happy birthday to me!!! :-)

first of all, please accept my apologies for this long overdue post. i was supposed to update this abt 2+ months back (it's dec now, as i write this!), when i turned 1. anyway, better late than never, they say... ;-)

anyway, mommy and daddy threw me my first birthday bash in october, 2 months back. not many guests were invited this round, as compared to my full moon party last year... only immediate families and close friends came.

amongst the first to arrive were uncle george, auntie phoebe and cousin gina. they were all dressed for the occasion, so to speak...

daddy and mommy decorated our house with some balloons and a nice banner that said "happy 1st birthday, isaac". ooh, i loved it! especially the balloons!!!

not long after, grandma and grampa came too, along with auntie jasmine and auntie soo lee. here they are, busy with preparing the food in the kitchen. oh well, not too busy for a picture, i guess... ;-)

mommy, ever so thoughtful, prepared some party packs for the children who were invited. it's a goodie bag with lotsa cool stuff inside... candy, chocolates, and some toys.

here's a nice pic of (from left) auntie phoebe, cousin gina, grandma, auntie joyce, uncle boon, and my babysitter, auntie kien who's carrying baby justin. hey, where's myself??

ahh, here's one with me in it!! auntie jasmine tirelessly looked after me the whole night. she should have the lion's share of the food... hehe! cousin gina's got 2 balloons with her, i'd better help her with one... ;-) auntie soo lee's busy snapping away too, she's a camera buff, just like daddy!

barely an hour after the arrival of the first guest, there was already a big pile of presents and gifts for me. my my, i can't wait to open them up and be surprised!! :-)

i was so glad to see aunty kien come together with her whole family, plus the other kids that she looks after at home.

here's a picture of me with my babysitter and family...

ahhh, the highlight of the party... the birthday cake!! mommy had this cake specially made to order. dunno why she chose chicken little... never seen that cartoon before. i guess it's mainly because i was born in the year of the rooster, hence i've been closely associated with this cartoon character... but it's a nice cake altogether, i like it! :-)

here's a shot of mommy and daddy singing a birthday song for me, together with grandpa and both grandmas.

after the song, grandpa, grandma and daddy helped me blow out the candle. can't wait till i'm older and get to have more candles on my cake. right now, it looks kinda sad, just one single, solitary candle...

wheee... having fun with all my friends here! so glad they came over and celebrated my 1st birthday with me! a party just isn't a party without kids running about... ;-)

alright, photo time!! everyone's sitting down with their best poses here...

i thought i'd never get to taste my own birthday cake... thankfully, grandpa let me taste some of his. shhhh, don't tell mommy... hehe!

playtime with gina

sometimes on saturdays, aunty phoebe will bring cousin gina over to grandpa's house for dinner and some funtime together.

here's gina teaching me how to play with her electronic book...

bumbo

trying out cousin justin's bumbo... supposed to help babies to learn how to sit up in the right posture. but i find it too restrictive... i can't move my legs and body at all!! i guess my expression here says it all... :-(

daddy!! please get me out!!

samurai jack!

don't i look like the cartoon character, samurai jack, in this costume? very nice, i like it... very comfy and cool too!! courtesy of uncle lim & auntie hazel, who brought it back from japan for me. :-)

don't come any nearer, or else... i'll set my flying kick on your face! hahaha! just kiddin', auntie jasmine... but don't kiss me so much, coz i may not be able to control my flying leg.... waazzaaa!!!

good morning, mommy & daddy... wake up!!!

ahhh, nothing like a good night's sleep!! here i am, up early and fresh... better start waking mommy and daddy up... they need to prepare my morning feed soon! ;-)

better give 'em legs a good stretching and some workout...

mommy!! will you hurry up? i'm getting impatient!! the sun's up already, and i'm hungry... i want milk... i want milk...

chiangmai trip, part 12... yaang come village, another boutique hotel

on the last day of our trip, we all went to seek out this apparently very classy and exclusive (read expensive!) boutique hotel for dinner. heck, if we can't stay there, at least we can dine there! hehehe! turned out it didn't disappoint us at all... well, at least its restaurant was up to the mark... dunno about the rooms though. but at over US$300 per night, it shouldn't be too bad, i presume. the first picture here shows its main entrance.

this structure is the hotel foyer that first greets visitors to its compounds. we entered the restaurant from here.

ooooh, nice pool... calm and serene. and it's right beside the restaurant too! feels like taking a dip right away. mommy, can i??

