Let's Do the Monkey Dance

Jules' school held their annual Christmas concert yesterday and it was nothing short of a wonderful concert!! The last time I attended a kids performance concert of this sort was a good 15 years ago maybe - when my younger sis was do a Hawaiian dance at her kindy year end concert.  Never imagined than that one day, I'll see my own kiddo on stage doing a Monkey dance! 

When we first found out from the teachers that the kids were putting up a performance, we have been asking Jules what she was going to be performing as in school.  Her first reply was "monkey, wooo-woo-ahh-ahhh" (complete with the monkey scratching action) - it was hilarious. My first reaction to that was - you mean there was a monkey in the nativity set? ... Anyhows, that was about 3 weeks back.  Her answer to the same question never changed in that 3 weeks although I was telling my parents the day before the concert that it will be really funny if it turns out that she wasn't a monkey afterall! .... Well thankfully, our daughter does know her role and she was indeed a monkey at yesterday's concert - albeit not a very agile one!  I think the kiddos (at least for the Pre-N and below classes) were all a little overwhelmed when the curtains opened and all they saw was a sea of eager parents with their cameras instead of the usual familiar faces of their teachers at rehearsals.  Some even burst into tears!! They literally stood still for most part of the dance while the music played on.  It probably turned out more hilarious then if they actually did the dance.  In the end, Jules danced all but 2 sec of her monkey dance, but it was good enough for us.  She warmed up considerably during the Chinese dance segment and clapped along the entire time. 

The infant class doing the "Macarena" dance.  Totally adorable! 

The Monkey Dance

Here's a short clip of her in action .....

The principal gave out little Christmas cards the kiddos made out of their footprints and with a photo of them in their performance costume.  I couldn't help but tear a little seeing our little monkey on that card.  Oh what a poser she was with a big huge smile!! It told me one thing - how happy and joyful a child she was and how happy she was being in school with her friends.  

Christmas Card of made by our little monkey

Kudos to the teachers for all the effort they put into rehearsing with the kids, doing up the props and sewing their costumes together.  The concert wasn't held in any fancy auditorium, just in the school grounds with DIY backdrop and Christmas decos all round but it was warm and cosy, plus the kids were in familiar ground, in the place where they spent the last year growing, crying, learning and having lots of fun - so I think it was just the perfect venue! 

The grand finale .... I think she was mighty proud of herself! 

Seeing Jules perform at her concert made me realise just how much our little munch'kin has grown the past year.  I couldn't be more proud of our daughter.  At 25 months, sitting and performing in front of an audience, putting on an awesome show with a big smile and knowing when the item was coming to an end so that she could get up and clap and bow - me thinks that's quite a deal for someone her age.  

The hubs and I left school that day feeling a tinge sad that she will soon be saying goodbye to her teachers and friends when she starts kindy in March next year, especially since she has only recently became more attached to them.  But well, it's a transition we have to make.  For now, I'm just thankful that our decision to start her early in play group was a good one and that she has thoroughly enjoyed herself this past 10 months or so.  

With Tr M

and Tr Z

Enjoy what's left of your Montessori days Jujubee!! 

Her favourite spot in school - the playground!

Letters to Julianne #30

Dearest Julianne, 

I hope you're enjoying life in the 2s.  Things haven't changed very much since you turned 2,  you're still waking up at night and we're still waiting to throw you your Julianne-hits-10kg party! (100g more to go! - it was 300g before your 2nd birthday so at least there's some progress) 

After that series of birthday celebrations we threw you, we pretty much kept the rest of November quiet.  Just chilling around, working together on art and crafts and putting up the Christmas tree. Nothing terribly exciting but still fun just spending time with you. 

Planking

No she did not draw that. 

You and I, we have conversations these days.  Some are nonsensical, some quite serious but mostly hilarious ....

(after you just asked aunty joy to paint your fingers)

Mama: Juju, go wash your hands, we're going out soon

Juju: Mama cannot, Juju painting nails

Mama: Juju, tell Mama what you're going to be performing as in school

Juju: Looks at me blankly and keeps quiet (I think she was trying to comprehend my question)

Mama:(repeats question)

Juju: Monkey! Woo-Woo-Ahh-Ahh (complete with hand action of a monkey)

(the youngest aunt was down with a toothache this week and in a lot of pain)

Yiyi Sam: Juju, what happen to Yiyi?

Juju: Yiyi sick.

Juju: Yiyi sick - go sleep! 

(the husband goes off to buy (yet another) camera)
Mama: Juju, later you tell Dada - No more camera.  Buy Mama diamond. 
Juju; Ok
(when Dada returns)
Mama: Juju, what must you tell Dada
Juju: Dada, no camera. Buy Mama diaPER! 
Mama: *faints*

You associate being 2 with being a big girl.  You'll type on our laptops and proudly tell everyone "Mama, Juju do work". Yiyi Sam has been studying for her finals and you always insist on joining her at the table to also "do work" - let's see if you're *this* enthusiastic about doing work when you're 7!  Well, if your handwriting today is anything to go by - we're predicting you should be having rather neat and compact handwriting - which is rather in sync with your OCDness.   

