Happy 6th birthday to you! How you have grown so much in the last year, and papa and mama can barely keep up with all that you've done since your 5th birthday. But you are still the same cheerful and happy boy, always very helpful to those around you, and a lovely brother to your siblings, especially to Elizabeth. There are times though where you are in some zone, talking to yourself or to your imaginary friends, thinking aloud and telling your own story, and we have to send some signal from earth to 'space' just to bring you back down to reality. It can be really exasperating, but I guess it helps that you always have that smile on your face that gets you out of trouble really easily. Looking back at your last birthday, your Numberblocks craze actually didn't last too long! Unsurprisingly since you started solving maths problems very easily, no thanks to kor kor Nathan's 'tuition'. I think you were already doing the '9' times table a year back, and moving forward, I think you got a bit bored in school. You did pick up some other new crazes though along the way, on top of memorising the MRT map since last year, you started on the London Tube Map after travelling to London, wanting to learn more about WWI just because you read about it in a book about London, learning the world map and various capitols of countries, as well as becoming a football fan. This year's birthday theme that you wanted, in line with the FIFA World Cup, is about football. That's the good thing about you - you have such esoteric interests that you're curious enough about anything and everything. It will put you in good stead for life ahead. You do have some other weird behaviours like not being able to defecate in public toilets (according to mama, you're just like me), and so we will have to sort that out before you head into primary school next year.
It has become quite the tradition for you to celebrate your birthday in school, and for this coming year, you've one-up yourself by asking for one at an indoor playground, PLUS the usual celebrations in school. I must admit I wasn't a big fan of having two celebrations - mainly cause I think it is rather extravagant and it takes a lot of effort as well. Mama convinced me to still have celebrations in school (whilst I'm the one who acceded to the indoor playground celebrations). For your 5th birthday, we brought you to VroomTown Driving City, where you got to drive around (together with mama) in an indoor playground, and you even got your hands dirty washing the cars. You did remember it when we just asked you about it not too long ago - guess it was pretty memorable for you! I hope you have a blast this year too.
Numberblocks cake in school!
Celebrations with your friends
Driving around VroomTown Driving City with mama
Car washing
Celebrating with the family at home
With your Singapore MRT map cake topper
This is your final year in SHHK and you are now one of the eldest amongst the children there, having to lead by example for those around you. This is the one school that papa and mama really appreciate our children attending - they have inculcated good values into all of you. I am always very proud to see all of your school performances, looking on as you all strive towards excellence (even though it means having to prepare you for a presentation every week), and generally being brought up to be well-behaved children. Most importantly, it is somewhere you all enjoy going to as well.
K1 Class Photo (2025)
Solo shot
Together with Elizabeth
Performing at your annual year end concert
Together with mama and Elizabeth after the concert
In the last one year, you've travelled quite a bit. In fact, I'm starting to think that you all will run out of places to travel to by the time you've all grown up and start your own individual independent trips. For now though, our trips are still very much catered towards having young children around, especially learning from our experience to Danang where we tried to cater for both adults and children, and neither really enjoying it that much (when covering the adult portion). The year before, you went for a holiday to Canada to attend your mama's cousin's wedding, and this time, we all went on an extended holiday to London to be part of your 舅舅's wedding, in December 2025. It wasn't the most ideal time for us to have gone to London, in my opinion - with the dreary, cold weather, having a lot of time difference to overcome, and generally not the most ideal for young kids having to walk around quite a bit. But, the Christmas festivities more than made up for it, and I was still quite glad to have had the opportunity to show you all around my old haunting grounds (as much as you all were willing to listen to me). I think, ultimately, you all enjoyed yourself a lot and I'm quite glad about it. It was quite a tiring trip though, having to be on the constant look-out for all these young children who could easily get lost in the crowd (plus carrying the pram and luggage about!) You can actually read up more about the trip here - https://gargantuansteps.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-battle-for-britain.html
On the nearly 15-hour flight to London seated beside papa!
You are quite the easy customer to handle, admittedly.
Decked out in your beanies
Family photo with a Christmas tree at Battersea Power Station
All smiles at Hyde Park
Celebrating mei mei's 3rd birthday at Four Seasons restaurant in Bayswater
Family photo at the iconic Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is falling down
Another with the Houses of Parliament and 'Big Ben'
Big Ben, in actual fact, is the name of the bell within the clock tower, and not the name of the clock tower itself, which is actually called Elizabeth Tower
At 舅舅 and aunty Sheen's wedding
Ice skating
Skating with 姨姨 (as papa didn't want to fall and risk dislocating his shoulder)
Treading on thin ice
This June, we went to Surabaya instead, visiting a different kind of a safari, this time higher up in the mountains. This would afford us much more cooling weather (instead of the usual tropical heat), and we didn't have to travel too far away for that either. Surabaya the city itself is located at sea level, but at Taman Safari Prigen we were blessed with temperatures ranging from 19-25 degrees Celsius - absolutely splendid. This trip was similar to the one we made to Bali a few years back, though much cooler, but not as (international) tourist-friendly because the attractions were geared mainly for the locals. Still, there was the usual animal feeding and interactions, and even a bonus arcade stop at the end of the trip, though I highly frowned upon it.
