
Shaynna and her shadow, giving me an “astig” pose at the Universal Studios Singapore.
Last Christmas, I went home a week before Christmas. No, no, no. My wallet was not ready for Christmas and vacation. I just wanted to see my little girl getting on the stage during their Christmas Program. One of the good things she got from her school is a boost in self-confidence. Every student, from Nursery 1 to Kinder 2, is given a speaking part and at least a dance number! I missed two of her Christmas programs and I could not afford to miss her last year in pre-school. I’m pretty sure they won’t have the same activities when she goes to primary school.
How my heart swelled when I saw her go up the stage and recite a few lines…
It was harder to keep my tears at bay when I saw her dance! She’s a bit shorter than her classmates so she was on the front row. At least, it wasn’t hard to take a video…

Last year, Shaynna’s birthday was at Jollibee. That was a great party but it was also costly. And because it was in the “city”, we could not invite as many kids as we wanted. So this year, we have decided to hold the party at a beach in my hometown. For almost the same budget as last year, Shaynna had a great time with her cousins and almost every kid in the neighborhood. Actually, my little girl’s only wish was to have Dora on her special day. Fortunately, there’s this store in Iligan City called “Party House”. For less than SGD100, my little girl had Dora, a party host, balloons, and loot bags.
Here’s Shaynna, my mother, and Dora. Photo taken on October 12, 2010:
My little girl turns 6 today! Now I miss her even more. I may not be there to celebrate it with her, I’m forever grateful to God for giving me an angel. I pray that she be always kept safe and healthy. It is always a mother’s wish that babies remain as babies forever but I’m really thankful Shaynna has grown as a beautiful child, and I do believe she will always be as perfect as she is now.
After having a great time at the Wild Wild Wet, we passed by a candy floss cart. Shaynna, not at all interested at “real” food, tug at my shirt and pointed at the cart. Here she is giving me a pose before digging in…
She loved it so much that she finished it with our help though she didn’t approve of it ![]()
Every child loves to have some water fun. So I took Shaynna, with my mom and my sister to Wild Wild Wet, just a few bus stops away from my apartment. For $15 adult and $10.50 child fees, it was really worth it. All of us had fun except my mother who had nothing else to do but took our photos. No swimwear could fit her and we thought everyone should wear swimsuits but apparently, they are not that strict on implementing the “swimwear code”.
Shaynna is not the physically hyperactive type and she’s scared of slides but I convinced her to try it out…
I totally enjoyed our time at Wild Wild Wet that I’m definitely going back!
I think every little girl goes through a time when she likes to wear beautiful dresses and crowns. When I was 4-6 years old, I loved wearing crowns but my parents are not the type who buy unnecessary stuff so I had to make my own. I wanted to be a flower girl so that I could wear a gown but I wasn’t made one. I looked forward to wearing prom dresses but I enrolled in a Catholic Academy and we had no proms. I was really happy when my bestfriend made me her maid of honor in her wedding. Now, as long as I’m with my current company, I look forward to our annual dinner and dance. For the past two major events, I went along with the theme but next year, I’m planning to not to. An evening gown maybe? Nah, that would be too elaborate. How I wish I could become a little girl again so that I can wear a gown and a crown on an ordinary day without appearing weird. Just like my Shaynna…

We were supposed to leave early in the morning but Shaynna couldn’t contain her excitement the night before our planned visit, so she stayed up late and woke up at about 10AM. Brunch took about 2 hours (yes, that’s how slow she eats despite all my efforts to speed it up). It was almost 2PM when we arrived at the zoo.
The tree mascots greeted us at the entrance that scared Shaynna so much I had to carry her for a while. Our first stop were the birds, then we stopped by for a moment to see some crocodiles. We then headed to Shaynna’s favorite part of the visit: boat ride!
We were not able to see all animals and we missed all of the shows but at least we caught the feeding of the baboons.
They also have this area with fountains where children and adults could have some water fun but the zoo closes at 6PM and we still yet had to see most of the animals. Shaynna was just contented to pose before the sign:
Shaynna was so delighted to see the animals, and the giraffe became her instant favorite:
Before we headed out to the exit, Shaynna seemed to be looking for something. When I asked her, she answered: ducks! I didn’t prioritize ducks because when I was still a child, some neighbours raised ducks. I didn’t know they no longer are common in our neighbourhood.
I wasn’t able to take Shaynna to see ducks but she had a blast.
One of the things Dora instilled in my little angel’s mind is that trees have faces! When she came to visit me here in Singapore, she asked me why the trees around us don’t have faces when in Dora, they smile, they talk, and they walk! Before I confuse her further with facts, I just told her that the trees don’t want people to see their faces because they fear that the bad ones would hurt them. All of us go through childhood only once and it’s just too short, so I’d rather let her enjoy this phase of her life.
That answer gave way to more questions. She kept asking me when do trees smile. Is there a place where we can find trees that move. Before I ran out of answers, I was really glad I took her to the Singapore Zoo. We were rushing to the ticketing booth when Shaynna suddenly froze, fear was etched all over her face. She then asked me to carry her. I picked her up then looked at the direction she was staring at. They were tree mascots! I headed to the trees’ direction but she got more scared. So I just went to the ticketing booth to pay for the entrance fees. After we got our tickets, I took her to the trees’ direction. She was hesitant at first but finally gathered all the courage to pose near the tree mascots with my younger sister.
Just one of my countless delayed posts. Just like every visitor here in Singapore, I took Shaynna, my mother and my sister to the Merlion. As expected, it was hard finding and grabbing a spot where one could take an exclusive photo with both the huge and the little Merlion.
One time, I was reading a book while Shaynna is doing something with my hair dryer on hand. I couldn’t get what she was doing until I heard her make a beeping sound. So, she was immitating a cashier with a ls2208 barcode scanner!
This was a lot different when I was still her age. Me and my playmates just mimicked our mothers doing laundry in a nearby creek! Before, my playhouses were just made from rice sacks and cardboard boxes. Now, I couldn’t afford a plastic playhouse but at least there are many tiny and colorful tents to make up for it.