The End of Another Year

Two and a half more days of school and that is it for the year. My baby is going to Year 3 which is primary middle school. When has the time gone?

Pakuranga Heights Year 2 had their last assembly today and all the students did a performance for the parents. In this video, you can see Ryan on stage in the yellow top.

Follow link to video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lFzCUfM5Kc&feature=youtu.be

They were also presenting end of year awards and Ryan was called on stage and presented with a Merit Certificate for Outstanding Progress. Mummy is feeling very proud now :)

Bollywood Dancing

There were some performances at the local mall recently and Ryan was part of it. Some kids from his school were performing a Bollywood dance which was taught by his class teacher and he volunteered to be in the group.

Well done, Mrs Dhaliwal. You did a great job. It wouldn't have been easy teaching a group of primary school kids a Bollywood performance :)

Unfortunately, we weren't able to attend the performance. It's a good thing my parents were able to go and had it recorded for us.

Halloween 2013

It's Halloween tonight. Ryan has asked to go trick or treating for quite a few years now but dad doesn't believe in celebrating Halloween.

In the past, we bought lollies and got him to hand them out to kids that knocked on our door. However last year, we had only one kid and he was really disappointed. I told dad that we have to let him go next time.

So he finally got to go trick or treating this year. We got him a vampire costume as that was what he asked for and his friend's dad took them out.

He was so excited and was already talking about it when he woke up in the morning. They came home with quite a bit of lollies. A bit too much for my liking :)

The most important thing was they enjoyed themselves. He said that Halloween is the best and he wants to do it again.

Overseas Again?

My little jet setter took 2 weeks off school recently to go on an overseas trip with his grandparents and aunty. It was his 3rd overseas trip this year!

My parents and sister ware planning a trip to Hong Kong and Sydney. As hubby and I do not travel as often, we decided at the last minute that it will be a good opportunity for him to see more of the world. It was a really rush decision and unfortunately for us, his passport was just short of 6 months to the expiry date. Obviously we had to pay more for an urgent passport application.

It was all worth it though as he really enjoyed himself. Hong Kong was a bit of a culture shock for him. The apartment that they were at was really tiny. Then there were the sea of people, language and food. He didn't mind it but it's not somewhere he wants to go again. His favourite places were Ocean Park and Disneyland.

He was on more familiar ground when they got to Sydney as he was there the last couple of times he travelled. There's also the fact that he was staying at my brother's place.

My sister said he is quite a savvy traveller now. He knows the airport well and knows exactly what to do when he is on an aeroplane.

I will never forget the time he was on an aeroplane, he was crying and telling me that he doesn't want to be on one anymore when we were landing. The air pressure was really hurting his ears. That is history now as he loves going overseas. I guess the air pressure in his ears is second nature to him now.

2013 Class Photo

It's school photo time again. Where has the time gone? My boy is growing up so fast.

These are his Year 2 classmates. They are in Room 9 and their teacher's name is Mrs Dhaliwal. She is an awesome teacher and really cares for the kids in her class.

End of Football Season 2013

Ryan has done one whole season of football. We did not know what to expect when we first registered him but I have to say his football skills has really improved. I still remember his complaints on his first day. He has come a long since then. The field was the muddiest that it has ever been on his last game. He came home and told me that it was really muddy and he had fun (just in case you are wondering... yes, I didn't go to the game - naughty mummy). He even said yes when I asked him if he wants to do the mud run that I did.

This is his team photo which was taken a while ago. It was only given out to them at the prize giving recently. Each of them were also given a medal to acknowledge their achievement for the season.

Bye Mum & Dad

It was the school holidays a couple of weeks ago and my parents decided to take him to Gold Coast with them. They went on the second week of the holidays and were there for 6 days. That was the longest he has been away from us. We were a bit worried that he might miss us and ask to come home.

How wrong were we? He had the time of his life... going to theme parks and eating. They went to the Tropical Fruit Farm, Sea World, Dreamworld and Movie World. He went on every ride twice and refused to leave the parks till closing time. The only one that they managed to leave earlier was Movie World and it was only because it was the last theme park they went to and he was too tired by then.

He told my parents that he wants to go to Sydney with his next school holidays. It's like "who needs Mum and Dad when I have Grandparents".

