Jc_Rulez

When the weather was at its hottest peak, we thought the Melbourne Museum might be a good place to chill out and have fun.

Besides the dinosaur skeletal displays which was exciting for all of us, there is also a very comprehensive animal display with stuffed animals of all kinds. This museum is very child-friendly, with indoor and outdoor play areas for the children. While most of the displays were also very child-interactive.

Both our children enjoyed themselves. Shanna was more enraptured with the interactive buttons than the actual displays, but nonetheless, it was a good experience.

Overall, the museum is worth a visit for families with children. While I'm still dreaming of paying a return visit to the Smithsonian Museums in the distant future :)

OK. So this is also another delayed post. We still have many, not being hardworking enough on this blog.

It just didn't seem too late to post this entry about Shanna's 4 years old birthday, since Ian's 1 year old birthday posting came 2 months after his actual birthday... We did celebrate their birthdays at the actual time,  that is what counts, right? :P

Our darling girl turned 4 years old on 5th March 2013, about 2 weeks after we arrived at Melbourne. Most of her birthday presents were still in the container sailing from Penang to Melbourne. I had, however, an idea to make her a tepee as a present, ever since I saw this one here. So, Daddy Tim got the supplies from Bunnings Warehouse and I got the cloth from a fabric store online, and this tepee was up when the birthday girl opened her eyes on the morning of her birthday.



We had a small and cozy birthday celebration with our friends at home. Talented Ida of Sugar Rattle made the cutest Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cupcake and cake set for Shanna. Of course, the little birthday girl was delighted with the cake.




 

Being 4 years old is exciting. Shanna decided to become a 'big girl' after she turned 4. Overnight, she started going to Sunday school by herself and she stopped drinking milk from her bottle. She is now looking forward to be 5 years old! Slow down, little girl. D&M are enjoying the time spent with you as a 4 year old, though sometimes your 'Why?' questions drive us speechless.

Shanna's reading picked up a lot during the period she attended Vital Years pre-school in Penang. She can read Peter & Jane 3B quite easily, and going on to 4A, and while she has the potential to learn many more words, progress is not as fast nowadays since she stays home with a busy mummy who has to cook and clean and take care of 2 kids. She still loves to read story books, and books about how things work, how people live, etc. She still doesn't know how to appreciate dolls, rather, building toys, trains, balls, are what she prefers. She loves to talk and make jokes. She now speaks half Malaysian and half Aussie accent.

Since Shanna has been staying home with me, she has learnt to eat faster and all by herself with the aid of a timer. Her chores include helping us to set the table for meals and taking her own plate and utensils back to the kitchen counter once she is done.

Shanna takes care of Ian by reporting to us: Ian put the toy in his mouth! Ian spilled water over his pants. Ian wants to go out, Mummy! Ian, remember to turn off the toy when you are done playing.
They have their loving moments, unfortunately most of the time they fight instead.

Now Shanna's best friend is Esrene. When I pick Shanna up after Sunday School, she is usually right next to Esrene. Shanna wants to be a princess now, because Esrene likes princesses. Shanna loves drinking fresh milk, just like Esrene. She even wants to play doll, so she can be like Esrene. We are happy that Shanna and Esrene like each other. They are so cute together.