J3 turns 3

December tends to be a flurry of festivities in our home, because the hubs, myself, as well as J3 celebrate our birthdays in the last month of the year. Add Christmas to the mix, and things do get pretty hectic! (Which is the main reason why I've not blogged for this whole month!)

Anyway, I'm popping in to record down J3's third birthday. I cannot believe this little baby boy is now three!

Dearest Small J,

You turned three this month. I think sometimes you feel a little conflicted: you don't enjoy being called a crybaby and being bullied by your older brothers, yet you also like the attention you get for being the "baby" of the family. You've looked forward to your birthday so much, and in particular you were excited about all the food you could get to eat! You had pancakes for breakfast on the day of your birthday, and you had them on a Moomin plate, because those Moomin remind you of hippos. Hippos these days are still one of your favourite animals.

We've stopped throwing parties for all of you for now. Instead, we let you choose a place to visit on the day of your birthday. You chose to go to the Animal Resort, because you absolutely love feeding animals. It is almost impossible to tear you away from the goats at the zoo, because you love feeding them, and all you could talk about after our Melbourne trip was how you got to feed the wallabies and wombats. 

So off we went to the Animal Resort, and you had a field day feeding all the animals, including the horse. You were rather apprehensive about feeding the horse, but you did it!

Your Ah Kong and Ah Ma had come all the way down to visit especially for your birthday, and we had dinner with all four grandparents. You had planned the menu weeks back, asking for satay, and pizza and cake. And as time went by the list grew longer. You wanted watermelon. You added cookies and cream icecream. You kept reminding me that the cake had to be a chocolate cake. We managed to make or buy most of the food on your wish-list, save for the ice-cream, because all the cookies and cream icecream I found had egg in them, which your older brother couldn't eat. But you were content because you got to eat a mini Magnum instead.

Have I told you what a little foodie you are? You are always trying to get out of doing work, by saying you are just a little boy. But when it comes to snacks, you are a big boy who wants a big portion!

And chocolate. Don't get me started about chocolate. You are crazy about chocolate. I think it was because I ate so much chocolate when I was expecting you. These days, you are always flinging open the fridge and standing there with an empty bowl, asking for chocolate. I wish you were so enthusiastic about your main meals, but snacks are your thing. Just the other day you were refusing to help to return your dirty bowl or to set the table. But when Papa's birthday cake came out, you immediately trotted off to the kitchen, got yourself a plate and fork, and sat down to wait for a piece. 

Oh, and the cake. You asked to help make it, so you did. But you ran off halfway, so Lil J helped me to finish making the cheesecake. We used this recipe, and the cake was so rich and good.

However, I think you ate way too much cake. After the cake, you asked to try the durian that we had purchased, and the strong smell made you throw up! But you weren't fazed, since after that you just ate more cake to make up for it.

You are such a affectionate little fellow, and a ray of sunshine in our home. I know it is hard being the youngest of three boys, and being pushed around all the time. Some days you cry until you are hoarse, and complain that your kokos are "dee-turbing me". But though you complain about them, you still love hanging out with your brothers. I love watching the three of you together when you play. Sometimes, Lil J declares he is your Papa and he takes care of you. Sometimes, all of you ride on pillows and sail away on adventures.

I especially love watching you play with your little sister. You love hanging out with her, and though you sometimes pinch her cheeks way too hard, it warms my heart to see how you are so affectionate towards her. You love being in the thick of things, and you would always get really upset when we talk about the times before you were born, because you would insist you were there!

These days, you have been doing a lot more doodling and scribbling, and your older brothers try to teach you to draw various things. You love singing songs and making up your own crazy lyrics ("Super Mario, you are naughty when you throw my paper away!"). You still drop your "S"s and sometimes we have to check with your brothers to understand what you are saying ("I ate bee-keet at yarn-day kool" = I ate biscuits at Sunday School). I secretly love your kiddy intonations, because they remind me that you are still our baby.

We cannot believe you are three, and all grown up! (But no, no more chocolate for you.) Happy Birthday, and may God continue to mold and shape you!

