Happy Birthday Matthew!

5 years ago at around this time, I was probably attempting to provide that mystifying colostrum to a little baby while blinking in tears of pain as he tried his darndest best to latch.

All that is but a blur now.

What I see today is this little boy staring right back at me, all 5 years of age, full of life, full of energy, full of cute nonsense that is sometimes outright irritating, but a lot of the times, nonsense that fill our lives with laughter and a sense of awe.

How quickly 5 years have gone by, and my first-born has taught me so much.  Parents often say that children do not  listen to them.  But I think we have a lot to learn from our children.  To learn to live and enjoy the moment more.  To be filled with enthusiasm every day.  To have a renewed zest for life every morning.  To live and let live.  To love unconditionally.

My darling Matthew, you bring so much life, so much joy and laughter into our family, and we love you so so much.  Happy 5th birthday!  Mama is proud to call you son, a true blessing from God indeed.

Lucas: One!

We had originally planned on skipping birthday parties for Lucas, until he comes of age to more appreciate it (or to demand it).  But guilt got the better of us.  Matt had parties since 1.  So we wanted to play "fair".

So we had it intimate.  Well, as intimate as we could.  A small get-together of close friends' little babies, capping the age at 2.  This is so it would seem more like a party for Lucas and not for Matt!

Truth be told, I enjoy planning parties for my kids.  I love to DIY the gift packs, design the invite, choose a cake, and work everything within a budget.  Of utmost importance is that the kids are happy, and our guests have good food (and hence, happy!)

I get most of my ideas from internet.  Some, I steal outright but tweak it to what I need.

The invite.  There are many interesting fonts that you can download for free from internet that makes the invite looks good. The one I used is called "Pea Stylist" and even comes with some cute animals. Google "pea fonts"

I had a freehand in choosing a theme since Lucas hasn't quite shown a preference for anything in particular, so I settled for something simple.  Polka dots.  That naturally meant that I got my usual cake supplier, Room for Dessert, to do up a polka dot cake.  Debbie makes the yummiest chocolate cake (her carrot cake is our favourite, too, but since it was a kids' party, thought they'd take better to chocolate).

Gift packs to make little kids happy.  Daiso is my favourite stop to hunt for nice thank you gifts.  Got the little girls tea sets and boys drawing boards.  Daiso is also the best place to get plain paper bags to put the gifts in.  4 pieces for $1.99 compared to the posh shops which sell 1 piece for $1.99, or possibly even more!  They often run out the moment they stock up, so get yours early if you spot them.  Popular bookshop is another place I frequent to get gift pack fillers, in this case, I got a little book for each one of them.  I like personalizing the gift packs, kids feel happy to identify their names on the packs (well, not yet for babies, but I do it anyway).

     

I do not like catering food because most of the time, it ain't that nice, and it's also hard to cater when the party is small (most require a minimum of 25 pax).  So I have a few food ideas that I rotate around the various parties over the years.  This time round, it is the famous Tian Tian chicken rice.  A hit with kids, and who doesn't like chicken rice?!

Oh of course, toys to keep the kids occupied and happy.  I usually rent one big toy, and some smaller supporting ones so the main toy doesn't get too crowded.  Some kids also prefer to play quietly by the side and not jostle with the crowd.

Lucas was very happy at the party.  Not the first time he was with so many other kids, but this was one he was happiest at.  Maybe it was the combination of a good nap and full tummy .. Am glad I did this little celebration for him.  Till the next one few years down the road ... maybe when he is 3 or 4 ... Happy birthday, Lucas baby!

The Celebration

In the midst of gloom, I tried to do things to cheer myself up.

We had a small tea time gathering for Lucas' full month, and had close friends come visit. We had, till then, largely declined visitors in the first month due to my medical condition.

It didn't happen without added stress of planning. Looking back, though, I am glad to have organized it. It was good to break away from the monotony of breast-feeding and hang out with some friends for a bit. A simple get-together, and a reminder that there exist a wonderful reason for celebration.

Darling Lucas, one month old

Celebrating it with Friends

Although it started on a negative note when we had to postpone it by a week because Matt was unwell, it was nonetheless a great party although we missed the presence of some good friends with such last minute changes!

This year's theme was racing cars! It took the edge over trains and ships because it was just easier finding all-things-cars given the time frame I had in planning this party.

Plus I was in the mood for DIY. Lifting off ideas from google, I created my own invitation cards, party banner and made the effort to personalise gift packs along lines of racing cars. I also personalized water bottles so that we would not have instances of cups being mixed up, and the bottles also minimized spillage. I created labels then taped them onto the bottles using clear masking tape.



What is a party without the toys to help parents tire their kids out? :-) The kids had a great time playing on the slide, seesaw, angelfish rocker, trampoline, but the highlight of the lot was the pirate ship! The kids just congregated around the ship and had a great time splashing about.

We catered the famous nasi lemak from Selera Rasa for the adults, and hubs cooked up a mean beef pasta bolognaise for the kids in addition to chicken nuggets and fish fingers.

Matthew and his friends and cousins


A very happy birthday boy complete with his racing car t-shirt and ferrari cake

I grew up never having a birthday party like this, it is just the way that my family is. Some years we have a birthday cake, some years we just don't. So I have never been a great champion of such celebrations. But now that I am a mother, I feel it is wonderful to put a smile on my son's face and to see all the kids enjoying themselves. Totally worth it!

Three!

It was a hot hot day, but it did not dampen our moods as we headed out to celebrate Matt's 3rd birthday after school today. It was an impromptu decision to bring him on a cable car ride, and when we got off at the station at Sentosa, there it was - the Luge.