Football

The season for football has just started and Ryan had his first training and game today. It meant to be last year but for some unforeseen circumstances, we weren't able to register him. He was a bit disappointed but luckily he was over it quite quickly and was happy for us to register him this year instead. He is with the Howick and Pakuranga football club called Fencibles and his team is West Ham.

It was quite an experience for both of us. He was really excited about it but he was a bit unsure this morning as the weather wasn't the greatest. Unlike a lot of kids, my boy doesn't like playing in the rain nor does he like getting dirty.

He complained as soon as he stepped on the grass. It was raining before and the ground was wet and he said his shoes were getting dirty.

The session last for an hour. They will be training for the first 30 minutes and playing against another team in the last 30 minutes. He was given a white ball but he wanted the green one as they don't look dirty. He wasn't a happy chap when he had to pick the ball up as it got his hands wet and dirty. 20 minutes into training, he came to me and asked how long has it got to go. Then it started to rain. He came up to me again and said that he's getting wet and he didn't like it. I told him to go back to his team. He came back soon after and said that he was sick and needed to go home. All these before the game even started!!!

The game finally started and he enjoyed himself better then but there were times that we saw him standing around looking for us or just looking at another game instead of concentrating on his game. His last complains ware there was dirt on his shorts, someone kicked him at the of his leg and someone else kicked sand into his mouth.

Overall, we thought he did pretty well (minus all the complaints) for his first game. He kicked the ball a few times and defended it against the other team.

Albeit all his complaining, he did have fun and he wants to go back. Hopefully this will toughen him up and it's good for him to learn to be in a team.

As for me, I do have a few complaints of my own. It was too early in the morning for me and I had to stand around for an hour. Plus it was wet and cold. But now that I have been to one session, I will be more prepare next time.

Another Year Older

Ryan is turning 6 on Monday and since it's his first day back at school, we decided to celebrate it today. We didn't give him a party this year as we just came back from our trip. He wasn't happy about it when we told him last year but I guess he forgot about it. He really enjoyed himself with our lunch get together with family and close friends.

As always, he did very well with his presents and this was without a party! My home is just about ready to be a toy shop.

Here's to another great year. I love you, darling.

2013 Overseas Holiday

Ryan had his second overseas holiday this year. We decided to take him to Singapore and Malaysia, which were a lot further than the Sydney trip we made last year.

We were only in Singapore for a few days. The main reason for going over there was to go to Universal Studios. Boy, did he enjoy himself? He kept hurrying us on the morning of the day we were going. We got there and was about to sit in the shade for the gates to open, when we were approached by a staff member asking us if we would like to be the first family in the park. All we had to do was help open the gates. In return, we got to wait in an air-conditioned room, a free photo with Kung Fu Panda and 4 sets of express passes. We had a blast of a day.

After Singapore, my cousin very kindly drove us across the border to Johor Bahru in Malaysia. We were get there for a few days as we wanted to take Ryan to Legoland. He had just as much fun although he got a bit upset at one stage as he was not tall enough for a ride. It was here that he first saw a squat toilet and wasn't very impressed with it hahaha.

From there, we went to Melaka and Kuala Lumpur by coaches. I think the bus rides themselves were quite an experience for him. Getting to the bus depots, the crowds and the long rides.

After we got to Kuala Lumpur, we went to Ipoh and Penang with my Uncle and Aunty. These trips were mostly for food. They weren't to his tastebuds but I'm sure he had a good time as well.

When we got back to Kuala Lumpur, we took him up the mountain to Genting Highlands. I must say other than the weather, I didn't like the place. Ryan really enjoyed himself though as they have a theme park up there. That was why we went there so mission accomplished.

The last few days were spent in Sydney. We were away for 25 days. It was the first time he has been away from home for that period of time and he was missing his grandparents. It was a great trip for us and he got to meet a lot of my relatives and the spoiled him rotten.

Being silly when we first got on the plane

At the hotel in Singapore

Jet-lag caught up with him at dinner in Singapore

Rehearsal in waiting at Universal Studios

Acting silly with mummy

Trying his hands at getting a driving license at Legoland

Having fun at Legoland

At the end of a long and hot day at Legoland

Riding a trishaw in Melaka

Photo on one of the cannons at A-Farmosa, Melaka

Trying an ice-cream roll on the way to Ipoh