Lion Dance Party at school

Evan and Cooper's school held a lion dance party today, so we began preparing yesterday by making cupcakes to take with us, along with some pb&j sandwiches in the shape of hearts (we didn't have a tiger or a lion cookie cutter...which might have been more appropriate given it was a lion dance to celebrate the year of the tiger...but oh well, they were still cute!).  Well, the task of making cupcakes was a pretty eventful one - it was the first time trying to bake with BOTH of the boys "helping"! So helping was SUPPOSED to be stirring (which they did a great job at) and spooning batter into cupcake holders (with mommy's help), but once I turned them loose with their own small utensils into spooning the batter themselves...it definitely got a lot messier and eventually turned more into eating as much cake batter as they could possibly sneak (this being Cooper as Evan would tell him "Cooper, you aren't supposed to eat it!!") So once there was chocolate all over the counter, the floor, the chairs, their clothes (not sure why we didn't put our aprons on), their arms, their legs and their faces...it was time to call it quits!  So Marte then took each one up for an early bath while I finished up...they definitely needed it!  Even with all the mess, it was a great memorable experience!  Here are a few pics from last night....

Here we are, getting started...still fairly clean!

Evan has to have a little taste test before beginning (notice the finger in the bowl and the chocolate under the mouth)

But then my little, diligent E goes straight to work just as Mommy has directed him 

As for Coop....it starts with a couple of 2 finger taste tests 

then onto bigger "fork" bites? 

 And ends with one very happy, chocolate covered face little boy....who by the way wasn't very happy (unlike the picture shows) when Mommy told him he'd had enough!

Our finished product!

 So today, both boys were eager to get to school this morning for the much anticipated lion dance (Evan had been to one in 2008, but I think he was too little to remember it), that we'd been talking about for a few days.  The theme was "red" (representing "good luck" for the Chinese), so we got our reds shirts on and headed out....but not before a few pictures, of course!!

So once we got to school, Cooper actually did better than expected (you know, I really need tostart putting a little more faith in this little man of mine!) - he went and sat with the rest of the kids and waited patiently for the lions to arrive!  But once they did arrive, it was a whole different story.....he was TERRIFIED of them!  It started with the loud drum and cymbals that were a little too loud for him, so that is when he started to cling to me....but when the lion popped his head in the door, that is when the screeching started and he clung to me for dear life!  His little heart was beating a mile a minute and he wrapped his arms and legs around me tighter than he ever has and dug his precious little face into my shoulder!!  I was so glad I had decided to attend, I'm afraid this might have scarred him for life if I hadn't been there!! ha!  Just teasing...although I don't think he'll have any desire to attend anymore lion dances anytime soon!!  As for Evan....well, he started out in the front row, but once the lions started popping their heads forward "pretending" to be going in for a bite of the kids...well, he quickly made a beeline for the back of the group.  He had a smile on his face, but it was a very rigid, happy face!  He definitely wasn't into trying to "pet" the lions, that is for sure.  You can tell in some of the pictures below.  So once the lions moved outside, Cooper was a little more calm and loosened the grip on me....he even let me set him down for a minute before one of the lions looked his way and it was back up in my arms again!!  This is one of the reasons for the poor photos...I couldn't zoom in and out with my new camera with only one hand!  In any case, both the boys had a great time and even though they were both a bit scared, they will both tell you they had a good time!  Cooper will tell you the lions went "roooaaarrrr" and Evan will tell you he wasn't scared and liked watching them eat the oranges and lettuce and then going outside and the lettuce that was way up high!

Breakfast time...

I guess the boys got the "special" table since Mommy was there with them!

Everyone looking festive in their reds!

And Cooper says...."what is all this craziness about, Mamma?"

Sitting like good boys

Ms Shareen (Cooper's teacher) and Ms Lagos (Evan's teacher)

Setting up for the lions

Waiting for the show to start!

This is the point that Cooper freaks out....I kinda of realize why...he doesn't really look all that "nice"

And fyi...I did a bit of "wikipedia"ing and apparently we had a male lion, as he had a red bow on his head - the female display a green bow

That's E (still near the front) with his hand in his mouth... and a sort of smile!

The lion ready to start chowing down some oranges and lettuce to get to the "Hung Bao" or "Lai See" red envelopes filled with money...those on which the oranges are placed 

E had made his way towards the back at this point and with some security from Ms Shareen

"Petting the lion"....you'll notice Evan is no where near!

