Ever since we moved to Singapore, CNY has always been a rather relax affair for the family since we do not have that many relatives to visit. Most of the time our boyfriends would come and hang around, and we would feast on our Mom’s home cooked meals, gorged on new year goodies, play card games and just enjoy the holiday season.

Now that we are all married, we still gather at our parents’ place to spend time together. Except that my sisters (whose husbands have big, extended families) are now swept into the whirlwind of CNY visitations.

On the otherhand, Alvin’s side of the family is even more laidback than the Yoongs. Which means I get to spend A LOT of time with my own family!

Reunion dinner at Park West with my parents, brother and MIL. The little one was snoozing on my mom’s bed *BEAMS*. He had been napping pretty well in his own cot for a while now but still had difficulty sleeping when out. Now that he had shown he is capable of sleeping at 婆婆家， I can finally 回娘家 as and when I feel like it, hurray!

Julius woke up and received an early ang pow from Ah Ma.

L: A family portrait at home to remember DZ’s first CNY by.
R: Taken at one of the many beautifully decorated spots at 公公婆婆 on 初一; just the night before, I was cleaning and throwing out some ingredients in the kitchen and developed this HORRIFIC allergic reaction to some old dusty garlic. My nose was completely blocked, my throat felt scratchy and my eyelids were so swollen I was sure I was going blind! My sweet husband decided he’d join me in being a specky the next morning.

My one week shy of a six months old posing with my parents on 大年初一 looking very 大个仔…

Everyone wants a shot with the darling.

Check out my mother’s new handy helper in the kitchen this year and Addy enjoying the lo hei action.

CNY made extra special by these two sweeties. :)

祝大家新年快乐，身体健康，龙马精神，心想事成，出入平安，风调雨顺，国泰民安！

After months of cooping up inside shopping centres, we finally headed outdoors on New Year’s Day. The weather was fabulous, DZ boy was done with this third nap by 5:30PM and we were both aching to go out for some fresh air.

We reached the Botanic Gardens slightly past six and the place was bustling with activity. There were tourists, picnickers, joggers, families, children, pets– all enjoying the calm and peace of nature.

The sky was clear and the air crisp. We strolled past ponds teeming with koi and carp of all sizes and colours and saw swans gliding serenely on the water. Beautiful bronze sculptures dotted the gardens and the luscious greenery is a real treat to the eyes. Halfway through, we walked right smack into the track of PM Lee who was out on an evening walk with his family and a bevy of body guards. DZ boy had a real good time oohhing, aahhing and exploring his surroundings.

A simple yet thoroughly pleasurable evening with my best boys. What a nice way to spend the first day of the year.

Lunch date at White Rabbit and movie (Sherlock Holmes 2) thereafter on 28th DEC while my sweet parents kindly babysat DZ boy

What a life changing year 2011 has been with the birth of our son! There is something romantic and magical about creating and nurturing a precious life. While the adjustment from coupledom to parenthood has not always been easy, we feel a sense of completion from having a child together. It is impossible to describe the deep and profound love we feel for our little guy. Raising a child and watching him grow day by day has been one of life’s most awe-inspiring yet humbling experience and we are immensely grateful to be given this chance.

In this new year, may we be showered with the wisdom and strength needed as we take on our newest and most important roles to date. There will be mistakes, tears, heartaches on this lifelong journey of parenting I am sure, but so will there be rewards, tears of joy, fulfillment.

Thank you 2011, Hi there 2012!

This Christmas is especially meaningful and special for us because we have our precious darling son Julius to celebrate with. For sure, he won’t remember a thing but the many many pictures taken on that day will bring back loving memories of his first Christmas.

DZ boy looking at the presents under our first tree; Pretty birdie and dove ornaments, the red one for dearest Addy, the blue one for sonny. Come next Christmas, I doubt we can afford presents laying around the floor like this anymore and someone’s bound to yank off an ornament or two off the tree… :)

Delish party spread; a creative soft-toy themed tree (see Elmo, a panda, polar bear and is that a power puff girl or what?) and Homey my first handmade bear from some 12 years ago which my niece now utterly adores.

