Cassandra's Life Blog

According to Cassie.

2010-05-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

According to Cassie.

吹牛： There's a huge cloud up in the sky and the wind is so strong it will blow away things !

Cassie : "Mom, why you and daddy love me ? " "Oh, i know, because i'm a beautiful precious little girl ! "

Cassie : "Mom, why does the fish swim up and down ? " "Oh, i know, because the fish wants to blow bubbles "

Cassie's drawing

2010-05-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

here's one of her many drawings : )

Cassie's School Moments.

2010-05-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

Cassie's problem solving.

Cassie has weekly ejaan (Bahasa Malaysia's Phonics) test and she was having some difficulties learning the language. Mainly because we do not use BM (Bahasa Malaysia) that frequently at home and also because she did not have any contact with the language at all. Until she attended her K1 here, only she started to know that there's this new language the she needs to learn.

Because of unfamiliarity she don't understand why 'Feri' is not the same as 'Fairy' !

Anyways, she was having this ejaan session a month ago and she somehow forgotten all the ejaan that she learned at home. So, what's the simplest solution to this situation for a 5 yrs old ? Well, at one hand, she doesn't know the answer, at the other hand, she knew her friends can do the test. To solve this problem, Cassie turned to her friend and look at her friend's answer.

In the adult world, that's cheating. But for Cassie, it's just pure problem solving ! Needless to say, she got all the lecture from the teacher and me after that and understand the seriously of cheating now.

It is of-course one valuable lesson she picked up while growing up.

Good Friends.
When she first started the new school, we encourage her to make friends. After a few weeks there we get to know her friends from her daily school event's narrative. Her good friends are now consist of a circle of girls (michelle, karen, abby, kai-yin and cherry) and she is particularly very close to Cherry.

Because Cherry is her best friend, she wanted all the opportunity she has to talk to her. The problem is, she wanted to talk to her even when teacher is teaching ! aikes.

After Hours

2010-04-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

After hours .... While the staff are cleaning up, i got some time on my hands and managed to snap some photos of Cassie.

I don't want the water-bottle already.

2010-04-22T02:41:00.001-07:00

I was having the usual conversation with Cassie about how i gotto work to earn money. This time she actually completed the sentences for me and told me that she understand why i cannot stay at home with her and why i gotto work. Specifically i told her that after i worked, then we can go to the shopping mall and she can pick up a new water-bottle because she broken hers the other day.

Then Cassie went on and said : "But mom, i don't want the water bottle already, i just want you to stay home with me." >.< ...

aw .... lil chic ... *sigh*

We've survived 8 months in KL.

2010-04-12T03:10:00.000-07:00

Time flies and we've been working, studying in KL for 8 months now. Armed with passion and determination, we had made significant changes in our lives and glad that we've made that first difficult decision to move here in the first place.

Yes, it's hectic here and yes, it's a bit more stressfull over here. And yes, it's a lot of fun along the way too. check out her smile and you know what i mean :)

Looking forward for more exciting adventure dear lil chick !

Putrajaya Ballon Fiesta 2010

2010-03-21T17:15:00.000-07:00

One of the recommended things to do in KL is the Balloon Fiesta. This is the first time we join in the fun with the rest of Putrajaya in the Balloon Fiesta. We drove from PJ area at 7.30 am for about 50 minutes and we can already see the balloons filled up the skyline of Putrajaya. Cassie of course is the most excited one.

She asked grandma to purchase the "bubble-gun' for her and as every grandma in the world would do, my mom no just bought her the gun and extra bubbles to play with later.

She then start all her pretend play and pose like a 'super-spy' :) She caught so much attention to herself that some photographers lined up to take her photos.

It was a fun way to enjoy weekend and one good way to end her short school term break. Just like how Cassie put it : " It's so much fun ! "

Cassie vs mom

2010-03-06T16:22:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to talk to Cassie about the value of money because i think that's one subject that has been left 'unspoken' within the school. I also think that it's important she understand the subject so that she can do sound money judgment as young as possible.

She asked me to buy her some toys the other day and then i take the chance again to talk about money. I told her the usual thing like you gotta study hard, so that when you grow up and you can earn money and etc and etc. You know, the usual thing your mom told you. I know, this story that we've been hearing has a lot of gray areas. So and so, don't have to study hard but still can earn a lot of money.... some one study so hard but got no money. yes and yes, i understand that. But for a 5 years old, i think it's important we keep the story as simple as it is and leave the gray area when she's older.

anyhow, after she hear my pitch, then she said : "OOOooo, i understand already" i'm so happy when she said that. Then, she said : " Mom, you're not clever and not hard working when you're young and thus you don't have money now ! "

she's rite, again !

yikes, i knew this sentence is bound to come out from her and all along i think it will be something i can answer when she's like 10. but no, bo-ho, my lil chic answer me with this silver-bullet answer when she's just 5. OK OK ... here goes the gray area explanations ... :)

Cassie vs Dad

2010-03-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

After her flu last month, we've been telling Cassie that she needs to take in more food so that she can gain some weight and not this skinny.

Yesterday, her dad told her that we can see her ribs because she's too skinny already and again repeat the 'eat-more-rice' talk with her. She then told her dad : "Dad, i cannot see your ribs because you got a big tummy !"

hahaha, she's rite ! again !

It's HOT here !

2010-03-06T16:08:00.000-08:00

We visited the 'Thian-Ho" temple with my mom and auntie when she was here for the CNY break. It was so hot that we can't keep our eyes open ! i basically shoot those picture with my eyes half close !

You can see the 'fire-crackers' burn bandage on her foot ...

They will give you a call ...

2010-03-04T02:31:00.000-08:00

Cassie went out with her auntie and friends last weekend for a light and sound show. As usual, while getting her ready for the event, i reminded her to listen to her auntie, hold her auntie's hand and etc and etc.

She then told me that she will do all that and when she did, her auntie will give me a call. She said : "auntie will give you a call to the telephone, and she will say, miss tan ...... (my full name), your little girl is a good girl". She then act out my 'happy-look' !

that lil' chic, she's now very good at imitate others and she can do my facial expression quite well ...

Fire crackers

2010-03-03T00:02:00.000-08:00

While we were shopping for chinese new year a month ago, Cassie saw the fire-crackers photos and asked me to buy for her. I told her i have no idea where to get them in PJ and thus asked her to get help from grandpa.

So, she make the phone call and asked my father to buy some fire crackers for her. Of course my dad said yes.
During the chinese new year evening, she happily played the fire-crackers with my dad and i seriously think that both of them are having fun, not just Cassie ! :)

Then, as usual (at least for me), the fire-cracker ashes fell in between her foot and shoes and she got minor laceration from the burn. My dad felt more pain and more guilt than cassie out of love. he think it's his fault that he got the fire-crackers even i re-assure him that this is part of the process of growing up and it's definitely one of those growing pains :)

i think both my dad and cassie both 'grow' a bit from this fire-cracker incident :)

She's a job leader.

2010-03-02T23:54:00.000-08:00

Cassie came home the other day and very excited. I asked her about her day and she proudly told me that she's a job leader. I asked her what's the job leader about, she told me she and 3 other friends are now responsible to be the teacher's little helper. So, she gotta distribute books, collect the color pencils, bring back and books and etc. For me, this is all the work of a busy body. But then again, she loved it so much. She thinks it's an accomplishment that she has been appointed with the job.

