Annual CNY Gathering @ Elise House

We had our Annual CNY gathering at Elise place last Sunday. Michael and Clara were back from Singapore with their precious Maverick and Constance for the Lunar New Year. As usual, they will stay in Singapore for at least a month before returning to Shanghai again.

These are my pre-U friends whom we would meet only once a year because every one of them is so busy. Clara and Michael stayed in Shanghai for job reasons. For Elise it would be a little inconvenient for her to bring Hector out on her own as Mervin travels a great deal. As for our friends Karen and Derrick, they are the “flying class” too with erratic schedules, which we may have to compromise with. Hence, we only get to see each other once a year. That makes it precious and mandatory too!!

This year’s gathering is a little special because we have two tiny tots, newly recruited! They have become the centre of attractions among the aunties and the uncles. And the mommies’ chit-chat topics evolved around babies, feeding, progress, tips etc etc ….

Looking back, we have really aged! Maverick and Constance are big kids now. As for Hector, he has grown taller and stronger too, and seems to have outgrown from his shyness, which I still get to see last CNY. By next CNY, little Keegan and Beatrice would be able to walk, and play with their big sister and brothers too!! And we may have expecting moms like Elise and Karen!

Hong Bao River 2007

We are so …. FREE!!! That’s because our nanny (my mommy) is away on holiday in China for the whole CNY week! Both Larry and I have to take 3 days leave to baby sit our precious tot!

Not intending to miss the Hong Bao River, which we used to visit every CNY, we brought little Beatrice for the fun, photo session and to keep her awake to see the pretty lighting at nite. We parked our car at Marina and took a stroll via the City Link to Esplanade. Along the way, we took some pictures of paper cuts from Greenwood Primary School. They are so pretty!


Little Beatrice kept awake and was amazed by the huge Drum. Some kids were drumming so strongly and a mommy said, it’s like a bang-bang to send away the “Dog” and usher in the “Pig” for the New Year! We saw a pig display sponsor by Gain City and little Beatrice was so attracted to the lighting and the pigs! Remember the episode from the Sentosa Flower? I guess she will grow up to love pig pigs!! Because this is the first animal she encountered so many times within 2 days … hahaha …

This is my favourite pic with little Beatrice clapping her hands! Ain't she pretty!

Sentosa Flower 2007

This is the Fourth day of the CNY, where most children are back to schools and most of the people are back to work. Larry and I decided to visit Sentosa Flower 2007 today, “hoping” to be immersed in the smell of beautiful flowers, and to sing a tune or two of the nursery rhymes we will get to see to our precious tot!

Visiting Sentosa is so convenient today! There are so many avenues you could choose to take you to that little island, where white sandy beaches and interesting attractions await you. From cars to buses, you could also try the exhilarating cable car rides to Sentosa. For us, we choose to take the train from Vivo City to Sentosa! This is a brand new connection between Vivo City and Sentosa, and the short ride was so nice and very comfortable. We get a nice scenic view of the island, the Merlion, Ho-Ching Junks bunkering by the jetty, and of course, the largest shopping mall in town now, Vivo City, when we were in the train!

Currently, there were only two stations open to the public for boarding and alighting at the Sentosa Island. We reached our destination with less than 5 minutes ride and there was a great display of wonderfully smelling flowers awaits us when we were at the station! We saw Humpty-Dumpty sitting on a wall with an entourage of the King’s men and horses, trying to put him back. There were also many other characters from the nursery rhymes on display too! Little Beatrice was bewildered by the numerous pigs she saw! There are pig EVERYWHERE! ** I am imaging ** If she knows how to talk, she might asked “Mommy, why are there so many pigs!” heehee ...

Actually, we had just started with the “This Little Pig” nursery rhyme with her two weeks ago, and she was so excited when she narrator the rhyme to her!! The showcase of different flowers and the arrangement was great! We will visit Sentosa again next year for the Annual Sentosa Flower Display!! Do join us too come 2008 =D

“This Little Pig” Nursery Rhyme
This little pig went to market
This little pig stayed at home
This little pig had roast beef
This little pig had none
This little pig cried “‘ wee wee wee” all the way home

GONG XI FA CAI !!!

