Jovin's 1st birthday presents!

You may think that Jovin's first presents definitely come from daddy and mummy. Nope, thks to the wonderful and doting Uncle and Auntie Lim as well as Auntie Bao who prepared wonderful princess gifts for our lovely little 'J'princess! Auntie Bao's gift was imported from London, Woohoo!

We had a dinner gathering to mark Jovin's 5th birthday celebration which falls on 30 Oct. However, we decided to have a pre-celebration instead which coincides with our schedules. Dear suggested dinner at a Japanese ramen restaurant in Cuppage Plaza which we have heard good reviews from his colleague. The ramen soup was very delicious instead and we loved it but the ramen portion was rather huge so ended up feeling very bloated.



I ordered a parent chid meal set with Jovin. It's actually the same ramen but Jovin's child set comes in a smaller portion compared to the parent's. What was most interesting was that, the set stated a complimentary kids' souvenir and our souvenir for that day was a one-dollar gold coin wrapped in translucent gift-wrapped paper! This was really extraordinary! Haha, Jovin claimed the money was hers and kept in her sweet pinky bag without delay.

Jovan was very much preoccupied with Daddy's i-phone but ramen still attracted him nonetheless and he enjoyed the noodles. Kaden too, enjoyed some mouthfuls of the noodles but soon couldn't fight off the zzzz.monster and had a quick nap in his pram.

Jovin finished her dinner quickly and couldn't take her eyes off the presents. She insisted lugging the huge Takashimaya bag of presents, fearing we might snatch her presents haha! We had dessert and coffee at TCC. It was spacious and there was ample room for the kids to roam about freely.



Jovin finally got the opportunity to unwrap all the presents and all her gifts were in pink, her favourite colour! Junwei and Tingting bought a present for Jovan too and we tried to divert his attention away from i-phone using the bubble gun machine to get him take photos but it didn't work alas! We only managed to capture some shots as our dear Auntie Bao seemed to be able to attract him using her charms haha!

Jovin immediately put on the princess t-shirt which Baoling bought for her and she started 'dismantling' the princess magazine maker and study set on the spot. That's kids! Kaden had a wonderful time with our 2 little 'J's too as they walked and 'chased' one another. We were talking if it would be possible to arrange a Genting trip with the kids when Kaden grows older. I believe it will be great fun for both adults and kids.



Jovin really loves the presents and she has been yearning to wear the t-short every now and then! She was very enthusiastic in doing the disney princess magazine too as she colours and writes her favourite sentences and phrases, not forgetting her favourite sticker activity too. Thks to our dearest pals who's really wonderful to our kids since the day they were born.



Jovin, you must remember daddy and mummy's best friends who really dote on you so much. It's our fortune to have such friends since JC days and we would definitely cherish it :)

Haircutting experience!

Since young, dear Jovan has been very incooperative during hair-cutting sessions. Today, we brought him to our regular kids stylist below our block.



Jovin had a hair trim too but she has always been cooperative as she's afraid the stylist jiejie will ruin her hair if she does not follow instructions.



Jovan, on the other hand, was very apprehensive about it. Finally, today we placed him on the booster as he has always been sitting on my lap for haircut. We thought he was ok and made it. Dear even slipped out to buy drinks. But alas, he soon broke ito tears, wailing loudly. Luckily the salon was not crowded. Sigh, even I-phone couldn't perform magic. Only after much coaxing, he managed to quieten down and settled with the sweet in his mouth. However, his whole expression looked very uneasy. Jovin kept encouraging didi which we found it so heartwarming.



Finally, hair cut was done in a jiffy. Our dear prince's misery was over and guess what, he happily waved goodbye to the stylist jiejie and asked for more sweets, haha!

Happy Dining!

Last night, dear and I chanced upon a restaurant as we drove along Sembawang Road. Surprisingly, our kids loved it, mainly due to the variety of food served which appealed to both of them. Jovin ordered 2 helpings of chee cheong fun while Jovan kept attacking the fried rice. I couldn't help but took out my phone to snap the satisfied looks as they ate. Hmm, what an enjoyable meal and dear and I got to enjoy the meal in peace. That's the greatest advantage :) We would surely return again!

