Photos....

With the Big People

The moment I heard Mummy say we were 'going to the seaside', I went and put on my shoes and stood at the door ready to go out. Throughout the car ride, whenever I caught glimpses of the seaside, I would point excitedly and attempt to take off my shoes (must take off shoes at the beach mah).


We were going to join D&M's CG for overnight outing at Stella Marie apartments at Tanjung Bunga. When we finally arrived, I was thrilled to see the sea!

Thanks, Aunty Karen from UK for the shorts!

I decided to sit down on the sand before Mummy finished saying 'N--oo...'

I thought we always sit down to play on the beach, Mummy? Mummy says "Yes, let's sit on the newspaper instead".

With my Dadda.

Looks like I'm modelling eh?

Actually, I was doing my Deep and Wide kids' song actions!

With my Mama

Ah, finally I get to play with my beach toys!

I had so much fun that I made a fuss when time came to leave the beach. We had a delicious seafood dinner with all the Uncles and Aunties :)

That night, Mummy slept with me on a double bed while Daddy had a single bed in the room we shared for RM100 per night. I kept tossing and turning the whole night and Mummy did not sleep well. In the morning, the first thing I did was to stand up on the bed and open the curtains to look out to the sea. Then I shouted "Dadda, Dadda!" when spotting Daddy outside from the window.

I was friends with all the uncles and aunties... going up to them to say 'Hi', holding hands, letting them carry me... being pampered and photographed more than my Daddy & Mummy.

Sticking to Uncle Darell and Aunty Allyson :)

I laughed together with Aunty Joni (can you see me at the side?)

Joining the Praise session

I had a great time! Daddy Mummy let's go again soon?

~ ShannaLYY

To Penang Library... After 9 Years!

Tim and I have been in Penang for 9 years, and we made our way to Penang public library for the first time last weekend. We wanted to scout the place and borrow some books for Shanna to add something new to her reading material.



Pros:
1. There is a family membership package which is very, very cheap! RM5 per year subscription and each family member can borrow up to 4 books per time. I got 3 books for myself and 3 for Shanna.

2. Convenience of renewing - borrow period is 2 weeks and renewal can be done over the phone! In case one forgets to renew, the late charges won't break the bank at 10 cents a day per book.


3. Not huge, but quite a reasonable selection of adult and children English books.



Cons:
1. To get there, one needs to brave through Greenlane traffic. We went on a Saturday morning at 10am and even then the traffic was heavy!


2. There is a rather musty smell at the children library building.



I'm happily reading the Tash Aw book I borrowed. Shanna is also enjoying the 3 books I borrowed for her, flipping through it often and asking us to read to her.



On a side note, we're really proud that our little girl is learning more letters now. She learnt 'O' since she was quite young... and in the past 2 weeks, she's learnt letters 'A'-'J'. We use Leapfrog Fridge Phonics that we got quite cheaply on eBay while in US and she happily sways to the music while learning her letters :) She has also learnt to 'read' more words besides 'ball', she knows 'dog', 'Daddy', 'no', 'apple', 'more', 'children', 'stop'. We use Peter and Jane flash cards and she gets excited when she sees the same words in her books.



Shanna's a real bookworm. Like her Mummy who is reading both library book (Silk Harmony Factory by Tash Aw) and Kindle book (Nefertiti by Michele Moran) now :)

She knows it is 'chou chou' (smelly) thing to put the tail into her nose. Whenever we remind her she gives this embarassed smile.

Right after being reminded, the tail is stuck into her ear instead...

~ Audrey

22 months old at the start of 2011... missing Daddy

Wow, it's already 2011, Happy New Year everyone!


It seems like not too long ago I was telling you all that I turned 21 months, now I am 22 months old!

My Kao Fu will turn 21 years old in a few days' time. When Grandma, Grandpa and Ah Yi came to visit last week, we had a small little celebration. Yummy dinner and then a cake with candles. This time, I was so excited about the candles and singing the Happy Birthday song for Kao Fu. Mummy says I'm all ready for my 2 year old birthday soon.



One nice family photo... without Daddy



I'm so excited about the cake!



With my Ah Yi

Mummy and Dadddy were happy when it was declared national holiday on Dec31 after our football team brought home a trophy, so we had more time to spend with Grandpa, Grandma and Ah Yi. That night, with all the fireworks going off, I woke up at 11.30pm and did not manage to sleep back until 2.30am. I didn't disturb Daddy Mummy but I talked and played by myself.

On Jan 1st, Grandpa, Grandma and Ah Yi went back to Kuala Lumpur so that Ah Yi can prepare for starting her first job on Monday. The same day, in the evening, Mummy and I sent Daddy off to the airport. Daddy went to Seattle US for a short business trip.

Every trip to US is a shopping opportunity. Not knowing that Daddy will be going to US, he got Mummy a Kindle reading device last month (my Mummy loves to read) with Aunty Shiau Yen helping to bring it back. Aunty Shiau Yen, my Mummy thanks you! My Daddy owes you a meal.

This time, Mummy was thinking about getting a sewing machine so she can learn to make pretty and useful things. But she was worried that she will not have the patience to learn a new skill. Daddy said Mummy can try, and got her the sewing machine from US, which is about RM250, which costs RM750 here in Malaysia! Besides that Mummy got other things too, so Mummy says after this she won't buy anymore things for herself for awhile. Once, when Mummy asked me whether I had any money, I said yes. Mummy asked 'where', and I pointed to my play kitchen area. Mummy is puzzled because she never gave me any money, maybe I was referring to some 'imaginative money' since I pretend play a lot now.

I miss my Daddy, but I know where he is... I will say 'Dadda', then sign 'not around', and sign 'aeroplane' while making the sound of the aeroplane. When there are sounds outside the corridor of our house, I will run to the door and say 'Dadda'! When Mummy's phone rings, I also rush to it and say 'Dadda'. I even asked Mummy to bring me to the balcony to look outside for Daddy. After I talk to Daddy on the phone ("Dadda! Bub-bai"), I will give him kisses 'muak muak'. Mummy says I'm so sweet and I'm a good girl.

I have learnt to say many words more accurately lately. I can recognize and say numbers 1-10. I can also recognize and say out colors. I can sing many songs, but Mummy can't really tell what I'm singing except for Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. My Ah Mah says I can sing some Mandarin songs well too. I can also recognize letters A-E... still have many more to learn. Nowadays, my favorite book is 'Curious George Goes to the Hospital'... I can relate to many things in the book. D&M have to read it to me everyday. I insist.

Everyone who knows me says the most difficult thing about me is eating. I like to keep my food in the mouth, unless I really really like the food. Despite that, I am growing well. D&M say I'm getting rather heavy... they are really glad about that, since I lost so much weight when sick about 2 months ago. Do I look more healthy lately?

:)

Shanna LYY.