{Music Journey} Little Handsome's First Band Performance!

It has been 1.5 years since I had started little E on his piano lesson. We enrolled him into audition on the recommendation of his tutor, to our surprise he was selected to participate in the band performance for the annual concert! Honestly I don't think he is great at the keyboard, far from being a child prodigy, but he enjoyed playing at his own pace and loved challenging himself in learning new song.

My little handsome at the audition. He was the first in queue, he played calmly with many pair of eyes watching behind the glass door, myself included.

This was his first band performance at 5 years old and he was the youngest among the whole lot. Although he was only one of the 8 keyboard players, big guy and I were feeling really proud of him. He was steady on stage, got along well with all his band players, diligently practiced his piece at home and totally enjoyed himself on the stage; no stage freight, no chicken feet. Way better than his mommy. I still recalled how nervous I was during my first story telling contest at primary school, I avoided eye contacts with any of the audience and just starred at the ceiling fan the whole time... Urrgg, let's not dwell further on that topic.

The band. The drummer and lead singer not in sight.

Their band performed "Do You Want to Build a Snowman", they did not made it to the top 3 among the 17 bands performing that day, but the exposure gained was priceless.

I am so glad we made the decision to let him tried out the piano lesson when he was 4, otherwise he would not had discovered his interest in music. The Piano Guys has been his role model since I first introduced their youtube clip to him, Big Guy and I had done our parts to encourage him by playing with him (I actually learnt the song at home and play side by side with him, and mind you I have no music background..). I make recording of his progress whenever he mastered a new piece, that really give him a sense of achievement. 

You may read more about the benefits exposing little ones to music here.

As for our little girl, we have yet to discover her music talent. She seemed to be more interested with singing and dancing albeit she likes to play with the piano at home pretending that she's practicing. Well, we shall see as she grow older, there is no need to hurry as learning shall be a journey to be enjoyed, not rushed. 

My little diva all dressed up to attend the concert. Isn't she looking beautiful? :)

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. 

{Toy Review} Bunny Boo Peek-a-Boo, Smart Toy for the Toddler!

Looking for gift for your 2 or 3 years old? Look no further, this is an ideal smart toy for the little ones.

Bunny Boo, little bunny and the 3 little wooden blocks.

It comes with a set of 60 cards of 4 levels with pictorial instructions. You are supposed to arrange the bunny and the blocks to resemble what you see in the picture. Begin with the easiest level (green) and watch your little ones gradually proceed to the expert level (blue). 

Solved, by my little bunny girl who was 2.5 year old then.

Beginner level. I got my girl hooked by playing peek-a-boo with the bunny first. Subsequently she went on an auto-pilot mode.

This game may appeared to easy for the elder kids, e.g. I let my 5yo began with the intermediate cards and found he actually able to solve all cards, including the expert level unassisted, so I am not surprise he grew bored of it pretty soon. 

What I like about this game?

It teaches concept of problem solving, imagination and encourages the creativity to think out of the box. It is easy to understand so the little one can self entertain after few rounds of coaching. I love to see that proud smile on my little bunny's face when she managed to solve the puzzle all by herself. She was so so proud and look around to make sure everyone in the room acknowledged her achievement. It may look simple to us, but it sure is one big step for the little mind. :)

Besides, it does not contains small parts so make it suitable for the young toddler (except for the leaflets which I tie them up using elastic band to make sure they won't get spread around the room.)

Where to go get one?

Visit any Popular book store and look for the Fun Learning booth, or just visit their website here. It's that simple. :) If I remember correctly, it cost me RM89.90.

Is it suitable for My little One?

I would say this is suitable for 2 years old to 5 years old, although it is very much dependent on each child's development and readiness.

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Picnic by the Lake, Simply Lovely!

Today is a public holiday in Malaysia, our Muslim friends celebrating Hari Raya Haji, the Muslim new year, so we get to enjoy a day of leisure.

After spending morning on some long outstanding chores - like cleaning the interior of my car, clearing up the storage and discarding some old junks, we decided to bring the kids out for a picnic. It has been a while since our last picnic outing so the little ones were cheering in joy when I announced the good news. My little handsome quickly went to storeroom to get his vintage picnic bag and his favorite author hat. He sure knows his style. :)

Since it was an unplanned event, I did a real quick packing with whatever I can find the the kitchen - some cereals, pastries, packet drinks, bottled waters, cut fruits, books, the vintage picnic bag and the picnic mat, and off we go!

