National Day 2013 (Rehearsal)

Thanks to the husband, we scored two pairs of tickets to the much-coveted National Day Parade! The original plan of going as a family didn't work because we did not want to bring Jake out to anywhere too sunny/hot/crowded because he was just on the mend from his terribly virus. So we split the tickets with my uncle.  I was quite excited to bring Kate, though it was laced with some apprehension - and rightly so because of last year's experience.

But my own excitement won over the worry and I was really quite looking forward to the evening, especially since it meant that I'd be spending quality time alone with her. While K was a little worried about the loud noise, I'm proud that she sat through the whole parade and was willing to try to watch/experience; I made sure to keep assuring her that I was right by her side and that it's only LOUD noise, nothing too scary at all. I had such a great time! Here's our pictorial story from yesterday evening.

Our awesome ticket!

My baby and I

After ripping into the goodie bag, Kate immediately picked out items she wanted to don. Here's the hat (that came in very handy to block out the sun) and she was holding the mini-flag in her hand. 

That's my uncle, his son, and Kate with her tattoo (that lasted for all of 4 minutes)

The initial bits of the parade is always fun. Lots of fanfare, the fly-bys, and one of the highlights are definitely the parachuter-jumpers! This year, making history is this lady (she's being interviewed by the host you can see off the giant screen) who's the first-ever female jumper! I felt really stoked - girl power!

Another personal favourite for me is the National Anthem-cum-Singapore-flag-fly-by; the chorus of people singing in one tune the National Anthem - never fails to make me feel very patriotic, proud to be Singaporean and lucky/thankful that we have the luxury and style to celebrate the nation's independence right at that moment.

We were lucky that the weather was great - it was manageable sunny when we took our seats and very breezy. When night fell, I took a moment to admire our very modern landscape filled with signature outlines and beautiful lights. Singapore has come such a long way.

Another gadget that K enjoyed was this light saber torch that really lit up the grandstands when the sun set.

Fireworks finale