Here are some scenes and shots of my beloved family on that happy, warm and fuzzy evening. :)

Happy Christmas! And see you all on Cloud9 next year! =)

They say practice makes perfect. While we’ve yet to ‘master’ the art of going places and having meals with a baby just yet, I must say it’s becoming more manageable these days.

Our first family afternoon tea at Cova.

A fresh pot of tiramisu flavoured tea, cup of latte, and some sugary goodness– this is life :D

I’ve always been somewhat wary of nursing DZ boy in public as he is not exactly the quiet and focused sort. Depending on his mood, he sometimes thrashes and wriggles about during feeding. That afternoon at Imperial Treasures, he was sleepy, hungry and cranky, just as the food arrived. I whipped out the nursing cape and he turned into one contented baby. And I was one happy Mama tucking into piping hot siew mai and sipping Chinese tea…Bliss! Spot the cute little hand sticking out? :p

Subsequently, we’ve nursed a few more times in the public now. While I still prefer the privacy of a changing room or nursery, nothing beats the convenience and spontaneity of being able to nurse anywhere when the need arises.

Going out is FUN!

You’re back! You’re back! You’re back! FINALLY! This time with a certain little cutie. So glad you swing by the other day. Am looking forward to our many play dates, outings, mall trotings. No more Gchat for the next two months. I say Woot Woot!!!

Check out my son, the baseball player… :)

I am no techie but neither am I a Luddite.

There just wasn’t any compelling reason to change. To be constantly connected; playing nonsensical online games; music on the go, all these– zilch appeal.

The time came to renew the plan once more. And while I laud the capabilities of a DSLR, with the coming of our little guy, trying to lug around a chunky camera on top of all the things one need to pack when out with a baby is next to impossible.

Now, iCloud, the enhanced camera specs, Instagram are all very enticing. But what finally sealed the deal was that everyone (okay, except for the 舅舅 who went for a Samsung Galaxy note and the hubby with his good old Sony Ericsson) in the family, including the Grandfolks(!) had already moved over to the iPhone camp.

What a ball of a time we are having, sending and receiving instantaneous updates, photos and snippets of videos. WhatsApp, you’re way too awesome!

“Let the SSO and Uncle Peter take your babies and toddlers on a thrilling musical adventure like no other! Don’t miss out on the SSO Babies’ Proms, the one and only concert in Singapore especially tailored for the little ones!”

In the past, I would have shrug it off as a gimmick; these days, anything with the word ‘baby’ piques my interest and curiosity, naturally.

Imagine, an entire concert hall filled to the brim with bawling babies and screeching tots, wouldn’t that make for quite a sight? Given that the target audience typically has an attention span of about the time taken to swat a fly, it is little wonder that performance is only one hour long. Not too long that most harried parents cannot manage I suppose…

I wondered if we could pull this off and was somewhat jittery the night before. Upon entering the Esplanade Concert Hall, we were greeted with throngs of potential music prodigies. Some were sucking blissfully on their binkies; some looked dreamy as they clutched onto their loveys, while others drank contentedly from bottles, nonchalant to what’s going on around. The stage was cheerily decorated with colourful balloons, the various sections of the orchestra were dressed in different colours and the maestro looked more like a magician with a wand. It was hilariously cute!

My niece, who was absolutely enthralled by the whole setting, was bouncing happily to the music and conducting enthusiastically, that is until she crashed into a deep slumber in Poh Poh’s arms some 30 minutes past her nap time. DZ boy, who usually finds it hard to sleep when out of the house, did fussed a little but nothing too much that we couldn’t manage. He eventually drifted off to dreamland while having his lunch…There were plenty of parents bringing their babies outside halfway through so I’d consider us rather fortunate to be able to sit through the whole performance without much difficulty.

Although it’s meant to engage the little ones, we all agreed that it was equally enjoyable and educational for the adults as well. The entire experience turned out much more fun than I thought possible. Babies’ Prom 2012, we’ll be back! =)

We tumbled out of the concert hall with 2 sleeping babies in tow, just the perfect window of opportunity for the adults to gobble down a decent lunch. We even managed to stroll all the way to Raffles City after and did some quick Christmas shopping. Not bad at all for a day out!