So now, she will do anything for the sake of being a job leader. For example, eat the extra rice potion so that she got energy to do the job, sleep that extra 1/2 hour so that she can do that job, and etc and etc. I basically can 'blackmail' her anything so that she continue to be a job leader .... haha

of course now she has her own job-leader pack ! her job leader friends including cherry, michelle, karin, kai-yin with kai-yin being the job leaders' leader ! job leader or not, i just want her to have fun at school ! :)

It's all about math and numbers

2010-03-02T23:34:00.001-08:00

i was bz and this is actually a late post ... but nonetheless ..

Cassie and i were working on her math's addition lately. We have been working on simple 1 digit addition like 2 + 1 equals 3 and etc and etc. After a while, she got so used to it and will shout out numbers for me and her to work together.

We went to our bank few weeks back and while we were driving away from that place, Cassie suddenly shout out "mom, look, there's 1 + 3 and there's a d and the back ! what's the number ?" i was puzzled and turn to the direction she was pointing from
.
.
.
and realized she's pointing to the 'magnum3D, 1+3D & 4D" center's signage !
Well, it's all about numbers and maths anyways rite ! :)

Down with flu ...

2010-01-26T03:13:00.000-08:00

After 3 weeks of school, cassie got infected from school and is now down with flu. This is the 2nd day she missed her school and i don't think she can go to school tomorrow because she has stuffy noise, rough cough and slight fever.

Anyways, i told her today that we gotto go to school to pass up her homework from the weekend and then collect back previous days homework. She then told me she's not feeling well, cannot go to school yet and start a string of cough ! Oh no ....

Every time she's down with flu, it will take her at least 2 weeks to get better. And during the two weeks, she will be grumpy, pot-sticker to me and very demanding ..... i guess i might be too if i'm not feeling well.

She didn't have flu when she didn't attend school. there's two possible reasons to it i think. One, she's not stressed out and thus body does not strain that much. Or Two, she doesn't get infected that easily at home comparing to school. I can see now why some parents prefer to home-school their kids because home-school will mean less chance to get infected. Then i can also see why some parents got very insisted on taking supplements, again, it is supposed to lower the change to get infected. Now, i am thinking about all the supplements that she can take and wondering what might be good to try ....

First Day Follow up

2010-01-03T16:21:00.000-08:00

It's now 8.30 am and i've sent Cassie to her new school. Here i am, wondering if i've sent her to some kind of mental institution ! i know, i think too much ! :) it's just that we've let Cassie run her own show, do her own things, make her own schedule, make her own decision and now, when she's at school, she no longer can do what she want, whenever she want. There's schedule, there's discipline and there's this big brain wash all awaiting for her starting now on .....

Don't get me wrong, schooling is not a bad thing, but it's just that i will missed the 'running-wild-Jane' that i sometimes called her. She's actually very eager to go to the school. She even know how to behave, know where to go and what to do at her first day !! :) something inside me was hoping that she runs around, and behave like a baby.... i guess it's because more than anything else, i missed my baby gal...

Even this morning, i got my laptop, my handbag, my car-keys and all. While we were walking to our car, Cassie was the one that reminded me i didn't bring her 'school-bag' !!!!!!!! :)

She's really growing up izn't it ?

First Day at school

2010-01-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

It's a new year, new semester, new school for Cassie. As i'm here, woke up about 6am preparing her things for school, i've came to realized this is gonna be a new routine to get adjusted to.

She's now enrolled to a more 'serious school' near our house. It's near the 'Yoke Chai' primary school and it's using all the school's syllabus. It does sounds like some kind of pre-school for university studies isnt' it ? but that's the way it goes in KL.

There are a lot of choices in KL or PJ, where i'm staying. There's the 'branded' type meaning the school brand is as close to 'Gucci' in fashion. In addition, there's the 'private' label as i called them. Those are the private school, starts from 2 years old till you're ready to jump into college. Then, there's the 'carefree' type. This is the ones where the school does not emphasize on anything except freedom. Oh, no my friend, this type doesn't work very well in malaysia. I'm sure it worked well other places, but nope, don't think so here. Then there's the 'serious' type. The schools are serious over discipline, independant, reading, studying and the whole load of homework. OK, so, among the 'branded', the 'private', the 'carefree' and the 'serious', she will be attending the 'serious' one mainly because she got her share of freedom from her play-school and i do not wanted to instill the 'brand' idea too much to her.

However, nothing more but because she's now 'officially' 5 yrs old (even she just got her 4 yrs old b'day present 3 months ago), meaning all the serious heavy lifting study now is required. She had taken a break from schooling for at least 6 months now since we decided to move down to KL. Thus, i know inside me that this is the right thing to do.

So, here we go. A new year, new beginning for all of us ! it's gonna be a good year :)

Wedding and Flower Girl

2010-01-02T04:35:00.000-08:00

It was my brother's wedding and definitely a joyous family occasion. Cassie is the most happy person in the whole day because she get to lead the flower girls/boys brigade, run around the whole place the whole time! i am totally amazed at her energy and stamina and finally at 11 pm, she told me she's wanna go home ! ha, that's the first time i ever hear her willingly saying good-bye :)

It was a very warm and happy occasion. It's perfect all the way (even dad get to sing a song on stage ! ) and i just wished we can have more time :)

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year !

2009-12-27T14:19:00.000-08:00

It's the holiday season and the whole KL is celebrating. Here's to Merry Christmas (belated) & Happy New Year 2010 !

Getting ready for Christmas.

2009-11-27T16:01:00.000-08:00

Christmas celebration is just around the corner. We've managed to get a 7 ft christmas tree this year. While mom is here with us, she and cassie worked together to assemble the tree. yay ! Looking forward for the celebration this year.

New stories from Cassie

2009-11-21T17:52:00.000-08:00

This story is created, narrated completely by Cassandra.

The wolf and 2 little hen
Once upon a time, there was a big bad wolf. One day, the wolf was very hungry and he saw two little hen in the forest. One of the little hen is very clever and another little hen can run very fast. One little hen run very fast and hide inside a bush. The big bad wolf cannot find her.

"" pretty normal story here rite ? wait for the twist down here (mom's comment) ""

The other hen is very smart, she wear her sun-glasses, jump inside a care and then she took out the phone and called the police. She speak to the police : "help police, there's a big bad wolf here, we need help, come to the rescue". And so, the police send over a helicopter and rescue the two little hen from the big-bad-wolf.

(the end)

It ended with burst of laughter from all of us (including Cassie). Tis lil' chick never failed to amaze me ! :)

When awaiting in the KL

2009-11-21T17:44:00.000-08:00

It's common to be spending more time in the car while in KL than Penang. It's usually because the places we wanted to go are usually packed. Here are some picts taken while waiting in the car and/or waiting in the traffic queue.

It's one of those time i get to spend real quality time together. She will tell me her event of the day, stories and what she saw on the bill board. Sometimes we just sing along with the radio or make up new songs, sometimes we just play the story game and best of all, we just loved to be with each other inside the car .... a bit of quiet ...... away from the insanity of the hustle out there.

HAPPY Birthday !

2009-11-11T17:14:00.000-08:00

it's birthday celebration time. This time Cassie asked for a princess jelly cake. it was wonderfully made with multi-layers of Jelly. It's a wonderful change from the traditional cake type princess cake that usually filled with butter-cream.

Of-course, no birthday is complete without present. Her dad bought her a complete barbie playhouse which can be carried in a bag. She loved it so much that she has been spending a lot of time with it.

Happy Birthday lil' chick !

Grandpa's birthday.

2009-10-05T01:54:00.000-07:00

It was a fun-filling-adventure Hari Raya holiday for all of us. All of us including my mom,dad and brother met in KL and we had a blast. we went to the zoo negara, the twin-tower, had lunch at cheras, crabs near my place, famous Raju's roti-canai, amazing peel road's rong-tofu, visiting many uncles and aunties, many many shoppings ..... & you get the pic !

the whole week was so packed that i don't think i can completely describe them all. We even get the chance to celebrate grand-pa's birthday !! Well, i think those smiles on their face says it all :)

Snapshot

2009-09-14T20:20:00.000-07:00

Nothing beats the spur of a moment dance on Sunday morning.