The lion dance troupe...I think they are called

Patiently waiting for the lion to come outside to start eating the lettuce that was "way up high"

Ms. Lei and the boys

My oh-so-serious one

Evan and his little girlfriend, Sze Len

"It's all good now that those scary lions have left"

After the lions left (which Cooper was more than happy to bid them farewell with plenty of "bye-bye"s), the boys were supposed to stay and play some games and have some "sweets" (as Evan loves to refer to any desserts now...the Malaysians use very "English" terminology), but Cooper wasn't having any of it!  Even before I was ready to head out, as all the other kids were sitting down to watch a cartoon while the teachers prepared the goodies, he was grabbing my skirt...pointing to the door...and saying "mamma, go".  I didn't have the heart to make him stay after his latest lion dance experience, so we left Evan and told him we'd be back to get him in a couple of hours!  He was more than happy to stay - he must have known it was a "fun day" at school and wanted to take full advantage it!! Since he was such a good boy about staying at school, Mommy treated him to a mommy and Evan only lunch afterwards at McD's!  What a great finish to a fun morning!!

Another "Fun Day Sunday"

A couple of weeks ago, Melaka opened up a new beach park as part of a reclaimation project that started over a year ago where they began filling in the water with sand to make room for more beach front hotels, shops, etc....so we decided we would go check it out for our Sunday Fun Day event!  I'd seen it from the road and thought there were more picnic type areaa to hang out in, but once we actually drove out towards the beach area near the water (almost getting stuck in the process....so much so that a couple of locals stopped by to help Andrew push the Innova out of the sand and back on to the dirt path), there was only beach area and it was blazing hot out, so needless to say we didn't make a day of it (even though Cooper must have said "beach" a million times on the way there and probably would have loved to stay)!  Cooper was excited enough to go and put his feet in the water with Daddy, but Evan didn't want to have anything to do with the water.  We had carried our beach toys out with us to play in the sand for a bit, but it was just to hot to sit too long in the dry sand. So after I got a few pictures, we headed into town and got some chicken rice for lunch!  We didn't get much beach time, but we had a good time just getting out of the house for awhile!!

And then after dinner, we decided to go for a drive through the neighborhood.  The boys love to do this because they get to go in Daddy's car and don't have to sit in their seats...and they sometimes even get to do the driving on his lap!!  On this particular evening as we were driving around, we noticed they had some of the sprinklers (or sprinkles as Evan called them) going on one of the greens.  So we decided to get out and let the boys run through them for awhile.  I'm so upset I didn't have my camera with me because they had such a GREAT time running around and had the biggest smiles on their faces the entire 10 minutes we were there....I could have gotten some great pictures!  Andrew and I were just talking about how much fun they had with just water and grass....it's actually a bit sad!  It's such a shame that we have no parks available to us or even enough grass at our house that they can get out and just run around.....they love doing it!  This is one thing I absolutely CANNOT wait for once we finally make a move back to the states...outside time!!!!

The "1 Malaysia" concept is something they have started promoting this year and it's about all of the states uniting together and all the different cultures coming together to create "One Malaysia"

Daddy and Cooper dipping their feet in the water

Evan not real excited about putting his feet in the water

I know... they look like having them out there is torture, but honestly they had a good time! 

I had to get this one (although the tree got in my way)...another family going on a Sunday stroll as well, I suppose! I was trying to capture the little girl STANDING up front in the basket on the motorbike with her dad...I guess she was at least wearing a helmet!  And also notice the pink trashbag on the right side...it's sad, but I'm guessing another month and the whole beach area is going to start getting trashed out too!  If they could only keep things clean around here, it would be a whole different place!

Evan's School Work

On Friday, E came home with a page he had colored and I was so impressed with his coloring that I made him pose with his masterpiece.  I must have asked him 5 times if someone had helped him with it because I was so taken by how well he had done.  The last time I asked he said "I did it all by myself...well, almost all of it...Ms Shareen helped me with the bottom red part".  Even so, he did a great job and I was totally impressed about how well he stayed inside the lines.  Which, I guess I shouldn't have been so shocked, his teachers had told me at his last parent-teacher conference that he is very meticulous about everything he does...for example, he will sometimes write and erase and write and erase his numbers and letters until he thinks it is just perfect...so him staying inside the lines is just another one of those "get-it-just-right" things!  I think I have a perfectionist in the making....well, once we get those "A"s right side up in his name! ha! So here he is with his lastest coloring...

