That Mom Of Four

Besides teaching her manners saying "may I have some ........ please" and "thank you for the......", I've also been trying to engage Nyx in conversations encouraging her to form complete sentences instead of giving me one word answers. Its funny cos sometimes she speaks so quickly like I tend to and it sounds so gibberish that only I can understand her.

I took this video about 2 mins after Nyx woke up from her nap cos Shirley missed both kids so much and asked me to take a video of them today. Instead of just letting her stone like she does after waking up I asked her to name some bodyparts in mandarin. Lately I've been building up her vocabulary in mandarin and she can tell me things in Chinese like shu(4) dao(3) le(4) - the tree has fallen -, and Mummy kai(1) che(1) - mummy is driving the car. She still prefers to speak in english but I'm putting more effort in encouraging her to speak in mandarin more often.

Yesterday we made a trip to this ski resort situated in the French Pyrenees mountains. It took us 4 hours to drive there and Nyx got car sick on the way up the mountains. Eeeks! Thank goodness that didn't happen again on the way down. Along the drive up the mountain I noticed a number of cyclists training hard and making their way up the steep slopes. That was when I remembered that in 2007 this was the very same route taken by participants of Tour de France. We had a wonderful time on the snow slopes and the awesome weather made it even better. It was a cool 16 to 17 degrees while we were there and even the windbreakers and jackets we wore had to be taken off as they weren't needed.

Very often whenever I have to leave Nya alone to do something else or to fetch something, Nyx helps to fill in. In this video I was in the other room getting a fresh set of clothes for Nya while Nyx was watching her little sister on the bed making sure that she doesn't fall off. I really thank my lucky stars that Nyx is so helpful when it comes to looking after Nya. Just yesterday Nya managed to get her hands on a bottle of spray detergent which I forgot to lock away after cleaning. Nyx saw Nya playing with the bottle then apparently snatched it away from her and placed it high on the dining table. She then went on to tell Nya "no! cannot touch!". It was at that moment when she shouted at Nya that they got my attention. I saw the bottle on the table and had a minor heart attack, then I rushed over to sniff Nya's hands. Thank goodness she didn't get any detergent on her hands or face. Crisis averted thanks to the jie jie.

Nya is now 10 months old and my life just got tougher. She now pulls curtains and tablecloths, sofa covers, bedsheets..... basically whatever she can grab so that she can stand up. Once she's on her feet she does a little victory dance, shaking her butt and humming to herself. On the other hand, Nyx has made my life a little easier as she changes DVDs herself and dresses herself up. How quickly time flies, and how fast my little girls are growing up and maturing..... kekeke. The fake boobies on Nyx are actually two of Nya's balls that Nyx shoved into her jacket herself and kept asking me to see her "neh nehs".

We arrived back in Nice again towards the end of our roadtrip to stay for one more night and were pleasantly greeted with clear blue skies and warm sunny weather. I felt so happy to see this and so were the girls as they enjoyed themselves on the beaches of Nice. Nyx had a great time picking stones and pebbles and throwing them as far away as she could. Nya had a great time picking stones and pebbles and attempting to eat them. She basically puts EVERYTHING into her mouth these days, oh the horror..... It used to be just wires, now she wants to bite everything.

It was raining when we arrived in Cannes so we only spent a few hours exploring this city. I was very excited to be able to stand on the red carpet right outside the auditorium where the annual Cannes Film Festival is held. Because we arrived here on a Sunday, the stores were all closed except for the huge flower market situated right in the center of town crowded with tourists and locals. Of course it doesn't just sell flowers, one can even find skinned rabbits here. I was really expecting it to be sunny here but it was wet and so cold I even had to wear thermal pants under my jeans! Brrrr!

Venice is surrounded by water, and not just in the canals and waterways but from the sky too. The whole time we were in Venice it just rained and rained and rained..... Ironically it clear blue skies the day checked out from the hotel and had to leave the city. Nevertheless we armed ourselves with umbrellas and a sheltered stroller as we explored the city and all its wonders. I was amazed by the gorgeous Venezian glass art and couldn't help but stop by every single store that displayed these beautiful pieces of work. St. Marco Square was truly a sight to behold despite the rain. It was a pity that Nya was sleeping throughout our walk through the city, haha. She must've been too comfortable in the kangaroo, all bundled up and cosy.

This has got to be my favourite european city. The folks here are so warm and friendly you can't help but love everybody! Throughout our stay here we managed to cover most of the attractions including The Pantheon at Piazza de la Rotonda, The Colosseum, The Palantine Hill (the birthplace of Rome, Via Del Corso The Trevi Fountain, Vatican City (where we visited the Vatican museum, the Sistine chapel and St. Peter's Basilica), St. Peter's Square, The Spanish Steps, Castel Sant Angelo and the Tiber river, and the Vittorio Emanuele Monument. I would really love to come back to this beautiful city again for a holiday, perhaps when the kiddies are much older and walk on their own, carry their own bags and mine, feed themselves and appreciate the sights and atmosphere.

The hotel we stayed at in Florence was extremely close to the heart of the city. In fact the close proximity allowed us to take a short leisurely stroll to visit the Brunelleschi's Duomo, The Uffizi Museum, the Battistero in Piazza S. Giovanni and the Ponte Vecchio Bridge over the River Arno. I was just honoured to be able to appreciate the world-reknowned dome and savour its magnificence. After all, over 600 years after its completion, it is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world.