Jules' handwriting @25 months

Just yesterday, we brought you to watch Disney Live Mickey Magic Show! You have been bugging us to bring you to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (a result of too much Disney Junior), so since our Disney holiday isn't till two months time, I figured this was the closest to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse I could give you.  You got soooo excited when Mickey made his appearance!! The rest of the show was pretty much a hit and miss, you only enjoyed the parts with music and dancing and got bored during the magic segments - how ironic.  

We wrapped up our November with this shot taken at the skypark of the MBS where Da-yi was staying for a night.  You clearly couldn't appreciate the view but you sure were happy just picking up leaves and flowers with cousin Sophie! The little joys of your life. 

December promises to be lots of fun with our little holiday coming up next week and all the Christmas celebrations lined up!  So enjoy every bit of what the new month brings as we wrap up yet another God blessed year.  

Love you Jules and know that every day, I give thanks for you. 

Love much, 

Mama

Lazy Saturday

The things we do on a lazy Saturday . . .

Be a Starfish

Pose with a Christmas Tree

Jump on Yiyi's Bed

Go for trial class at Gymnademics
(more on that in a seperate post)

Play bubbles with Yiyi

10 Things About Jules

10 things you may want to know about Julianne Foo 

1) Is still not sleeping through the night - God must have known cos I never like sleeping or napping.  But one nice long sleep in two years would be nice.  

2) Remains exclusively breastfed for her three milk feeds a day.

3) If she had her way, she will have dried mangoes, cashew nuts and gummies for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  

4) The only Chinese word she can say is 孔龙 (dinosaur) - thanks to Ni Hao Kai Lan.

5) Is able to walk around steadily in 4" heels - definitely got those genes from me.  

6) Has a deep love for Woody and Buzz from Toy Story which is kinda cool. 

7) Hates peas but loves her green leafy veggies especially 小白菜 and spinach.    

8) Can tolerate spicy food.  She'll stick out her tongue and start panting but will still ask for more. 

9) Is a neat freak.  She bosses us to put our shoes in the correct place when we get home and she'll insist that things be placed in their original position if you re-arrange them.  Am proud of her - her neatness puts us to shame.   

10) Is ambidextrous.  She writes with her right hand but self feeds with her left.  

Jules at 2 years 1 week! 

5 Years On . . .

We celebrated our 5th anniversary over the weekend with our traditional weekend staycation at the Four Seasons.  It's also the one time in the year we get our parenting act together and have Jules all to ourselves.

When we brought her along for our celebrations last year, she just turned one and was busy being curious and exploring the room more than anything else.  This year, she was just chilling with us, potting around the suite with the cordless phone pretending to be talking to Gong Gong - as if giving him a live commentary of what she was doing at the hotel.  She LOVEd the bathroom and kept telling us she wanted to bathe.  She also told my parents "bathroom nice" when she was chatting with them over the phone.  Ok, the bathroom is nice but I think it's the bathtub that fascinates her most!

We spent two lovely nights at the hotel and was just chilling our weekend away.  It was very relaxing.  We had our breakfast in-room, watched movies while she napped and slept and slept in till 8.30am!! 8.30am - that my friends has got to be a record!!! I haven't slept past 7am in 2 years!! Jules was just happy to be running in and out of from the bathroom to the living area and playing hide and seek with us!  She also kept playing with the mini bar - finally meet a fridge her size!

We didn't get any decent photos and amongst those we have see us in our jammies.  Well I guess that tells you just how busy we were chilling!

Happy anniversary sweetie!! Thanks for being the awesome husband that you are and that equally awesome Dada!! Thanks for putting up with my tantrums all these years and now your daughter's. We love you to bits!!

Have a great week everyone!!

Jules Turns 2! - #3

I promise this is the last installment of the "Jules Turns 2!" series.  We ended her birthday celebrations with a cosy party amongst family.  No big party and sing-a-long session like last year, just wholesome home-cooked dinner, lots of bubbles, laughter and a wholelota love from grandparents, yiyis and uncles.  

We were not planning for any party per se, just got some of her favourite people over to see her blow out her candles and indulge her in some good fun!! And that to her was probably the best present.  

There wasn't really a theme but I was going to decorate the cake I baked her with an Elmo figurine so I thought what the heck, we could do with a little fun creating a little Sesame Street party.  And with that, the streets of Sesame Street formed the backdrop to her 2nd year photo montage.  Thanks to the little aunt for drawing the Sesame Street road.  I was quite pleased with the end result! 

