See the similarities?

Little Sunbeam... (Oct 08)

This day Auntie Yushan came to visit... While I worked on some chores in the kitchen, she took this pic on her HP to show her excellent job of cooing Eliana and made her smile so happily!
When I see this pic, I thot... 'Hmm... Haven't I seen the shot somewhere before???!'
Haha... it turns out that Estella has a similar pic taken at the same angle. Take a look...
Now's the time to vote if the 2 girls look alike!
Little Starrie... (May 06)

Also just to put on record:
Eliana now weighs 5.0kg, and stand at 55cm, when she took her week 6 jab. She might turn out to be taller than Estella next time...
Here are Estella's stats again...
Date: 9 May 2006
Age: 9 weeks 2 Days
Weight: 5.14kg (v 3.14 at birth)
Height (or rather, length): 54 cm (v 51cm at birth)

Eliana is growing well...

Look what she's reading!

The 3 'E's...

Elise... Evan... Estella!
Eliana is way too young to join in the rolling & tumbling fun. As ever, they enjoy one another's company tremendously. Let's wait till Eliana is able to run along with them. Wouldn't that be even more exciting? Already thinking ahead of camping trips, outings, stay-overs...

Ahh... reminds me of all the mischief & fun I used to have with my cousins...

My Two Darlings & Look who's talking!

Our two darlings... The joy of our lives.
Some verbatim captured lately...
1) Estella: Mama, mei mei cry ... Estella go see...
And Estella runs ahead of me to check Eliana out

2) Estella: Mei mei small... Estella big
With her two hands stretched out right in front of her... Like 'Big Fish; Small Fish'.

3) Popo: Can you leave mei mei here at Popo's house?
Estella: NO! Mei Mei go home with Estella (looking protective...)

4) Estella: Mei mei small... Mama burp burp mei mei.... Daddy burp burp Estella!
Both just drank milk. Estella clung on to Daddy for a burp!

5) Estella: Estella and Daddy go shopping. Mama and Mei Mei stay here...
Just before leaving the house for some grocery shopping with Daddy.

The New Frenzy... Dresses

Guess it's in every girl's growing up. Estella has taken a liking for dresses lately. It is taking a much longer time to pick her clothes after each shower. Show her a dress and chances are that's it! Or else, you can literally overturn the wardrobe and she still doesn't want to wear what you've picked.

Why does 'autonomy' and 'independence' ring so loud in my ears?

Estella's on her way to school...

Some time ago, I mentioned about posting a pic with Estella in her uniform. From the time she has learnt how to button/unbutton her clothes. Now, every morning, she would insist putting on her uniform herself. During the week when I started my leave, John and I had the chance to walk her to school. It was a beautiful stroll...

Eliana's long overdue ticker...

OK, long overdue ticker for Eliana! She is here since 10 Sept 08.


Q1. Does Eliana look like Estella when she's born?
Yes and no. The mama thought the two of them look alike. However, there are some differences of course. Estella had thicker, straighter hair; and also a more prominent double-chin (wooo!)

Q2. Would Eliana get her personalised blog?
Yes and no. The new blog was started, but the mama thought it's too troublesome to update 2 blogs. So this shall be it... still figuring out how to write new posts next time. It's good to advocate sharing from young. :)

Q3. Do you think their personalities will be similar?
It's too early to tell. However, Eliana does make a lot of 'sounds' and expressions that we had never heard in Estella before. Hmm... and Eliana is also slightly higher-pitched. Let's just see them grow...

Estella is now a BIG SiSTER!

The day has arrived... that Estella gets to see her mei mei finally!
Estella's all ready to present her gift to mei mei. She has chosen this gift herself and even helped in the wrapping.
She puts the baby giraffe into mei mei's bassinet...

The Sporty Side of Her

A very focused look...
The first strike...
More hits...
The triumphant smile...

Just have to post these pics as they reflect the sporty side of her. Doesn't she look like a softballer/baseballer in the making?

Her 1st Book Prize

This came as a pleasant surprise to all of us...
Estella has won 1st prize in the colouring contest held in her school during National Day celebrations. Good effort there, Estella! Keep it up! :)

Here's her winning entry. It was pinned up at the entrance of her childcare centre. :)

Our Limited Three-some Time

With Eliana's arrival date drawing closer, we are treasuring every three-some moment like these. Mommy won't be pregnant forever, and this look too, will change!

Our regular walk at ECP...


Mommy's Darling Girl - Estella!