Story Telling Session From Book Club.

2009-09-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

Sept 6th 2009.

Both Hubby and i loved to read and so thus Cassie. Her favorite place in the shopping mall is not the toy shop but the book store. As we are exploring new places here,
one of the new things that Cassie fortunate to try out in the city is the different kids club around the place.

The Storey Telling session she joined on Sunday was organized by the book club in conjuction with the British Council. On that day itself, i told cassie about the event and she was hyper excited about it. She waited patiently infront of the book club and she's the 2nd one zoomed into the room. Just like any other lit' gal, she is an attention grabber!

The storytelling session was excellent. Cassie learned some new words, expand her social circle a little bit (we managed to make new friend), get to do a bit of craft, learned new games and further more win prizes. I too, get to pick up some tips and tricks about story telling to children. She was so attentive and participating until you can see her sleepy eyes by the end of the session. She went home and slept for 2.5 hours that afternoon. wow :) must be a lot of brain juice at work.

New plan and a whole new start

2009-08-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

We've been shuffling PG and KL for the last 3 months and we've decided to find a place in KL since we've been spending more time in KL than PG. There's abundance of places to stay in PJ area, but finding the rite one in terms of location, proximity to work place, school and amenities are not easy.

Anyway, we've settled down here :) we've moved part of our furniture here and all our favourite things :) Of course, the happiest person is Cassie and she's adjusting quite well i must say.

Well, with the new place, means a new life with new schedule, new things to explore, new school to engage in and new routes to learn. All and all, we're pretty excited about the whole experience. It will be a fun and fullfilling adventure for all of us ! :)

Self-Confidence

2009-08-18T15:55:00.000-07:00

I was doing some housekeeping and saw the star-trek DVD collections a couple of nites ago. It has been a while since i run through those DVD and decided to watch them with Cassie :)

Yesterday Cassie asked me about the movie and she said she wants to drive the car because the car is her space-ship. Then i asked her why, she then told me there's this captain in the movie and she is really great. (yes, that's her own word) After that, she just jumped up and down and said : "LIKE ME! ".

For those of you whom are not star-trek voyager's fans, the captain in this series is a woman (Janeway). Her team was thrown into the delta-quadrant in the space and she's determine to find a way home for her whole crew. Her leadership and decision making based on integrity has been the plus of the whole series because that's how voyager is totally different from the rest of the star-trek series. I was inspired by the character's will power, her confidence, can-do attitude and her ultimate negotiation power.

Now, i'm inspired by Cassie's self-confidence. i'm sure when i'm her age, i have total confidence about myself too. In fact for Cassie's case here, she think the janeway character is LIKE her ! :)

So, what makes us lost our confidence ? why is it now that the first answer we gave when someone ask us is 'No' especially when it comes to change ? is it because we have fear and lack of confidence to do it ? Something to think about yeah ?

Well, here's something more to share about self-confidence.

“Don’t get typecast in your own life,” he says. “You cannot assume that somebody can define you. You cannot assume that the other person is right. No matter how they say it to you, no matter with how much force they say, ‘Oh my god, you’ll never make it; oh my god, you’re not bright; you could never do this’—that’s one person. I can’t tell you how many people told me I would never be an actor.” --Henry Winkler.

Super Model

2009-07-25T16:52:00.000-07:00

Introducing Cassie the Super Model. She had been picking up things unexpectedly of late. I think this must be from the 'the next america top model' tv show !!

A little nice dress, my high heels and she just transformed. she looked really into it yeah ?!

i think i can get Cassie to pose and model for me more next time ! :)

Green sock and lesson about life.

2009-07-08T03:59:00.000-07:00

This morning, as we were about to leave the house and going for breakfast, Cassie walked out the door with only ONE green sock on her right leg. Proudly she asked me : "mom, am i pretty ?". Of course my answer is always supportive and always a big 'YES, you are ! "

Happily, she walked everywhere with her green sock, ignoring others' strange look at her. She doesn't care how other look/judge/comment on her, just want to do her things and do it her way. Isn't this how we should all live our lives ? gutsy and boldly going out with what we want to do instead of cir cum to others judgments ?

Well, that's how i want to live my life and that's how i want her to live hers. Thus, today is the one green sock on right leg day ! and today, i have no intention to change her sock or explain to onlookers ! Go green sock !

Father's day lunch

2009-06-23T15:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's day !!

Cave experiences

2009-06-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

It was a in-promptu decision. We decided to meet a friend very last minute on Friday to catch up and it turned into cave adventure for Cassie. Of-course, when you're in Ipoh, it's hard to missed the mountains and caves. Since Cassie haven't been there before, we hope into the oppurtunity to visit.

Ipoh is AMAZINGLy HOT, the temperature reader in the car says 39C !! wow, no wonder, we sure super sweating, always thirsty and Cassie even requested to take a bath at our friend's house !

Cassie the waitress.

2009-06-16T23:39:00.001-07:00

we've been eating out lately and Cassie has took part in the food ordering when we're in the restaurant. We usually will let Cassie decide what she want to have for her meal.

Lately, she decided to be our waitress at home. She will bring me a card and ask me what do i want, then she will go to her table, jolt it down in her paper, and then tell me that i've gotto wait a while for my food because she's going to bake it in the oven. (her toy closet) hahaha.

i usually will say i want some juice, and chicken. Then last weekend, she asked me : "hey mom, how about some fun ?" Yes dear, isn't it great if we can order 'fun' from the menu ? :)

New start for Cassie

2009-06-16T04:17:00.000-07:00

Since her flu+fever+food poisoning and etc sickness episodes last month, we've decided to stop sending Cassie to her kindergarten. Well, at least temporary (i thought).

She has many flu episodes ever since she started school. Due to her sensitive nose condition, she gets flu more easily than others and the flu tends to stay with her longer than others too. Because of that, in certain months, she came back with flu, it went on for 2 weeks, then she goes back to school again and the next day, she came back with flu again. Another thing is of-course she lose a lot of weight and i think she is skinny even when i checked the development chart, she is in the 'normal' range.

Anyways, ever since she stop school, things has gone better for her. She sleep better and she doesn't have the flu condition at all (ZERO incident) ! That is of-course the ultimate result we want to achieve.

A lot of ppl has asked if i'm afraid she might lose out in her academic development, some even proposed she goes to 'special' school. Well, i'm too worry about that at all. in terms of continue kindergarten, i think we'll wait and see. most probably, i think we're going to wait till next academic year before we begin the school routine again. Right now, the main focus is trying to boast up her antibodies' strength.

Now that she doesn't have school routin, it's a totally new home-school routine for her. :)

i am belle

2009-05-28T23:52:00.000-07:00

it started a couple of months back when she finished washing her hair, she will then have the tower on top of her hair.

when i asked her what she was doing, she will then broke into dance and tell me she's belle (from beauty and the beast).

It's hot out here.

2009-05-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

The weather is getting hotter everyday. I caught Cassie 'chill-out' in front of the fan this morning.

she looked really in the chilled-out mood :)

Instant Photo

2009-05-10T18:47:00.000-07:00

Whenever she saw me with my camera, Cassie will take a paper camera and pretend to take photos. Yesterday, i decided to ask her what she took and where are the phots.

She then went and cut out a square from a piece of paper and start drawing.

