Happy Birthday to Kah Yen!

Happy Birthday my little girl!

You have the sweetest smile I have ever seen.

The purest soul I have ever imagined.

The gentlest heart I have ever asked.


On this day,

I wish the smile on your face will never fade.

I wish the Lord will keep your soul, as pure as gold.

I wish you strong and healthy.

I wish you be a joy and a blessing.

I wish you know you are always worthy.

I wish you will never lose your way.

I wish you full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

For these are the best things you can ever have.

These are the prayers I have for you.

Kah Yen is two

I have been procrastinating this post. She turned two last week. We bought the cake, lighted up the candles, opened the presents and sang the birthday song, Kah Yen was very excited by all the attention she was getting. I doubt she fully understands the meaning of "birthday" but she surely knows it is something good because everybody was treating her like a queen.

I am very happy but deep down in my heart, part of me also wants to tone down all the celebrations, that part of me wishes she stops growing up too fast. Turning two means she is saying byebye to the toddlerhood phase pretty soon - a phase of discovery, of learning, of fun and of pure joy, a phase I have enjoyed so much.

She is curious, she is playful, she is full of energy. She does things typical two-year-olds do. She sees a puddle, she jumps into it; She dashes across field to chase after birds and wonders why they always run away from her; She says "Hi" and "Hello" to the cats and dogs on the streets and if I don't stop her, she will give them a kiss on their furry cheeks too; She points and talks non-stop in taxis and on buses; She wiggles her body to the tune of the music; She jumps and rolls on our bed naked after shower; She plays with her toys full of imagination on some days while on others she throw them all over the floor; She likes to be read to and pretends she can read; She opens the bottles, she opens the drawers, she opens everything that is openable; She giggles non-stop at the silliest of actions such as a tickle, a wink on one eye or a sticking-out tougue.

She is also learning to be independent, a "symptom" of two-year-olds I have been warned. She brushes her own teeth (sort of); She turns on and off the water tap on her own when washing hands; She wants to be the one to open the door when going out, and switching on the lights when coming back; She will be the first one to push the lift buttons, which sometimes leads us to the wrong floor; She applies her own baby bath and rubs her own tummy; She wants to take off her own pants and her own diaper. Sometimes it annoys me when I am rushing and she is trying to be "helpful", but most days I give in a little to let her feel "Mighty Big".

I have never dreamt of having a girl so sweet, so gentle and so affectionate. When I leave for work early in the morning, she hurries to the door to give me a "hi-five", a hug and a kiss. When I pick her up from nanny in the evening, she won't leave without saying "Byebye" to everyone in the house, including running to the kitchen just to say "Bye" to the maid. She remembers all of them in her night prayers, when I say "God bless Kah Yen", she follows "Bless Popo, bless Korkor, bless Jiejie, bless aunty", aunty is the maid. She gives the biggest hugs and the biggest smile. She brings her Baby Pooh with her everywhere she goes. She helps us take our shoes off the shoe rack whenever we are going out.

She hasn't learnt her ABCs, she still doesn't count in sequence, she is not very interested in her colors, she can't hold her spoon very well, and she is still in her diapers, but all of these do not change the slightest how I love her just the way she is.

Happy birthday, my little girl.

Dora girl

I forgot since when, Kah Yen suddenly became a Dora girl.

She must have learnt about Dora from the big boys at our nanny's place, that's how she got to know Angry Bird too. (The boys have an iPad!) From that day, she will point and call Dora whenever she sees one. Interestingly, she calls "DoDoDora" instead of "Dora", and the way she calls it is so cute that everybody else at out house and our nanny's house now calls it "DoDoDora", exactly the same way everyone ended up calling Baby Pooh "Ah Pooh" one year ago.

So now she wears a Dora T-shirt, she carries a Dora school bag, she just received a Dora water bottle for her birthday, and she only reads Dora the Explorer flip-the-flap books while in the library.

