Mr Fluffy Hubby’s Birthday

The weekend before his birthday, we walked to one of our favourite Japanese restaurants for dinner.

The evening of his birthday, I made a short detour to a famous cake shop after picking her up from school.

The night of his birthday, she drew a series of hearts on her calendar.

The extra-ordinariness of it all.

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4th Birthday (Part IV)

Her belated princess party was on a Saturday.

We started the morning by going for Kindermusik, followed by roti prata lunch at Tanglin Mall as usual, then collecting the birthday cake at Takashimaya, before heading back home for her very late afternoon nap.

While she slept, Mr Fluffy Hubby and I turned the place into a ballroom fit for a princess (ok, not really, but it was good enough to wow our princess).

She was still sleeping when the first batch of guests arrived in the evening, but woke up not long after when she heard their raucous laughter.

I dressed her and she made her grand entrance down the long corridor into the main ballroom. She was such an enchanting vision in her tiny yellow tiara and her golden satin-organza ball gown inlaid with red roses that everybody clapped for her. She was so happy, she gave a little giggly dance on the spot.

Then she begun playing. She got herself a small orange balloon which she used to bat the big orange balloons that were floating all about the ballroom.

She had fun with that for a while before declaring, “I’m hungry! I want to eat!” She sat down at her special table of honour and began her feast. She had sandwiches and chicken wings, puffs and pies, tarts and more tarts served to her on princess plates while the rest of us helped ourselves to mee siam at the long table.

When she was finally done with the banquet, she opened her presents. She received an ATM machine from her eldest uncle and aunt, a bundle of Hello Kitty and Princess and Birthday goodness from her youngest uncle and aunt, and another bundle of pop-up books, orange dress and bubbly toy from her Aunty S. We gave her the Winnie the Pooh tri-scooter which she had asked for. But her favourite of the lot was the singing Princess Belle doll from her grandparents.

We thought of getting one of those kiddy princess cakes from Bengawan Solo, but decided against it in the end. Foodie Fluffy Hubby suggested the famous strawberry shortcake from Rive Gauche instead.

She topped the cake herself with the 6 Disney princesses, a grand castle candle plus 4 pretty pink birthday candles. It was lovely.

She was having such a wonderful time that when her uncles and aunties and grandparents started leaving, she tried to physically stop them. She put herself in their paths, held on to them and wailed, “No! Don’t go! Stay! Stay here with me! Sleep in my room! Don’t go!”

When she was left with only Mr Fluffy Hubby and me, she finally resigned herself to the fact that her princess ball had come to end. But not without telling us, “Next year, I’m going to be Cinderella! Cinderella gets to go for parties all the time! Right?”

Right. Because, Mr Fluffy Hubby and I, we are only too happy to have her as our little princess. For as long as she wants.

Read also:
4th Birthday (Part I)
4th Birthday (Part II)
4th Birthday (Part III)

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4th Birthday (Part III)

It poured cats and dogs on the morning of her birthday party in school. I decided to wait it out because there was no way I was going to be able to carry her plus 20 something party packs from the car into the school without getting them soggy. Half an hour before the start of the party, it was still raining but only lightly, so we moved off.

When we reached, the party was nowhere near starting. She joined the rest of her classmates to do some math instead.

Like the year before, she went through the Montessori birthday ritual.

Like the year before, she confounded her teachers and friends by announcing that she had gone to a shopping centre when she turned 4.

Unbelievably, her teacher had bought a princess cake for her. Her favourite princess wasn’t on it, but believe me, chocolate and cream and icing sugar fondant made everything more than alright.

She was swarmed by her friends for their party packs. Watching them descend upon her and her backing away towards me in alarm, I suddenly realized why she had asked for the party packs to be labelled. Ah, too late now. They were gone in a flash.

She had no problem saying goodbye to me this year. I fervently hoped that she would have no problem bidding farewell to her school in a few days’ time either. The fact that this was going to be her last birthday celebration in the first preschool she has ever attended made it a bittersweet affair.

Read also:
4th Birthday (Part I)
4th Birthday (Part II)
4th Birthday (Part IV)

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4th Birthday (Part II)

The shopping mall opposite our place was giving little girls princess makeovers over the June school holidays. Spend $80 with a maximum of 3 receipts in a day to be primped into a princess.

The first weekend we chanced upon the princess makeovers, Mr Fluffy Hubby and I snorted. We went on and on about how little girls should neither have their hair teased and tonged, nor their faces smeared with garish make-up.