Estella with her hairband (finally)

This one is for Ah Yee, who is still waiting for a successful attempt to help Estella wear a hairband.
Here's how she looks like... Doesn't she look stylish with the sling bag too? :)


Mid-day Humour: This is the Xiao Wan Zi that Shups has commented about... Quite alike right?!

A Voice that Melts Daddy's Heart

'Happy birthday to Daddy, Happy birthday to you!!!'
Yes, Estella was capable of melting Daddy's heart on this special day. A big thank you to all the great frens who had pulled this celebration together at (well, we always claim the most kiddy-friendly restaurant) Globetrotters! It was definitely a great catch-up time. For those who have not seen Estella for a long time, you might have been pretty entertained by her new range of vocab.

We are thankful for friends to join us in celebrating friendship, special events, and Estella's new milestones! :)

We are going to the zoo, zoo, zoo....

Another trip to the zoo... Cos Mummy knows the next one will have to be months from now.
Estella was a lot more engaging this round since she knows the animals' names better! Eh, this was her 3rd visit so far... :)

Of course we visited the Children's Playland for her sake. The good old favourites never fail to win her heart. She always enjoys the swing & slide. There seems to be some new features coming up. Good suspense - we will come and explore again!

Her other highlight was the icy cold, sweet and chocolatey Cornetto!!! Barney songs have got such great influence over her... "ice cream, ice cream, cold & sweet..."
Of course, the biggest draw for her was still the tram ride, which she called the 'CHOO CHOO TRAIN'! It's such a convenient way to tour the zoo with the unlimited rides. Not just Estella, I enjoyed the rides too. It's too high a call for me to walk the zoo in the third trimester.

The zoo remains a great place we want to go back to regularly. Lots of nature, animals, greens... and SPACE! (on a weekday morning) I can see how Estella's eyes sparkle when she sees how her favourite animals come alive before her eyes. This is definitely 1000x more exciting than seeing the pics on her books or watching them on TV!

Button you must wonder...

A new learning experience today for Estella - BUTTONS!!!

"I can do it by myself..." She has been spending this afternoon practising buttoning and un-buttoning. No fanciful books or props - just 1 of her fav polo-tee and You You!

I must say she has succeeded after 15min of perseverance. Mama is so proud of you, Darling!!!

Terrific Two!

It's never been more fun than now! Our babbling 2yr plus toddler is now practicing a whole new array of vocabulary to have her way. Some new observations lately:

1) '1 more time' (holding up her index finger with a pleading look), whenever she wants to read her book again, or watch that video again, or even snooze in for the morning...

2) 'Please' (with a pleading look), whenever she wants her way. She has learnt over repeated teaching the last few weeks she WILL NOT get her way if she whines...

3) 'Rain, rain, go away', no, she's singing this when it rains... BUT deliberately sprinkling water at whoever bathes her. Yes, rain on us indeed...

4) 'Estella takes car to school; Daddy takes bus to school' - her longest sentence so far.

5) 'Daddy, hug & kiss', her must-have before she sleeps each night... So endearing, isn't it?

I have so much to blog about her... but maybe later...

star mumblings

mama: can gong gong go to your house?
star: no
mama: can waipo go to your house?
star: no
mama: can ah yee go to your house?
star: yes

*******************************************
ah yee: can i tie your hair for you?
star: no
(ah yee puts a hairband on star)
star: (removes hairband) no no no

******************************************
mama: i've got a joy joy joy joy down in my heart
star: WHERE
mama: down in my heart
star: WHERE
mama: down in my heart;
star: (where)
mama: i've got a joy joy joy joy down in my heart
star: WHERE
mama: down in my heart to stay

Estella has grown so much... since my last post

Her fav Mcvities biscuits for snack.


Another pouty look...

To date, Estella is 2 years and 3 weeks plus old.
Much progress has taken place:
1) She started attending school since Jan this year. Took a long time to persuade her to put on her uniform. Some mornings, she still wears her PJ all the way up to school entrance, and I change her together with the help of the teacher. I will aim to at least upload 1 pic of her in her YWCA uniform. At this point I am writing this, she is being pulled out from school temporarily because of the HFMD. Will have to monitor for the next few days. I can memorize the school's number already. Oh, did I mention she will choose her own matching shoes, and sometimes decides for me which shoes go best with my outfit?