Then she told me : " here you go mom, this is you ! " and then she added : "Happy Mother's Day" !

aw .. so sweet of her.

A girl and a spider

2009-05-10T18:14:00.000-07:00

I gave Cassie a book full of blank pages and a pencil to keep her occupied. She carried this booklet wherever she goes. Cassie will scribe whenever and wherever, including to the restaurant, waiting in line at a checkout counter, in grandparent's place and etc.

I run through her book the other day and found some interesting drawings. This is one of the drawing that has a 'story' in it. It's about a girl and a spider. See how the spider is on top of the girls head and the girl is actually in a sitting position ?! :)

The drawing has a familiar thingie to it and i think it's from one of the rhymes she recites :).

Buckle up and here we go !

2009-05-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

What would u do if you gotto stay at home because of the rain and cannot ride the car to play outside ? imagine and pretend of-course :) here Cassie gott her doll to sit beside her while she drove around in her imagination car.

Her trip started with getting the baby to "buckle-up", then asking her doll "are you ready ?", and finally "here we go !".

During her imagination trip, she honked her imagination car and told her doll that "oh, that's dangerous", "stop", "watch-out", "be carefull! "

When she finally arrived at the destination (shopping mall), she then stop the car by slamming on the imagination brake and lock the car with the "bee-peep" car key's alarm tone.

haha, it's funny to watch imagination at work.

come out n play.

2009-04-29T23:26:00.000-07:00

Our neighbours' kids rang our door bell yesterday evening and ask Cassie to come out and play. As soon as Cassie saw them, she jumped up and down in excitement.

Funny thing is this, Cassie was very excited to want to play outside of the house, while her friends were all excited to want to play inside the house ! she kept asking them to go out, but her friends just settled to do some chalk drawing and hop-scotch on our front-yard. haha

After she invited them a couple of times and her friends still wanted to stay inside our house, she decided to just jump on her bike and cycle away. Well, my dear neighbour watch over her while she bike outside and i stayed at home watching over my neighbours' kids !

Finally, near sunset time, they all had soccer time outside the house. It was simple fun and very wonderful nonetheless.

Reactions to the incident

2009-04-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

Cassie was pretty concern over my bag and handphone. I did explain what happen to my bag and handphone and how the thief took the things. When i told her thief, she look at my with a lot of question marks because she doesn't understand the word thief.
Then i told her it's just like bad guys from the TV, she then said : "O !" and with a concern on her face. Then she asked me : "mom, who's going to help the bag ? " hahaha, she thinks the bag needed rescue.

Later the day, she told everyone about the incident and keep saying that the thief is really bad. Then she turn and ask me about the bag and phone again, i told her they are gone and i don't have any rite now. She then comfort me and said, 'Mom, it's OK. we'll go buy new one for you. What color do you want ?'

oh, sweet sweet Cassie. She knows how to soothe the pain away :)

R & R time.

2009-04-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

It has been a year of many stress and challenges ever since the start of year 2009. Putting work aside, we had a blast fun family time in KL last weekend.

I LOVED IT !

i want to do it myself

2009-04-08T23:47:00.000-07:00

I was so busy this week and didn't even have time to let Cassie out biking.

She then came out with the idea to wash her bike when i was out watering the plant.

Of course she got herself all wet, but it was still a satisfactory tasks for her. She then jump straight into her bath tub rite after that.

Mom, take photo please....

2009-04-08T23:29:00.000-07:00

That's Cassie's request when i got home from work yesterday. So, here goes :)

Here comes the 'WHY'.

2009-03-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

Started early March, more and more 'why' questions came from Cassandra. She asked me almost everything with the 'why' question nowadays.

There are common questions like why we stop here, why go to school, why buy this one and of-course, why cannot watch tv.

In addition, there are some funny question like why butterfly doesn't sleep, why the flower is yellow, why the fish is swimming and alike.

Then, there is this. While we were having lunch in a restaurant, Cassie accidentically dropped her fork and she immediately look at me with guilt on her face. Decided not to get angry with her because i know she didn't intended to drop the fork, i told her it's OK and just ask the waitress to change one for her.

She looked at me and ask "Mom, are you angry ?"

i said "No, i'm not angry. "

She then asked "why ar ? why you are not angry mom ?"

haha ... i must have got angry at too many occasions until she expect me to turn into angry monster majority of the time. Well well, not anymore Cassie, you mom is trying her best to change her 'stressfull' ways :) hope that you won't see me getting angry easily or fuss over small things nowadays.

Fun with cousin JiaYing

2009-03-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Another cousin came to visit during the weekend. Cassie and JiaYing has been like glueed together the whole time. And the most interesting thing is to find out they both love to sing and dance 'Mama Mia' :) . Even from different part of the world, seems like the Mama Mia is catching up with the youngest generations.

lil' chick's request

2009-03-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

We were out for a dinner yesterday. Half way through the dinner, Cassie asked me to feed her. She wanted me to cool down her food by blowing into her bowl. Just caught the flu, i told her i cannot do that because i'm sick.

Then, she turned to her dad and she asked : "dad, are you sick ?"
her dad answer : 'nope'

Cassie then said : "dad, can you cool down my food and blow into my bowl ?"
of course, her dad obliged...

hahaha ..

What is this ?

2009-03-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

Cassie woke up and started drawing this morning. I left her doing it on her own while i fuss over my morning routine (brushing teeth & etc).

When i check with her after that, i saw this. what do you think is this ?

Well, according to Cassie, it's a crocodile playing ball :)

i'm not sure about you, but i am very glad to see things in a different view from her perspective.

i m mom.

2009-03-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

Cassie is now a little girl, she's now a little girl, she's now ... i've been reminding myself over that again and again lately.

She has shown more movement capabilities like skipping, jumping backward, karate-moves, dance & etc, and also more mental capabilities, like imaginative play, deduction, discipline, self-awareness and stuff.

Just last nite, she sat down on her bed near her bed time and started her writing routine. She will scribble and then some story telling. This time she's writing about the powerpuff girls and the city of townsville :) She usually recite and write the story at the same time.

Then, she told me : 'i m mommy yeah ?!' (more like announcement than questions) and straight after she said that, she narrow her eyebrows.

I saw that whenever she said i m mommy in her imaginative play-time, her face turned very serious and she will lock her eyebrows.

I then realise this must be how i looked to her !

They said kid is a mirrow to ourselves and i can definitely see her actions, behaviour, speech as a direct reflection of me. I just cannot missed the seriousness, stress and locked eyebrows.

I should really get this stress thingie of mine controlled and reduced. Stress is a creepy clawler that jumps up at you when you don't expect it. This is a pretty good jump, a wake up jump i think. The thing is when ppl asked if i'm stress, my first reaction is to say 'no'. But now, i've learn to face the problems and acknowledge that there are just things that i cannot control nor change. It's still small steps, but hopefully i learned to control my stress level better in the long run.

If you are my mirror dear Cass, i would like to see a prettier me from an already marvelous you.

Eating out ; mizi bistro

2009-03-05T21:33:00.000-08:00

Heard so much about the mizo bistro and passed by the place so many times already but didn't get to try out. Finally, we managed to stop by for it's set lunch last weekend.

Set lunch deal is RM21.50 for 1 drink, 1 soup, 1 main course and free flow ice-cream. One tip : other than the mushroom soup, don't try any other soup. because we tried the french onion, the oxtail and the chicken soup, all are pretty bland. I guess that's why i heard a lot of recommendation for mushroom soup :)

Of course Cassie loved the ice-cream but she loved to scoop and serve the ice-cream more than actually eating them. :)

Harvest In Cafe in Irrawady Road

2009-02-26T05:36:00.000-08:00

We were at town visiting a friend and he recommend us lunch in Harvest-In cafe at the irrawady road. I didn't bring my camera along and the photos are taken through my cell phone.