Love,
Your Mama and Papa

Junior J's 7th

We celebrated Junior J turning seven over the weekend with a small party. We had decided to throw the party on an earlier date, so that his Godmother could attend, and I was also worried that baby might come along anytime soon! 

This turned out to be the simplest parties we've ever thrown for the kids. For those who have been following this blog for awhile, you know how we do parties: DIY decor, handmade party packs, simple games, and hearty fare. We like things simple, but the crafter in me cannot resist throwing in some decorations and DIY projects, but it's always done on a shoestring budget. I've shared about how we've learnt that parties are not just about celebrating someone turning a year older, but also about thanking our loved ones for being with us for this journey of witnessing our children growing up. 

This time round though, I was just too exhausted from the pregnancy and everything that was going on, so I had a chat with Junior J and told him that we would not be doing much in terms of decorations for his party. I felt terrible, since Junior J loves planning for parties, and has been my main helper for preparing for them, from making a bus for his brother's party to packing party packs. The boy was slightly disappointed, but sweetly told me it was ok. But he did ask if we could have party packs for his friends, to thank them for coming.

Of course I said yes to that! The boy had requested for an animal theme this round, and asked me to ask his friends' parents about their kids' favourite animals. We bought kraft shopping bags from Daiso, and he drew the animals on each paper bag, and filled each with some snacks as well as a set of oil pastels. He wasn't too sure about drawing some of the animals, so we googled for step-by-step instructions for some of them, which he followed. 

Aside from the party packs, he had one more request. Or rather, it came out as a question: "Will you decorate the blackboard wall for the party, Mama?"

And so I did.

I've been doing these blackboard birthday greetings for the past two years, ever since we painted the wall in our entryway with chalkboard paint. Little did I know how much the kids enjoyed this little gesture, of waking up and seeing birthday greetings scrawled across the wall for their party! I guess it's really these little things that matter. 

Unfortunately though, Lil J fell pretty sick the day before the party. The older two had been a little under the weather for the past few days, and Lil J suddenly worsened the night before, and was coughing and wheezing. Our hands were tied: we had ordered two large platters of sushi from Sakuraya, and we had already collected the birthday cake from Cedele. We couldn't postpone the party to the next weekend as the hubby couldn't make it, and I was worried about baby's arrival too. 

We texted our friends to inform them. One couple had a young baby, so we regretfully told them it would be safer to stay home for baby's sake. Another couple were a little worried, but did not want to disappoint the birthday boy, so they gamely said they would bring the kids. The other adults all said they would still come. We decided the best option was to ask the kids to wear masks, and our friends got their kids to agree to wear masks and make it a game so that no one would feel strange. Even Baby J asked to wear a mask, after he saw everyone wearing masks! 

My heart was so so full the day of the party. It was a smaller turn-out, but to see all our friends coming down to celebrate with Junior J, despite the possibility that they might catch a bug... that reminded me again about why we throw parties. It's about the people, and not how pretty the cake is. It's about meeting together to celebrate, and not about how nice the decorations are. (So for those who came, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can't tell you how much it meant to this little boy!)

So we didn't have games. But the kids were kept busy learning how to fold and fly paper aeroplanes (thanks to Junior J's Godfather). And they happily played together, never mind that they had to wear masks. Junior J learnt that day to be a good host. He had to serve drinks and look out for his little guests, and also learnt how he sometimes had to give in, so that everyone could feel included during playtime. I was very proud of him that day. I was also very thankful for my parents, who helped to watch out for the younger kids so that we could chat with our friends. 

We had a simple spread of sushi, fishballs and nuggets, all requested by the birthday boy. The hubby, though having a splitting headache, went out before the party to collect everything, and I was thankful for a hands-on Papa like him. Junior J got the chocolate cake he wanted too (which he reminded me had to be eggless so that his brothers could share in it too), and I made a little Perler dinosaur topper to decorate the cake. This boy has always been making Perler bead creations for his brothers, but they are too young to make any for him, so I thought I'd do one just for him for a change!