what attracted and impressed us most was the mural painting on one of the walls... splendid work, isn't it? a very traditional piece, done in a very unique and retrospective mood...

chiangmai trip, part 11... Doi Su Thep temple

a local guide advised us to seriously consider making a trip to the famed Doi Su Thep temple, as it was supposed to be one of the highlights of Chiangmai. So, off we all went for a visit. as it was situated high up on one of the mountains, the journey there took about 45 minutes, up a twisty and windy road from Chiangmai town. thankfully, i slept most of the way up there, otherwise it'd probably be a nauseous experience for me...

as seen here, the entrance to the temple is via a steep climb of stairs. poor daddy, had to carry me all the way up there, while i continued my peaceful nap... hehehe!

before we started climbing the stairs, we noticed a cute local girl, dressed up in traditional costumes, loitering around. she eventually came up to us, and started asking us for money! we gave her some loose change, and some tidbits... but not before getting her in for some group photos! :-)

here we are the top, just outside the temple buildings. magnificent architecture all around, with golden trim everywhere. mommy and grandma were in awe of the beautiful place, but i think i'm still a bit too young to appreciate all these...

here's a really nice shot of mommy and i... good job, daddy... love it! :-)

everyone's taking a breather here... after the steep climb up the stairs, no wonder they need a rest. besides, it was drizzling outside, so we had to take shelter somewhere...

nice flowers... mommy bought one bouquet and gave it as offering to the temple. mommy's a very charitable person, you know... ;-)
the nun at the counter seemed pleased and grateful to mommy for her kind gesture!

ever seen jackfruits? what an abundant tree, this one!! some of them look like they're really ripe for the picking... luckily it didn't fall onto uncle ivan and cousin emily while taking this shot... hehehehe! ;-)

finally, the rain stopped and we made our slow descent down the stairs again. along the way, we visited some of the stalls setup along the sides. nothing special really, unless you're looking to buy some souvenirs. time to go back to sleep again... zzz... zzzz.... *snore*

chiangmai trip, part 10... a lazy afternoon

this pictures sums up the mood for the day... a lazy afternoon!! this is me, at the japanese restaurant where we all had lunch today. while daddy picked at his sashimi and mommy gulped down some miso soup, i snored away peacefully... zzz... zzzz....

back at the hotel, uncle ivan stayed back with cousin valerie and emily, and we all had a fun time rolling about on the bed.

hey, that's my guitar! it's actually a little something that daddy bought me at the mall, as a desperate attempt to pacify me while i was in my "elements" that day, if you know what i mean! ;-)

chiangmai trip, part 9... a splashing good time!

on a beautiful morning at the Imperial Mae Ping hotel, mommy and daddy took me for my first dip in a swimming pool. as you can see, it was quite sunny and bright that morning, so mommy thought it was safe to let me into the pool.

i was put into a float with a flimsy seat at the bottom, so that i was kind of suspended halfway in the water. i must say the experience was unlike anything i've ever known in my short life before! i was hesitant at first, no doubt, and just froze there most of the time... the water was cold too!! after a while, i warmed up and in no time, i was splashing enthusiastically in the waters!! :-)

as seen here, daddy had to take me off the float when i accidentally swallowed a gulp of water... choked like crazy, and caused mommy and daddy to panic for a while. but in the end, it was a harmless experience, but it has taught me never to dip my head below the water.
meanwhile, here's grandma enjoying the jacuzzi by the side of the pool... hehehe!

ahhh, sitting by the pool side with daddy, under the cool shades of the green shrubbery above... this is what i call a holiday...

cousin emily joined in the fun too, splashing about in my float... while cousin valerie learnt to kick her feet in water, holding on to a paddle board...
overall, it was a day of great fun at the poolside!! i am definitely looking forward to it again!

chiangmai trip, part 8... night bazaar

continuing on our photo narration of the chiangmai trip, i'll take you through a visit to chiangmai's night bazaar. it's a very lively and active night market, with all sorts of goods for sale. pictured here is a saleslady dressed up in traditional costume, trying to sell us some wares. she was holding this wooden frog which made a very realistic mimic of a frog's croak when rubbed with a stick on its ribbed back.

wow, look at the colourful lights everywhere! this stall sells decorative lights, made with some strawy material. mommy said it would look very nice on our christmas tree, but daddy said the luggage bag is already full! so, nope... we didn't buy it.

sighh, a woman always stops when there are handbags on display... and mommy is no different! we stayed a good 5-10mins at this stall, while mommy checked out 'em bags...

a few more pics to show the variety of stalls found at this night bazaar...