Family Vacation @ Tokyo - Day 1 & 2, DisneySea

Finally! The day for our much anticipated family vacation arrived. Janelle woke up in the morning and asked excitedly if we are going to Japan that very day and I said YES! Imagine her excitement and she had to wake her brother up to share her excitement.

The flight was scheduled to depart in mid-noon so we have ample time to take our breakfast, checked and packed any last minute stuff that we may have missed out, prep the kiddos before we leave for the airport.

We had lunch with my MIL who came to send us off before boarding the flight.

Lunch before flight: a failed picture attempt with the kids as they were so distracted

Me and my princess (the boy was too busy with his food)

An indoor playground at departure hall

Family photo on board SQ635

Arrival at Haneda Airport: still fresh & wide awake at 11pm

We reached Haneda Airport at 11pm and hopped onto a mini van (kindly arranged by my mum's friend who stayed in Japan) to Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku, our accomodation for the next 7 days.

The next morning, we woke up at 8am. The itinerary for the day is to explore DisneySea. However, it was drizzling and the rain became heavier when we stepped out of the hotel. At this point, we realised that we have only brought one umbrella but there are 4 adults, 2 kids and a stroller. Hence we ran to seek shelter and had our breakfast at the nearby McDonald's. Yes, I can't believe we are having McDonald's on our first morning in Tokyo. But well, the weather has not been nice to us and I figured that it may be good for the kids too (familiarity in food).

The kids were so tired that we had a hard time waking them up (jet lag perhaps?)

Janelle enjoying her McDonald's fresh milk for breakfast

The rain continued though. Lucky there is a Family Mart across our hotel hence we managed to buy another 2 umbrellas to shelter us across to Shinjuku Train Station, which is approximately 10minutes walk from the hotel. We took the JR Chuo line from Shinjuku Station to Tokyo Station, walked for a good 10-15 minutes to Keio Line then take the train to Maihama Station. There are many confectionery shops and cafes along the walk to Keio Line and all the cakes and pastries looked so lovely and yummy.

It took us approximately slightly more than an hour to reach Maihama Station. DisneySea is situated further away hence we have to take the Disney Resort Line to DisneySea whereas it is just a walking distance to Disneyland.

We managed to catch 2 shows, Big Band Beat in Boardway Music Theatre and The Legend of Mythica in Mediterranean Harbour. Both shows are impressive and I was wowed by the performances.

We also took a ride in the electric railway and enjoyed the scenery while on board Venetian gondola.

Sadly, it was drizzling most of the times when we were at the theme park. With 2 kids on tow, we have to seek shelter whenever the drizzle came along. Thus, we did not manage to cover much in DisneySea.

Getting all excited on board the train to Tokyo Station

The happiest girl (a pity her brother was asleep)

The ticket for Disney Resort LIne

On board Disney Resort Line, the curious duo had fun looking out the window

She just want to hold onto the Mickey's handle

Overview of DisneySea entrance

Halloween theme @ DisneySea

Enjoying the Venetian gondola ride

"Volcano eruption" @ DisneySea

It looked stunning when the lights came on (it was only 6pm then)

One of the magical displays in Disney souvenir shop

As we have dinner appointment with my mum's friend, Aunt Shujun in the hotel (which was a very last minute arrangement), we have to head back at 6pm. Dinner was at the restaurant in Hotel Sunroute Shinjuku Plaza. The food was not too bad except that it was not Japanese food. First full day in Tokyo and we had not eaten Jap food at all.

During dinner, there was a lovely Australian lady who was charmed by my 2 kids. She walked over to our table and gave both of them a lil koala bear. She even requested to have photo taken with them so I gladly obliged.

Photo taken with the lovely lady and Janelle holding onto the koala bear

My greedy boy with his food. He took a while to warm up.

After dinner, I bathed the kids and left them with my parents while my hubs and I decided to explore Shinjuku. We have booked a day tour and the meeting point was in another hotel located near us. Hence we took the opportunity to locate the hotel so that we will not be lost on that day.

I expected the lil ones to be asleep by the time we returned to the hotel but I was wrong. They were still playing. So I brought them back to the room and they dozed off almost immediately. They must have been very exhausted after a day of travelling and fun.

A date with favourite yiyi and cousin

When I was still a FTWM, all play dates and outings can only happen during weekends. Hence one of the plus points of being a SAHM is that I can bring the kids out on weekdays and avoid the crowd.

As my sis was off on Tuesday, we arranged to meet so that the lil ones get to play together (yes, both my girl and niece skipped school).

Janelle staying close to stroller to look after didi

Behaving well and having fun in the cab

And they started singing. I hope it was a good entertainment for the cab driver.

It has been a while since my sister and I wanted to try Paris Baguette so we arranged to meet at Wisma for lunch. We ordered seafood chowder, chicken wrap, thai noodle salad, croissant and latte. The seafood chowder was yummy! Even the lil ones loved the potatoes in the chowder and the bread bowl. Chicken wrap was so-so. The thai noodle salad and croissant were great too. The kids loved the croissant so much that we ordered another mini croissant set for them. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of the food as my babies were starving then. I will definitely go back and try other pastries as they all looked so mouth-watering.

They are always so happy to see each other

My parents joined us at Wisma after my mum's medical follow up and we proceeded to Takashimaya to get a new water bottle for Janelle. We moved on to Paragon where the kids couldn't wait to reach the playground. Ain't we glad that it is a weekday as the playground is not packed and the kids get to play without swarming amidst the crowd.