The interesting part is, Mummy knows nothing about Dora. Well I know she is a children character that little girls like, but who is she, where does she come from and what she does, I have no idea. So the other day I asked the husband.

"Is Dora a Chinese?"

"No, you don't know? She is a Latino, of Spanish origin." He gave me that look as if I am from another planet.

"But how can she have straight and dark hair if she is a Latino? She looks exactly like a Chinese doll." I was not easily beaten by that look.

"Her hair is dark brown, and straight hair because they want to keep the illustration simple." He replied as if he is an expert.

"What does she do?"

"You mean you have never heard of Dora before?" He was amazed.

"Well, it is just a generation gap." I murmured and turned my eyes to something else. I mean generation gap between me and Kah Yen, not me and him.

The next morning I went to wikipedia to get myself acquainted with Dora. Dora is a little explorer, a curious girl. She is always positive. She doesn't hold grudge against anybody. She gives others chances. She values her family. She is fond of Boots the monkey. She enjoys sports. She is also skilled at playing a wooden flute.

I was totally bowled over by Dora. She is such a positive character for Kah Yen to follow as compared to others. Hello Kitty is over consumerised. Barbie lacks character. Disney Princesses are too fairy. Mickey mouse simply draws children in front of the TV for hours.

Dora TV series is too old to be found. Plus there are a whole bunch of Dora the Exlorer books for me to read to her. If she can't learn anything from Dora, at least she may grow to love reading books.

So I am just going to enjoy her being a Dora girl.

It takes only three to make a party

It is Kah Yen's 2nd birthday this weekend. We did not plan a big party. It is going to be just Daddy, Mummy and Kah Yen. But on Friday Daddy had the idea of having a mini celebration at our Nanny's place before we pick her back, since her family had managed to find out about her birthday and have already bought her various birthday gifts one week ago.

Our nanny's children are married and live on their own, only two grandsons and one granddaughter come to the house every afternoon after school. They are the Korkor and Jiejie who play with Kah Yen everyday.

We bought a mini cake, a slice of cake to be exact, since it is dinner time for the children.

Jiejie had after-school activity so only the two boys were at home with Kah Yen. When we reached, we saw the two boys sitting at the bench chair drawing on a piece of paper each, Kah Yen was also doodling beside them. My nanny had told them to make birthday cards for Kah Yen and that's what they were doing. How sweet!

When I opened the cake box, the boys shouted "Wow, so small!" Kids being kids, they say what they see, even if that embarrasses you. The size of the cake did nothing to change their party mood though, when the candle was lighted, they clapped and sang "Happy Birthday" song the loudest.
They didn't just sing, they screamed their lungs out.

They cut the cake into all sorts of shapes and laughed at their own creation.
They gave you their biggest smile in front of the camera.

They hugged and kissed Meimei like there is no tomorrow one minute, the next they ran right into her as if she is invisible.

They presented their birthday cards right onto your face.

They did an impromptu "Gangnam Style" dance and was toally pissed when I don't know what is 'Gangnam Style".

They forgot it is not their own birthday.

Before we reached husband told me to use my high pitch voice to create the party atmosphere, the minute we stepped in the house, we found I was totally redundant.

It takes only three children to make a party.

A big girl in the making

Last night I was not at home. Husband sent me a few photos after puttting Kah Yen to bed. Before I click open the small image icon on my "WhatsApp" window, I wonder who that girl was. It was different from my baby.

I opened the images and I saw a big girl in front of me.

First time her hair was tied, by our nanny. I am a little bit guilty I am not the first one tying her hair. I have a girly girl at hand yet it can't motivate the old lazy me to start like shopping and appreciate more girly stuff. Gotta change!

Then first time she was carrying a big girl bottle. My nanny's daughter bought this pink bottle for her - something every big girl will have, from the age of 2 till they go to primary school. I am ashamed to say that I still let Kah Yen use her Pigeon Mag Mug Step 3 straw cup. And it is blue. I can't find any other colors when I bought the cup.