That was about as Sesame Streetish as the party got.  The rest of the house was just decked with balloons and more balloons.  Something she'll never say no to.  

She received many thoughtful gifts including a cute little doll from Da-yi, a drum set from Yiyi Sam & Unc Unc and a huge Noah's Ark book from her cousins yiyi and a sweet poster  and wooden strawberry from Che Che Sophie which completely made her day.  Her immediate respond to that poster was to run to her art and craft corner wanting to pin it up on her craft wall.  It was very sweet!  

We her parents got her a cooking set from Mother Garden and a Buzz Lightyear from the signature Disney series.  It's as close to the character from Toy Story as it can get.  The look on her face when she realised it was Buzz - priceless!! 

My mum cooked up a storm with her famous chicken stew and juicy prawns.  Nothing like a simple homecook meal.  We had Buzz grace the party again - this time in the form of an agar agar!  It was a very old-school agar agar taste and a hit with everyone.  I'm not sure what went through Jules mind when she saw me cutting up her favourite Buzz :o.  

To top it off, a simple chocolate cake (the same one I baked for her 1st birthday - the recipe was such a keeper) but this time, decorated to the Sesame Street theme.  I rolled out some fondant in Sesame Street colors and sat Elmo on the cake nicely under the Sesame Street sign which the little aunt made for Juju!  The birthday girl was so excited, she literally squealed with delight!  

At the end of all the celebrations, what meant the most was that Jules thoroughly enjoyed herself this past 2 days.  She may not know entirely the meaning of what 'it's my birthday' means but she definitely knew the last 2 days were special - I mean it's not everyday you get balloons, eat popsicles and rip open presents! 

And that folks wraps up Jules' 2nd birthday adventures!! Sorry for boring you!! Till her 3rd birthday!! 

The Jules Turns 2! Series was brought to you by the letter 'J' and the number '2'! 

Letters to Julianne #29

Dearest Julianne, 

Happy birthday Juju!!! Judging from the time you got up from bed today, I can tell you're as excited about turning 2 as I am!! It's like you know today is partyyyy time and just couldn't tolerate wasting another minute of your special day in bed!! You must have remembered what I promised you about your surprise awaiting you downstairs and that we were going to be out with Che Che at a big playground today!! 

You have grown from a dependent, sometimes helpless baby to a young toddler with a mind of your own, peppered with as much stubborness like your Gong Gong and with a little tiger temper like Mama.  But you also have this awesome sense of humour and have that ability to crack people up with the funniest things you say and do!  You have the ability to make Por Por smile with your cheekiness even when she's angry with you for misbehaving - that is like magic! 

Likeaboss

Modelling in Mama's 4" heels

It seems like you accomplished more in your first year than in your second - which I guess is only natural.  Afterall, you came into this world as a helpless newborn so being able to do all that flipping, walking, crawling in your first year made it seem like it was much harder work.  Still, you have much to pat yourself on the back for over the past year, some of your greatest milestones were :

♥ behaving like an angel on your virgin flight to Melbourne at 13 months and then again for a short trip at 18 months.  I'm hoping you repeat the same magic when we fly again next month

♥ starting playschool and seeing how you have grown from those early days of being in tears each time I picked you up to being so comfortable in the school grounds you insist on playing on in school now when I pick you up at lunch

♥ being little miss independent.  You enjoy self-feeding, putting on your own shoes (though not necessarily always getting it right), removing your own clothes and diapers and anything else that you like to think you're capable of doing (driving a car included)

♥ your vocabulary - that has grown from the barely 10 words when you turned one to the region of a hundred odd.  You are completely able to articulate your needs (and your wants).  Just last night, Mama sat down and attempted to make a list of the words you can now say.  I stopped counting at a hundred and we probably have a good 50-80 more words to add to that list 

Mama is bracing myself for the Terrible Twos - which started even before today.  I am hoping we don't have to get too drastic with the disciplining business but I also don't want you to get away with thinking that being naughty or not sharing your toys is acceptable behaviour.  So I pray that somewhere down there in your little 2 year old brain, you will have that maturity to not be too terrible in your terrible twos.  I know - I'm just wishful thinking right?  Game to prove me wrong? 

Yiyi Sam's biggest fan

Don't grow up too fast Jujubee.  I hope that this time next year, you'll still be running to me for cuddles, that I'll still be the first person you call out for when you get up from your naps and sleep and that you'll still want to wear whatever dress I pick out for you (that's already beginning to be a challenge).  

You have been like God says "a good and perfect gift".  Have a wonderful 3rd year my sweet Julianne!! May our good Lord continue to bless you and may His angels continue to keep watch over you.  

Already showing signs of not wanting to be embarrassed publicly

Love you to the moon and back!! 

With all my love (and Dada's)

Mama