Christmas Eve

This year, we decided to stay home for Christmas eve and ordered a ham. We also made some mashed potatoes as well as my tomato, cucumber, onion and celery dish with my secret sauce and herbs. We had the delicious sweet bread we had picked up by Arab street yesterday along with some corn too! It was a very good meal and Juliana really enjoyed it. She couldn't get enough of the delicious ham and her daddy's whipped potatoes...
She knew that it was Christmas Eve since we've been building up to it all week. Yesterday's advent card (if she ate a good meal) was a gift from Mr. Elf, so she got the fairy figurines from Dinsey and was very happy to have a toy to play with while mommy and daddy finished their meal...

After Juliana went to bed, "Mr. and Mrs. Claus" set to work on arranging all of the gifts. This girl is spoiled!!! This picture doesn't do it justice, because some are hidden behind or on the couch that's not in the picture...
I couldn't wait until morning to share all the fun with her!

Santa's helper

Santa's helper is here! My mom and Nana sent this adorable outfit for Juliana and she enjoyed being Little Miss Santa Claus... She is very excited about Santa coming tonight and we're looking forward to it too! Can't wait to see the look on her face...

A day with my man

Jacob took today and tomorrow off to finish off his vacation days for the year and today was a "date day!" For some reason, I was having separation anxiety with leaving Juliana, but Jacob and I have so little time together as a couple that it was important for us to make time for ourselves. Juliana was in good care with Jean and we headed out after lunch time. Our first stop was Little India to walk around, window shop and then we stopped to get a snack and some drinks. Yes, I made Jacob put on the napkin too for fun...
He can kill me for sharing this picture later!

After Little India, we headed to Bugis Junction to walk through the area, buy some delicious sweet bread we had discovered when my mom was here last year and then headed over to Arab street. This picture was at Bugis...

Last year, while my mom was here, Juliana has put on a show at Bugis Junction in the waterfall. She had a crowd of about thirty people watching her, taking pictures, videos, and laughing at how much she was enjoying the water. I was nostalgic as we walked through, thinking about how much she has grown in the last year!

Anyway, after some shopping on Arab Street, we had a late dinner at a little hidden gem just off the main strip. The tables were actually couches with pillows to relax. I could have taken a nap after my meal! But the ambiance was perfect and the food was delicious...

We love middle eastern food and this was our delicious appetizer, hummus and baba ganoush with pita bread followed by some amazing chicken and lamb...

It was a great day with my wonderful husband and Juliana was all nestled in her bed when we got home. And yes, I did check in with Jean a handful of times to see how our little girl was doing...can't help it!

Promoting True Value in Singapore

A good friend of ours back in the U.S. is the manager of True Value and we wanted him to see that Juliana is promoting his store all the way out here in Singapore! She even got her tools out. So this post is just for you Greg...

We miss the Riouxs a lot, especially because we have so much fun when we're all together! Good friends are hard to find and they are lifelong friends. Happy Holidays Greg, Alex and Kali!

An Act 3 play followed by some shopping

This morning, we took Juliana to her second Act 3 International play at the Esplanade Recital theatre. The name of the play was Playtime! Farmer, Fox, Bird & the Cookie plus other stories with Tick, Tack, Tock. The last time we attended one of their plays, Juliana loved it and this was a wonderful experience too. Here she is with the cast after, but I could not get her to look at the camera...too many other characters to look at!
The great thing about the plays put on by Act 3 is that they are very kid-friendly and the actors interact with the children. Juliana got to dance, act like a duck, sing along to Christmas carols and clap for all of the different acts. It was well worth the trip over and the tickets!

After the play, we had lunch at Suntec and then visited the Koi Garden to see the fish. Juliana enjoyed watching them eat and swim around...
She kept trying to reach down to touch them, but they were eating with their mouths wide open, so I had to watch her closely!

I love this picture...she just looks so happy!