Every subsequent weekend we were there to run our errands, she would stare longingly at the rest of the girls being turned into princesses. Each time, she tore herself away with the reassurance, “When I’m older, Papa and Mummy will let me dress up as a princess too. Not now, but when I’m as big as the jie-jies there. I promise not to do my hair and not to do make-up.”

After hardening our hearts for almost an entire month, Mr Fluffy and I relented. We had a quick discussion and agreed that she deserved to have some magic happen to her for exercising such remarkable self-restraint and for displaying such maturity, if for nothing else.

The weekend before the princess makeovers ended, Mr Fluffy Hubby and I told her that we were going to give her a belated birthday treat. We brought her down to the shopping mall and got her to choose her very own princess dress.

It was all very propitious because we were throwing a princess party for her the following weekend. We had been searching high and low in every departmental store all over the island for her favourite princess dress in her size, and we had not had any luck at all. Yet there, on the rack, hung an exquisite dress that fitted beautifully when pulled over her head and smoothed down her little body.

Buying a princess dress got us into the priority queue for the makeover. She was immediately attended to by one of the many ladies-in-waiting. She received her princess tattoo and nail art stickers; she had her hair poufed into a sparkly chignon; she was powdered, blushed and glossed.

She was asked which princess she would like to dress up as. I suggested Cinderella, her other favourite princess, because we had already bought the perfect princess dress for her party. She agreed.

Another lady-in-waiting changed her, then a footman handed her the sceptre, got down on one knee to wear her glass slippers for her (I whispered, from the aisle, “He’s your prince!” She was very indignant and retorted, “He is NOT my prince.” True princess. She is able to differentiate footmen from princes. Let’s hope she keeps up the good taste.) and set the tiara in place. He led her to her carriage, all alit with hopes and dreams.

And that is how we made her dream come true on her 4th birthday. It will probably never be this easy again, but like her, I hope and dream.

Read also:
4th Birthday (Part I)
4th Birthday (Part III)
4th Birthday (Part IV)

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4th Birthday (Part I)

Poor girl was dreadfully sick a few days before her birthday.

She was better on the day itself, but we had already cancelled her party.

She celebrated with her fluffy friends instead. They had a lavish ice-cream treat, followed by an elaborate cake ceremony in the morning.

We took her out for a pizza lunch. After that, her grandfather, who is her favourite person in the world, brought her for herbal jelly dessert.

Then, she took a 3-hour nap while he waited around for her.

When she finally woke up, he treated her to a kiddy ride before taking her to dinner.

It was as good as it gets.

Read also:
4th Birthday (Part II)
4th Birthday (Part III)
4th Birthday (Part IV)

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The best birthday present in the world

The night before her father’s birthday, while snuggling together in bed, I asked her, “Do you have a present for Papa? It’s his birthday tomorrow.” She thought hard for a while, before informing me, “Yes. For Papa’s birthday, I’ll let him WHOOOOOSH!!! me up and WHEEEEEEEE!!! down I come.”

I blinked stupidly in the dark, taking in her idea of a birthday present for a moment. Then I ventured, “Is that a present for you or for him?” “Both!” she shrieked in laughter.

So the next morning, the morning of her father’s birthday, right after waking up, she sought her father out and presented herself, unkempt and unwashed, to him. She stretched out her arms and declared, “Happy Birthday, Papa! I’m ready to be WHOOOOOSHED!!! up now!” Her father graciously accepted her gift. He picked her up and swung her into the air. “WHEEEEEEEE!!!” she shouted amidst giggles on her way down.

I don’t know who enjoyed it more. Mr Fluffy Hubby or her. Or me watching them. But I think we all agreed, it was the best birthday present in the world.

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The years are passing me by

Somehow, for her 3rd birthday, I feel a need to chronicle.

So here are all her birthdays, immortalized.

1st Birthday (Part I)
1st Birthday (Part II)
2nd Birthday (Part I)
2nd Birthday (Part II)
2nd Birthday (Part III)
2nd Birthday (Part IV)
3rd Birthday (Part I)
3rd Birthday (Part II)
3rd Birthday (Part III)
3rd Birthday (Part IV)
3rd Birthday (Part V)
3rd Birthday (Part VI)

It makes me feel safer.

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3rd Birthday (Part VI)

Slightly more than 2 weeks on, we brought her for her 3rd birthday photoshoot.

She enjoyed herself tremendously during the photoshoot because the photographer treated her to a chocolate muffin.

