Ruff! It's a Sheriff Labrador Party - Ansel is 4!

While I still make it a point to celebrate each of the kids' birthdays, Ansel is now the only one who gets a themed party. Well, because he still enjoys it and it's the least I can do for him before he grows up.

So even though nowadays we don't throw a bash and invite handfuls of people over, we still make it a special celebration for him and have a family party where we play games, blow the candles and eat yummy cakes.

For his 4th birthday this year, he wanted a Sheriff Labrador theme because it is currently his favourite cartoon. Remember last year where we went full out for his Spider-Man party and the kids wore head to toe costumes as Spidey, Miles and Gwen? Well, we couldn't replicate that for Sheriff Labrador but at least we did have masks and a striking, personalised backdrop with a cute photo of the birthday boy.

Here's sharing more about his 4th birthday party and all the highlights, games, laughter and memories we shared.

First, check out this sweet birthday wish from the Korkor and Jiejies. You know, whiteboard marker ink doesn't last but pictures do and I'm thankful that we captured such heartwarming moments to look back on.

Introducing the main characters - Sheriff Labrador (Ansel), Officer Dobie (Asher), Officer Papillon (Ariel) and Dr. Antel (Angel) who is a scientist and the antagonist in every show. Yes, pardon the cheapskate DIY masks that I cut and laminated but hey, at least everyone was okay to put it on and snap some photos for keepsake.

Game #1 - Stacking Cups

In a test of reflex, we battled out in pairs as we tried to compete and determine who could stack and move the cups faster. The aim was simple — each stack has a different coloured cup, move it all the way from bottom to the top and back to being the bottom cup again.

I thought I was pretty fast at this game, only to realise that I lost in the end. And when we played back the video, we realised the hubby went against the rules and remove one whole chunk of cups instead of one by one. Argh. Haha. Cheater bug.

The games we play might be very simple ones but they always bring about lots of fun and laughter. The kids are always game to try something new and thus it is entirely up to me as the game master to plan activities that they will love and have a blast. Check out our video at the end to see all the happenings.

Game #2 - Cuff the Villain

This is a variation of the usual ring toss game and instead of aiming and hooking rings onto bottles, we had to toss handcuffs onto a wooden mannequin which I had stuck a picture of Dr. Antel onto.

This was a fun edition and we tried making the mannequin do different poses to see which made ir easier for the handcuffs to hook onto.

Game #3 - Shoot the Bad Guys

Every policeman needs to have good marksmanship so of course we had to include a shooting game. This is always a fun one for the kids who love to compete and see who can get more points and be the best shooter.

For the targets, I printed and laminated all the bad guys in Sheriff Labrador and used cardboard as a base to make each of them stand. Such an easy idea but it is a good way to inject fun that is in line with with party theme.

Game #4 - Hunt for your Character

Since each of the kids was assigned a character (Sheriff Labrador, Officer Dobie, Officer Papillon and Dr. Antel), for this next game, I printed out copies of the characters and hid them all over the house. So they were tasked to look for their own characters and if they spotted other characters, they had a choice of whether to hint to the other kids or not. Well, all four of them chose to help each other out and that was quite a heartwarming sight to see.

Game #5 - Pin the Tie

So most of us would know what is Pin the Tail on the Donkey but I bet you have never played Pin the Tie on Sheriff Labrador. Haha. For this game, I used our printer to print out eight A4 sized body parts and painstakingly joined them together to form a giant Sheriff Labrador picture. Then I printed out a same sized tie for each of us and wrote our names onto the ties.

The aim was to stick the tie onto the correct place and see who did a better job. It was made harder because we had to be blindfolded and spin three rounds so it was really funny when some of the kids lost their direction and didn't know where the door was.

Game #6 - Retrieve the Key

For this game, the kids had to do it in pairs. One person will be handcuffed while the other is blindfolded and has to retrieve the key in a sea of balls to release his partner. The kids had fun competing to see which pair could do it first.

Game #7 - Blow Out the Candles

To test our lung capacities, we had a contest to see who could blow out more candles. Oh, actually I used tealights instead because they are much easier to handle. The initial plan was to take one big breath and just blow in a straight line.

However, the hubby had other thoughts and said this was too easy. So we changed it to shouting out "Sheriff Labrador" instead and see who could extinguish more of the tealights. It is VERY hard and some of us could only manage one or two tealights and it was hilarious because we would be holding our breaths and dragging the "Dorrrrrrrrr" for as long as we could till our faces turrned red. Haha.