2) She has many words now... So amazing how she is forming 3-word sentences now like 'Daddy blow balloon'; 'Daddy take teddy bear'; 'Mummy sit here'; 'Estella eat egg'... Interestingly, she also has a lot of 'commands' for us lately - 'sit here'; 'more bread'; 'let's go'; 'Estella shower';... As it is, she is already rather chatty... I am waiting for the days ahead when we can engage in more conversations. She can also be a little drama-queen at times when she sings along with DVDs or at Sunday school. Last week, the Sunday school teacher said she volunteered to be part of the ship crew for the story of Jonah. Seems like everyone (esp the teachers) were having fun! She loves the ACTION songs too.

3) Her recent favourites: catching, hide-and-seek and all the rolling & tumbling games with Daddy. Top bad at this moment, I can only watch her play, especially the rolling & tumbling part. Those super-high-energy activities - Daddy will have to take over as my belly continue to swell.

4) WHY? She is going to be a jie-jie soon! She has also developed the habit of joining us every bedtime to talk with and pray for the baby. How she does it - through my belly button! What she says - "Harlow", "Baby", "See you" - just like when she is on the phone! Very comical sight...

5) Reading routine - we just managed to get this up in the last few weeks. Now, she will fetch her books (as well as mine) and read along together. As I read aloud my book, she does the same! And it's interesting cos her books are mainly 1-2 liners... It's so endearing each time I peep at how she is reading and flipping the pages. Go, my young reader!

Here are 2 recent pics taken from my HP... Guess it's high time I need to consolidate all her pics to 1 place...

Who Looks like Who More???

A more successful attempt at getting her to wear a hairband

See you!

Just want to put this on record that Estella knows how to say "see you" to me before her mama hangs up the phone!!!

Her voice is so sweet and gentle... ahhhh melts ur heart.. (not as much as the D-A-D-D-Y though). HAHA

Some Classic Shots Revealed for the 1st Time

Let's take a walk down the memory lane...

This was the first time she could sit upright and pose for picture. Not bad for a start, right?

She's quite into fashion you know? Playing with sunglasses already...

See her 2 front teeth? Oh! Those precious pearly whites!

Her first ride in the NTUC trolley. Her stern look tells you she's learning to get a hang of it. Today, she can tell you what to pick from the shelves, or better still, DIY.

Just a funny close-up. Don't we all envy baby skin?

At Tampines Ikea for the first time - rocking away...

This shot is taken at Kluang retreat Dec 2006. Logistics for Estella was a feat, really...

Sweet little baby, barely a month old...

Her first carriage. Not a Maclaren yet...

Her dining experience at Alexandra Ikea...

She was just learning to stand up, and cruise around the playpen. Now she RUNS...

Last but not least, this pic was taken exactly 1 day before Estella popped! Daddy and Mommy were taking the usual River-Walk, and planning for a Crab Feast the next evening. It was spent in labour though... Yes, a worthwhile process to behold this little bundle of JOY.

Estella's a Big Girl Now

This is the most recent pic of the lot. Estella is now standing at 82cm tall, and turning 18 months next week. Time flies right? It always brings back such sweet memories when we revisit her older posts on this blog. Ha, it's definitely worth the effort to start this! See the changes, from Day 1 to now... God is simply amazing!

The next 2 BIG THINGs for Estella:
1) We are starting the search for her playgroup already. Hopefully something that's half-day to begin with, so that she can start making new friends and leave her Po-po some free time.
2) Potty Training. Anyone with tips?

Some new milestones recently:
1) Drinking from her own cup (and often finishes her drink with a resounding 'AHhhhhhh')
2) Feeding herself with the spoon (though sometimes she prefers to use her fingers)
3) Feeding herself soup from the soup spoon (and drinks direct from the bowl for greater efficiency!)
4) Indicating her full/soiled diaper by pointing and uttering 'ehh ehh' (good tip for us to start off her potty training)
5) Uttering some words... prastising hard on "Da-ddy", "flo-wer", "dia-per", "to-wel"... Her favourite word is "BUBBLE"!!! Hi-Five's bubble song helps!
6) Helping out with simple chores like cleaning the floor, fetching her own bath towel, and even choosing the shoes she wants to wear for the outing.
7) Picking her own DVD to watch (ranging from Action Bible Songs, Hi-Five, Praise Baby Worship Series, Barney & Friends to Animal Adventures by Baby Genius...)

She's full of action, fun, and new surprises for us each day.
Let's continue to watch her grow...:)

How Estella looks with pig-tails

This is how Estella looks like with pigtails... Wondering how to keep hr hair long in a weather like ours... :)