Another week later, I brought her for her yearly photoshoot with her grandparents since they had missed this year’s Chinese New Year photoshoot.

This year, she’s old enough to know to want to bring a friend along for her photoshoots. So for her 3rd year birthday photoshoots, it was not just her grandparents, her parents and her, but she was also accompanied by her polar bear, Snowball.

The much loved princess.

Read also:
3rd Birthday (Part I)
3rd Birthday (Part II)
3rd Birthday (Part III)
3rd Birthday (Part IV)
3rd Birthday (Part V)

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3rd Birthday (Part V)

When the actual day of her birthday rolled around on Friday, Mr Fluffy Hubby took leave from work as he did on previous years, and we brought her to the zoo, as we did the year before on her 2nd birthday. She had her KFC lunch, enjoying it even more than last year, since she not only got popcorn chicken, but even cheesy fries in addition to Milo this year. We saw the polar bears, as we do on every trip to the zoo (except the traumatic school excursion). We saw the white tigers, which she is always fascinated by. And for the 1st time, we rode on an elephant and watched the Splash Safari show.

After the zoo, she knocked out in the car for her nap while I drove Mr Fluffy Hubby to nearby Causeway Point for his audio fix. When she woke up, I brought her up to the shopping centre to buy her some very old-school big round, super thin wafers in various colours and flavours. She munched 1 in the car on the way back to meet her Grandpa.

When we reached, Grandpa was hanging out with his buddies at the nearby coffee joint.

So we brought her to get her favourite orange Yakult from the vending machine, then to choose her birthday balloon. I pointed out all the huge floaty mylar balloons puffed up with helium which she could choose. But even Dora didn’t get as much as a 2nd glance. She went straight for her orange stripey cat walker balloon, which she had already asked and received from Santa Claus just 6 months ago for Christmas last year. I tried to get her to consider all the different breeds of dogs, the duck, the tortoise and even the dinosaur with an egg, but she just wanted her orange stripey cat. The birthday girl gets what she wants, so we were soon pulling her orange stripey cat along with us to meet her Grandpa for some toast and barley.

After her teatime snack, we brought her to the toys store. She had fun wandering around, checking out everything and trying to work the demo sets on display.

Then it was time for dinner at Werners, joined in by the family. She had a grand time, stuffing herself with her favourite pretzels with her favourite people.

When we reached home, she placed orange stripey cat at the foot of her bed, before going for her bath. And when she returned from her bath, she chattered to orange stripey cat about her birthday before finally crawling into bed and falling asleep nestled against me.

Read also:
3rd Birthday (Part I)
3rd Birthday (Part II)
3rd Birthday (Part III)
3rd Birthday (Part IV)
3rd Birthday (Part VI)

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3rd Birthday (Part III)

On Sunday, we woke up early, put on her gingerbread man necklace which her Aunty E had got for her, and rushed out of the house.

She ate her breakfast in the car as we drove down to Alliance Francaise for The Gingerbread Man play staged by I theatre.

Her uncle and aunty were already there with her cousin RC. RC was holding on to 2 gingerbread men cookies, 1 of which was for her. She was so pleased with his gift that she took his hand, held on to it and didn’t want to let go, beaming happiness.

She enjoyed the play (which was really just so-so, last year’s Rainbow Fish was much better), but preferred yesterday’s concert.

After the play, we went for dim sum lunch. The family joined us.

After lunch, we crossed over to the neighbourhood shops to buy goodies to fill up the goodies bags which she was giving out to her friends the next day during her school birthday party. (Yes, there’s still another celebration, and that’s not even the last of her birthday celebrations!)

Then we drove home. She slept in the car. When she woke up, we packed the goodies bags. Mr Fluffy Hubby divided and cut up the stickers; I sorted the goodies into piles, wrote the names on the goodies bags and handed them to her; she dropped the goodies into the bags, selecting colours for her friends.

When we were finally done after an hour, we headed for dinner nearby.

On our way home, we ran into the supermarket mascot – a giant green dinosaur – handing out orange balloons! Giant green dinosaur gave her a balloon, and because she’s so small, giant green dinosaur knelt down to take a photo with her. The smile that appeared on her face from that bit of good luck, that bit of kindness, was priceless. Meeting giant green dinosaur was the perfect end to her weekend of celebrations.

Read also:
3rd Birthday (Part I)
3rd Birthday (Part II)
3rd Birthday (Part IV)
3rd Birthday (Part V)
3rd Birthday (Part VI)

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