Food are reasonably priced and thus kind of expect the smaller portion. Liked the decoration, i think it's kind of chic. we ordered the chicken mushroom soup, the chicken tikka masala and spagetti with minced chicken (for my weak stomach).

Superstition

2009-02-20T00:31:00.000-08:00

OK, i'm not a big fan on superstitions but when it comes to Cassie, it seems like there are some superstition pattern occuring to her. There are many different superstitions but for Cassie, it's usually about her weight or height in general. She's now 3 years and 3 months old and this is already her third time admitted to hospital. It's almost a yearly event now ... :(

We went out and have lunch with our friends on Monday, then i commented said that no matter how much Cassie eat during meal time, she cannot seems to gain weight anywhere on her body but her tummy only.

On Wed 4am, Cassie woke up and started vomit :( . Note that i said started because then she continue to vomit almost every 2.5 hrs later. 4am, 6.30 am, 9 am and go one ... It was just aweful, i sent her to the clinic as soon as it's open (about 9.30 am) and the doctor presribed some medication to control her condition. I asked the doctor said how will she consume the medication orally especially since she's vomiting, the doctor assured me not to worry and said the medication is to control that and she should be better soon.

OK, i gave her the medication and she was so tired that she went to sleep soon after. After about 1 hour, she woke up and vomit again. This time, it's about 8 hrs since she consumed any fluid and we decided to send her to the hospital. In the hospital, doctor diagnosed her having stomach flu due to virous and gave her some injection. Also the doctor asked me to feed her 'salty' food especially crackers.

Cracker because the food is salty and it will hold on fluid so that she won't get dehydration. when she vomit, her stomach is empty and there will be a lot of 'wind'. She still need to drink water and eating crackers will help to retain the water. But no glucose or any sugary food, this is mainly because the sugar will caused her to 'gag' more. So, first tips for any vomit condition, crackers and water.

Well, i tried what was suggested after the injection but her condition didn't improve. So, we have to admitted her to the hospital. I must say she's really brave in all this, didn't really shed tears when injection, she just 'awwwoe' a bit ... She got better during the nite but need to be monitored for another day before she can be discharged. The hospital pediactric ward comes with a playground and when she got better on the 2nd day, she started to made friends. Even when she got the OK to go home from the doctor, she told me she still not feeling well and wanted to stay. haha, things the kids do !!

She's feeling much better now, still on the no sugar no lactose produced diet, but is now home resting. Thank you all for the help, well wishes and phone calls !!

Fun at water theme park

2009-02-15T03:20:00.000-08:00

It was a hot and sunny sunday and right after breakfast, we made the spontaneous decision to soak up the sun at the Bukit Merah water theme park.

It's RM22 per adult and Rm18 for kids above 90cm and kids below 90 cm in height can enter free !! i was secretly hoping they won't measure Cassie so that she can get in free of charge, but there's a measuring tape glue in front of the ticketing office and there goes my RM18 ... Anyhow, i didn't measure Cassie's height that find it amusing to have to confirm her height this way :)

There are multiple playing areas and it's actually quite well kept. There are kids pool (they named it the rainforest area), a seaside area, a adventure area (for teenagers) and of-course all sorts of water slides. I didn't manage to try the slides this time, because Cassie was glued to my side at all time :) G did try the slides and he said the slides were quite OK.

We spent a good 3 hours there and Cassie enjoyed the water playground the most. She was afraid of the water jets and fountain at first, but once she was into the game, she just cannot stop.

I had to sweet talk/warn/blackmail to get her out of the water later that day.

when evening arrived, all of us have rosy cheek and really rosy shoulder too because of the sun !! I just hope the sun-burnt won't get too painful tomorrow. Bring plenty of sunscreen when u soak up the sun my friends :)

CNY Karaoke sessions

2009-02-10T05:02:00.000-08:00

Singing karaoke has somehow became a usual/must have CNY activity at my parent's place. My dad will have his friends came over for an afternoon sessions, Cassie without failed, will ask for the microphone and have her share of a good time.

CNY cum costume party at school

2009-02-05T23:09:00.000-08:00

Cassie's pre-school had a CNY party on Monday together with a costume party. All kids are asked to wear red colors and traditional dress type if possible.

i didn't buy her traditional dress this year and thus wasn't thinking too much about it when i dress her up in her last's year's dress. I figure this is some of the few small chances that she had to wear those type of dress.

Surprisingly, she came back with a consolation prize that day. She was pretty excited about it the whole day and can't even take her nap ! :)

CNY is 1/2 way over ?

2009-02-01T22:21:00.000-08:00

This is Cassie's reaction when we told her that she needs to go back to school on monday and it's no longer the chinese new year holiday. Meaning no more hanging out with her friends/cousins, no more stuffing in candy/cookies/cake & etc and no more shopping trips.

Well, not this year anyway Cassie. We'll do all those again next year and it's gonna be sooner than you think ! :)

Chinese New Year 2009

2009-01-29T16:04:00.000-08:00

Photo oppurtunity with Cassie's cousin. She's the youngest in the family and she will follow them wherever they go. Even with they are playing cards at the table, she will just sit there and play her own 'solitaire'.

Happy Moo-Moo Year !!

2009-01-22T21:27:00.000-08:00

We usually bring my mom to the Kek-lok-si temple before the chinese new year celebration every year. This year, it's no exception. During the visit, while my mom was running some errand in the temple, we managed to get a sit down, enjoying the view and wind.

See my puffy eyes ? :S i've been bz baking, cooking, cleaning, shopping and etc for the new year. That was a good day to just sit back and relax for just a while.

Well, it has been a roller coaster year of the mouse and before we knew it, it's time to welcome the year of the ox.

Happy chinese new year everyone !

Bubbles are wonderful magic.

2009-01-19T05:14:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how a bottle of bubbles can make a child's day completely magical.

Out for a spin

2009-01-10T15:07:00.000-08:00

It was a windy weekend and Cassie loved the gusty wind while she bike.

She told me : "Mom, such a Good Wind".

Then she zoom past me toward her bike and shouted : "let's get out of here !" and she paddled away.

hahaha... it does feels like SanFrancisco's morning :)

Magic words

2009-01-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

We're emphasizing the words 'please', 'thank you' and 'excuse me' to Cassie. Last night when she asked for her milk, i said that she needed to use the 'magic words'. And i was waiting for her to say "please mom".

She asked: "the magic word ?"
and i said : "yes, what are the magic words ?"
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
...
Cassie replied "dibaddi dabbaddi boo"
(from cinderella).

this lil' chic is just hilarious !

Keep Up the Reading, dear

2009-01-06T22:31:00.000-08:00

After a hard day work, it's always a blessing to come back and saw my lil'chic doing some reading on her own. Keep it up dear :)

Funny moments with grandma

2009-01-05T21:37:00.000-08:00

Cassie spent some of her school holidays with Grandma and here are some of their funny moments.

Funny moment #1
This conversation taken place in a hot sunny day.

