Jamming at Gage

Melur pounding at the drums! Well, Daddy volunteered to perform at the upcoming Malaysia Singapore Nite at UBC, and had to practice with the newly formed band. Daddy brought Melur and Arman along to Gage Residence Hall, which is where the band was practicing. The kids were a hit with the the band. They were so cute. Melur actually wants to be in a Rock Band when she grows up! Melur was already playing with the drums. Video Clip of Daddy Practicing with his Rock Band The kids were troopers, and kept themselves busy with drawing and coloring. Daddy made sure to bring the proper materials, so that the kids weren't too bored. But by 8pm, the kids were really tired, and Daddy couldn't even practice. You see below a picture of Daddy TRYING to play the drums. But the kids INSISTED on sitting on his lap. Can't really blame them. They're kids. Looks like Daddy'll just have to practice some more on another day. The kids are tired The Malaysia Singapore Nite is coming in just a week. Daddy hopes Mommy will write about it in this blog, while Daddy performs on stage.

Melur Prepares for Dinner

I just HAD to share this. You know, nowadays Melur and Arman will eat dinner with a fork and spoon. Mommy and Daddy still eat rice with our hands. But I think since the food is usually served hot, the kids like to use utensils. And it's been that way ever since. Anyway, today as I was preparing for dinner, Melur took a fork and a spoon, wrapped it in a napkin, and placed it next to her plate on the dinner plate, just like in a restaurant. Where did she get that from? I was SOOOOO.... entertaining! Hahahaa... Check out the picture. Utensils wrapped in napkin near bottom of picture. Post your comments?

Mommy Mondays

Nothing special to report here... no birthdays, open houses or outings. Just another day Monday with Mommy. The arrangement right now is that Mommy doesn't work on Mondays and stay with Melur and Arman. She work, works and works on other days though...:( So here is the Monday schedule with Mommy: Bathing with Squirt Gun and Cups 9am - 10am: Breakfast, and 1/2 hour bath. Must set time limit since Melur and Arman love playing in the tub. Melur at Parents N Tots 10am - 11:30am: Parents N' Tots at Commons block. A community center activity. They have lots of games that the kids love. Plus, the kids can play with each other. Arman at Parents N Tots 11:30am - 12noon: Play at the small park outside of Commons block. Melur at the Playground near Commons Block 12noon - 4pm: Read books, play lego and computer games (special games for kids under 5). Also light lunch. Usually Mommy makes sandwiches though sometimes Melur and Arman would ask for other things - spaghetti or macaroni and cheese. Quiet time or sleep usually for 1/2 hour between 1pm to 2pm. Arman at Playground new Commons Block 4pm - 5pm: Gymnastics. Mommy and Daddy enrolled both to the program. Melur loves it (it's her second semester), but Arman is still tentative. The moves might be good for his legs though. 5pm - 7pm: TV time for kids, while Mommy makes dinner. Daddy comes home around 7pm, and we have dinner 1/2 hour later. **I guess today is the last of those Mondays. Mommy made arrangements with Heba to come half day from now on. Mommy now will have Saturdays to spend with the whole family (Daddy inclusive) and half of Mondays free. Hopefully, things will work out for the best.

Swimming at UBC

So we registered Melur and Arman for swimming classes. It's a half hour class every Saturday from 11 am to 11:30 am, and today is our first lesson. Mommy and Daddy have to tag along for the first 4 lessons. After that, they may be able to go on their own.

Swimming lessons are held at the UBC Aquatic Centre. It's on campus. The pool is pretty big. Melur and Arman were very excited to go. It's been a while since they went swimming. Melur followed Mommy into the Women's changing room. Arman went with me.

The lessons came and went pretty fast. After all, it's only half an hour. There were 4 other kids that day, and our kids were the biggest kids there. The swimming class is for the 3-5 age group, which means Melur and Arman are in the same class. Most of the children there were still getting used to swimming. But Melur and Arman are so accustomed to the water, they just wanted to swim around on their own.

Fun in the Jaccuzzi After the swimming lesson, we took a short dip in the jaccuzzi. That was SOOOO refreshing. The swimming pool is actually slightly cold. So the hot water from the jaccuzzi was very envigorating. I think Mommy enjoyed it the most. We'll definitely be looking forward to this on our next visit.

Looks like we'll be going swimming on Saturdays instead of ice-skating. We haven't gone skating in a while. We'll be heading to the library after lunch. That definitely remains a ritual. Melur and Arman have taken to books quite well and we spend every night reading books before bed.

Melur Registers for Kindergarten

Yup, Melur starts school this year since she turns 5 at the end of August. In Canada, kindergarten is compulsory and the local school board runs the kindergarten centers along with regular schools. Registration day started yesterday, Monday January 8th. To make sure that Melur gets enrolled into the nearest kindergarten, we needed to get her registered as early as possible. Since Melur is not a Canadian citizen, her registration takes place at the Vancouver Schoolboard (VSB) office. The bus trip is 1 hour and 15 minutes each way. Mommy took Melur on the very first day. Unfortunetaly, the registration opportunity is limited to 30 per day only. Mommy and Melur got to the office at 10:30am and the serving numbers were all gone. We had to come again the following day...:(

Today, we woke up at 6am and left the house as early as 7:15am. We took the bus number 41 from UBC campus loop, and got to VSB at 8:35am. Our serving number was 11 (amazing considering that the office opens at 8:30am!). It seems that some parents arrived as early as 8am and waited outside the door for the VSB office to open. Mommy was ready with all the forms filled and also the required documents. Mommy also brought crayons and paper for Melur. While all the other parents had to run around and entertain their children, Melur sat quietly drawing and coloring. Mommy spent the time re-checking the forms and reading the newspaper.

Melur coloring away

The actual registration took only 10 minutes. Melur got the closest school, which is University Hill Elementary. The school is only 10 to 15 minutes away from our house. Yippie! It will be easy for her as well since other kids in the neighborhood mostly attend the same school.

On a side note, Mommy and Daddy are so glad that we spent the last few weeks in Malaysia getting the necessary documents ready. We got certified translation of birth certificates for both Melur and Arman, as well as the immunization records from their pediatrician. Mommy actually saw a parent being turned away since his daughter didn't have a birth certificate (her birth certificate was left in China!). The last few weeks in Malaysia were definitely the busiest. We had so many things to do and so little time. But all the preparations were worthwhile considering that now Melur is able to register into a public kindergarten without much hassle. Looking forward to the same experience with Arman next year. Melur starts school THIS YEAR!!!