what it was and asked: "What is this?"
Gladys : "I'm making a tree!"
Mommy: "Wow!"

When I got back shortly, Gladys glued the toilet roll on the paper and there are more shapes around the roll. The kids said it is an 'upside-down' tree. :) I helped to cut out the border of the leaves and the tree is finally completed (after a nice flip) !

To make it more interesting, I labelled the parts of the tree. "Roots", "Trunk", "Branch", "Leaf". Gladys gets to learn as she has fun with her art. :) It is really a nice artpiece and I'm impressed!

~ Creative Ziio 7 - PlayChinese (玩中文) ~

Hubby bought the Creative Ziio 7" Android powered tablet as another educational platform for the kids to learn Chinese. Opps.. or should I say "Play Chinese" as advertised by Creative : “学中文？...不！” (Don't Learn Chinese; Play it"

Creative's CEO - Sim Wong Hoo is the Chief Architect of this system and PlayChinese is to help people to master Chinese through fun and play.

We signed up for the normal pack that comes with the Android tablet, 4 colour MagicPens, PlayChinese Shenbi application, protective leather case, PlayChinese Hardcopy books, WaWaYaYa 开心汉语, ZiiBook Acount (2 years subscription) accessing to 1 million ZiiBooks, iFlashbook Account (2 years), PlayChinese Magic Cards and today Denver is going to have his 2 hours user training & coaching by Sim Wong Hoo. :)

Seems like a lot of stuff but it also comes with a price.  This Basic Pack costs $199 + ($22.90/mth over 2 years) which would be about $749 in total. Instead of holding a PSP or handheld games, we are hoping this would be another window to expose our children to Chinese and appreciating it.

Gladys tried out on the tablet and was able to write simple Chinese words and read aloud. There are also interesting idoms and games. As to how effective and how long this new gadget will spark their interest? I'm not exactly sure but I'm hoping as much as it could. :) Let's see how well it works in 6 months time for a user review.

~ Kayla's 1st Birthday ~

April started with a couple of celebrations. Yesterday I attended a wedding and today is my ex-colleague's daughter's 1st year birthday!

The Birthday Cake is sooooo LOVELY and PRETTY that you can't bear to eat it. :)

Denver kept himself busy with the PSP while Gladys finds her entertainment with Daddy's phone and mingling around with the other children.

As we left the party earlier, Gladys made a big fuss and cried as she didn't get to take a balloon back home. Awwweeeeee.....

~ N&L Church Wedding ~

Earlier this morning, I attended a good friend's wedding. I have been to a couple of wedding ceremonies before but this is my first time witnessing it in a church. Guests arrived on time and the ceremony started at 9 plus.

Solemn yet blissful moments were captured. Happiness and Love can been seen on the bride and bridegroom's faces as families and friends gathered together.

Congratulations and Wishing N&L a very Blissful Marriage!