And Here Cometh The Ox...

The Bees' favourite: LO HEI!

The Ox trampled into the new lunar year yesterday amidst much fanfare and customs - resonant with traditions well-loved by millions of Chinese across the world. Traditions of family togetherness and bonding.

In a small corner of Singapore, we celebrated Chinese New Year in a rather big way. Visiting 7 families in 2 days. Plus juggling 2 very active girls with a strong penchant for heaty and junk-food tidbits. At the end of each day, Hubby and I were drenched in fatigue.

Yet, it was lovely meeting up great-grandparents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, some of whom we sometimes only meet once a year. Catching up eagerly with them, feeling the invisible yet stalwart strength of our family ties that lasted through many generations before us, bonded by a similar surname and common ancestors. And anticipating the following year when the same gathering will occur in the same mien. This annual ritual is so comforting, heartwarming and reassuring in its enduring predictability.

The Bees enjoyed themselves tremendously, munching non-stop on the goodies to my dismay, and charming all the older relatives. I hope they will grow to love Chinese New Year as much as Hubby and I do.

'Twas The Night Before The Ox Year

Chinese New Year's Eve is rife with centuries-old rituals, traditional merry-making and convivial family bonding. On the morning of the Eve, we decided to embark into Chinatown to immerse in the boisterous festivities and soak in the mood yet avoiding the overpowering night crowds.

The Bees were excitedly looking through pasar malam clothes and trinkets, and Hubby bought his favourite bak-kwa, all ready for feasting throughout the 15 days of Lunar New Year! I love the narrow, hot, quaint pasar malam stalls, although Big Bee was not too thrilled by the heat. Little Bee was smart - incessantly extending her arms out and calling out to me to "bao bao" her, so Hubby and I had quite a load to carry!

As the Eve fell on a Sunday, I could adjourn to my Mum's place for a reunion lunch. It was heartwarming to see Mum's dining table laid out with a cheery tablecloth and an impressive New Year's feast. It was one of those rare Kodak moments, and I so enjoyed spending time with my family, which brought a whiff of nostalgia back to my childhood.

The reunion dinner was spent with Hubby's family in a simple, fuss-free steamboat style. Lo-hei followed shortly after, and it never failed to bring megawatt smiles to all our faces. Big Bee and Little Bee were also excitedly tossing the lo-hei goodies. Big Bee was yelling out wishes cheerfully, though they were ostensibly different from the usual adults' wishes of prosperity and health. Hers revolved around the present moment like "I wish the lo-hei will not fall to my hands!". I need to educate her next year on what to say during these sessions.

Little Bee was just delighted she could hold on to a pair of chopsticks and tossing FOOD. Her favourite moment came after the session, when we sat down and she could feast on the lo-hei goodies. She was the last to leave the table, no doubt. She also tried lugging a big box of bak-kwa from the in-laws' place when we were leaving, much to my embarrassment!

We went back home in high spirits, filled with the usual jubilation that imbue us every Chinese New Year's Eve. The most sentimental ritual for the night was really the packing of ang-pows, ready for full blown festivities the following day.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Back To School!

Life has settled into a comfortable and familiar routine as January blew its blustery and swift winds in.

Little Bee's weekend playgroup has started after a long hiatus since November, and Hubby and I took turns to accompany her. Last Saturday was my turn. It was such a joy spending time with her alone, one of those very rare moments as she is the second child.

She has settled very well into her playgroup this term, prompting comments from the teachers that range from "She's so expressive this term!" to "She has transformed so much! Compared to last term when she was so clingy!"

Playground time, YAY!!

Her favourite activities in school are the mass singing session, playground and snack time....in ascending order ;) She is more of a foodie than ever, demonstrating her bottomless pit ability to highest capacity. When the teacher asked her cheekily to share her food, she kept shaking her head, guarded her bowl of food protectively and then pointed to another girl, asking the teacher to take food from others instead! I sure hope she will not develop fat genes now!