Grandma : "Cassie, you should not dirty your bed sheet, if not you don't have a bed sheet to sleep on tonite."
Cassie : "But grandma, you can change a new one for me rite ?"
Grandma : " I cannot change a new one because if it rain then the bed sheet cannot dry."
Cassie: "But grandma, it's not rainy today. "

Funny moment #1
Cassie : "Grandma look, i got 20 cent"
Grandma : "Oh, that's good. what are you going to buy ?"
Cassie : "I'm going to buy ice-cream. We share ice-cream ok ?"
Grandma : "OK, but i want a whole ice-cream for myself, can you buy that for me ?"
Cassie : "No, i cannot not. I don't have enough money. "

Cousin

2009-01-03T01:50:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that i haven't meet my cousin for about 15 years ! Luckily my cousin's family came for a quick new year visit and we get to catch up. The most happy person ? Cassie of course, she is 'glued' to her cousin sister at all time. :)

Little helper

2009-01-03T01:35:00.000-08:00

Cassie loves to help out especially house chores and baking. Well, with chinese new year just around the corner, i can get as much help as i can. Little helper's company is definitely welcomed.

A walk in the mall during x'mas eve

2008-12-24T02:12:00.000-08:00

i love black n white photography !!

Drawings update

2008-12-17T21:22:00.000-08:00

Cassie's drawing has been quite fun lately. As she paid attention to more details now and with her ability to control her hand writing, she's been drawing some funny stick figure cartoons. Here's the photo she drew last nite.

Scroll down to view the 2nd photo i posted here with explaination. apparently the one on the left is a girl going to the shopping mall with her pink hand-bag. She insist the girl has all the different colors. Notice the blue drawings ? the one on the left has a cicle/dot between her eyes. That's because she's drawing her Teacher Louise and she's a Malaysian Indian. She's quite observant :)

I'm loving it.

2008-12-15T00:50:00.000-08:00

We don't eat McD a lot because we just don't like it. But, it's a different story for Cassie. For McD, she's loving it !

My 'team mate'

2008-12-11T18:31:00.000-08:00

Because of my work, i sometimes need to attend very early meeting. It's strange, but almost everytime when i'm up to attend meeting at 5 or 6 am in the morning. My 'lil chick will follow me into the study. No matter how much i protest, she protest, we argue and discussion, she insist wanted to be with me. I somehow has got myself a team mate during my early morning meetings :)

A picture says more than a thousand words

2008-12-08T03:35:00.000-08:00

I loved to take photos, i believed in photos that tells a story and i loved taking photos of Cassie.

In all her photos that i've posted, you can really read the story by viewing it, that's my whole intention of photography.

There are many schools of photography, some emphasize on techniques, some focus on specific theme like nature or close up and etc. For me, it's all about conveying a excellent story. Be it a happy one, sad, exciting, heartbreaking or sometimes just bring an emotion to your face when you look at the photograph later in life. That i believe is an excellent photo and that's the photo that i strive to take as much as possible. i'm glad to achieve my goal of capturing emotions in the photography sessions that i've render my service into and i'm always in the look out for good story. do you hv a story for me ? :)

what do you see in this photo ? In this photo, i see an always ever chicky, sensitive, opinionate and curious toddler. And that's excatly my thoughts about my 'lil chick lately, ever since she achieved her year 3 milestones. I know this photo will bring the same emotion and thoughts i have for her even when years later :)

Cassie cartoon charaters mix

2008-12-02T18:16:00.000-08:00

Cassie was watching the 'Pocoyo' show and exclaimed that 'Pocoyo' is very clever. Hearing that, G asked him a serious comparison questions regarding her familiar characters :

Dad : who is better ? Pocoyo or Ellie (the pink elephant)
Cassie : Ellie !! Because Ellie is bigger and strong.

Dad : who is clever ? Pocoyo or Diego ?
Cassie : Diego ! Because Pocoyo is small-small.

Dad : How about Diego and Mickey Mouse ?
Cassie : Mickey Mouse ! because Mickey mouse got tools.

Dad : How about Mickye and the girls in Totally Spies ?
Cassie : Totaly spies, because they are super heroes.

There you hv it, Cassie's accessment over her cartoon characters. Her ultimate idols are the super heroes now.

Cassie's Thoughts

2008-12-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

I offered Cassie her favourite chocolate milk and she asked me what are the photos shown on the box. I told her the first one is for strong musle, the second one is for hard bones, the third one is to be able to run faster and the fourth one is to be clever.

She said : " Ooooo, i want this one." (pointing to the first picture)

" i want to be STRONG". (I asked if she wanted to be clever)

she said, "No ... i want to be STRONG like the super heroes ! "

That's Cassie, her priority 1 now is to be "STRONG" :)

X'mas Tree

2008-12-01T15:18:00.000-08:00

It's end of the year, and the time to prepare for X'mas and new year. Usually Friday and Saturday, Cassie get to sleep a little bit later than her usual bed time. It was then i decided to take out the X'mas tree and get Cassie's help to put it up. She has a lot of 'wow' moments, and find the whole x'mas tree facinating.

She's in the stage where she wanted to do everything on her own. Thus, she wanted to hang up all the ornaments herself and sing 'jingle bell' while doing it. It was a fun and cozy moment ;)

After we had everything up and the lights are turned on, then she asked me, "mom, where's my present ?"

It's School Holiday !

2008-11-24T14:12:00.000-08:00

It's school holiday and Cassie get to spend FULL day at home. That means a lot of panic attack from myside. I expect that she will be demanding, running around and making noised but i wasn't ready to expect that SHE NEED ALL THE ATTENTION !!

She's a attention graber, she's always, look mom, come here mom, what is this mom, hug-hug mom and on and on.

i tried gave her art time, which led to more attention time because she will complaint about the glue stick to her hand while doing in. i tried gave her a new set of puzzle and she played on it only once !

I then tried the play-dough ... it ended up with a mess and a lot of clean up time for me. Finally, i got her a new princess dresss. And that calm her down a bit while she swing and swirl around in her new dress, and then she wanted to wear the dress every single minute and there's a lot of negotiation time with her.

ar .... this week is the first week of her holiday-camp and i can get some breather (1/2 day) and the 'lil chick is all excited to be with her friends again.

Funny moments with dad

2008-11-17T14:13:00.000-08:00

It's always fun and sometimes hectic with Cassie around. Now that she has improved on her speech ability and armed with her ability to argue, we found ourselves constantly in this kind of blooper funny moments.

Funny moment # 1
(Cassie was playing outside and daddy was watering the garden)
Dad : Cassie, your hands are all dirty after you touched the car. go and wash your hand.
Cassie : Dad, your car is dirty, go and wash your car.

爸爸 : "舒蔚, 为什么你动车那边 ? 你的手肮脏了, 去洗手 !"
蔚: "爸爸, 为什么你的车肮脏 ?! 你要洗车了 !"

Funny moment # 2
Dad : "Cassie, pls don't run around in the shopping mall, scoundrel will come and catch you."
Cassie : "scoundrel ? where ? where ar ? "

爸爸 : "舒蔚, 不要乱跑,坏人抓你去."
蔚: "爸爸, 坏人那里 ? where ar ?"

It is the Concert Evening !

2008-11-09T16:15:00.000-08:00

Cassie's school had the annual concert yesterday evening. This is the first concert for her and for me and i was so anxious. I was worried if she will get hungry, stage freight, forgot her steps and etc and etc. Her concert start at 7 .30 pm and we need to be there by 6.45 pm max. She needed to get ready with her dancing dress, hairdo and makeup before arriving at the concert all.

Getting her hairdo is not a problem because i've been doing this every day. However, getting her make up done is another thing. I know my make up kits will not be sufficient because she needs to be on stage and anything less dramatic will make her look washed out. Everything i have in my make-up box says 'earth tone', 'casual' and 'transparent make up'. So, i went and get a more dramatic colored eye-shadows (purple, blue and even green) and found my most shining-"red-most" lipstick. However, it's still not enough ! Tips : get the 'red-chilli' colored lipsticks and 'blue-green' shimmering eye-shadow to stand-out if your kid(s) is going to be on stage.

