it's jerrell's 5th birthday and the theme is transformers. and he really looks cute in his autobot costume although he complained that it's warm after a while.
the children were thrilled as usual to meet their friends, play with the toys, crowd around the cake to sing the birthday song and drink lots of juice. the gang enjoyed the laksa specially catered due to overwhelming prior popular demand.
doris and thomas couldn't make it today 'cos they're on their way back from the US. julian really took the cake, pun fully intended. :)
it's our traditional jcgang christmas eve dinner. something which we had going for at least 5 years but we still can't pinpoint exactly when it all started. maybe we're getting old. :P since the little ones have so much fun each year, i think it's something they very much look forward to each christmas.
we have settled into a routine on who gets what for the potluck dinner over the years. janet will get the basics like the staples and drinks. this year, jason and her had outdone themselves by making curry chicken, jelly and tiramisu! wow...
lynn has become the expert on mushrooms with herbs. she made something new this year, baked scallops with mayonnaise and cheese which everybody loved. the nigella fan had also made a very yummy spiced peach. delicious!
johann and diane are the de-facto providers of baked ham. and i'm the go-to person for salads. i tried my hand at making a roasted vegetables with salad greens. roasted yam, japanese sweet potatoes, pumpkin, baby carrots, baby corn, egg plants and capsicum. had lots of leftovers so i guess it's not well-received. :(
doris is the supplier of the highlight of the dinner - the christmas log cake. tracy and eric skipped our less than healthful dinner this year because of eric's current diet restrictions. siew leng and jeff also joined us after dinner.
the decibel levels has definitely gone up over the years as doris had remarked. i guess that's expected as the little ones become good friends and develop greater lung powers. from what i know, johann's and john's family are going to tokyo disneyland because janine and janelle said so.
amidst the festivities, more good news were announced... janet is pregnant! cayden is going to be big brother soon. guess whether he prefers to have a baby brother or sister?
and his answer is a sister! surprised? janet says that's because he doesn't want to share his clothes and toys with a younger brother. :) haha...
another good news of sorts came from me, i'm now gainfully employed since the 9th. that means i can't wake up whatever time i want or have late night online gaming sessions anymore. but adjusting to a working routine wasn't difficult, think i had enough rest and relaxation already. ;)
it has been such a long time since jcgang had a gathering. the last one scheduled on 25 jun was cancelled on the day itself due to the unexpected arrival of cayden chua.
the first thing that i noticed when i stepped into the flat?
jason’s new aquarium which occupies the entire wall. nice.
this time round, all were present even the kids except for tracy who is in Taiwan enjoying herself and thomas who is busy with work.
janine, janelle, joshua, jerrell and cayden from the oldest to the youngest. the oldest, janine is turning 3 this november while cayden is only 12 weeks old today.
cayden is totally fascinated with the musical mobile hung over his cot. janet says he can stare at it for hours. i think so too ’cos he was oblivious of me when i called him. don’t think he even realizes who’s beside his cot nor does he care i suspect.
the kids created quite a din never before experienced at janet & jason’s place.
janine and joshua will allow me to carry them if i swing them into the air. janelle although very much wanted to be swung but still refuses to let me carry her to do it.
jerrell wouldn’t let me carry him either but will not mind me holding his hands when he walks… if he doesn’t realise it’s me. haha… :) otherwise, his face will change and cry for his daddy/mummy. :P
cayden is still in the “ignorant” stage, so as long as he’s comfortable, he doesn’t mind who is carrying him. he likes meat though… kept nibbling on doris’ arm. haha… :)
somehow, the kids are still not playing/interacting with each other much. maybe they’re still too young. the toys brought by siew leng helped to entertain them while her biscuit stars proved to be a winner.
the families left at around 11 pm while eric, doris and myself hanged around waiting because janet had to make sure her place was vacuumed and mopped up before she can join us for prata supper @ jalan kayu.
it's jerrell's 5th birthday and the theme is transformers. and he really looks cute in his autobot costume although he complained that it's warm after a while.