Game #8 - Sponge the Villain

This last activitiy was Ansel's favourite game of all! I cut out this huge cardboard and pasted the picture of a bank robber, leaving a hole to insert our heads. So the hubby took on the villain role, wore an eye mask and sacrificed his face to let the kids throw water sponges.

They took turns to wet the sponges and aim at Papa while being blindfolded and got a big laugh whenever Papa pretended to be in pain after a hit.

After all the fun games, of course we had to bring out the cake and have a cake-cutting ceremony. Ansel wanted a small rainbow sponge cake so we settled for two small cakes instead of a big one, and added fruit toppings too.

The siblings presented their handmade cards to the birthday boy and he was over the moon to see their cute drawings and words of love for him.

While his birthday party wasn't lavish or elaborate, it spoke volumes of love and joy, and I hope this darling of mine knows how deeply loved he is.

Dearest Ansel,

Happy turning 4! It's amazing how four years have passed us by but it's been an absolutely incredible and wonderful journey with you ever since you kicked your way out of my tummy at 35 weeks old.

You are our gem and our cutest, youngest baby and Papa, Mama, Korkor and Jiejies love you to the moon and back. I'm sure you feel our love for you every day, right?

I never thought I would be a mum to four kids and it probably scared me last time but you are living proof that having a 4th kid can be the best thing that ever occurred to me and I count my blessings that I have you in my life.

Hope you enjoyed your Sheriff Labrador party to the max and may you stay a loving, kind, cheerful, adorable and huggable boy always. I love you to the moon and back, my love.

We ended off his special day with warm sparklers, wet kisses, bear hugs and endless joy in our hearts. Till the next birthday party!

We love you, dear Ansel!

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Here's showcasing all the fun highlights at Ansel's Sheriff Labrador party!

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Read more on Ansel's birthday parties here:

Ansel is 1 - Baby Shark Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo

Ansel is 2 - Let's Have a Cocomelon Party

Ansel is 3 - Your Neighbourhood Friendly Spider-Man

Happiness is... toasting to a fresh start

January is always a month filled with hope and joy because it marks a fresh start and a new beginning. It's like, no matter how many mistakes we made in the previous year, this is our chance to let go of the past, have renewed opportunities to try again and hopefully make things right this time round.

I knew this year would be a tough one for me because, well let's see, the eldest will be taking her 'O' Levels and right now, she has zero motivation to study, the secondborn will be embarking on a brand new journey in her secondary school, the thirdborn is entering upper primary and is struggling with a couple of subjects, and the youngest is still clinging to me everyday and while he may be turning four, he is still breastfeeding — which probably explains why he is like a koala and I'm his eucalyptus.

Nonetheless, as we step into 2025, my heart is full of hope, my soul revitalised and my positive mindset empowering. In this post of "Happiness is...", it's about toasting to a fresh start and embracing the beginning of this new year.

What is one festival that I always look forward to?

CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Even though it means we usually spend a bomb on ang baos and reunions, the good thing is the kids get to collect ang baos and we get to feast a lot with our family. Yes, I love the feeling of 一家人吃团圆饭，and how we go around to 拜年，how we will 守岁 by watching the CNY show on Ch 8 and count down together to a prosperous new year.

It is also a cherished time where we gather with our loved ones to bond and celebrate. We are very blessed that our parents still cook 团圆饭 and prepare 火锅 for us every year, and it's not something that I take for granted.

As we march into the Year of the Snake, I hope my kids can learn to be grateful and be able to cherish their blessings more. They are well loved by their grandparents and it's a privilege that should be tightly embraced and deeply treasured. Chinese New Year makes me miss my Popo so, so very much and I can vividly remember how this was always a special time because I got to sit beside her at reunions, talk to her, play mahjong with her and just be with her. 

婆婆，无论您在天堂何处，希望您知道我有多么思念您，也但愿有朝一日能和您团聚。

Check out our CNY matching tops! We travelled to JB at the start of the year and while the boys played at an indoor playground with Papa, the girls went on a shopping spree with me, haha. I was so happy that we got this matching top in three different colours but all in S size, haha. Yeah, it was the smallest size if not Ariel would have taken XS. As for Angel, we are kind of at around the same height and nearly same weight now too. How time flies, right?

She might be 15 already and while some might that teens this age are independent and don't need mums to hover over them or take care of them anymore, it's not the case here and in fact, teenagehood might just be the most challenging phase I have to battle so far. This girl makes me 揪心 and often leaves me wondering what I did wrong as a mum, but I can only pick myself up and tell myself to try again and try harder the next day.