Before the concert started, there was some background music and the microphones pre-setup on the stage. Cassie saw the microphone on the stage and she told me that she wanted to go up the stage and sing !While the other girl arrived sobbing and refused to go on stage, Cassie's courage to want and stand on the stage and sing makes me realised that she is one little 'dare-angel'.

The surprised that i blogged about last week is that Cassie is getting her award for being placed 2nd in her class !! Her teacher praised her for her flawless work in her maths area, saying that she doesn't even need instruction to complete her maths work. She can count, write, draw, fill-in-the-blanks without any problem. Considering she just started school on July 1, I am very happy for my gal. What an accomplishment in 3 months time !

(* crazy frog dance *)

After the award ceremony, it's SHOWTIME ! Cassie's dance is simple and compose of very easy steps. When she was dancing at home, she will smile and really enjoyed it. When she was performing on stage though, she look 'business-like'. It's like she's following instruction instead of really dancing because she cannot get her free-flow style going on. Their dance is funny and cute at the same time. And we were buzy snapping photos and videos away.

After her dance, she ran out from the backstage happily. She has the pat-on-the-back from her dad and a big hug from me. We leave the concert soon after her dance because it's near her bed time. But not before we all went for ice-cream and chocolate milk for dessert to celebrate !! Fantastic performance Cassie :)

Birthday Party !!

2008-11-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

"Birthday present, birthday cake, birthday party we can't wait !" (Playhouse disney's b'day song) and that's exactly the feeling from Cassie when she get to know that she'll be having a party at school. She was so excited that she can't sleep ! :)

Actually, when i talked to the teacher, i told her that Cassie's b'day is coming and i'm thinking about having a celebration at school. I didn't tell Cassie anything yet during that time because it's not yet confirm. Cassie was listening to my conversation with the teacher and she told her grandma that i'm having a party for her before i even mentioned it to her. h'mm, i wonder what else she has picked up from my various conversations ....

Little did i know, the teacher went away and assume i'm having a big party for ALL the kids in the school. Oh dear, oh my and there i was in the weekend baking and baking and baking .... cupcakes, birthday cakes, candies, cereal cookies .... It was a lot of hours in baking.

We all took a break from work and went to Cassie's school that morning. She was so happy to see us ! we have all the kids gathered around and she told her friend very proudly that 'my mom made this.' (my big GRIN !) I got her a crown and all her friend sang the b'day song with her.

Cassie helped packed the party favors and she distribute to her friends in the party. After that, it's feast time and i can see all the kids sink their teeth into the cupcakes ! yum.

She had so much fun that day and even tried to hug the computer when she saw the photos of the party. I know you're happy babe, Happy Birthday dearest !

Happy Birthday Cassie - part 1

2008-11-04T23:33:00.000-08:00

While september is full of birthday for my side of the family, November is full of birthday for my husband's side of the family. Cassie's, Hubby's brother and sisters all have birthday on November. When it was time to celebrate her birthday, we head down to E&O buffet lunch. The food was not bad, and i'm surprise to see the dining hall was so FULL. It's really like the economic situation doesn't impact Penangites appetite :)

It was a sunny day and as usual, Cassie loved the outdoor than the food. Well, she ate some and then play around with the dessert. But she loved the outdoor green and blue sky more :) I hand-made the blue tu-tu for her knowing how much she loved it and she looked adorable in it.

Cassie told me earlier she wanted a pink color cake with lots of love. Since we're in a buffet lunch, so i decided to make a petite 4 inch birthday cake. When i showed her the cake before the b'day party, she was so happy and excited. She cannot resist herself and picked the pink icing ! I actually thought taht i'll leave the mark on the cake un-done. but the perfectionalist in me nag me to re-do. but it's OK, i know she just cannot resist it.

Happy Birthday Cassie !

Cassie's First Rehearsal

2008-11-02T17:41:00.000-08:00

It's coming to the end of the school year and almost all schools are preparing for the year-end concert. Cassie started school on July 1st and i wasn't even sure if she will be participating in the school's concert. Not until a couple of weeks ago the teacher informed me that there will be a rehearsal. Up until that time, i was still puzzled and asked if Cassie needs to join. "Of course she is participating !" and that's the answer i've got.

It was rainy when we arrived at the hall and i wasn't prepare to take photos. I had the camera with me but i wasn't sure what to expect and thus the photos came out not very good. I'm glad that it's a rehearsal afterall and i'll get another chance with the photo this weekend. By then, i really have only 1 chance. From the rehearsal, i get to know a happy little surprise .... will update on the surprise next week :)

The Great 'Tutu'

2008-10-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

A friend of my mom got Cassie this pink wonder tutu for Cassie last year. Last year when she saw the dress, she didn't seems to care at it at all.

Last Sunday morning, she saw the dress hanging in her closet and asked very very nicely "mom, can i wear this dress please, please please".

Once she has the tutu on, she start her dancing and swirling again the whole morning. I guess this year, the dress carries some meaning and it attached some imagination and play with it which makes it fun.

btw, i think the name 'tutu' sounded very conflicting with the dress :). But, what's in a name anyways rite ?!

Imaginations and Pretend plan

2008-10-27T18:53:00.001-07:00

Cassie has moved on from playing with her toys to playing inside her imagination world. Anything can be her toys nowadays, she can stage a whole drama with a piece of paper. Now, she's a bit over with the 'princess' thing and more toward 'SUPER HEROs'.

During the weekend, when we were travelling in the car, Cassandra told me that she's a supergirl and i'm a supergirl (too) and her dad is 'superman'. Then she told me that i have 'fire' power, she has the 'leaf' power and her dad got the 'storm' power. I know where those power from. I have the 'fire' power, because i'm the one cooking most of the time, i'm near the fire (or perhaps when i'm angry with her she can feel the smokes hehe), she has the 'leaf' power because i got her a 'leaf' shaped necklass the other day. And her dad's 'whirl-pool' type storm power is from the game Cassie shared with her dad. Her dad will pick her up and swing in circle (like carousel).

keke, so there you go, the 'history' of our super powers. That day, we just played along, imagine the big trucks are 'bad guys' and we're there to stop them by using our super-power. We shielded, ducked, hide, screamed, make funny faces, shouted ready-set-go and set off with our super powers. She laughed so loud and had so much fun.

Sometimes, we really do not need expensive toys to have fun. The best things in life are really free afterall.

Trip To the Penang Hill

2008-10-20T04:07:00.000-07:00

I was having a conversation with my India counterparts and got to know that he and his wife came to Penang a couple of years ago for 'HONEYMOON'. I imagine that Penang is like a 'Hawaii' or a "Mauritius" for them. I am surprised and glad to hear that and asked him what are the places he visited. He told me one of the place that he and his wife hired a taxi to is the 'Penang Hill'.

I then realised that sometimes (well maybe a lot of time, *sheepish*), we took things for granted. My in-law's house is located at the foot of the Penang Hill and it's 10 mins away from the cable car station ! And determine to change the taking for granted attitude, we went up the hill last weekend.

Penang Board Of Tourism and the Penang State Government should really focus more on renovating the place and fixing the cable car. We were disappointed that we can only ride the cable car up to the 'middle station'. When check with the station director, they are expecting another 3 months of work before the cable cars can reached the upper station. Well, then again, there's the hiking trail that one can take to reach the top :)

Nonetheless, the trip was fun for Cassie. It took about 1 hr for a round trip and RM2.00 per adult. She pointed out the tracks immediately and ask me where's the train. Then follow with a lot of questions, what's this/that, look mom, what's the sound, what happend to the door, who's moving the train (haha).

