31 December 2009
We inaugurated 2010 with yet another swimdate on the morning of New Year's Eve, which was somewhat reminiscent of how we splashed in 2009 last year. Last year, Big Bee was literally splashing about, uncertain of herself in the water. This year, she swam like a fish, currently preparing for the NASSA silver award. Last year, Little Bee clung on to me by the edge of the pool. This year, she confidently waded around the entire pool by herself, sinking her head halfway into the water to experience how "swimming" feels like.
A new year. New changes. How they adjusted to the pool is but a mere figurative parallelism of how they assimilate the milestones in their lives every year. Having children means experiencing for ourselves the amazing tenacity and malleability of these little beings, and I think we have much to learn from them.
The swimdate on New Year's Eve morning was with HM's niece, Meredith. She is such a sunny and cheery little girl with a remarkably outgoing personality. The day started off brilliantly with a benign breeze that gently played with our hair and docile sunlight that teased with the little girls in the pool. A halcyon morning indeed. While the girls splashed about with lots of giggles and chuckles, HM and I chatted animatedly about everything under the sun. A perfect combination. We had a complaisant and laidback lunch in the tranquillity of early afternoon in the cafe within my estate, and the little girls parted with promises of more playdates to come.
Splashing fun with Meredith!
The Bees and I then spent a lazy and placid afternoon reading and chatting together, while waiting for Hubby to be back from work. I love peaceful and quiet afternoons like these, where our senses are brought into a pleasant equilibrium.
After a homecooked dinner, we decided to bade farewell to 2009 with a walk in the park - in the dark! We arrived in Botanic Gardens at 8pm, and ambled through the entire gardens for an hour. It was awe-inspiring to be walking with giants as the year winded down. The omniscient presence of the colossal venerable trees humbled us and we told stories to the Bees about the beauty of nature all around us. Both of them were slightly afraid of the dark park, but were somewhat reassured by the composed enjoyment they saw in Hubby and I.
After we brought the kids to bed on the last night of 2009, Hubby and I watched the resplendent fireworks on TV, in the quiet of our home. A gratifying way to ring in 2010 indeed.
1 January 2010
We initiated the New Year with another walk in the park, this time with dinosaurs! We arrived bright and excited in Hollywood Dinos with PF and family on the morning of 2010, eager to ring in the new year with primeval behemoths that walked the earth millions of years ago.
Big Bee viewed all these gargantuan beasts with the right blend of fascination, curiosity and some fear. Little Bee started off the journey with some innocent trepidation which escalated to unbelievable shock at the realistic portrayals of these moving dinosaurs. She was very fearful in the caves where the atmosphere became thick with prehistoric adventure and roars, but we were able to convince her that everything was unreal and merely "toys".
I was disappointed by the small scale of the exhibit, but the Bees had fun, especially the last part where they were able to engage in some relatively calm and soothing fossil digging with Eugene and Claire!
Budding paleontologists digging for prehistoric fossils with Eugene and Claire
Lunch was spent in sinful MacDonald's with the kids chomping down lots of fries with plenty of laughter, though Little Bee fell sick with a mild fever thereafter! However, she was still bubbly and animated, so we were able to have a cosy and intimate New Year's Day dinner at my parents' place.
2 January 2010
We got ready for all the hustle and bustle of lessons with Big Bee commencing her ballet and piano classes. I was able to spend some precious private time with Little Bee alone while Hubby and Big Bee had their own bonding session. It is such joy to chat with Little Bee these days as she is becoming more articulate and is able to provide such witty repartees to our bantering. I cannot stress the importance of spending one-to-one time with each child once in a while just to make them feel special and important, so Hubby and I decided to make use of every Saturday to spend private time with each of the Bees.
The whole day was spent in a restful manner, culminating with another warm and lovely dinner at my in laws' place. Watching grandparents and grandchildren interact happily together never fail to bring a beaming smile to me.
3 January 2010
Finally, we prepared for the final day of enjoyment this beautiful holiday season with another gastronomical experience at WH's place for tea. This time, she baked apple crumble and cupcakes for the kids. Big Bee was amazed at Auntie WH's fantastic baking skills and wanted to learn baking from her! I had a wonderful time catching up with WH and watching the girls play peacefully together. With the Bees growing older these days, one of the pleasures of parenting is being able to watch them from afar while spending quality time with family and friends.
Some serious playing with Megan and Natalie
Unfortunately, I had to brace myself for the dreariness of working life after such a delightful break at home. Life as a SAHM definitely agrees with me!
Nevertheless, here's wishing everyone a beautiful 2010!
2 comments:
I bought the tickets to Hollywood Dinos too. So sad if it is very small scale. My boys have high expectations of this!
When are you going? It is small but will still be a wonderful experience for your boys :)
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