Our little swimmer

Ever since from the day that Sheri started screaming with all her might when daddy let go of her in the water, mommy is determined to allay her fear and build up her confidence that she can stay afloat with the help of her two little floats on her arms. For the past few weeks, mommy has been bringing her to the pool religiously to help her overcome her aversion of the water. So far, she has been making good progress. Well, at least, she is not so fearful of the water anymore when we let her drift around in the water. Yesterday, mommy was pleasantly surprised to notice that she could manoeuvre herself by kicking her legs in the water. That certainly is a huge improvement! One of the residents that we met at the the pool also commented that Sheri is a good swimmer considering the fact that she has just turned 19 months old recently. Keep it up, baby! We are proud of our little swimmer.

Unforgettable Family Picnic at Hershey Park

Last Saturday, daddy' company had a family picnic day at Hershey Park. Each one of us just had to pay $20 and Sheri is, of course, free since she is under 2 years old. It includes free admission to the Hershey Park, ten game vouchers, parking and lunch from 12.00 pm to 5.00 pm. Considering that the usual admission fee to the Hershey Park for each adult is about $47, that was really a good deal.

Our first stop was the Hershey's Chocolate World where we had a free tour of the chocolate making process.

After the tour at the 'Chocolate World', we could not wait to go for the rides in the Theme Park. As usual for all the Theme parks, we had to measure Sheri's height at the entrance to see what rides are suitable for her. She belongs to 'Hershey Miniature' category. The person at the measuring station found her very adorable and he gave her, according to him, a special Hershey chocolate, as a welcome gift. We let her take a few bites and the rest of it, of course, ended up in mommy and daddy's tummy.

Off we go! Let's wave at daddy!

Dinosaur ride oh her own

Getting ready for the fire engine ride

Here we go again!

As usual, time passed by quickly when we were having fun. It's time for lunch. We went to our designated spot for our lunch where we met a couple of daddy's colleagues. It was a lunch buffet where there was a free flow of food, drinks and best of all, ice cream. Greedy mommy could not control herself but had two servings of ice cream on this hot summer day.

As usual, our little girl fell asleep after lunch. Mommy and daddy decided to try our luck at the game stalls, hoping that we could win something for our little girl.

Daddy was anxiously waiting to see his score after using all his strength to hit the target with the hammer. Not too bad! He won a water bat for Sheri! Good job, daddy!

Mommy went for the 'Captain Splash' where she won a pink puppy for Sheri.

We decided to save the last game voucher for our little girl. After she woke up from her nap, we brought her to the ducky stall where she won a cute little puppy for herself. Good job, baby!

More rides for Sheri!

Granny bugs ride

Miniature horse ride

Miniature train ride

After all the fun and play, we took an evening walk in the Zooamerica which features North American wildlife. The admission is free with Hershey Park ticket holders.

On our way to Zooamerica, we passed by a row of silos where they stored the cocoa for making the chocolate.

Wow! What a huge cactus!

Alligators and black bear

Prairie dogs at the Zooamerica.

A picture with a statue of the founder of Hershey Park.

Just as we were making our way out, mommy told daddy that it was a pity that we did not see any Hershey chocolate mascot. Suddenly, we realized that our little girl was waving frantically at something that she saw at the side. Guess what? She was waving at the Hershey chocolate mascot. At last, mommy's wish was granted. We could finally take a picture with the mascot even though the picture was not very well taken as our little girl was so mesmerized by the Hershey chocolate mascot that she did not want to look at the camera at all.

These were the cuddly toys that we won for our little darling from the game stalls in Hershey Park. Not too bad, right?
The second little puppy from the right was the one that our little girl won for herself at the ducky stall. Well done, baby!

Auntie Sehmin's visit

Mommy invited Auntie Sehmin and her two beautiful daughters to our house for tea on last Thursday. Our little darling was the co-host. She not only kept them entertained by music and dance(refer to my previous video clip), she also fed them with her favourite 'goldfish' cookie. Mommy was certainly very pleased with her hospitality and grace.

In the past, she used to have a bad habit of putting her food back in her mouth after pretending to feed us. I'm glad that she has outgrown that stage. Nowadays, she is more willing to share with us her food. I could still remember how pleased daddy was when Sheri fed him with her blueberries after dinner. I'm sure the blueberries that Sheri gave him certainly taste much sweeter than usual.

