Going to school

Ethan and Krystina getting ready for school. They both just finished their breakfast and too excited to go to school. Two more pictures below.
Krystina showing her school bag and Ethan with his musical book and dummy.

The new look of Krystina

She is now wearing an eye glasses. She had an eye testing last Sunday and proved to be short sighted.

Sleeping Prince

This is how a prince sleep...

Ethan sleeping in his big boy 'bed'

The pull out sofa bed was a present for his birthday and he so loves it and using it as his bed, not sleeping in his cot anymore.

Coffee time after going to the library

Every Friday, around 10 in the morning, we go to the library for story telling and doing some art crafts. Today the story is all about dogs and can you guess what did we do in the craft class afterwards?? A green dog!

It is becoming a routine having a babycino at Gloria Jean's. Babycino - is a cup of warm milky froth topped with sprinkles of chocolate and other colourful sprinkles. The barista knows us already - we don't have to tell her our orders, a smile and a nod and she knows what to make for us.

And another favourite thing to do is riding the carousel,
but this time Krystina paid for the ride.

Ekka!

Australian Aborigines

The Ekka is the annual show of Queensland, Australia. Its formal title is the Royal Queensland Show. It was originally called the Brisbane Exhibition and therefore is now usually known as Ekka, due to the phenomenon in Australian English of shortening lengthy words.

The Ekka is held in Queensland's capital city, Brisbane, for ten days each August at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground. The Ekka is organised by the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA), and is held at the RNA Showgrounds in the inner-city suburb of Bowen Hills approximately 2 kilometres north-east of Brisbane's city centre. The Ekka is Brisbane's most popular event of any sort, with well over 600,000 visitors attending the show in recent years.

Attractions at Ekka include fairground rides, a sideshow alley, animal parades, woodchopping competitions, agricultural displays and equestrian events. Showbags, usually containing food items (such as confectionery) and novelty items are sold in the Showbag Pavilion. Side show alley in particular has been an integral part of the Ekka, however back in the earlier years of the Ekka, side show alley was a place for people to witness actual sideshows, such as freaks of nature, people carrying out superhuman feats of strength and illusionists performing for delighted audiences.

Showbags are also an integral part of the Ekka experience. Showbags range from $1 (the famous Bertie Beetle Bag) to over $50.

Because of the cultural significance of the Ekka, the city of Brisbane holds a public holiday on the Wednesday (the 7th day) which is known as "People's Day".

(source: Wikipedia)

We had a fun day!

Birthday boy video

2 Years Old!

It's official.. Ethan is now a boy, no longer a baby!

Slides of the 2nd birthday party.

Making 'Elmo' Piñata

We are preparing for Ethan's big day this coming Sunday - 12 Aug!

Ethan likes Elmo and it's not very difficult to make.. here's how:

Ingredients and preparation:

PVC glue
1 big strong balloon
Newspaper
yellow, red, white and black crepe paper
White tissue paper
String
Artist brush
Bowl

1. Blow up a large balloon and tie the end. Place the balloon in the bowl to stop from moving.
2. Cut the newspaper into long 1 inch thick strips and dip into the PVC glue.
3. Carefully place the strips on the balloon until it is covered, leaving a hole at the top.
4. Set aside and let the balloon dry for at least 24 hours.
5. Set your string on the sides and place another layer of newspaper dipped in the mixture over the balloon and let dry .
6. Use white tissue paper with your last layer to look tidy and easier to design.
7. Finish your design by covering with red crepe paper and Elmo's eyes, nose and big mouth.

I used some white tissue paper strips to cover the top. (Elmo with hair? - hahaha)

Fill your pinata (through the hole you left at the top) with candy, toys, or any other fun surprises. You should also fill with strips of newspaper so the surprises are not all in one location
Tie your pinata in the air with the string and have fun!
You can be very creative with this project. You can design your pinata into any shape (animal, flower, etc,) with your imagination. Use thick colored paper filled with scrunched up newspaper and glue or tape to add any details to your basic pinata structure.


Ethan with artist brush. Putting newspaper strips with glue to the balloon.


Adding the eyes, nose and mouth

We love you Elmo *-*

International Princesses

Beautiful little girls in princesses dress. Aren't these kids so cute?:-)

First picture from left: Chloe is half American and Chinese Indonesian.
Next to Chloe is Krystina dressed as one of the 12 dancing princesses.
And Celeste is half New Zealander and half Macanese.

Krystina and Celeste having a piece of cake as a treat for finishing their lunch.

Video of lunch

Ethan and Krystina eating their lunch really slow.