Singing is one of her greatest pleasures. She sings all day long. When she is playing. When she is bathing. When she is sauntering about the house. Although the words are incoherent (as she cannot really articulate well yet), the melodies that she belts out are clear and mellifluous! Her favourite songs these days are "Old MacDonald" (favourite animal sounds would be "neigh neigh" and "oink oink" and nothing else!), "Twinkle Little Star", "Happy Birthday", "Row row row the boat", "Mr Sun", "Let's Say Hello" song from her school, and most recently "I Love You" from Barney. It is a comical sight when she sings, her brows furrowing, her lips pouting, her arms gesticulating.

In the playgroup's library after school. I disguised Big Bee's bob into a ballerina bun for her ballet class, much to her delight ;)

I am glad Little Bee is enjoying school, and I hope she is equally confident when she starts her daily school in time to come this year!

Little Bee's latest creation - Mr Jolly Roly Poly

Regal Royal Majesties

We are staying at home more often in the evenings as we have to turn in early to rise and shine equally early. So, the Bees made use of the leisurely, idyllic time at night for plenty of imaginative and creative fooling around.

Last Monday, they decided to be queens from another world. My mum tied blankets to act as majestic cloaks around the girls' shoulders, and I decked their heads with different crowns of sorts. They were thrilled, especially Little Bee, who dashed about the whole house, alternating in her imagination between being a superhero and queen! Big Bee could not stop twirling around with her fanciful ballerina pirouettes.

The results....voila! Presenting the Monarch of Pink Fairies and the Queen of Reindeers!

Speaking of reindeers, Little Bee always associates them with flying Santa's helpers! Every time we read a book with reindeers, she will point at them excitedly and said "fly fly fly!", flapping her arms in a flying motion, and uttering "Ho ho ho" for Santa Claus. Guess she had never quite gotten over the Christmas mood yet!

A New Daily Grind

They have catfights everyday, yet they can't live without each other :)

Drowsy. Vivified. Frazzled. Elated. Diligent. Contented.

These are the usual 6 emotions running through me in a typical weekday now. They corresponded with the different segments of the day below:

Drowsy: Waking up with difficulty at 6am daily in the cool, crisp air, just before the sky starts blushing its rosy dawn cheeks. Vivified: Walking with Big Bee to school, hand in hand, giggling and chatting in the awakening morning sky, our souls permeated with the rejuvenating breath of the fresh morning air. Then coming home to spend some rare solo bonding time with cheeky Little Bee. Frazzled: Spending a day in the office, underneath a mountain load of work. Elated: Exhilaration and eager anticipation on the way home, to be greeted by 2 sweetest girls in the world, oft with squealing hugs and blithe grins. Diligent: Hard at work with Big Bee, doing her homework and revising the basic foundation of academic knowledge, while reading cheerfully with Little Bee. Contented: Sinking into bed at 9.15pm, taking turns with Mum between giving Big Bee a full body massage, her typical nightly routine, or patting Little Bee to sleep, with Papa whispering sweet goodnights to the girls...ensconced in a dark room filled with love and joy. And finally, plenty of me-time until 1am!

Our family had developed a brand new routine in these infant days of the new year. With Big Bee embarking into primary one, many of our old habits had to be smothered or altered. Though tiring, I am enjoying this daily cycle that is becoming more and more familiar and endearing to us.

Walking back from school on the 2nd day

Metamorphosis

Little Bee...from then till now...

Children grow up too fast. Especially in the first 5 years of their lives. As parents, we all witness their transformation from a helpless infant highly dependent on you for just food and milk to a gregarious and curious toddler who is always mimicking us and learning about social norms, then to a sensible and responsible big kid in school who is a little adult yet still want us to smother them with baby love at home.

I look at Little Bee and remember that it seemed like just yesterday when she was active in my stomach, giving me contractions and suckling for milk the whole night long. Now, her own personality is shining through her toddler inquisitiveness, creating her own territories by marking everything with a petulant "MINE!" and a forceful snatch, laughing along with us when we share a joke, squealing alongside us when we all got excited, teasing us with her playful big grins and generous hugs/kisses.

Her favourite term now is "I want! I want!" and she loves food more than ever, willingly dropping everything (including her favourite toys) just so she can munch on some delectable delicacies in her mouth. She is a bottomless pit, always asking for food 24/7, irregardless of whether she had just finished her meals.

