It was so fun meeting up with some old friends this afternoon in town. It sure takes quite a bit of effort arranging for this small gathering now that all of us are working and have our own committments. Pity one of our friends were down with fever else lunch today would have been livelier. I got to know them through joining one of the trekking activities organised by the NUS Rovers many years back. Most of them are at least 3-4 years younger. Some of us have became travelling companions and firm friends since then. It was quite fun watching these bunch of "kids" bickering and "suaning" each other during lunch... guess they haven't really grown up much. HAHAHHAHA.

They group was comtemplating making another trip to Mt Kinnabalu again..... and all I could tell them was I'll be at base camp waiting for their decend if they ever drag me there again. I guess age is catching up on me and I would not have the energy to spend my holiday "suffering" the lack of oxygen to climb another mountain. Give me Club Med anytime anywhere instead!!

Yee Sinn's first pair of new shoes!! Yee Sinn received her first pair of shoes from her Grand Aunt over the weekend. It's a Clarks size four and a half. Though pricey, Hubby felt that it's important that her first pair of shoes gives her sufficient leg support and sole grip as this will determine how she'll walk.

I called home this morning and hubby was telling me how excited Yee Sinn was while wearing her new shoes. Grandma Lee and hubby then held her hands while they walked to NTUC for their weekly groceries. Am now looking forward to the weekends when we can bring her to the parks and playground.

My dear friend Andrew is getting married!!! I received his wedding invitation card not too long ago. I found out that the card was handmade by his dad! Apparently, retired Mr Yip took up Chinese calligraphy at the community centre and he has been helping Andrew write the "Xi" (happiness) on each and every card. That's how I would like to retire too.... taking up lessons on Chinese paintings, knitting, baking etc. during my free time. But I guess that will be like 20 to 30 years down the road.

How time flies... Kiddo Andrew is now going to get married. Still remembered fondly the first few times we met shy little Andrew in his sec school uniform while mugging for our Uni projects at Josephine's place. And his sister will share with us what all the naughty little things he had been up to. Can even remember his DIY drum set (and his drumstick collection) and stories of his crushes with his Chinese tuition teacher. Hahahah. Anyway, Best wishes for the new couple of their new life ahead!! Yes, can't wait to attend his big day!

Happy New Year to all! 2008 has been a significant year for our family with the arrival of our little girl. With Yee Sinn as a new addition to the Lee family, our lives are now fuller and richer. Yee Sinn will be turning 1 in a couple of weeks time. I have taken some time to do up a simple collage of pictures taken over the last 12 months. Enjoy.

Never been so "Chiong" before- Hubby, Yee Sinn, Grandma Lee and I went shopping at downtown Orchard Road yesterday afternoon from 1pm all the way to 9pm! The moment Yee Sinn finished her lunch, we washed her up, packed some extra diapers, 1 feed of milk and her dinner and off we went! We don't want to miss the post Christmas sales for anything.

We started off at Centrepoint Robinson. Hubby picked up some Ashworth trousers, Grandma Lee a pair of shoes while I didn't managed to get any stuffs. We popped by at the children's department where Yee Sinn's grand aunt works. We spent quite some time there as she was made to try dunno how many sets of clothes and shoes. Apparently, my aunty was very anxious to make sure she has her perfect set of clothes and matching shoes for Yee Sinn's first Chinese New Year cum birthday. Am not too sure if she'll grow up being a vainpot next time... I hope not.

Soon after, we headed down to Takashimaya followed by Paragon. We popped by at Muji to check out some stuffs but didn't managed to buy as it was out of stock. I was pretty much tired and turned slightly grouchy by then. Soon after, we managed to squeezed through the crowd and headed home via train. Thank goodness we didn't drive cos I wouldn't want to walk back in the same direction in the mad crowd.

Not satisfied that we didn't complete our shopping trip, we went down again this afternoon, but this time to Tangs and Isetan and all within 3 hours. And nope, we didn't pick up anything this time round except 2 BPA free milk bottles bought with near expiring vouchers.

