CNY 2012 - Enter the Dragon

Blink of an eye and it's Chinese New Year again. This Dragon year seems to come particularly fast as it falls on 23rd January, less than a month from Christmas.

This is also the first year we bring our XL (Xavier Lucas) boys out for CNY house visiting and to say we are tired is an understatement. We are totally exhausted and drained by the end of the first day. Having visited 5 houses and with rain not making the whole process easier, we both agreed we should just crash on our beds and leave the washing and cleaning up till the next day.

I didn't even have time to take out the camera and snap photos like the previous years. The two photos above were two of a handful of photos I took for the whole day. I find myself taking cat naps in between visits as I try to regain some energy.

The two boys looked great in their matching outfits though. Xavier seems to enjoy the visiting although it's now much harder to get him to greet the elders or say "Gong Xi Fa Cai" to relatives he only sees once a year. He usually only warms up by the time we are leaving the place.

Hope CNY house visiting would be easier from now on.

LEGO

I think I'm bitten by the Lego bug. Its my birthday recently and I bought myself Lego Minifigures, 80 of them to be exact.

Lego started selling a series of collectible figures in sets of 16 in 2010. The figures could be from all walks of life, from something as likable as a clown to something as crazy as a mad scientist or as far-fetched as an alien. To date, they have released six series and you can see all 96 figures in the photo above.

I remember playing with Lego when I was young and there was this particular set of Lego that I fondly remembered. It was year 1985 and I was primary two. I was top 3 (I think) student in my class and had earned a class promotion. I pester my mum to buy this particularly huge Lego set which we saw at Isetan Parkway Parade, the King's Castle #6080.

If I remember correctly, it costed about $89.90, lots of money at that time. Mum was hesitate and was trying to get me to settle for something lesser. But she eventually gave in. It was a great set, with horses, spearmen, archers and knights. And the cool feature was the castle could be extended by opening the rear walls of the castle and sliding it to the front. And it had a working drawbridge too.

How I wished I still have that set. Lego have since release a "remake" version in 2010, also called King's Castle #7946. Though I not really into castles and knights anymore, I'm sure I will be getting more Lego sets.

Best way to beat the heat...

It's only the beginning of the year but the heat seems to be on in Singapore already. The fact that I'm drenched with perspiration just sitting down and doing nothing, guess that's life on the equator.

So how to beat the heat at home? Lucas shows you how. Whether u go without a towel, put in on top or put in below, dipping in a tub is a sure way to beat the heat. Feeling cooler already?

Happy New Year Everyone!

Lucas Goes Botak

Lucas was born with heaps of hair (compared to Xavier which had close to none). Over the four months his hair grew to a very untidy state. I often joked that he looked abit like Chairman Mao.

And so, we decided to shave him botak (bald) so that his hair would be even when it grew again. We went to Junior League and he was very well behaved surprisingly, no crying no fussing.

And he became an instant auntie magnet with his cute level maxed out.

Even Xavier couldn't help but love Lucas even more.

I usually recommend parents to bring their kids to Junior League to have their hair cut at least for the first time. Yes its expensive but the staff there are very friendly and experience and the TV playing Barney or Thomas The Train often distracts the kids from the taunting hair-cutting experience. Then when they become comfortable with hair cuts, you are switch them to the cheaper barbers.

Lucas the Superbaby

I saw this swimming costume for babies at one of those pushcart stalls and couldn't resist buying it for Lucas.

It look so cute, even comes with a cape and a swimming cap. No red underwear outside though.

Lucas must be wondering what's all this fuss about with the suit. Xavier tried to guess what superhero Lucas is dressed as.

"Don't lean over, I'm falling off!"

So what does Lucas think of the superboy suit I got him?