Learning the Alphabet

Arman has steadily been getting better with the alphabet. Arman’s teacher from U-Hill Elementary assigns homework for Arman, which Mommy diligently goes over with Arman night after night. Here’s a picture of Arman doing his reading homework. You’ll also see Melur close at his side.

Melur is already reading very well (at least we, the parents, think so). And she likes to show off her skills in front of Arman. We try very hard to get Melur to let Arman learn on his own. Be every so often, Melur will blurt out the letters that Arman needs to learn. Once Arman can recognize all the letters, we’ll need to teach him the sounds that correspond to each letter. He’s already started that task, and we’re still working on it. Wish us luck!

True Confections for Mommy

Okay... So it’s still not Mommy’s birthday yet. But it’s Sunday, and Mommy’s birthday is just a day away. It’ll be more fun to celebrate Mommy’s birthday on the weekend, rather than on a weekday. And so I went out this morning with Arman to True Confections and got Mommy a cake. Since I didn’t order the cake ahead, the cake didn’t have any writing on it. But it’s a good cake.

But before I go into the birthday festivities, I want to mention that Melur is now able to make butterfly origami all on her own. Mommy and the kids borrowed some origami books from the local library earlier this week. And Mommy also bought some origami paper from the Internet. We’ve all been trying our hand at origami. And now Melur is going to make a butterfly origami for all her classmates. Good job Melur.

Now back to the festivities… What do you think of the birthday cake? It looks awesome! It tastes awesome too. Arman chose the Chocolate Orange Cake for Mommy. Here’s a video:

Anyway, we were only able to take pictures on my phone yesterday, so hopefully today you can take a better look at the birthday present Daddy got for Mommy. I also got her flowers.

Melur made Mommy a present, a little heart-shaped necklace, made with tender loving care. You can see it in the picture below:

So this is how we celebrated Mommy’s birthday (in addition to yesterday’s sushi dinner). Maybe we’ll have a bigger one next year. Anybody want a slice of cake? We really recommend it.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Early Birthday for Mommy

It’s Saturday, 2 days before Mommy’s birthday. Daddy had to attend an AGM for MABC Canada this afternoon, and so we planned to meet up at Metropolis at Metrotown right after. I arrived at the mall around 4:30 pm, and rendezvoused with Mommy and the kids at the food court. They were having a late afternoon snack. I didn’t have time to eat at the MABC meeting, even though food was served. So I ordered up a veggie burrito for myself.

We had a chance to walk around quite a bit. With Halloween just a week away, the mall was filled with ghoulish décor. One atrium in particular had a Ghost House, though purely ornamental (you can’t go inside). It’s just for show. Just the same, the kids were entertained with dead bodies lying on some sort of torture device. After exploring a few stores, we stopped for some yoghurt/smoothie at Yogen Fruz. It’s quite delightful – yoghurt and fresh fruit blended together. Every few feet along the mall corridors, there are quaint little sitting areas with sectionals and sofas. It’s a great place to relax amidst a busy day of shopping. And that’s where we sat while we enjoyed our little desserts.

Anyway, Mommy has been in an “exercise” mood lately, and so we stopped at a few sports stores. While she was shopping, I managed to coax the kids into making their first purchase on their own. They were thirsty, and so I handed them a toonie so they could buy themselves a drink. And so they did, while I watched about 20 feet away. They were scared (or shy) at first. But after a little encouraging, they managed to do it, and felt really proud and happy afterwards. I’m really proud of them too.

Before long, it was time to head home. It was already quite dark outside, and cold. We had only been walking around for an hour or so. Seeing as we were all quite tired, we decided to celebrate Mommy’s birthday a little early, and have dinner out with the family. The venue… Hime Sushi on 10th, right next door to the library in Point Grey. Mommy took the kids there a couple of times before, and they just love it.

Anyway… seeing as we were already kind of celebrating Mommy’s birthday already (2 days early, 1 day if you’re in Malaysia), I decided to give Mommy her birthday present. What do you think, Mommy? Do you like it?

Sorry, the picture isn’t so great. We forgot to bring our camera, and so I had to use my camera phone, which has a much lower resolution. Anyway, Happy Birthday Mommy! We’ll have your cake tomorrow.

Melur Vacuums

I took a picture of Melur today, just a random picture of Melur with the vacuum cleaner. Our living room is our family room. And I’d say we spend about 90% of our time in this little room. So it gets dirty and messed up pretty quick, especially with the kids around. And so just about every night before the kids get ready for bed, we get the kids to help clean up their stuff in the living room. And sometimes, that entails vacuuming the carpet floor as well, just in the living room. It’s usually Arman who quickly volunteers to vacuum the room. I think he thinks it’s fun. He beats Melur to the queue almost every time. But today, Melur got a chance to vacuum.

She’s really working hard at it. We try to get the kids to help around the house, especially when it’s safe and fun. I think it’s a good habit to have. Anyway, thanks Melur for helping us keep the house clean.