After lunch, we walked around Suntec and ran into this event going on. Juliana said hello and gave her a high five!!

It was a wonderful day and eventually, Juliana fell asleep in her stroller, so we walked back through the City link mall to Raffles and just spent some time shopping and seeing all of the Christmas decorations.

We pooped her out, so this evening consisted of a few short Christmas movies, crafts and books. I love family time!!

Opening gifts a few days early

Mun Cheong and Sue Lynn brought Juliana some Christmas gifts last night and they told us that one was a nativity set. So, of course, we opened the wrong one first, but she really enjoyed it! Pooh books, can't go wrong there...She lined them all up to choose which one to start with...

Then decided to share the books with Pooh and daddy...

After opening the wrong gift, Juliana then opened the nativity book and we told her she could help us set it up tomorrow night. Thank you to Mun Cheong, Sue Lynn and the girls for such lovely and educational gifts!

A festive evening out

This evening, Sue Lynn and Mun Cheong picked the three of us up for an evening out downtown. We first drove down Orchard Road for Juliana to see all of the lights. Next up was dinner at Raffles and on our way in through a hotel entrance was this gorgeous and huge tree...
This was an exhibit of full size Barbie dresses that I thought was gorgeous. They must have taken a lot of work to create and next to each dress is the barbie...
We had dinner at one of our favorite chain restaurants here in Singapore, the Soup Spoon. They have the best soups and sandwiches...
We walked around a bit and the girls insisted on pushing Juliana around, which was adorable...

As we were about to leave, we spotted this section with toys for sale and a wreath and Christmas tress with teddy bears!

I know I blogged about this last year, but we spotted the wishing station again this year for the Marina Bay New Year's Eve countdown and filled one out. I helped Juliana write a wish...

Then Jacob and I wrote our wishes too. All of these spheres get put into the bay and light up. Somewhere among thousands of spheres will be ours!

As always, we had a great night and got to enjoy some of the beautiful decorations on Orchard Road and at Raffles Mall. Thanks Sue Lynn and Mun Cheong!

A visit to the fire station

Across the street from Summerdale is Jurong's fire station and we recently learned that they have visiting times every Saturday from 9-11am. We decided to take Juliana this morning. Here she is in one of their rigs...She was a bit scared of this massive vehicle...

Juliana found all of the logistics of each vehicle boring, but Jacob and I were fascinated. She had fun watching the soccer game that was going on since we wouldn't let her run around, which is what she really wanted to do!

This vehicle (below) can only be found in Singapore and it is capable of fighting fires in the same way the larger fire trucks are. We were told that when they get a call, this is what they send out first, followed by the larger trucks depending on the size of the fire. Juliana got to sit inside this as well...

The fire fighters wanted a picture with us, or I should say, with Juliana! But here we are and a bunch of them got pictures with their cell phones too!

Here we are after our tour was wrapping up and we got our souvenir hats to wear, which Juliana loved!

Before signing out, one of the firemen demonstrated the descent down the pole. Their response time when they get a call is one minute, so that is a very short time to get up, down the poll and in the trucks. Apparently, the position below is also unique to Singaporeans since it's fancier...

Then he ran back up to demonstrate the bear hug...

After our tour, we went back into the control booth to sign the guest book and said goodbye and thank you to the men who showed us around.

It was a good visit, something different to do. I'd like to go back when Juliana is a little older so she can appreciate it more and go for a ride in one of the trucks.

When we got back home, Jacob was reading the paper and Juliana wanted to copy him...

Like father, like daughter. She loves copying us lately!

Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!

This adorable hat came in a box from my mom and Nana. Juliana loves it and it lights up too! She's been walking around the apartment saying, "Ho ho ho!"
This is her telling me it's my turn...

Gym, JP and Christmas fun

Signing Juliana up for Little Gym again was a very good decision on our parts! She really enjoys her gym time and as soon as those doors open for class, she takes off as fast as she can to get in there and explore! She's been using the spring board like the big girl that she is...