This PIG Year is definitely SPECIAL for us, because we get to celebrate the CNY with our bundle of joy for the first time!

Weeks before the CNY were indeed hectic for us! Both Larry and myself were busily coping our mini spring cleaning, changing of notes for the Ang Baos, shopping almost every weekday for new clothing, and not forgetting, marketing for new year goodies, mandarin oranges, and stock up food for that few days when the supermarkets are closed.

I did a mini reunion lunch on Saturday, the eve of CNY, so that the 3 of us could sit together and have a good feasting for a bountiful PIG Year!! Being a Chinese, I am a strict observer of our customs and values, and especially so, when it comes to our Lunar New Year Celebrations. Basically, I would make sure that there are abalone, fish, prawns, leek, tau-kwa (firmer type of bean curd) and lots of onions or spring onion, when I prepare the reunion meal. Let me share with you their symbolic meaning,

Abalone = Abundance
Fish = Prosperity
Prawns = Happiness & Joy
Leek = Prudence in Wealth Management
Tau-Kwa = Status & Promotions
Onions or Spring Onions = Intelligence

Our little Beatrice gets to have a mini feast of the lunch I prepared too! Well, she did not eat all that I cooked, but a substantial amount of fish and tau-kwa, which she is capable of “chewing” for the time being =) . And she LOVES it !!

Well for the next CNY, our little Beatrice will be 20 months old. And I hope that I could whip up a good gastronomic feast for my family again, which I misses a lot this year (because my daughter simply does not permits me to stay in the kitchen for hours). And I could invite my siblings and friends to our place again for the celebration!

Willie, the Photographer

We have been thinking for a long ... long ... while, to have a proper family portrait taken. But we were afraid that our baby may not be able to cope with "that" stranger, who will go around clicking and flashing in front of her. Well, the recent publicity of Rain's concert made us think of Willie, Larry's poly schoolmate. Let me introduce you to Willie, the photographer.

Willie was our photographer 6 over years ago on our customary wedding day! He was an engineer, with a renowned organization, who decided to quit from his routine job, to pursue his passion for photography. Willie is very much involved in photo taking of superstars’ concert like the recent Rain’s and S.H.E. He also takes pictures for food review, and not forgetting, those R.O.Ms and wedding pictures. For those who know Willie, they are mostly referred. Couples after couples would refer him to their friends for R.O.M. or wedding photo shots cos they are simply beautiful!! Willie was also my sis and Mommy Christine’s wedding photographer!

We love the pictures he had taken for us too! So .... very much, that we decided to call him again and ask if he were able to take some pics for us, with the new addition of course. Willie agreed without any hesitation! We were so happy and excited about the photo shots, and ended up quite busily looking for accessories to make our baby looks pretty =)

We were at the studio for the shots and what caught my eyes were the side racks, where an array of professional photography equipments were neatly hung and displayed. Willie let little Beatrice get used to the environment, and to him first before we start with the photo shots. We love the pictures that were taken becos they are so beautiful and natural! Juz like our wedding pic! Well, though I could not show you those pics in our blog (cos I don’t have the soft copy) but if you are keen, please let me know and I will definitely show you the hard copy ;P

Well, if you wanna take family photos or wedding pics, you may wanna consider Willie! His latest portfolio showcases beautiful and very very interesting wedding pics! Which were in demand by the brides and bridegrooms who saw samples of them and love them! (like I do !!! maybe Larry and I should consider renewing our wedding vows and taking our wedding pics again! heeheehee ....)

If you are interested to have your pics taken, do not hesitate any longer. Juz give Willie a call or simply drop him an E-mail for an appointment to have that "Magical Moments" of yours captured beautifully and have it sealed permanently in a CD-ROM for an aged long sharing and viewing.

SATISFACTION GUARANTEE!!!!

Beatrice and the Studio Pics

Enjoy these pics taken by Willie!

Ain't they pretty!