Happy New Year of the Goat!
We welcomed the new Year of the Goat bright and early in our household. The kids sprung out of bed at the crack of dawn (what's new?) and offered us oranges (with some guidance) and wished us 新年快乐!
We blessed them with their first angpows for the year. It's actually Jordan's first proper Chinese New Year - he was just a day old and we were stuck in hospital this time last year!
We got changed to our new outfits - I thought the boys looked really cute in their new Elly shirts (thanks so much for them, Aunty S)! And we matched them too :)
We dropped by Yeye and Nainai first. We served tea as per tradition and exchanged angpows. The boys were happy to meet their cousin J and we got some cute pics of the trio. Next year, Jordan and little O will be able to join in the mayhem too!
Then we swung by my parents' place. The boys greeted Waipo and Waigong with oranges at the door.
Then we went down to the pool to exchange angpows and oranges (because the light is so much nicer outdoors) and got some really nice family pics - though the boys had had enough of pics by this time and really looked like they were trying to make a run for it in every shot!
Then we adjourned back home for another round of lo hei and lunch. My mum prepared pen cai for the very first time and she was so proud of it. And rightly so too - it was delicious!
We went home and knocked out with the kids for a good few hours and then we, err, met back to my mum's place for dinner. It really felt like we were just eating all day long, haha!
The rest of our CNY was pretty low-key. No more visiting - I don't have extended family here and Foops doesn't do much visiting anymore. Foops was back in office on the second day (!), we went to Sentosa on the third day (another post coming up) and we met up with my girlfriends on the fourth day.
Our biggest highlight this Chinese New Year was watching a lion dance show at a friend's house (I didn't bring my cam). It brought back many memories of the Chinese New Years of my childhood where the lion dance performances were so loud my heart would still be pounding after they ended. The boys were so intrigued!
We may not be so big on Chinese New Year celebrations but I am starting to love and appreciate the festival and all that it brings: the angpows, the oranges and snacks, the red decor everywhere, the merry-making and most importantly, our closest and dearest family and friends coming together to celebrate a fresh start.
'Meh' the Year of the Goat be a wonderful one for you!
We blessed them with their first angpows for the year. It's actually Jordan's first proper Chinese New Year - he was just a day old and we were stuck in hospital this time last year!
We got changed to our new outfits - I thought the boys looked really cute in their new Elly shirts (thanks so much for them, Aunty S)! And we matched them too :)
We dropped by Yeye and Nainai first. We served tea as per tradition and exchanged angpows. The boys were happy to meet their cousin J and we got some cute pics of the trio. Next year, Jordan and little O will be able to join in the mayhem too!
Then we swung by my parents' place. The boys greeted Waipo and Waigong with oranges at the door.
Then we went down to the pool to exchange angpows and oranges (because the light is so much nicer outdoors) and got some really nice family pics - though the boys had had enough of pics by this time and really looked like they were trying to make a run for it in every shot!
Then we adjourned back home for another round of lo hei and lunch. My mum prepared pen cai for the very first time and she was so proud of it. And rightly so too - it was delicious!
We went home and knocked out with the kids for a good few hours and then we, err, met back to my mum's place for dinner. It really felt like we were just eating all day long, haha!
The rest of our CNY was pretty low-key. No more visiting - I don't have extended family here and Foops doesn't do much visiting anymore. Foops was back in office on the second day (!), we went to Sentosa on the third day (another post coming up) and we met up with my girlfriends on the fourth day.
Our biggest highlight this Chinese New Year was watching a lion dance show at a friend's house (I didn't bring my cam). It brought back many memories of the Chinese New Years of my childhood where the lion dance performances were so loud my heart would still be pounding after they ended. The boys were so intrigued!
We may not be so big on Chinese New Year celebrations but I am starting to love and appreciate the festival and all that it brings: the angpows, the oranges and snacks, the red decor everywhere, the merry-making and most importantly, our closest and dearest family and friends coming together to celebrate a fresh start.
'Meh' the Year of the Goat be a wonderful one for you!