It's definitely worth it to visit again, but wait till Feb 09 :)

Some markers and papers

2008-10-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

Cassie makes wonder with her new markers. She requested to be on the floor when she draw (perhaps cooler), and has different 'pose'.

Sharing dinner

2008-10-09T00:45:00.000-07:00

I cooked up some japanese-style curry thinking that i can hv a quiet solo dinner. I made sure Cassie had her dinner first and then i took out my dinner. Came along Cassie and she insisted to share my dinner. She just dip the curry like nobody business and eat away.

Child's play

2008-10-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

What it feels like to be near the ocean ?!

2008-10-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

All islanders out there, you know what i mean here, don't cha ?! When you're near the beach or ocean, you tend to let loose and just want your hair to fly with the ocean's breeze. Forget the tingling sensation the sand makes your feet feel, the glueyness on your skin from the air and the piercing ray from the hot sun to your eyes. Forget those, they doesn't matter. Instead you just want to hear the sounds of the waves, smell the scent of the ocean and feel the heat of the sun on your face. I love the beach, i think it's in my dna :)

A visit to the buttefly farm

2008-09-28T18:16:00.000-07:00

Cassie enjoyed the place so much that she walked around the pond, taking her time to look at the fountain, the koi, the mini waterfall, the flowers, insects and of-course the butterflies.

And of-course, G had a blast of time taking loads of photos :0.

It was a wonderful day-trip.

Happy Birthday !!

2008-09-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

The month of Sept is full of birthday for us. My dad's, my brother and mine b'day all falls in Sept. Most of the time, we just have 1 big celebration. This year we actually wanna plan for some sun and sand in the Rasa Sayang. Unfortunately the weather was pretty bad for the last few weeks. We actually drove 1/2 way to Batu-Feringghi only to find out there's a 'landslide' near that area. So, we took the u-turn and jump into the E&O instead. (See Cassie dancing to the beat in this video)

Because of all the delay, we quickly ran down the car into the restaurant and totally forgot about my camera ! When thd jazz band came along, only then i remembered i left the camera in the car *darn*

It was a fun evening after all. Dad had fun singing with the band, cassie had fun dancing to the beat. Even with the pouring rain outside, the whole place is full of warmth and excitement :) We'll definitely do it again. Happy birthday Grandpa !

Cassie's funny moments

2008-09-17T18:57:00.000-07:00

Moment # 1
It was rainy most of the evening last week and Cassie snuggle happily in her favorite blanket.

I teased Cassie and said : "Cass, borrow your blanket to daddy ok ?"
Of couse she came back with the answer "No, this is my blanket"
I tried again and said : "You have a nice blanket here but daddy don't have blanket .. borrow ok ?"
Here's Cassie replied : "Mom, you have blanket rite ?! "

*hmpt*

Moment # 2
It was school holiday yesterday and cassie was pretty relax when she knew she doesn't have to go to school. Later in the afternoon, she picked up her bag-pack and her water bottle just like how she does every morning ready for school.

I asked Cassie : "Cassie, what r u doing ? r u going to school ?"
Cassie replied said : "Yes, good morning teacher ! "

*kekeke, she misses her school after all ...

Peek-A-Boo

2008-09-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

Cheeky chic.

Spending afternoon with dad

2008-09-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

I went out for a 2 hr facial treatment and here's Cassie and G when i got home, both having an afternoon reading. how nice :)

Reading fun

2008-09-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Cassie loves to read and she is now insisting on reading some of her books on her own. Her favourite last month was the 'billy goat gruff' and this month she's moving on the 'the gingerbread man'. The pre-school's books has a lot of repetition and i think that's good for her because she is able to pick up the phases very well.

// "Stop, little gingerbread man" said the old women " i want to eat you for my tea" //

When i read for her, i usually add in some expression and sound effects :) that's why you see her emphasize the word 'STOP' in the video :)

Playhouse Disney

2008-08-30T06:10:00.000-07:00

We walked pass the disney store and Cassie request me to take photo with ALL her playhouse Disney 'friends'.

I asked her to stand closer to 'mickey mouse' and she gladly did, by standing in-front of the poster. she looked so funny with the mickey ears :)

Yummy Curry

2008-08-26T18:23:00.000-07:00

Cassie has been a curious little chick and wanted to participate in whatever we're doing rite now. That including eating the roti-canai with curry dips. I was getting ready her tumbler when she insist to try the curry, i've told her numerous times about the spicy food but she just want to have her own way.

OK, i decide to let her try. i thought to myself, she's gonna get it this time. She's gonna complaint the curry is hot and will not want to touch the curry next time.

Well, Cassie being Cassie, she never failed to amaze me ! Here she goes, taking pieces and pieces of roti-canai with those curry with it. She even licked her fingers and told me that they are very good.

Blimey, life is like a box of chocolate after all, and that's always true when it comes to Cassie.

Singing while you work

2008-08-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

I was preparing Cassie for bath and waiting for the water to fill the tub. While waiting, i then prepared the mob to clean the floor. Cassie saw what i was planning to do and insist that she wanted to clean the floor. That's why you see her in her 'untidy' attire in the video :)

While Cassie participating in the house chores, she didn't forget to entertain herself while she's doing the work :) turn up your volume to hear her sing :)

It's a great reminder : work hard, play hard. most importantly have fun and enjoy :)

Beijing Olympic (II) - My little gymnast

2008-08-24T03:15:00.001-07:00

It was a bright sunday morning and we were browsing through the 11 Olympic channels and stopped at the Rhythmic Gymnastics event. Just 2 minutes into the event, Cassie has a request.

舒蔚 : "我要大家拍手, 我要美丽跳舞衣!"
Cassie : "I want everyone to clap and i want the beautiful dancing dress ! ".

Yes dear, it's every girl's dream to wear beautiful dress and have the crowd admiration ! I can understand what you want and why you want it ;)

And off she goes, doing her dancing and gymnastics routine :) She followed all the moves that she saw from the TV, including the way they walked to the floor and their facial expression when they sat down waiting for their score after the routine.

Aside from being the gymnast, she has the swimmer event last week. I do not know how good a athletic she is, but what i know for sure dear, you are always the winner to me and here's a gold medal for being the best in the "daughter sports" event :)

It's school holiday again !

2008-08-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

It's school holiday again and our neighbour friends came to play. Since she started school, Cass is now more capable to share her toys and interactive play with the other kids.

Here she's actually throwing the ball up high, trying to slam-dunk. She did try like 100 times (for about an hr) and finally managed to get ONE basket. Ar, the smile on her face is priceless :)

Beijing Olympic : My little swimmer

2008-08-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

Cassie is very particular when it comes to washing her hair. She doesn't like to wash her hair everyday and will scream when the water splashed her eyes.

We were watching the Olympic 2008 events and we managed to catch 'Michael Phelps' broke the record. I then took the oppurtunity to try 'brain wash' her by saying that the swimmer was so brave and he doesn't scream when the water splashed his face.

Cassie watched very carefully and very quickly, she pointed out the 'flaw' in my logic. "他有眼镜, 水没有进去眼睛. 我没有眼镜哦 !"

"He has goggles and water cannot splashed into his eyes. I don't have goggles ..."

Grandma Visit

2008-08-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

All kids love visitors i guess, Cass is extremely 'hyper' when grandparents visit :)

It's actually very difficult to take photos for grandparents and children, i think Somehow both the grandma and grandchild seems to want to move in different direction and the photo usually came out 'not rite' :)

Luckily this time around, i managed to get 1 good photo :)

Flying pony tails

2008-08-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

It was Friday and Cassie feeling restless at home. We met up with the neighbours gals and went for a fun at the playground. All gals have their pony tails flying high that afternoon :)