Birthday isn't quite complete without a sweet treat, so after dinner, we brought the little tyke out to Haagen Dazs for a small little ice cream cake.

Happy Birthday, my sweet little boy. Love you to bits!

1 Year Older, 10 Years Fitter

I woke up half an hour earlier than usual today. And I went jogging. It felt good when I was running - my feet felt like they had brand new springs in them. The morning sun was in my face, and I felt really really good. The feeling transported me back to my university days when all I did, apart from some studying, was play volleyball, swam, ran and ran and ran. Full of energy.

It is now 2.5 hours into the morning. The feel-good factor has COMPLETELY subsided. I am feeling like shit. I am tired and sleepy. Not feeling tip-top. I feel faint.

I take comfort that at least I felt good momentarily this morning.

I used to feel lethargic if I didn't exercise in 2 days. These days, I feel beat if I moved my heartbeat up by 2 beats per 30 seconds. Or lost 30 minutes of precious sleep. This lack of fitness, plus an expanding horizontal dimension all-over, have been bugging me for a while.

I blamed it all, very conveniently, on being a stay-at-home-mom holding a part-time job. All-in-a-day's work leave me with very little energy left at the end of the day to get moving. This morning, when I woke up, I wanted to change that.

You see, I turned one year older yesterday. I thought it was a good time to kick-start a routine that will get me healthier. It cannot happen at the end of the day, this I know, so I started in the morning. Did not expect to feel like I do at this moment, considering how fit I used to be. I am humbled. I wanna keep up this routine, I hope I can.

That aside, I had a nice day yesterday. Did not do anything special, went about the day as usual, even came in to work in the afternoon, but had a really nice evening with my 2 boys.

I Love You

Dear Matthew,

You were born this day 2 years ago! Holding you in my arms seconds after you were delivered, mama was emotionless. Not happy, not sad, not relieved, not anything. Numb. I didn't know what to feel. It was only after mama was wheeled out of the delivery suite that tears came flowing freely. Tears of fear, tears of relief, tears of joy, tears of amazement, tears of gratitude, tears of love. These were the emotions that stayed with mama throughout the last 2 years, and probably for many many more years to come.

Time very quickly pass us by, and here you are today, already 2!!

You are now capable of so many things, some, mama and papa played a part in teaching, a lot of others we don't know where you picked up from.

You sometimes throw seriously bad tantrums, but you are super cute when you do it and try to peep to see why we ain't responding.

You bit mama, and especially only mama, when your molars were coming out, and when I scolded you, you learnt to melt me by giving me the "oh no i am so sorry mama" look.

Sometimes, you are outright unreasonable, like how you seem to want me to pat you through the night in your sleep!

You don't eat like your foodie parents, you don't sleep like your sleepyhead parents! Why?!

You are now capable of counting, imitating, talking, and say the darndest things that make us smile and swell with pride!

You smile and melt the hardest of hearts.

Your innocence makes me want to protect you forever.

Your frown ... omg, you are like your papa through and through!

It amuses me each time you see a baby and you call him/her "baby!" You are still my baby!

I love to see you toddle around. Initially very ungainly, but now, you are so much more sure footed. I still cannot believe you are 2!

You are the pride of mama's and papa's life.

We love love love to hear you read and animate.

You remind mama that life is not worth sweating over the little things. You remind me that life is filled with things to be thankful for.

You give mama the biggest hugs, and I especially love the ones you run with all your might and throw yourself into mama's arms so trustingly.

And yes, son, mama will always catch you.

I am enjoying the ride on our road map so far, and am looking forward to more! Happy birthday, Matty Matt! Love you to bits, baby!

Welcome to Matt's Party!

click to see enlarged

I was initially kinda reluctant and lazy to plan a party for Matt's second birthday. But hubs thought we should do some thing to celebrate, so I got my act together and pieced together a little tea party. Naturally, the theme was of Bob the Builder, given his love for the program. I shopped online on e-Bay and found Bob the Builder invites, party banners and loot bags operated by OurPartyShop.

We celebrated together with our close friends who have kids about the same age. Kids' menu comprised grapes, strawberries, cheese and ham sandwiches, cheerios, Leibniz animal biscuits and fruit jelly. Adults filled their stomachs with mini burgers from Botak Jones, canapes and mufflines from Delifrance, nuggets, taco chips and fruits.

The highlight of the party was the rented slides, from Rent-a-Toy. The kids had SO much fun. Due to some uneventful event before the party (courtesy of our helper!) which made me hopping mad (very mad!), Matt did not get his nap, and I was VERY wary of a meltdown. But the little dynamite went on and on happily at the slides, stopping often to eat loads of his favourite strawberries, cheerios and biscuits. We also rented kids tables - it was a lovely sight to see the little ones sit and eat together.

Cake was a chocolate 'construction site' with all his favourite toys on it. I had to steal his toys and give them to Debbie from Room for Dessert for a couple of days. Debbie makes the yummiest cakes! We have gotten Matt's cakes from her for 1 month, 1 year and 2 year old celebrations!

It was a great great celebration with happy happy kids!

One Month Old, and Very Quickly One Year Old!

We ordered pretty cup cakes in celebration of Matthew turning one month old. Party was a simple one with immediate family.

For his one year old party, we put in some efforts in organizing Matthew's a good one. The party also served as a house-warming party for those who have not been to our new home.

It started about 4:00pm, and ended around 9:30pm. We had the prata man from Casuarina come to our place to make fresh prata!! The food spread was good, although not too kid-friendly since they were primarily spicy! But the kids had their fill with chocolate prata and the sweet varieties! I think Matthew had a good time with so many children around!