On another note, she can't wait to go to school, 'coz she sends her two big Korkor to their school bus every day. Now she insists on carrying her school bag to our nanny's place everyday.

I hope she will be fully prepared when we finally send her to school next January, to save her some tears and me some heartache moments.

iLoveSingapore Walk 2012

Love is going the extra mile to show you care.

We brought Kah Yen to the iLoveSingapore Walk 2012 last Saturday at Marina Bay Waterfront. It is an annual charity event organized by TOUCH Community Services and participated by the LoveSingapore network of churches. 

Bringing Kah Yen out for a walk with thousands of others is definitely one great way to spend a beautiful morning. The 3km walk is right at the city center, with Singapore river, the new MBS hotel and the beautiful city skyline right in front of us. 

We needed to be there by 7am, so we had to wake Kah Yen up at 630am, one hour earlier than her usual timing. She cried and refused to get up when we tried to wake her, but when we told her we were bringing her out for a walk, she immediately jumped up. Babies really love to go out.

We were waiting for the walk to start. Kah Yen was very excited by the helium balloons flying up to the sky.

Daddy carrying Kah Yen on his shoulder.

Two balloons, two children.

Singapore river just starting to wake up.

We passed by many interesting places. Kah Yen was especially drawn to the merlion, the boats and the many Christmas tree decorations along the riverside. 

I hope we have more chances to bring Kah Yen to participate in such events in the future. It is both fun and meaningful.

If I ran the zoo

I still remember when Kah Yen first learnt to stack up wooden blocks on her own, we were so happy and I even wrote a post on this "From the little destroyer to the little builder". I wish to say that from then on her building skill soars and we already have an architect in the making, but that's not the truth. On and off she played with her building blocks but nothing more than stacking up a few pieces and knocking them down. With limited imagination, her attention on building blocks remains short-lived, it can hardly sustain for more than 5 minutes if we let her play alone.

I was almost going to pack up the building blocks and buy her some more "fantasical" toys - toys that talk, sing, perhaps even dance with you, toys with a lot of buttons to press and lots of lights to blink, toys that say "come play with me" whever they are left alone for more than 5 minutes - hoping that she can thus be buried in her toys for a good one-hour on average!

Then out of sudden, one day, when Daddy wanted to play building blocks with Kah Yen and she only wanted to play with her miniature animal figures, they had a new idea - using the building blocks to build a zoo for all her animals.

And from then on, building blocks becomes the must-play activity before bedtime. And their imagination soars from here. Each time, Daddy let Kah Yen choose which animals she want to send in the zoo, which animal should be guarding the gate, what color blocks she want for the door, sometimes the animals have to cross a bridge to go in, sometimes they need to take a boat, sometimes monkey stands on the rooftop because there is no more space ......

They could be on it for a good 30 minutes each time and I have to send multiple reminders in order to get her to the bedroom.

I wish their creativity never stops here, maybe one day they will give me enough inspiration to write our own version "If I ran the zoo", maybe we can even beat Dr. Seuss, just maybe.

Dalat - The French Alps of Asia (Part I)

Dalat is eight-hour away from Ho Chi Minh City by bus. It is different from most other places in Vietnam. Dalat was where the French chose to build villas and houses for their summary get-aways during the French Colony. It is an European/French style resort destination built in the highlands. Hence it is sometimes called the French Alps of Asia.

I must admit I was a little bit disappointed when our bus first arrived the town. Having left most of the planning and preparation of this trip to the husband, I did not read much on Dalat and was half expecting something Shangri-La. It turned out Dalat was not exactly Shangri-La style. The town looked busy.

However, I soon fell in love with this unique place. It is tranquil on one hand - with its pine-covered hills, picturesque Xuan Huong lake, vivid blue skies, fresh air and French-style resorts, it is also lively on the other - just look at the night market, the alleys of shops and cafes, the roundabouts and motorbikes on the road. Yes there are motorbikes just like any other cities in Vietnam.

It is not exactly utopian but it is definitely a holiday paradise.

