Happy 3 Years Old Birthday

This year, we were so honored to have so many family members celebrating Elyse’s birthday.  There were Ah Gong, Ah Ma, 四姨婆 (4^th Grand Aunt), Aunt Audrey, 外婆 (Grandma), and of course, Daddy, Mommy and baby Erwyn! 

Elyse was more aware of what is a birthday compares to the previous two years.  She was very excited and looking forward to it.

The day started with bringing Elyse to Carrefour children play area.  Elyse was given 10 tokens to play with – a treat from Daddy. 



Shooting at Aunt Audrey



Then we headed to Swensens to buy an ice cream cake.  Mommy felt that it was too expensive but Grandma insisted to buy it as her present for Elyse.  Elyse loved it but Daddy enjoyed it even more.

Wow, so many yummy cakes!

This is MY birthday cake oh!

Next, present time! 

1. Soft toys from Uncle Ronnie and Aunty Helen – church members who dropped by to visit Ah Ma.

2. Funny Faces - Mommy & Daddy bought this from Tesco.

3. Aunty Audrey’s presents – Lightning McQueen and Mater!

4. PlaySchool CD from 四姨婆 (4^th Grand Aunt) and五姨婆 (5^th Grand Aunt).

5. The grand present of the day – a motorbike for our little princess, from Ah Gong and Ah Ma!

Elyse has such a good time.  What a memorable day!

'No Apologies' Youth Camp

Cameron Highlands, there’s where we spent our Malaysia Day this year.   TMC PJ has invited Andrew to speak in their ‘No Apologies’ Youth Camp, touching on the topic – God is my Match-maker. 

After loading our bags in the car, excitingly we left TI.  Erwyn slept through the entire journey while Elyse was awake all the time.  My mom and I felt asleep one hour later.  Elyse was such a good girl, she played by herself from then on.

We reached Cameron around 3pm.  It was raining.  The weather was cold.  What surprised us most was the road to the Highland Christian Center, the place where we would be staying, was under construction due to a landslide.  All the cars were parked a distance away and people needed to walk up the hill by foot.  With two young kids and 5 bags to carry, not to mention the rain and only one umbrella in the car, we set off the adventure.  Well, not all at one time though, Andrew made a few trips and later with the help of Grace, one of the organizing committee members, finally we arrived safely.

Our room was located at the second floor and all 4 of us, my mom, Elyse, Erwyn and me, snuggled in our bed after settling down.  Hmm, where was Andrew then?  Poor Daddy, after a 2-hour tiring drive and strenuous exercising by walking up and down the hill for three times, he headed to the hall to minister to the youth immediately.  One would say that being a pastor is not easy.  Apparently being a pastor and a husband and a father is certainly tough and demanding.

We had a good night sleep with Erwyn sleeping from 12 midnight until the next morning 7:30am without waking up at all in between for feeding.  Ahh, not all of us.  Elyse insisted to sleep on the top bunk with Daddy while Mommy, Erwyn and Grandma slept on the lower bunk.  The top bunk was only a single size mattress and Elyse is not at all a nice sleeper.  She kicked and squeezed Daddy the whole night through. 

We left for Kea Farm around 11:30am but the traffic was really bad until it was bumper to bumper from Brinchang all the way to Kea Farm.  We grabbed some vegetables and flowers.  It was very crowded and the prices were slightly more expensive than the previous time we came.  Looks like the people there took advantage of the holiday season and raised the price.

Right after the Kea Farm, we went for lunch in a restaurant at Tanah Rata.  This was the same restaurant we came for steamboat on our previous trip.  However, it was disappointing that after the waitress has taken our order, instead of cooking our dishes, the chef prepared dishes for a tourist bus group who arrived later than us.  We waited for so long until we complained to the lady boss.

We left Cameron Highlands at 3pm and reached TI around 5pm plus.  This time, Elyse and Erwyn were both sleeping soundly the entire journey.  Unlike Cameron, the weather at TI is warm and humid.  We certainly missed the cold breeze and fresh air up the hill.

The youth from TMC PJ would only go back on Sunday.  We hope that Andrew has ministered to them and the camp was helpful in admonishing them to live a consecrated life for God.

Andrew speaking to the youth

Erwyn resting on the bed

Elyse with her funny face

a photo taken by Elyse - not bad huh?

nice family photo

Daddy playing with Elyse on the top bunk of the bed

Mid Autumn Festival

Mid Autumn Festival is one festival I enjoyed the most when I was young.  My siblings and I used to light the lanterns and candles all around our house compound.  I simply love to see when a candle light flicker as a gentle eerie breeze blow on it in the night.  It creates a mysterious and romantic scene.  And the light a candle produces is warm, unlike the natural sunlight or a bulb.  and more excitingly than ever, that is the only time we, young kids, were allowed to play with fire.