She enjoys reading now, especially those pop-up and flap books. She recently became fascinated with anemones after seeing a pop-up anemone in one book. She will then flip through the whole book searching for anemones, exclaiming in her breathy sweet voice "Ay-neh-monn-neee!" Big Bee and I were really tickled by her.

She can recognize and utter about 3/4 of alphabets, but tend to be stubborn at times, insisting that W is M, and pronouncing S as "ssssss". She can also recognize and count from 1 to 10, and sometimes, it warms my heart to see Big Bee teaching Little Bee in such an animated and enthusiastic mien, with both sisters chatting excitedly. Big Bee claims that I am a boring teacher compared to her, and it is true indeed that Little Bee very much prefers her jie-jie to teach, compared to her boring old Mummy.

Everyday I treasure spending wondrous moments with them, cherishing every precious time together before they grow up.

Primary School Debut

The BIG DAY had arrived. Day one in primary school! I woke up excitedly at 7am and prepared Big Bee's uniforms, bags, watch (yes! she will need a watch to check the time now!) and the pocket money for her brand new wallet. The school advised that we should only give $2 per day to the little kids, which is good advice to prevent flaunting and wasteful spending of pocket money.

Big Bee dawdled a little when I woke her up at 7.30am, having slept so late the night before. But she was obedient and well behaved when preparing herself for school, wearing her uniform for the first time excitedly, putting on her school socks pro-actively and delighted when she took her matching "My Little Pony" wallet, pencil case and water bottle cover! Style, indeed, in a little girly way.

Her "Powerful Puff Girls" trolley school bag was a recycled item from her travel luggage, as I did not buy her a new school bag, thinking it was big enough to contain her many books. It was really heavy though!

So, there we were, at 8am, literally on the threshold of our living room door, and figuratively on the brink of a new phase in her life. Papa hoisted a sleeping Little Bee from her bed, and we prammed her together with her sister, wanting to share this special morning together as a whole family. The walk to school took about 12 minutes, with me perspiring loads due to the heavy school bag!

The parents were allowed into the classroom this morning as the form teacher explained the procedures of primary school. This time, I found Mrs Tay, her form teacher, very nice yet firm, highly experienced (she had more than 25 years of teaching!) yet caring and empathetic towards the kids. Wonderful combination.

Mrs Tay advised us on all sorts of primary school issues - from number of CCAs to take, to recommended sleeping time (she highlighted that the kids should be sleeping at 8pm to 8.30pm! I don't think I can accomplish that for Big Bee at all!), to the types of foods to avoid during the first year at recess (no boiling bowls of noodles for the little ones, please, as they can hardly carry hot bowls of soup and jostle with crowds at the same time!). Very sound advice in all.

We watched how she interacted with the kids, which was very understanding and personal, and as they gathered together to sing songs, I saw the class slowly warming up to her. Big Bee was quickly making friends, giggling and whispering with her new queue partner already!

Each primary one girl was allocated a primary five buddy for 2 weeks, who will bring them around the school, acquainting them with the ways of primary school. Big Bee's buddy is Melissa, a studious-looking yet chatty eleven-year-old girl. She brought her down to the canteen during recess, and as Big Bee munched on a Hello Kitty moulded sandwich that I prepared at home, Melissa chomped down a big plate of creamy pasta! The canteen was like a battlefield of hungry kids, with long queues at the stalls, yakking girls and minimal space at the benches and tables. Big Bee shared with me that she preferred to pack food from home, I guess most of the primary one kids are certainly overwhelmed by the long queues and the fact that they have to scramble and find their own food from now on, rather than being served on a platter!

We left Big Bee with Melissa to explore the school grounds while we spend some time with Little Bee, who, not surprisingly, kept pointing at the canteen stalls, telling us "I want, I want!" So, we bought her a tuna and egg sandwich, which she wolfed down happily!

At 10am, after the half-hour recess, we watched as Big Bee settled into her class, and we waved goodbye to her. She seemed comfortable and confident, unlike her clingy and teary pre-school days. I am relieved that she had transformed into this mature, adaptable, sociable girl.