View of Dalat town from cable car station



The valley and the Xuan Huong lake in the evening, from our hill resort



If I did not fall in love at first sight for Dalat, I did for our resort - Dalat Cadasa resort. It is one of the few heritage resorts built by the French on poetic hills and overlooking the picturesque lake in the valley. It comprises as many as 22 fully refurbished villas, each unique on its own. Just look at the pictures here will take your breath away.



Dalat Cadasa Resort

Breakfast hall made of glass panels, right in the middle of the garden

Our villa on the hill, with the back window facing the lake

If our holiday had been longer, we would probably spend one whole day in the resort by doing nothing. But we only have one and a half day here so we don't have a minute to waste. To travel in and out of the town, we rented a motorbike. Yes, if you hadn't have the gut to rent a motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City, do it in Dalat, it is the best way to get around this place.

Our first station - Dalat Railway Station. This Art Deco creation was designed by French architects in 1932 and opened to public in 1938. Inside the train station we saw one Plateau rail road carrier and one steam engine locomotive. Both are quietly parked there to tell you something about the history of this place and the people who had come and go.


Dalat train station

The Plateau carrier

Taking a cable car ride over the pine forests, transquil lakes and farm houses, what better way to look at Dalat from this angle?

Cable car station

Cable car above pine-covered hills

Dalat Palace is one of three palaces and summer home of the colonial-era, last emperor of Vietnam Bao Dai. We actually thought it was a palace itself but it is apparently built to be a "Palace hotel" with its majestic style and historical architecture. It was built in 1922 under the French Governor. It is full of antiques inside. The front garden is huge and it's overlooking the Xuan Huong Lake. It rendered most hotels in Ho Chi Minh City just too average.

Dalat Palace

Inside Dalat Palace hotel

Front garden

We went back to the town center to have our lunch. The streets are bathing the sun in a hot and bright afternoon. Below is a photo of the one of the streets, on the left are are a row of cafes overlooking the street below. At the end of the street is the roundabout and the lake is just across.

Dalat street and its French symbol

Our cafe is right at the end of the street, with a glass panel separating us from the traffic and the heat outside, it is just the right spot to enjoy our food while comtemplating about a unique place and its past glory.



Our cafe at the corner of the street



What is this?

About a month ago, Kah Yen suddenly started to use the phrase "What is this?" all the time when she saw new things or read new picture books. She must have picked up this from our reading sessions, during which I usually point at familiar things and ask her "What is this?" so that she can say their names.

It is a good thing. And we are more than happy to tell her things she doesn't know to help build up her vocabulary. Hence we always make a point to hear her and answer her question, even though sometimes I have to say "I don't know, let's ask Daddy later".

Then came the day when I knew the answer to her question but didn't quite know how to answer it.

Last night, after bathing her, I wrapped her with a dry towel and lay her on our bed, as I was wiping her body dry, she suddenly point at her private part and asked me "What is this?"

Not quite prepared for this, I answered with a moment of pause and hesitation "That's your backside."

I hope you are not laughing at me right now. The husband did when I told him the story after I came out of the room. He said "How can you bluff her that's her backside, when it is obviously not!" I thought it is alright to say that's her backside, since during diaper change or bath time, we may say "Let's wipe/wash your backside." but we always wipe/wash both the front and the back. Hence we can treat that as part of the backside too, or maybe part of the backside assembly at least.

Anyway, the point is, there is no need for her at this age to know exactly what is it called right? I am pretty sure I myself did not know until I was in secondary school.

Apparently, my 23-month old daughter doesn't think so, for after I answered her question, she pointed at her buttock and said "Backside is here."

This girl is too smart for her age!

"Okay...well... yes backside is there. And this is where Kah Yen pee pee."

"Where Kah Yen pee pee." She repeated then turned around to look at other things in the room. I guess she accepted this explanation for now but I am not sure if she was really convinced. And soon she will realize "Where Kah Yen pee pee" is not really a name, and why every other part of the body has a name and this one doesn't.