Little dancer in action!

Besides reading, Sheri's favourite pastime is to turn on the music on her activity table and wiggle her hips. Mommy has always wanted to capture a snapshot of our little girl in action, but it was not easy as our little girl would usually walk away once she realises that mommy is filming her. Today, mommy finally had a chance. Be sure to catch this little girl in action.

Atlantic City

We are living in the inland, so there is not much opportunity for us to see the beach. The nearest beach is probably one of those that are along the coast of New Jersey. On last Saturday, we drove to Atlantic City, which is famous for its casinos, boardwalk and sandy beaches.

It was a long drive there. Even though, it took us about two and a half hours to reach there, it was a worthwhile trip.

We had picnic on the beach, which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. I could still remember marking 'Atlantic Ocean' on the map during one of the geography classes when I was in secondary school. Never did I imagine I would have a chance to enjoy the sea breeze on a beach that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean.

After lunch, it was all fun and play at the beach. Sheri loves the sand and waves at the beach.

Sheri had so much fun at the beach that we had a hard time leaving the beach to take a walk at the boardwalk.

In today' s world, advertisements are everywhere. Even on a beach, we could see helicopters carrying advertisement banners flying across the sky.

After all the fun at the beach, we went to take a walk at the boardwalk. The first boardwalk was built in 1870, along a portion of the beach to help hotel owners keep sand out of their lobbies. Later, they expanded and modified the boardwalk with lots of shops and restaurants, making it the largest boardwalk in the world.

Look how engrossed this 18 months old toddler was in 'reading' the visitor guide on the boardwalk.



There was a monument along the boardwalk commemorating the soldiers in New Jersey who lost their lives in the Korean war.

Some of you would have probably heard of the Trump Taj Mahal, which is a famous casino resort built by Donald Trump. Yes, the Atlantic City is where the Trump Taj Mahal is. Daddy has always wanted to take a look at the grandeur of Taj Mahal since we caught a glimpse of it in one of the past episodes of the TV programme ' The Apprentice'.


Our little Sheri fell asleep after having so much fun at the beach, so mommy and daddy kept ourselves entertained by taking pictures at the Taj Mahal, bringing back memories of the time during our courtship days.

Barbecue at Uncle Willy's house

There is always something to do in each season. Summer is a good time for barbecue. It is usually during this time of the year that the people here like to invite their friends to their place for barbecue at their backyard. This is the way of life here.

One of daddy's colleague, Uncle Willy, invited us to his place for barbecue on last Saturday. Uncle Willy lives in a nice neighborhood with lots of greenery and open space. There is even a large pond outside his house. With such a picturesque landscape, one could not help but feel an inner sense of peace and contentment with the surroundings.

As usual, our little Sheri was attracted to those animal figures in the house. She loves the mandarin duck and the alligator. Ever since we made the trip to the zoo, our little girl became very good at identifying the animals.

We had our dinner outdoor in his patio. Uncle Willy is a French and he never fails to impress us with his culinary skills. The main course was barbecued lamb and smoked goat. The meat was juicy and tender. The companionship was great too. Besides us and some Americans, there were guests from Sri Lanka, Djibouti, Africa, Taiwan and Iran . It was indeed a rare opportunity to meet people from so many different continents on one occasion.

This is Uncle Willy's wife, Auntie Margaret. She was very thoughtful to prepare a special set of cutlery for Sheri .

Auntie Margaret is also very good gardener. She takes good care of the plants and flowers in the house and in the yard.
While we were enjoying our dinner in the beautiful summer weather, Sheri kept herself occupied by climbing up and down the stairs at the patio. Nowadays, she is learning how to climb up the stairs by holding onto the railings at the side.

Last but not least, we had lots of cakes and pastries for desserts. Mommy and daddy love the tiramisu. It was so good that even daddy who is trying to go on diet could not resist for a second helping.

On our way home, we started discussing how enjoyable the evening was. Both daddy and mommy agreed that it is very relaxing to have a barbecue with your friends in the patio in this beautiful summer weather. This is one aspect of the suburban lifestyle that we find it very particularly charming.