At Jurong Point until Christmas day, there is a meet and greet with Santa at 5pm and 7pm. Juliana has not sat down to meet Santa, but she did get to see his sleigh!

Look at that giant gift next to the sleigh!! Sorry Juliana, you won't be getting anything THAT big this year...

It's hard to believe that Christmas is just a week away now...it came so fast! I'm just about down wrapping the gifts, the advent calendar is going well and Mr. Elf has been getting lots of attention from Juliana. She also saw her message from Santa this morning and was mesmerized the entire time! Since he told her that she's been a very good girl, let's hope it lasts and not just through Christmas, but on and on. She may have her tantrums and get frustrated, but she is a doll! Her love for mommy and daddy melts our hearts.

Santa's message to Juliana

Click HERE for Juliana's personal message from Santa, through the PNP (the Portable North Pole!) Thanks to Camille, we made this tonight for her to watch over the next several days. She had a good chat with Mr. Elf tonight about how she's been a good girl and that if she keeps it up, Santa will be here next week! This Christmas has been a lot more fun now that she can learn all about it.

On another note, she amazed us at the dinner table tonight and initiated prayer all on her own! She bowed her head, let us pray before dinner and then loudly said, "Amen." It's adorable that she's catching on and takes it upon herself to pray in her own ways now. God bless her!

The power of prayer

The most painful situations can lead to the deepest connection to God. As I was running today, Carrie Underwood's song, "Flat on the floor" came on my I-pod and the lyrics meant a lot to me...

If I told you once
I told you a thousand times
You can't knock me off my feet
When I'm already on my knees

I'm flat on the floor with my head down low
Where the sky can't rain on me anymore
Don't knock on my door 'cause I won't come
I'm hidin' from the storm 'til the damage is done I'm learning more and more that in the darkest moments of my life, God is there, not just in the happy ones. The bible study that a friend of mine has been running has had a huge impact on my life and my faith. This week's video (God's Voice Reveals His Plan) had perfect timing as usual. Priscilla kept saying that when we are in the "desert seasons" of our lives, we need to stop looking at the circumstances and simply look UP! God is awesome and no matter how many times our faith falters or life hands us a roadblock, we can turn to Him.

As Carrie says in her song, nothing can knock us down if we're "already on our knees," waiting for God to guide us.

MyTattoons

This was so much fun to do...

Merry Christmas from all three of us!

Boxes, boxes everywhere!

The elves seem to be dropping a lot of boxes off at our place lately and Juliana doesn't know it yet, but she is going to be very spoiled on Christmas day!! Already, my mom and Nana have sent several boxes, filled with gifts for all three of us, plus a few for Jean and her daughter. Yesterday, a box came for Juliana from Mémère and Howie and I've been told that a few more are on the way from others. Christmas is most certainly not about presents, but it just reminds me how lucky we are and how spoiled my little girl is from the love that her family showers her with. Just yesterday, she was all excited to talk to her Nana and Nanny on skype, singing for them, dancing and showing them her all toys, again. She tells them stories and although we can't fully understand every word she says, it's still amazing.

Last night while waiting for daddy to come home, we had tea time and Juliana wanted to share it will Hello Kitty. She poured them both tea, got the spoons ready and then they "talked" (or Juliana did) while they enjoyed their tea! It was adorable...
Juliana has also been spending a lot of time with her baby dolls lately, possibly the influence of her new cousin, Rylie, that was born? So, here she is with her baby sleeping beauty, having just finished singing to her and patting her back!
Another one of her interests? Taking pictures and now she wants to use the real camera, not the fake fisher price one. So, here's her picture and it's no surprise that it's of her beloved Pooh...

Yesterday's advent card was a treat from mommy, so I gave her lots of options. After a lot of thought, she said "Swimming," so we went right down to the pool. She is getting very good at kicking and we spent quite a bit of time in the big pool practicing. She just amazes me!