Let's hope the Post New Year Sale isn't too tempting. Hee hee.

Yee Sinn turned 11 month last Friday. We're all counting down to celebrating her first birthday - on the first day of Chinese New Year. I'm still thinking of what kind of cake we should get for her special day. (all ideas are welcome!)

At 11 month, my little girl is progressing very fast. Socially, she is able to differentiate different expressions on others' faces. She can sense when we are angry, frustrated, happy etc. She now understands words like -No, Cannot, Sit down, Stand up, Come, "Lai" (chinese for come), Mumm Mumm, Nan Nan, Erng Erng (poop), Kai Kai (Go out). She can also play simple games with us like guessing where are the hidden toys or catching. Yes, catching. She'll walk in circles around the coffee table as you try to catch her, often giggling and running in opposite directions.

She also loves going out - be it to the playground, MRT station to pick up the free papers, or to the nearby NTUC for groceries. She'll todder towards the door or to her stroller the moment she sees any of us opening the door or the stroller preparing to go out. She'll get seperation anxiety when if she sees either me or Grandma Lee leaving her behind. Strangely that doesn't happen when her papa goes out of her sight.

She also likes books. She loves to flip the pages of colourful books mostly borrowed from the library. When either hubby or I picked up a book and start to read it aloud, she'll drop what ever she's doing and plonk herself next to us. We had a few surprises these few mornings. She woke up, crawled to the bedside table, picked up one of her books and started to flip them quitely. Both hubby and I pretended to sleep while peeking from the corners of our eyes. She'll have her quiet time for about 10 mins before crawling to our bedside and start "beating" us to wake us up. That's when she'll say "erng erng" and we'll quickly take the potty and let her poop. Amazing isn't it?

Physcially, she can now todder a longer distance without support. She loves to walk- just like her papa. Her papa can't wait to be able to take her for his long walks on Sunday mornings. She can now easily wave "bye bye", clap hands, kiss papa and mama on their cheeks and can you believe it - blow the toy whistles! We are now going to teach her how to blow bubbles when we take her to the playground. Just need to check out whether our existing bubble solution is still good. We have also been teaching her how to clasp her hands together and do a "Gong Xi Gong Xi" - A very important gesture for the coming Chinese New Year. Unfortunately, she doesn't seems interested at all... all she wants to do is to clap her hands.

My little girl is no longer a smally baby like she used to be. In a fleeting moment, she'll soon be all grown up. But meanwhile, hubby and I will cherish every waking moments we have with her.

Nothing special happened yesterday- no chirstmas trees, no presents and no parties. We're non-christians anyway. However, we marked the end of Yee Sinn's infant-hood by clearing and packing away all her baby stuffs - the play pan (we decided to keep it cos she simply hates being in it.), baby stuff toys, clothes that are too small for her etc.

We also marked the beginning of our annual spring cleaning installment. From now till Chinese New Year, we (or rather Grandma Lee and I. Hubby couldn't care less though) will be packing and clearing the house of junks. I managed to pack the extra room yesterday. So now at one corner are stuffs that we'll be bringing to Salvation Army. Feels excellent to have space around. Yee Sinn has been walking around and exploring the house more often so this space clearing is quite timely.

As the weather was pretty clear, we decided that Yee Sinn should have some outdoor time. We drove all the way down to Marina Barrage to check out the place in the evening. Yee Sinn was so delighted with being able to todder around with our help, though at 10 month plus she can walk quite a distant without falling on her butts. She giggled and squealed with delight as she tried to "run" away from us. There were other kids running about, some flying kites while others just snacking away on picnic mats at the rooftop. We were tickled when she looked up and pointed to one of the bigger kites and said "Burd burd!!" She was also very fascinated with the water fountains and the colourful lighting displays about the barrage.

All the walking and excitement in the evening knocked her out to La-la land the moment her head touched the mattress. We too, were pretty much exhausted at the end of the day.

I just love spending time with my family... guess that is what the spirit of christmas means to us- being with your love ones and cherishing the moments together.