All knocked out after an early morning flight
Feeding a capybara
Posing with mama on a bridge in the safari
Family photo with the bearcat (binturong)
On the carousel at the night circus
Not afraid of the cockatoo this time
A Sulawesi laughing chicken - surely one of the highlights of any trip
Feeding the bunnies
Riding a pony
Siblings feeding the meerkats
Fortune (ice cream) favours the brave
You were courageous enough to follow my friends (uncle Mike and aunty Ros) and their children for ice cream whilst papa and mama brought the others back to the hotel first!
Your 'lottery' winnings at the arcade
Definitely one of the highlights of you and Nathan's trip, but definitely not mine
Here are some of the photos of those closest and dearest to you - may these pictures always bring back fond memories for you, and remind you how much you, Nathan and Elizabeth are loved.
Customary CNY photoshoot with 婆婆 and 公公
The whole Ting family (and aunty Sheen on the phone screen)
With jie jie Morgan in London
With grand uncle Joe, grand aunty Flora, uncle Dominic and aunty Hilda in London when we went to grand uncle Joe's place for lunch
Gian family photo shoot at CNY
Here are some memories of you with your siblings. You've always been the most gentle amongst the three of you, and that sometimes gets mama a bit worried about your passiveness, not fighting for what you want. But I truly think this is just your genial nature, and as long as you're happy and satisfied with your lot in life, then that is most important. Chasing and aspiring after dreams is good, as long as it doesn't lead you to a life of higher and higher aspirations and goals. Obviously, papa and mama don't want any of our children to be bums in life, but as long you are useful to society, then you can decide on how you want to be. Just remember who are the important people in your life, and who will remain with you through thick and thin - your family and your siblings. And I know you'll always have a place for them too in your heart.
Exploring a new playground at Chinese Gardens
As little pizza chefs at Dough it Yourself along Joo Chiat Road
舅舅 had a free staycation in Orchard and so each of you took turns to crash in with mama
Carol of the Bells duet with kor kor Nathan for the Small Giants Concert
And here are some photos with papa and mama with you and your siblings!
Lazing along the river at the Kallang Splash-N-Surf
Customary Chinese New Year shot!
Papa showing you his (micro) world at the latest exhibition at Mandai Exploria
And finally, here are few of your solo achievements in the past year - some good, some not so good! You were receptive enough to try and pick up football, which I'm very pleased with! I only managed to play in a competitive team sport much later in my teenage life (starting with Hockey when I was in Junior College), and I think it would have done me a lot of good if I had played something much earlier. As a result, you've also become a bit of a football fanatic, but I think you're still learning the fundamentals of the game. You've also followed in kor kor Nathan's footsteps and picked up the game of chess - a bit nerdy but I'm all fine with it since it will develop different parts of your brain. As I've mentioned earlier, I hope you continue to remain intellectually curious and let your natural talents carry you forth on top of the hard work needed to succeed. You are still quite the perfectionist and it is both a boon and a bane. Most importantly, do know that papa and mama are always there to support you through it all.
Your first tooth dropped out on the 28th October 2025, not too long after turning 5!
And within these few months, you have lost a total of 7 baby teeth!
Performing at the Small Giants Concert
Playing with a cat at a cat cafe - this particular breed is known as a British Shorthair
Jersey number 37 with the Barcelona Academy
Horse riding at Pasir Ris Park
Getting a Distinction for your Initial Grade Piano
With teacher See Teng at one of the concerts
With a new swim coach Lexi
We decided to stop your lessons with your previous coach Jaryl after your really slow progress with him over nearly 2 years!
At chess camp
Eyes glued during the World Cup
Your next step secured!
No fears this time, thanks to kor kor Nathan getting in first
Bandaging your head up after suffering a laceration from your reckless running around and bumping into the upright of a staircase!
Just these past few weeks, you have been injuring yourself a lot - beginning with a fall and a massive bruise on your chin the day before your school photo taking; and then you fell off your bike and some how hit your jaw, which cause a loose baby tooth to fall off, and then a week or two later, this. I did promise to buy you a helmet for your birthday if this carries on - so we shall see.
Meanwhile, hope you have a blast of a 6th birthday celebration this year, the last one with your friends in pre-school before you move on with the next stage of your life. I hope you will always remain the carefree and happy person that you are, especially as things become more challenging and difficult as you grow older. And I pray that your heart will always have space to love those around you as you're always such a generous person! You are very much loved by us all, always!
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