At home, for the first time in a long while, I can spend a couple of quality hours with Little Bee, playing solo games with her, chatting quietly with her and bonding loads together.

At 12pm, I set off to fetch Big Bee from school. Parents were not allowed into the classrooms anymore. We can only fetch the kids at a gathering point on the ground level. As I watched my little girl walk down the stairs cheerfully, my heart expanded with the hopes that the start of her academic journey in life may be smooth, momentous and transformative after all. My heart aches to see my little girl growing up independently of us, having a life of her own, secrets of her own, yet my head simmers with pride to see her handling the vicissitudes of life so well thus far. Good luck, Big Bee!

Consternation

I just put Big Bee to bed - at a grand time of 11.45pm, despite the fact that tomorrow will be her first day in primary one (although thank goodness the school hours for the P1 kids in the first 3 days will be 8.30am to 12.30pm, just for adjustment's sake, whew!).

I prepared the 2 Bees to sleep at 9.30pm, one of the earliest in a long long time. Little Bee slept almost immediately, probably because she skipped her afternoon nap. Big Bee tossed and turned in bed, until I was quite mad at her, and went out of her bedroom for a cool-my-temper-down shower! She was very affected by this, and I felt pretty bad after my shower.

So, I plucked her out from her bedroom, sat her in the living room sofa, offered her a glass of warm water and a spoonful of rich, soothing, mellow honey, then proceeded to ask her why she could not sleep. (Normally, Big Bee will knock out to sleepy paradise less than 5 minutes after her head touches the pillow, so this is way malfunctional indeed!)

It seemed like this question from me was a mere catalyst for a floodgate of tears and frankness to flow out. With big drops of crystalline saltiness emanating from her eyes, she told me truthfully that she was very excited about tomorrow's first day in a primary school. She emptied her heart to me and shared her 3 biggest worries about tomorrow:
1) She is frightened of the form teacher whom we heard is rather fierce
- I assured her that form teachers, like her Selena in K2, are all firm and strict, but I heard from my friend who had been taught by the same teacher that she cares a lot for her students and is very good. She seemed comforted by this remark.

2) What if her P5 buddy is fierce?
- I giggled and made light of this worry, highlighting to her that her P5 buddy in another primary school during a K2 field trip was so super nice to her. I also related some stories from other girls who had been through P1 in the same school that the P5 buddy will be really nice and helpful. I asked her if she will be fierce to her P1 ward next time in P5...and she seemed tickled by this reversal of roles.

3) What if she has no friends?
- This is a very universal and understandable worry, something that Mummy always worried about when I was young too! How Big Bee resembles me! So, I told her that she usually had no problems socialising with new friends...assuring her that she already has a lot of friends, proof that she had been well-liked by peers usually.

Sigh. It pains my heart that my little girl had this whole burden on her shoulder as she steps across the threshold to a new chapter in her life. But I am confident that she is highly resilient and adaptable, and will be able to hold her head high amongst her peers and teachers.

I just hope she will not be too sleepy in school tomorrow!

Splashing In The New Year

We ushered in the new year of 2009 with a pool and BBQ party at PF's. The Bees arrived early in the gorgeous golden lights of early evening for some splashing fun with Eugene and Claire. Big Bee had immense fun fooling around with them as usual, whereas Little Bee was paddling on the sidelines near me. 

Big Bee will be embarking on swimming lessons next month so that she can be more adroit in the water, and can have more pool parties in future! 

We then started preparing the BBQ food around 7pm, with the guys starting a merry BBQ fire and fanning some really delicious food! Our old JC classmate, Tracy and her family, joined us for the food party and we all had a wonderful time catching up on old times. How time flies, and I am constantly amazed by this understatement every New Year's Eve! 

The kids having a splashing good time! 

With the adults enjoying good food, rich wine and merry company, the kids turned all sweaty and sticky with their own version of New Year's Eve fun and games! I am glad to see Little Bee interacting a lot more freely with them now that she is older. 

Sweaty kids and yummy food! 

We ended the party around 10pm, and put the Bees to bed before Hubby and I caught up with the countdown parties on TV. We cannot wait to countdown future new years with the Bees when they are older to stay up the night! 

Happy New Year, everyone :)