And of course, little brother had to pose with something too....even if he hadn't colored anything!  He so wants to be just like his big brother these days....he repeats every last thing E says, just so he can be heard too...it's too adorable!

And oh yeah, I also wanted to mention E is also doing great at his Bahasa.  He has currently learned 10 different parts of his face...not that this will ever come in handy to know, but we are very proud of him for at least picking up more than his mom and dad! Great work, E!

eyes - mata

nose - hi dung

mouth - mulut

cheeks - pipi

teeth - gigi

tongue - lidah

ears - telinga

forehead - dahi

chin - dagu

hair - rambut

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

This year Valentine's Day also fell on Chinese New Year!  This year is the year of the tiger and CNY is a huge thing here in Malaysia, given the number of Chinese descendants living in the country.  So when we went up to KL, it was a complete ghost town...relatively speaking for what KL is usually like...because everyone was travelling to visit families! But they had lots of shows going on to help celebrate and we happened to come upon these Chinese acrobats performing at the mall where we went to have lunch.  They were pretty amazing and the boys were in awe as we watched.  Cooper was clapping like a madman and even giving out a few "woo hoos"!  It was adorable...Cooper, that is!! 

After lunch, we went to one of the boys' favorite places, the playgym!  They had tons of fun and loved that Daddy was there to play with them this time!  And let me tell you, it was quite a sight to see Andrew maneuvering through the small tunnels...he was a tad bit too big to be going through them, but he was a real sport for trying!

I'm not sure if Cooper was actually helping to build here or was trying to tear apart Evan's creations...I'm guessing the latter if I know Coop!

I guess pretend driving requires you to suck in your bottom lip....since both of them were doing it in my "reflection" pictures!

And since we were spending the weekend in KL, we had plenty of time to get in lots of playtime...and boy did we!!  We even made it back over to the KLCC park for some playtime before dinner.  As always, the boys ran wild and had the best time playing on all the equipment there!  And I, as always, was in full swing with my camera!

We've got one that HATES swings...

and another that LOVES them and can't get enough of them! Go figure...

And of course, we had to get one in front of the Twin Towers!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

We hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day.....we had the BEST Valentine's Day weekend!  We headed off to KL for a couple of days since V-day fell in sync with Chinese New Year this year and Andrew has a 2 day holiday plus the weekend.  The boys had lots of fun playing at one of the big playgyms in the mall, playing outside at the KLCC park, swimming, playing at the hotel play area and E got to go to one of his playgym classes.....so just of lot of playing, playing, playing.....and lots of eating out!  They were in heaven!  And so was I!  Andrew and I got a couple's massage one afternoon while the boys slept, we went and had a couple of afternoon drinks the 2nd afternoon, we spent one evening relaxing by the pool having a a glass of wine and last night we went to watch "Valentine's Day" (which was so so....typical holiday flick!). We had the best time...with AND without the boys!  We headed back today and Andrew is out playing golf while the boys are sleeping, so I thought I'd take a minute to jot down all the fun we had. I'll include weekend photos in another post...

Since tomorrow and Tuesday are school holidays for the boys, we have lots more fun in store for the next couple of days. We have a playdate with about 6 other kiddos tomorrow at our new Jusco playland (hopefully not all of Melaka...or even all of Malaysia given so many visitors are here for CNY...will be at Jusco tomorrow as well) and then some swimming the next day!

Here are a few pics from the other day when I was trying to get V-day photos for the parents & grandparents' holiday cards....and a few at the end in their Valentine's Day shirts and pjs:

With Daddy before he headed to hopefully his last board meeting in KL!

Now a shot with Evan

Hopefully everyone's Valentine is a little more open to kisses than this!!!

Giving back the love

See Boss, mommy does let me indulge at the club every now and then!

Picking flowers for mommy

"Here Mommy, I have one for you too"

Looking for another shot of the two together....no such luck!

In KL, heading out for breakfast  Don't you just love our shirts BeBe and Boss sent us...thanks guys we looked very handsome in them!

And I've got my seat cover too!

Sporting our Valentine's Day pjs that BeBe and Boss also sent us! 

Some definite "Heart Throbs"