There were no other decorations this time round. No streamers, not birthday bunting, and we didn't even hang up balloons, but let the kids run wild with them. But all in all, it was how birthday parties should be: about family and friends, gathering to feast and celebrate together. Happy birthday in advance, my dearest boy!

To the baby of the family, who turns two

Dearest Baby J,

You arrived, just three days before Mama's birthday. You, looking tiny next to your older brothers. You, the one who learnt to sleep through the chaos of two little boys always poking you, or creating a ruckus around you. I cannot believe the baby of our family is now two, and you always remind me "I'm not a baby, I'm a toddler". But for now, I'm still calling you "baby", since you are still the baby of the family, at least for a little while more. And you'll always be the baby boy of the family. 

I've always marveled at how wonderfully you got along with your biggest brother. Both of you have a special bond, and he's always been extra patient and loving when it comes to you. These days, you still fight a fair bit with your second brother, but you are playing a lot more with him too. Hearing the conversations between the two of you always makes me smile!

You're probably the only extrovert in this family of introverts. You love being in the thick of things, and love hanging out with your brothers. Being the youngest, you know how to turn on the charm, and you're generally a smiley, sunshiny little boy, unless you're having one of those whiny days. 

You want to do everything that your brothers do. You try to climb like them, scoot like them, and even want to play the violin. So much so that your grandparents got you a tiny second-hand violin, so that you would stop bothering your brother when he practices his cello. 

The terrible twos have hit, and hard. The days have been filled with tantrums. You've started sneaking off to play with water in the bathroom, and insisting on soaking in the tub every other hour. You play hard, and fight hard. You've been pinching and scratching, and then you would try to get out of trouble by asking the victim "are you alright?". But tantrums aside, you have this sense of humour and love making us laugh with the funny things you say:

You: Where does Papa work?

Mama: He works in the hospital. 

You: No... He works in the watermelon, so I cannot eat up the watermelon!

~~~

You: Watermelon, watermelon, what do you see?

I see a J3 boy, want to eat me! 

~~~

You are just crazy about watermelon, and call yourself the watermelon boy. You also love pandas, and your brothers are always very excited when they spot a picture of a panda, and would point it out to you. They also help you to make a baby carrier out of your singlet for your baby panda, whom you call "Bamboo baby", so that the Mama panda can carry him. The thing is, you call the Mama panda "Bamboo boy", which makes me smile!

You are still a much better eater than your brothers, and love trying everything on our plates. You love chomping on fishballs, and you look a little like a fishball yourself. You go crazy when there's chocolate cake, jelly or seaweed snacks, and are always bugging me for "nack nack" (snacks). 

I feel a little sense of loss that my last little baby boy is growing up so fast. But we thank God for the little ray of sunshine that is you. Happy birthday, my little watermelon boy! 

Lil J's 4th

We had a simple celebration for Lil J turning four over the weekend. I must be getting older, or perhaps we were rather tired out this month. Whatever the case, I realize our parties are getting simpler and simpler these days, but I guess sometimes simpler is better!  I initially wanted the bare minimum for the party (food, friends and cake), since we had just come back from Legoland, and I've been exhausted these days. 

However, Junior J got all excited about preparing for the party. The in-laws were visiting, and were all ready to string up decorations (they've been so used to helping to put up streamers and blowing balloons for our parties!). In the end, we managed to pull together a simple party, and got to celebrate and had a great time chatting with friends. The kids more or less played nicely together, even though I didn't plan for games this round. So I guess we more or less fulfilled our main objective of a birthday party: to celebrate a special little boy turning one year older, and fill the home with the laughter and chatter of loved ones gathering for a celebration.

This round, we had a rainbow theme for the backdrop, with our usual streamer "wall" and balloons, and birthday bunting. However, we tried using tissue paper (from Daiso, which comes in a pack of 25 sheets of 5 different colours) for the streamers instead of crepe paper. This proved to be a lot easier and faster to put up, since you just need to cut the paper into strips and hang them up sheet by sheet, instead of streamer by streamer. The birthday bunting was from Cotton On Kids (I bought it when it was on offer), and I love how the black lettering stands out against the streamers!