Few days before the Lantern Festival, I happened to read a brochure printed by The Summit Subang USJ.  They were organising a Lantern Parade and it was opened to the public.  Eagerly I brought Elyse to participate in this parade.

Upon arrival, there were already many children and parents waiting impatiently at the main entrance of the mall.  After registering Elyse at the counter, I noticed many of them came from Smart Reader Kids.  We were entertained by the MC for about half an hour.  At one point, Elyse almost wanted to quit as she was getting restless after such a long waiting time.

A photo taken by one of the helpers from the Organiser while we were waiting.  It is a bit blur though.  : (

Finally we were instructed to light up the candles in the lanterns holding in our hand.  The paper lantern was provided by the organizer.  However, some children brought their own fancy lanterns with them.  The children from the Smart Reader Kids matched ahead, followed by the public.  Elyse and I were among the last to leave. 

Holding a lantern in her hand

Looking at the candle

It was the first time for Elyse to hold a lantern.  She happily walking around the compound of the mall with lantern in her hand.  But towards the end her hands were tired thus I helped her with the lantern.  It was about 15 minutes walk, from the external car park to the first and second floor of the complex.  One incident occurred whereby a man carried Elyse down the staircase when he saw that she was walking too slowly.  I thought Elyse would reject his kind action, instead Elyse was laughing.  She felt as though suddenly she was picked up and flew down the staircase, she said.

After the parade, we were ushered to the main concourse and children were given a treat from the McDonald Happy Meal set - a chicken burger, a packet of French fries, a cup of Coke and most importantly, a toy!  For the next half an hour, laughter and exhilaration filled the air as the clown amused the crowd with his jokes and tricks.  He also did some balloon sculptures, juggling and entertained us with puppets.

Sitting at the main concourse enjoying her Happy Meal

The Organiser expected around 150 kids

Elyse doesn’t like clown though.  Only once or twice she bust out laughing.  Other times she remained quiet.  Since we were sitting at a distance from the stage, it was difficult for her to watch clearly.  She wanted to leave earlier but I persuaded her to stay until the end.

The clown entertaining the crowds

Finally each kid were given a goodie bag followed by a photograph session.  Again, children from the Smart Reader Kids went first followed by the public.  Elyse did not want to take the goodie bag from the clown but I managed to convince her to do so.  I assured her that she does not need to shake hands with the clown, just take the bag and go as there were too many kids.

The joke of the day is the clown held Elyse’s hands during the photograph session.  Other kids may want to grab such opportunity to be near with the clown but not for Elyse.  I’m just thankful that Elyse did not shake away his hands and run back to me crying.

Holding the goodie bag in Elyse's hand, reluctantly she took a photo with the clown together with the kids from the public

Overall, it was a nice experience for both Elyse and I.  This is also my first time joining such public event.  It was a pity Andrew could not join us as he has a conference to attend to that night. 

Thoughtful girl

Travelling has been part of our lifestyles nowadays.  From TI to Subang then back to TI again.  We do this every 2 to 3 weeks apart.  And as a result I become an expert in packing all our baby stuff.  Every parent knows that when we have babies and toddlers, travelling is as though moving house.  From bottles to toys, every detail is essential.

Our last visit to Subang was planned on a Wednesday morning.  But finally we decided to travel a day earlier, after Andrew was back from work.  As I was occupied with all the last minute packing and Andrew was moving them into the car, Elyse was running around the house while Erwyn was on his cot.  Then Erwyn became restless and was making some noises.  He wasn’t crying, but just wanted some attention and perhaps to be cuddled.  Elyse heard him.  Seeing that both of us were busy, she climbed up to a chair (she couldn’t reach it) and switched on the musical mobile for Erwyn.  Although that did not calm Erwyn down, we were so amazed by Elyse’s thoughtfulness for her younger brother.

That’s not the end of the story though.  I asked Elyse to bring out a diaper so that she can wear it in the car during the journey.  She is potty trained now but since it is a 2-hour journey, finding a place to wee was the last agenda in our mind.  To my surprised she brought a few diapers out.  I told her we do not need so many.  Then she explained: One is for her to wear, one is to pack in the bag as spare, and another one is for Erwyn. 

Wow!  Isn’t Elyse wonderful?!!