Monthly Archives: December 2012

Goodbye 2012!

2012 was a pretty good year! I usually do a recap by answering a bunch of questions on a New Year’s Eve meme but this time I’m gonna try to sum it up in a few paragraphs.

There was quite a baby boom this year. Celia gave birth to Lincoln (he’s technically my cousin even though I’m a million years older than he is), Qi to Joel, Lena to Michelle, Yun to Reuben and Xin to Aaron. Also expecting lots of babies in 2013! As we get older, we are attending fewer weddings. This year, my ex-student Pam got married!

Anya started school in 2012 and she really grew up a lot. She’s a lot taller and much more sociable. She started swimming lessons with the cousins under Uncle Eugene, music classes at Our Music Studio and Chinese classes at Berries. She’s a wonderful older sis and she says the funniest things.

Adam grew and changed so much in 2012. At the start of the year, he was just a 5-month-old baby. Now he’s walking, climbing, and chasing his sister around and he’s learning to talk and saying all sorts of things. He’s a really cheeky toddler and still very attached to his mummy.

I started the year on maternity leave and only went back to work in March when Adam was 7 months old. It was fun being a temporary SAHM for those few months and I enjoyed the opportunity of being a parent volunteer at Anya’s school. I really missed being able to spend so much time with the kids after I went back to work but things were really good at work so it wasn’t too bad.

We travelled quite a bit in 2012. We went to Bali in January with Adrian’s colleagues and in February I went to New York with Debs. Then it was Penang in March with my friends (and without Adam). Adrian and I went to Lombok in June without the kids. We had a family holiday in Malacca with my colleagues in October. Adrian and I went to Yogyakarta in November and finally we had a 9-day Malaysia road trip with the Lobos in December. On his own, Adrian went to Bangkok and went skiing in Australia.

2012 was a good year for the blog and I’m very thankful for all the wonderful opportunities that came our way because of this blog. I got to meet many new people, mostly other blogger mums, and I’m happy to know that there are quite a few people who like to read about our little family and the things we get up to.

God was really good to us in 2012 and I know He is good all the time and will continue to bless us in 2013!

Nook – House of Pancakes

We went to check out Nook, a cafe where the tables come with a griddle in the middle allowing you to make your own pancakes on the spot. Nook is at Lorong Kilat, a few doors away from Carpenter & Cook.

It’s quite fun being able to make your own pancakes without worrying about the mess of cleaning up. When we make pancakes at home, the stove’s too high up for Anya to participate so this griddle on the table concept was more kid-friendly. But I find it a wee bit expensive at $25 for a batch of batter (enough for two), three toppings, butter and maple syrup.

The concept of a pancake cafe is a cute one but the actual set-up didn’t really have that vibe. The place is simply and functionally furnished. I guess kids and students will probably have a good time making and eating pancakes there but the novelty will wear off quickly for jaded folks like us.

Nook

Nook

breakfast bully

breakfast bully

batter and toppings

batter and toppings

our first pancake

our first pancake

it's fun to write with the batter

it’s fun to write with the batter

Anya tries making pancakes

Anya tries making pancakes

caterpillar pancake

caterpillar pancake

my sad attempt at making matryoshka pancakes

my sad attempt at making matryoshka pancakes

chocolate shake

chocolate shake

happy pancake boy

happy pancake boy

Christmas 2012 – Christmas at The Cheans’

Our final Christmas party of the year was held at The Cheans’ and it was another night of good food and fun for the kids. It’s so cool to think that here’s going to be at least twice the number of kids next year! Which means twice the noise and twice the chaos!!

one more party

one more party

the kids with Uncle Peter and Uncle Nav

the kids with Uncle Peter and Uncle Nav

so much good food!

so much good food!

Gadriel slicing up the ham

Gadriel slicing up the ham

a thing of beauty

a thing of beauty

desserts

desserts

all the same age.. but not for long!

all the same age.. but not for long!

all of us

all of us

there will be twice as many next year!

there will be twice as many kids next year!

the boys trying to play some music

the boys trying to play some music

playing with Noah's Ark

playing with Noah’s Ark

big kids playing with toy cars

big kids playing with toy cars

off-duty Christmas elf

off-duty Christmas elf

Small Auntie and Anya

Small Auntie and Anya

Christmas 2012 – Christmas with the Gang

We had a little gathering at Juan’s place on Boxing Day. It was a happy and chaotic party with ten little kids, and they were all crawling/ jumping/ running around. The only one who stayed where he was placed was little Aaron, the newest addition! He’s the 14th kid (and 12th boy) in the gang.

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of meeting up with this mad bunch of friends. It’s been about 20 years since we started celebrating Christmas together. They are like family to me and I’m glad our kids get along and can play together.

The pictures below are all taken by Vonnie.

lots of presents

lots of presents

some of the kids made pizza

some of the kids made pizza

I made jelly hearts strawberry cheesecake

I made jelly hearts strawberry cheesecake

glad that Lin & family were with us

glad that Lin & family could be with us

Aaron: the newest addition

Aaron: the newest addition

a family picture

a family picture

a chaotic Christmas!!

a chaotic Christmas!!

Christmas 2012 – A Yummy Christmas

Had a delicious Christmas dinner at my aunt’s place with Debs, Nick, Spink and the family. The food was prepared by Simon with a bit of help from Debs. So glad there weren’t any Brussels sprouts this time! We didn’t do anything except provide the stuff for the salad so we washed up afterwards.

My aunt got Anya a talking Dora backpack toy. She loves it and insists on carrying it everywhere in an actual backpack. We gave Simon lots of horror movie DVDs so he can traumatise Debs with them. Hehe.

with Deets

grabbed Deets for a festive photo

little drummer girl

little drummer girl

Uncle Nick supervising

Uncle Nick supervising

us without Nick and kids

us without Nick and kids

garlic bread

garlic bread

salad

salad

various roots and stems

various roots and stems

super yummy duck

super yummy duck

a marvellous leg of lamb

a marvellous leg of lamb

dessert!

dessert!

Christmas 2012 – Christmas Morning

We spent Christmas morning in church and even though Adam was restless and Anya fidgety, I’m happy we went and reminded ourselves of why we even celebrate Christmas at all. Jesus is the reason for the season!

Christmas apples

Christmas apples

the apple of my eye

the apple of my eye

Adam's apple

Adam’s apple

smile

smile!

Christmas 2012 – Wee Christmas

We welcomed Christmas at Adrian’s grandparents’ home and also celebrated Adrian’s grandfather’s 95th birthday. There’s really nothing better than spending Christmas with family.

Christmas is a time to love

Christmas is a time to love

Adrian's grandma saying grace

Adrian’s grandma saying grace

the cousins

the cousins

many candles

many candles

family

family

blowing out the candles

blowing out the candles

a kiss for the birthday boy

a kiss for the birthday boy

the littlest one celebrating her first Christmas

the littlest one celebrating her first Christmas

a present as big as she is

a present as big as she is