Travel boy

Oliver looks so much older when we are traveling, carrying his backpack and suitcase himself with passport in his hand.

Singapore Zoo

We had another trip to Singapore this week. We left on Tuesday and came back on Friday. We didn't have much on our list to do other than looking at a few apartments.

We thought our boys had enough of room viewing after a while so decided to take them to the zoo.

As I mentioned earlier this week, Oliver did some study on "animals" and "zoo" so I thought he would be extra excited to go there. Well... he was not keen at all, instead he wanted to "go home" all the way to the zoo. And even we got there he wasn't in the mood at all :(

Anyway, we got this fabulous Christmas present from M&D - an annual family pass to the zoo! So we went to the special desk and became a member. You can see how keen Oliver was from the photo...



We started off with "Free ranging" orangutans: They grabbed Oliver's attention for sure!



When you become an annual member you get to hop on and off the tram for free, so we took advantage of the ride and managed to cover most of the zoo.

Giraffes:





Zebras:





Elephants:



Luca was very happy in his buggy and was talking to daddy most of the time:



Huge python opening his mouth:



Oliver was so convinced that he would see dinosaurs in the zoo (I don't blame him, they sell dinosaur figures in the gift shops). So we had to make an effort to see some Komodo dragons. I didn't get any photos here but he was very impressed!

Oliver's other must see - Crocodiles



We know we will be coming back to the zoo so on purpose left some attractions for next time.
Guess what? since we left the zoo, all Oliver wants to do is "go to the zoo!"

Humm a little bit short...

As you know my boys have had loads of hair since they were born and it grows so fast. It has been 7 months since Luca was born. His fringe got too long and started to poke his eyes. So I decided it was time for a little trim (I really didn't want to, it was just so soft and nice). I got scissors out and took a bit? off... I thought but when I took my hands off from his fringe it turned out I chopped it a little too much.

Before:


After:




Well at least it is not annoying his eyes anymore.

Animals on ice

This morning when I dropped Oliver at nursery the teachers had a new play table set up. There were animals that live in cold climates. They were frozen with some water and stuck on the ice cubes - very cool!







They must have done pretend zoo or aquarium, Oliver keeps telling me "I see penguins! I see polar bears!" (Yes, Oliver can make good sentences now). I really love the teachers creativity : )

Feeling good

This morning I attended the first Zumba class for the year. I haven't done proper exercise since Christmas so I wasn't sure how well I could follow the class. But to my surprise I did pretty well. I put extra energy into my movements and felt like I was burning the extra calories I managed to pile up during the festive season. But to be honest towards the end of the session I was pretty tired...

I just love the Zumba music and starting the morning with smiles and fun dancing puts me into a very good mood : )

I have another challenge tomorrow morning - 90 min master class (for a charity), let's see how I go. Those who hasn't tried Zumba, you should give it a go this year! It's fun!

The painting

 To the Rose family Lake Wanaka (NZ) is a very special place. They spent many family holidays there and some of them are lucky to be spending their Christmas holiday and New Year holiday there this year. We were supposed to join the trip but unfortunately RBA stopped flying directly to Auckland and some other issues we have right now so we decided not to go (I really really wanted to go...).

When we were in NZ last time in April we celebrated Merryn and Dennis's 60th birthday and we all gave them a special present - a painting of Lake Wanaka with Merryn and Dennis looking out over the lake.



So while they are on holiday they managed to replicate the painting - I got this photo by email today.



How cool is that!

Photo shoots

I love taking photos of Luca. He just loves the camera and gives me so many different looks of him. Once I take my camera out he can look right into the lens, roll around on the carpet, crawl towards the camera, push himself up on a little step or even give me a cheeky smile!

It is so true that you don't take as many photos as you did with your first one. I really should get around to taking more photos of Luca and of both of them together.

Jingle bells (still?)

To Oliver "Jingle Bells" is now everyday music. He wants to listen and sing along to it whenever he is in the car.

During playtime, Oliver takes his red ukulele and Luca grabs the yellow one:

Ozoni

I had some Japanese friends around to have a traditional Japanese New Year dish - Ozoni is soup (depending on which part of Japan you are from it differs - soy, miso etc) with veges and mochi (rice cake).

It doesn't look so good in this photo perhaps but it certainly tasted good!



Zen eating mochi:



And most importantly we felt the arrival of the New Year!

Malay wedding

We were invited to a local Malay wedding in our simpang on New Year's day. What a special way to start the year!

Kids were all dressed in Baju Malayu:



We have been to one local wedding before so we were familiar with some aspects of the wedding. For example, as soon as we got to the venue/house, men and women were separated and were led to one of the tents to sit down.



We were seated there for a while but I could see it would be a while before we eat (it is the main part of the wedding for the guests) so I asked some of the ladies who were dressed in the family colour (wine red) baju if we could look inside the house. They looked very serious and talked to each other for a while but came back and said "no problems, follow me!"



Inside the house was set almost the same way as the outside tents but more for close families and friends. But somehow we got to sit there for the entire ceremony (nicely air-conditioned and kids could run around and play!)



There was a long prayer then we were told to "makan=eat" lunch.



After lunch there was this special candle ceremony for the groom:



And family photo taking sessions - girls were welcomed to be in it :)



We were wondering when the bride would show up. But we were told she won't be coming to the house! They were all to hop on the buses and visit her at her house!! They were very welcoming so off we went.

The groom and the grandparents were in this nice wedding BMW:



Whoever came in their own cars were back in their cars and headed out:



It was only 10min away (phew!) and we got to see the arrival ceremony of the groom:



Loud local music was played:



Inside the house the beautiful bride was waiting for the groom with cute candle boys and flower girls.


And finally they got to walk out together to greet everyone outside:



It was certainly an experience for all of us. We even received a wedding gift each - an IKEA blue tray... very modern?

New Year's day surprise

This morning when I went to Luca's room to get him up I found him...



STANDING UP! You are growing too fast son, slow down please...

New Year's Eve Dinner

Since I wasn't sure Matthew was going to be with us on New Year's Eve I didn't really have a firm plan for the night. But in the end he was here so we decided to go out for a rather nice meal with our friends at the last minute.

We went to Deals Restaurant in the Radisson hotel in Bandar. They had an amazing tasting menu, a 6 course meal with a live band playing some smooth music.

It started with White Bean and Mushroom Cappuccino (the restaurant had dim lighting so the photos are bit dark until I realised I could use Matthew's phone which has a flash function).



Deep Sea Scallop Sashimi with Lemon Sherbet and Ebiko Caviar:



Duck Liver Parfait:



Grilled Prawn with Cauliflower Pannacotta:



We were getting pretty full with all these beautiful dishes, but when the main came I couldn't stop eating! The steak was soooo tender! Slow Cooked Beef Loin:



And the dessert - Coconut jelly with fresh fruit:



By the time we finished all the courses it wasn't far off midnight so we decided to stay in the restaurant until the moment came. We had very nice chats and giggles:






What a nice way to spend New Years Eve. Where will we be this time next year?