Busy Jovin at work!

Time really flies. In 2 weeks' time, our dear princess will be celebrating her 5 year old birthday. This morning, she was busy packing the yummy sweets and tidbits into the goodie bags for her friends in school. She has really grown up. This time round, all the sweets and goodie bags were decided and chosen by Jovin. Still remembered I was the one who did all these for her when she was still young. I tore open all the tidbits and both our little 'J's immediately took the initiative to pack all the goodie bags.



Both displayed cooperativeness as Jovin guided Jovan to place various tidbits into the goodie bags. I gladly took the back seat and watched my 2 little darlings do the wrapping. Last but not least, they packed 2 special packs for themselves with EXTRA helpings of sweets haha!



Jovin is now counting down towards her birthday celebration in school, home and with our best friends. Everyday, she will ask me what is the date and she's marking the calendar day by day....



30th Oct 2010, here we come!

I-Phone. Love or Hate?

Ever since dear bought his I-phone, our 2 little 'J's yearn for his return from work everyday, not because they miss daddy, but rather his phone. At one point, dear even suggested buying me an I-Pod so as to satisfy the 2 kids. However, I was very much against the idea as I do not want the kids to become over-reliant on this technology tool.

At times, I really feel like slamming the phone as it has been the trigger source for quarrels and arguments between them. Only recently, we managed to pacify both as we 'lured' Jovin to play PSP. Notwithstanding, Jovan was willing to and managed to learn many new words through the flash cards and story application in I-phone. He is really different from Jovin who doesn't like to stick to traditional flash cards and story books. Jovan is really a techno kid. Basically his learning is mainly through multimedia tools like DVDs, PC roms and of course, his favourite I-phone.

Casual talks with my peers made me realise all of us were facing the same problem i.e I-phone. Sometimes I really wondetr if I-phone is doing more harm than good? My friend went to Genting and she had to use I-phone to pacify and settle her 3 year old kid throughout the coach. As for us, I recalled there were several ocassions when dear and I were both 'screwed' by mum for allowing them to play I-phone, thus igniting the 'war' between them.

Just as I really felt like condemning I-phone, Jovan suddenly blurted out a month ago during his regular check-up ' Papa, I want I-phone '. The PD was taken aback too and she put a tick against the box stating ' Can speak in complete sentence'. Oh my, Jovan has always been conversing in incomplete sentences like eat nana, drink milk milk etc. I never dreamt that the influence of I-phone can be so powerful to the extent that it guided him to say his first complete sentence! So now, we are trying to build his sentence construction using I want etc. All thanks to the I-phone!

So it's really a dilema, should I be grateful to the creator of I-phone? No answer.....

Jovin's first secret love letter!

Last weekend, we received a letter stating 'Jovin Zhou'. The handwriting looks kiddish though. Dear and I were so puzzled who could have sent a letter to Jovin? We passed the letter to our dear princess, since it's addressed to her. She was so excited and told us it was something she did in school. All pupils were told to write down a message for one of their best friends, address it to the person she fancies and teachers arranged for the letters to be mailed out.

It was really a pleasant surprise. Jovin's letter was from Melvin who wrote ' Thks for helping me, Happy Children's Day!' We asked Jovin who she addressed it to, she told me secretly it was Shaun, her 'boyfriend' hehe.. That's my girl and her first 'romance' :)

Weekend Dining

It has been quite sometime since we ate Ajisen Ramen. Thus, as we passed by the restaurant at Causeway Point last night, we stepped in without much hesitation. Didn't know Ajisen now offers oriental meals as well like 宫保鸡丁、姜葱鱼片. As the kids already had their dinner, we ordered dessert for them while dear and I enjoyed our crayfish and gongbaoramen. Perhaps we really hadn't dine here for quite a while. Every dish tasted delicious. Our little 'J's did not have enough of dessert. They ate our ebi side dish, crab stick sushi etc. We even ordered a kids meal for their sharing. We thought they couldn;t finish, but they really did! It was a splendid meal as all of us enjoyed the meal heartily. Both our kids loved it and licked almost the whole bowl, haha! Simple and tasty :)