In the playground tunnel

The cheeky boy crawled so fast

All 3 babies fitted nicely onto the Barney kiddy ride

We chanced upon Fidgets Island at Paragon Junior and we decided to keep the 2 princesses occupied with arts and craft. The lil boy was getting cranky then as it was past his nap time and he fell asleep soon after. Perfect timing! The girls gotten busy with decorating their chosen photo frame ($15 for 30mins) while my parents went Starbucks for drinks while the boy slept in the stroller.

Janelle with her masterpiece

One and only photo frame in the world. Priceless!

It was a great leisure day out with the kids' favourite yiyi and cousin. The kids had lots of fun from physical workout in the playground to getting artistic with arts and craft. And they never fail to make me happy when I see them happy.

Janelle's birthday celebrations

I can never emphasize enough on how fast the lil ones are growing. 4 years ago, I carried my firstborn so dearly in my arms. And now, she has grown much that I am not able to carry her for long but I still love to hug her dearly in my arms.

At 4 years old, she is a lil ms chatterbox cum ms bossy. She can rattle on non-stop, regardless she has a listener or not. And she likes to boss people around especially her lil brother, who simply adores her and will do what she ask him to do. At this tender age, she is also extremely sensitive and inquisitive. She has to be constantly assured that we love her deeply and she will always be our "lil baby" (as what she call herself). When in doubt, she will always probe further till she gets a satisfactory answer.
She loves parties hence she was very excited when she knew that her birthday party is near. Thanks to my sister in law who has booked a party room for her in Kidz Amaze @ Toa Payoh Safra, she was extremely thrilled to have her friends to celebrate and play with her in the mega playground.

Her birthday cake from Little House of Dreams. It tasted as good as it looked.

Petite cupcakes from Little House of Dreams as requested from the birthday girl. She loves their cupcakes.

See how pretty they are.

The September 2009 babies

She loves to sing birthday song

The happy family of 4

Me and my princess (oh! the necklace that she was wearing was a DIY gift from her childhood friend)

As her actual birthday falls on a weekday, we decided to hold another birthday celebration in her school. You may notice that she has different themes for the 2 celebrations. Yes, she was so fickle-minded that she kept changing her mind on the theme. I had to change the theme for the cake twice. Strawberry Shortcake for Kidz Amaze party and Dora for school celebration.

She was so happy that she want to carry her lil brother. It is always so sweet to see that she want to share her happiness with her lil brother (someone who matters alot to her)

Dressed in Cinderella costume, she has a Dora cake from Prima Deli. Cake was requested earlier and the costume was a gift from the earlier party. She love the dress and requested to wear it for her school celebration. Well, how to say no? Eventually, as long as she is happy, that is all that matters.

Very focused in making a wish (I wonder what she wish for)

She loves to blow candles

See how happy this girl is. And she want to share her happiness with her brother. Sweet!

Indulgence time. She had 2 servings (such privilege only on special occasions)

Happy 4th birthday my princess! Mummy loves you deeply always!

Full of events

September is always a month full of events as there are many birthday celebrations (my hubs & firstborn included), Mid-Autumn Festival and to make it even more exciting, we are going on a family vacation this September! I am so looking forward to the trip.

We have been spending the earlier weekends celebrating my sister and brother-in-law's birthdays. Coming up will be my firstborn's 4th birthday and her daddy's birthday celebrations (yes, their birthdays are just 4 days apart).

Apart from Janelle's 1st birthday which was a bigger scale party, the past 2 celebrations were more intimate as we celebrated with family and close friends in our cosy house. However, this year, my sister-in-law has kindly offered to book a room in Toa Payoh Safra Kidz Amaze for her 4th birthday celebration and we are excited as she can invite all her friends to the mega playground. Hence I have been busy with her birthday celebration preparations (plus another celebration in her school on her actual day). And her fickle-mindedness on the theme for her party did not make it any easier. I will save that story for another blog.

As the family vacation draws nearer, I have also gotten busier with itinerary planning and running through a mental list of the things to buy, bring and pack for the lil ones (well, I guess I am too lazy to note down the things required so everything is based on what I can remember :p). We have just change the currency for the trip which simply adds on to the excitement as it means the date is drawing near.

And I am supposed to pack the luggage earlier as the weekend will be packed with birthday celebrations and we will be off to another land. But I have not started packing as I was occupied for the past 2 days (well, I went for the much-needed facial and mooncake shopping with my boy)

Guess I better start packing now as we are bringing the kids out to play with lanterns tomorrow cos it is Mid-Autumn Festival. And Janelle's birthday gift from her yiyi will be arriving at our house this Friday. A busy week with sooooo many things to look forward.

OUCH!

Jayven suffered another knock on his forehead on Monday. He was playing with his jiejie and being the affectionate boy, he kept asking to be carried by her. Just when I turned my back to get things from the kitchen, Janelle stumbled while carrying him and both fell flat on the floor. Poor Jayven got a BIG baluku on his forehead and the amount of blood that flowed from his nose was scary. We had to pacify him and stop his nose from bleeding. Janelle gotten a shock and kept apologizing to her didi.

Lucky the swell has subsided now, leaving the bruise to recover. We have monitored him and there are no percussions after the hard knock.

My poor baby! This wobbly baby have been getting bumps and bruises (Bumps and Bruises) We are really worried that the frequent knocks may affect his brain development. If only there is safety helmet for toddler, he will definitely need one.
 

My poor baby with the BIG baluku

Water play

The lil ones met up with their cousin for water play at Nex rooftop last Friday

The 2 princesses

Jayven took a while to warm up

He was initially scared & kept asking to be carried

Then he has fun with his cousin

And he made new friend

My princess loves to run through the water sprinkle. Loves this shot.

Her cousin came over and they continued their water play (in the bath tub)