Again, we had our usual chalkboard birthday greeting. Lil J wanted a dinosaur party, which surprised us as he isn't too keen on dinosaurs unlike his brother. But we went with his request, so I drew in dinosaurs, and we had dino cake toppers and party packs.

For the party packs, we did something similar to what we prepared for Junior J's 6th: Kraft paper bags from Daiso with backgrounds painted by Junior J, and Perler bead tags (again, assembled by Junior J).

We filled them with crayons, stickers (both from Daiso), and some munchies.

Junior J started freaking out before the party, because he realized that I had randomly matched the dinosaurs to the bags. According to him, there were only volcanoes and flowers in the Cretaceous, so those paper bags with volcanoes and flowers painted on them had to have Cretaceous dinosaurs matched to them. So he sat down and made more dinosaur tags hours before the party, so that everything would be accurate. Thankfully, we managed to shuffle the dinos around and he only needed to make one more!

Food-wise, we catered a popiah and kueh pie ti set from Old Long House Popiah.

We also bought curry puffs, fishballs and other finger food from Old Chang Kee, and the in-laws helped to make konnyaku jelly and cut fruit.

The cake was one of Lil J's fav. He doesn't get to eat much store-bought cake, since he still has an egg allergy. We recently discovered that Cedele sells an eggless truffle cake, which is pretty yummy, so we bought one for the party. We dressed up the cake using Perler bead dinosaurs. Junior J made a dimetrodon for Lil J, as he said it was one of his brother's favourite prehistoric creatures. We couldn't find a bead template for that, so he created his own design!

All in all, it was a simple, homey affair. But one filled with fun, laughter and lots of love. :) Happy Birthday, my not so little Lil J!

PS: You can read all our party posts here. 

Junior J's 6th: Chocolate cheese cake (and the food)

We really racked our brains to think of what food to order for Junior J's party this year. We wanted something different from the stuff we've been ordering for parties (we've done sushi, DIY popiah, and Peranakan for previous celebrations), and something that Junior J liked to eat. In the end, we went with Poulet, since we loved their chicken, and Junior J especially loves the mash potato there! 

Poulet does not do delivery, so we ended up ordering the food the day before, and hubs picked it up just before the party. Their chicken is really yummy, and we also ordered ratatouille and mash potato, and made our own salad. We also served fruit and konnyaku (made by my mum) for dessert. 

The cake was quite a headache. Junior J wanted something with chocolate. We wanted to get something egg-free so that Lil J could also eat the cake, but egg-free cakes are quite rare. This round, I didn't want to spend too much money on the cake, so in the end, I opted to make my own. I was really nervous making it, since I am no baker. Half my bakes turn out disastrous, so much so that my boys would politely decline, and say they do not want to eat them! 

I found this recipe for a chocolate cheese cake that seemed doable, and we did a test run with a smaller cake. The boys loved it, so we decided to go with it.

However, Junior J was rather perplexed: why was the test cake rectangular? Aren't birthday cakes supposed to be round, like in all the pictures in books? (I had used a Pyrex baking dish for the test cake.) I also didn't have a springform pan, and wasn't too confident in getting the cake out of a regular baking tin intact. So I rushed down to Phoon Huat to try to get a springform pan, only to find out that they were sold out. So I ended up just using my square baking tin for the cake. My tin was too large, so the cake turned out really thin, and I was wondering if the candles we had bought (from Daiso, don't you just love these?) would hold up in a cake that was just an inch high! 

Thankfully, the candles did hold up. However, we found that you have to be really fast when lighting these, and you can't leave them burning for too long, since these are pretty small and melt really quickly. We ended up with wax on the cake, but it was easy to flick the bits of wax off.

Another thing I realized (on the day itself!) was that I didn't have any suitable plate or base for the cake to rest on. In the end, I used our cheese board, as it was the largest flat surface I could find in the kitchen. 

All the crazy scrambling seemed to pay off, since Junior J loved his cake (even though he had already been eating slices of our test cake for a few days before the party), and our guests said it was yummy. Now that this has worked out, I guess I might just have to make the cake for the boys' parties from now on!