So nope, parenting duties and motherhood don't stop, not even when the little ones turn 15.

There's something I've been wanting to do for a couple of years and I finally got down to doing it. Check out my customised photo pearl portrait collection of the kids, woohoo! I did the first one in Sweden 15 years ago and I am glad that the last one is now done too — and that they fit nicely side by side on top of our TV cabinet.

They might seem easy to make but each takes time and one portrait comprises of 3,600 beads. It takes time to generate and finetune every portrait and I would constantly be making changes, switching this bead colour for that, to try to make it look more realistic and maximise the resemblance.

Morever, these beads were bought in Sweden so for some of the colours I required, I couldn't get them anywhere locally and had to order from a Swedish supplier to get them to do a special package for me and ship over. So I am just happy that everything is finally done and my collection is now complete.

While the girls feel that they are too big to wear cheongsams to school for CNY celebrations, they boys still like to do it and I am cherishing these years before they outgrow it too. Look how cute they are side by side, right? The korkor took a bus over after his school ended and since it was early dismissal, he was able to pick the younger brother up which delighted him to the max.

Besides shopping in JB, we also checked out some of the festive decor, tried to queue up for freshly made pineapple tarts but failed cos' the queue was snakingly long, went to the book store and played in an indoor playground too.

Oh, we also drank this fresh yoghurt with fruits which was delicious, visited a pet store to get supplies for our hamster, and at night, the hubby brought us to this nearby restaurant where we had a super nice Lala hotpot dinner.

The ingredients were fresh, there were even marshmallows for you to toast, and the soup was finger licking good. Or maybe, everything just tastes better when the family is together.

Do you love car rides? Well, we enjoy them because we get to talk, sing, snack and then sleep on the road. Well, the hubby doesn't get to sleep but then again, he also doesn't need to let a toddler sit on his lap throughout. I kind of love having Ansel close to me like that though, because we all know it won't be long before he can't fit and gets too tall and heavy. I hope we will still go on road trips even when the kids are older and that they will still make time amidst their busy schedules to go travelling and sightseeing with Papa and Mama.

We were lucky to be able to catch a dragon dance performance during the CNY period. I always try to bring the kids to watch lion dance performances too but I think the girls have outgrown that and the Korkor usually has school so it's only the youngest who can pontang class and go with me. He still loves it though and I will do it for a couple more years before he goes to Primary school. We love the festive ambience, the drums, the exciting performance and can only imagine how much effort goes into all the trainings and rehearsals.

Meet CHIP and DALE - our newest additions to the family!

Yes, the kids love hamsters and after a hiatus, we decided to get two new hamsters to join our big family. Although the kids have promised that they will help to look after and care for them, I've a feeling I will be the one who ends up cleaning their cages while they will just feed and play with them. Haha. Still, we are loving these adorable animals and they bring a smile on our faces whenever we see them.

We still love going to pasar malams and arcades as the kids like to play the games there. I always have to remind them that we cannot go frequently as the games are not cheap, and we usually wait till there is promotion (for instance Timezone regularly has school holiday promos) before we get to play.

Still, I love seeing their happy faces and the good thing is even the teens still enjoy arcade games and claw machines. So we let them indulge from time to time in the hope that they will 相亲相爱 and be 乖乖 after that. Haha. Yup, fat hope, I know.

These memories of playing together as a family will hopefully stay in their hearts even when they are all grown up. Yes, I hope they will remember how Papa and Mama tried to join them and play together instead of merely watching and following them around or waiting outside for them to be done.

Movies continue to be a big part of our lives. Though it is increasingly costly to visit the cinema now that the kids are bigger and can't sit on our laps for long, we still hope to do it every once in a while. I guess I should be thankful that the older kids still tag along to watch animated or kiddy films whenever we get invited to a preview. It mean a lot to me and to the brothers too. That said, our weekly movie nights still continue at home but we mostly watch on Netflix or Disney+ instead.

The kids started their Taekwondo journey in December 2021 and this month, they concluded it with their last lesson and graduated with their black/junior black belts. It's been a fun learning experience for them and they are blessed to have met nice coaches who genuinely care for them and have their best interests at heart. I'm thankful that the three of them did it together though a part of me wonder if Ansel will wanna pick up the sport next time too and if so, would he feel alone? Well, that would be another worry for another day.

For now, we are thankful for how the year had begun and can't wait to see what else lies ahead of us in the months to come. Till more updates soon!