Anyone who lives in Kuala Lumpur would have heard of if not been to Desa Park City, the townshop surrounded by greens and modern design houses located in a well planned housing area. The large man-made lake, well maintained children playground and Aeon supermarket make it an ideal place for family, in fact it is one of the popular areas for expatrate families to settle down.

Anyway, back to the picnic. 

We actually went to do some shopping before going for picnic, as the afternoon weather in KL is really a killer. I don't want to risk getting sun burn or literally melt under the scorching sun. So we reached the park 15 minutes before 6pm, perfect weather to lay flat on the grass - pinkish skies with the setting sun, soft breeze blowing and children laughters filled the park.

Ta-da, ready to have fun.

We were just right next to the stream.

Little handsome enjoying himself with some cereals and companion of Jeff Brown's Jedi Academy, one of his favorite books.

Princess C busy running up and down the sloop like a little bunny who could not sit still. Hub and I just sat on the mat admiring our little girl who seemed to just learnt walking not long ago. She clearly loved the open space.

Unstoppable.

The stream that leads to the lake, sound of the water flowing is rather relaxing.

If you are lucky, you may catch a glimpse of the beautiful sunset from the first floor..

It was a short 45 min picnic before we adjourned to the playground to let the kids sweat it all out and we had a simple dinner at one of the restaurants within that area before calling it a night. My little handsome loved it so much that he begged for us to go there again next week. 

If there is any complain about the place, is that it's too crowded. I guess that can't be avoided as this place is just too popular with locals, and this is one of the very few dog-friendly parks in town where puppies are actually welcome.

So next time if you are meeting up friends in Desa park city, why not come earlier and bring your little ones for some picnic time? Leave the gadget behind, just have some fun in the park. :)

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

{Repurpose} Little Bali Dress for my Little Girl

I got a pair of Bali pants that is way too long for me, well I'm a S size you see and the pants is an L, so i look like I'm mopping the floor when I wore it on. 

After trimming the excess off, I realize the pattern on the fabric is really beautiful, it's symmetrical! Since I have another few inches of excess grey fabric I cut off from one of my maxi dress, I decided to join them up and make a new piece for my little girl.

And it is gorgeous when put togehhter!

I added a little black ribbon in the front 

The cross cross on the back. I wanted to make it a halter neck at first but I thought it's more comfortable this way.

My bunny girl looking so cute in her new Bali dress... Doing some dance moves here :) 

The making? It's really easy, the picture below explains it all.

Another easy peasy repurpose project, done! ;)

Happy crafting...

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

{Made by PH} Fly Away with the Balloons dress

I made a pillowcase dress using this beautiful Sarah Jane Children at Play Balloons Aqua about a year back, when I just learnt sewing and pillowcase dress is one of the simplest pattern to make. 

Well, I got bored of the dress design but I still love this beautiful print, who could resist pretty little girl and white rabbit flying away with the colorful balloons? It's like wearing a piece of a  children fairy tale on you. So I decided to refashion it by giving it butterfly sleeves. 

Isn't it beautiful? :)

The butterfly sleeves (I just decided to name it as such!) is a random design that combines satin ribbon and plain pinkish cotton. I thought its best to keep the sleeves plain and simple, don't steal the limelight from the print on the bodice.

Little matching brooch with the left over fabric and ribbons.

This is the original dress I made for my little bunny. Just FYI, pillowcase is one of the simplest design suitable for beginner, give it a try if you have any unwanted pillowcase or just half a yard of fabric. 

So remember, the next time you got bored of your old design, don't let them rot in the wardrobe, just refashion them.  ;)

Interested with the fabric by Sarah Jane? Check it out here from fabric.com (yes I ordered mine from online fabric stores, designer fabric doesn't come cheap but they are so worth it)

Want to make a pillowcase dress? Tutorial available here from Jaime at Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mon.

Happy crafting!

Copyrights © Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones, 2012 - present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any materials/photos within this website without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pui Hua and Fun With Little Ones with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.