I never expected my daughter to ask me this question at this age, I thought we can just go about life without explicitly saying its name. I am sure by now you can see that I am quite a traditional person, who feels rather uncomfortable mentioning names of private parts.

This morning the first thing I did after turning on my computer was to type into Google "How to teach your kids about private parts?" Thank God for the internet.

As I browse through, I find that most parents are open about teaching their children private parts and most doctors advise us to do so (These are all westerns of course since the sites are in English). In summary, these are the points I gathered:

1. Teach them the proper names
2. Teach them the same way you teach any other parts of the body, so that they won't feel awkward, uncomfortable or ashamed of their private parts
3. Teach them to use the names appropriately
4. Emphasize that they are their private parts, they should keep them private and don't show to others. Nobody can see or touch them except Daddy, Mommy and Doctors, or the child's other caretakers

Okay looks like I will have to pull myself out of my comfort zone and be cool about this whole thing. I don't think at two-year old she can understand the meaning of private yet so I am just going to tell her the name, and then warn her not to say the word too much.

I have a reason. A few months ago when she started to notice her nipple, I taught her the word. Then the next moment when Daddy came in, she shouted excitedly "Nipple nipple, Kah Yen nipple, Daddy show nipple". I quickly moved out of the house before she asked to view mine.

Any parents here have different advise on this subject? I especially like to hear from you because most of us are Asian parents, our culture is still very different from the west.

Band of toddlers at the playground

We have been bringing Kah Yen to the neighborhood playground before she even learnt to walk. We enjoyed spending time with her there. In the beginning we would follow her whereever she goes and show her how to play the different equipments. However, as she grows and becomes more mobile, we usually encourage her to explore the playground on her own while we lay back at the bench. No not because we are lazy parents, but we want her to have a chance to learn to socialize with other children at the playground.

Kah Yen is a relatively quiet, conservative and timid girl. (I really hate to label her like that but I don't know how else to phrase it). She is always a little scared of strangers coming near to her or staring at her. Sometimes she is afraid of bigger kids or even toddlers of her age too, when they are too rough and too intimidating. At the playground, when other kid come too close to her, she steps back. When other kids climb up the staircase or slide she is on, she quickly moves away. When a group of bigger kids are playing something fun, she will watch them but always from a safe distance.

We worry about her, unavoidably. Hence we continue to make effort to guide her to interact with other kids. Now that she is a big girl, well, almost, she is turning two soon. We notice she is more comfortable playing with other kids now.

Yesterday Daddy brought her to the playground, and afterwards showed me a series of photos of her with other kids. It is always so interesting to see the way children play, even though I was not there myself.

It started with Kah Yen blowing her bubbles - one of her favorite things these days ever since we allowed her to blow on her own. 

And a sweet little girl was drawn to the bubbles, she came over to sit beside her and watch.

Another girl came along. No words exchanged. Kah Yen continued to play on her own. If I was there I would take this opportunity to teach her to share, Daddy totally forgot about it since he was busy taking photos.

Then, a baby came to the playground in a very fancy baby car. All of them were drawn to the baby car immediately and one by one they moved towards the baby. No words exchanged.

Kah Yen showed her affection to the cute baby by blowing bubbles right at her face! Apparently that's her way of sharing and giving. Daddy corrected her later.

The three kids conveniently played with the baby's car like nobody's business. This baby must be an angel to allow three big kids to take possesion of her property just like that. Look how innocently she looked at them.

Just like that, they formed their own "Band of Toddlers", no drinking of blood or swearing of pledge, not even a word was spoken. Just like that.

I love the way they play together. Sometimes we call toddlers "social morons" because they never bother to say "Please", "Thank you" or "Sorry", they snatch things as if everything is theirs, and whatever they see first, they play first. Yet at other times they can play in harmony like they have always known each other, they care little about each other's differences, and what belongs to one person soon belongs to everybody.

We adults surely can learn a lot from them.