Jellybean & Gummy Bear Adventures!

Our Butt-Kicking Kindergartener!

2011-09-07T15:00:00.005-10:00

Johno is all grown up and started elementary school this August. One month into school and he's already a busy kindergartener - juggling school, Judo practice, and kid's club at church.

He's loving it!

All set to leave for his first day at school!

Standing in line to "pay" for breakfast... Showing us where he's classroom is.
His kindergarten classroom.
This was how he said goodbye. No tears, no drama. Just "Bye, mum. Love you! Have a nice day."
Clearly a beginner - Posing with Karate moves on Judo turf...
Let's hope Sensei doesn't see this!

Wow! It's Been a Whole Year Since Our Last Post.

2011-08-24T14:04:00.006-10:00

Our 1st Family Vacation to Vegas!

Here are some highlights of the trip...

Caught the Blue Man Show

The Tournament of Kings Show

The Pirates of Treasure Island Show Messed with a living statue Took pictures with the boys' favorite characters

And watched a Mermaid swim!

See more pictures here.

http://public.fotki.com/jellybean-wang/vegas-vacation/

Dinosaur Safari

2010-06-27T19:24:00.004-10:00

These are possibly the happiest boys at the safari!

* Note how Johno "guides" his little brother to watch out for the exciting sights.

2 and 4 Already! They are growing up so fast!

2010-06-11T15:58:00.007-10:00

Happy Birthday, Sweethearts!

The boys just had their birthdays last month and with John and I just celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary this week, it just hit us that our little boys are not quite babies anymore, but are growing up to be really fine young gentlemen.

Ryan has been melting many hearts with his unbelievably high EQ and is learning incredibly fast too.

Books are his love. Words are his gifts. May God use him to touch many lives with his warm smiles and endearing ways.

Johno is a loyal friend who earns the trust and adoration of many of his peers. Always forgiving and ever so protective. May God continue to teach him to love and be a blessing to those around him.

We love you, Johnathan and Ryan!

Grow up to be the sweethearts you always have been!

The Big Bad Wolf @ Candyland!

2010-03-15T19:53:00.004-10:00

My Two Little Pigs being traumatized by the Big Bad Wolf in Candyland.

Johnathan's Prayer

2009-12-19T10:58:00.008-10:00

This happened a few weeks back but I thought that Christmas week will be the perfect time to share this story:

Every night at bedtime, Mummy Grace will say a prayer by the children's beds. As Mummy says her prayer, her two lovely boys, Johnathan and Ryan, will listen quietly with their hands clasped together.

Mummy's prayers always start with thanking God for His provision and for all the wonderful blessings of the day. She then prays for God to watch over the children as they sleep and to bless them with a safe and fruitful day when they wake. Mummy then closes her prayers by praying for the health, joy and safety of their family members near and far. Johnathan and Ryan always know when to proclaim "Amen" together with Mummy at the end of the prayer. They then go to bed smiling, knowing that Jesus will be watching over them.

One calm and quiet night, as Mummy was about to end her nightly bedtime prayer, little Johnathan decided to say his first own prayer all by himself. What a pleasant surprise! Out of his tiny mouth came a loud and confident utterance.

"Thank you God. We ate dinner and eat apple... and shower and go potty and brush teeth. We sleep... then sun come up in the morning, we wake up... eat breakfast and wear clothes and go to school! I pray for... Grandpa and Grandma and Yaya and Jiu Jiu and Jiu Ma and... and..."

Johnathan then paused and looked up at Mummy for prompts to end his prayer. Mummy helps with a simple, "and all our friends and family! In Jesus' name we pray..." And Johnathan ends with a contented, "Amen!"

A prayer so simple yet so clear, with such innocence and from the heart. Mummy was extremely proud of little Johnathan, and God was surely too. It was indeed a very special night.

Have a very blessed Christmas, everyone!

A Different Halloween

2009-11-03T10:22:00.004-10:00

This year, instead of trick-or-treating on the streets, we spent the night in church instead. We all had a great time! It was a safe night of meaningful activities, food, and loads of treats (which you know will not be dangerous items or spiked candy)!

Both kids and parents were thrilled!

We also went to the pumpkin patch as usual. But what's new this year was that Johno asked to ride on the kiddy merry-go-round. It was supposed to be innocent but it turned out to be pretty scary!

Happy Halloween!

Spoilt in Singapore!

2009-11-02T13:21:00.006-10:00

It was a month full of fun, food, friends and family!

The boys were showered with love, hugs, toys, treats, and kiddy rides galore, while their parents showered themselves with dates, shopping, great food, and being babied for a change. It's hard to put all the fun, joy and love in words, but in a nutshell -

WE WISHED IT DIDN'T HAVE TO END!

Endless games and rides

Lots of outings and exploration

Spending time with everybody's sweetheart - Yaya

Shop till we drop

Eat till we sleep

Our 10 Favourite Things To Do In The Summer

2009-07-22T14:33:00.009-10:00

1. Playing Catch On The Beach

2. Visiting Scenic Spots

3. Playing Miniature Golf

4. Riding Horses

5. Picnicking While Watching Fireworks
6. Flying Kites

7. Getting Close To Nature
8. Hanging Out At The Zoo
9. Taking Walks In The Park

10. Being Useful Around The House

Models For Hire!

2009-06-05T13:34:00.006-10:00

The No-No Brothers are causing a big stir in the modeling industry of late. Big brother Johno and little brother Ryno are in a class of their own. Natural in front of the camera and professional on set, they are complete joys to work with.

Be it classic baby shots,

dramatic period looks,

artistic nudity,

or photo-journalistic work,
their professional repertoire has them all covered.

The No-No Brothers are available for modeling in photo shoots, runway shows, tv and stage appearances, as well as cyber correspondences.
The versatility and potential of the No-No Brothers are of no end.
You know you want a piece of them.

Contact their agent at 1800-NONOBRO for job bookings.
When it comes to hiring the No-No Brothers,
you know you wanna say Yes-Yes!
So call now.

Johnathan is 3 Years Old!

2009-05-31T14:55:00.007-10:00

Johno's birthday falls on a Saturday this year, so we decided to have a little celebration in school with his friends on Friday. At his request, he wanted a pirate themed party again. As much as I tried to sell him other party ideas, he had his mind set on a pirate party; so a pirate party it was.

However, it wasn't the pirate party that was his birthday highlight. Since months ago, he has been talking about wanting to go to Chuck E Cheese's for his birthday. With pizza, arcade, music and a giant walking mouse, which kid wouldn't love it? It has been his favourite place for fun this year, so of course we had to bring him there on his birthday!

The boys had a fantastic time and were fast asleep in the car ride home. But was that the end of the day's fun? Of course not! After a short nap, the kids were ready to get going again, so we went swimming!

It was Ryan's first proper try at swimming and he loved it. And Johno also made his brave maiden dive into the pool. It had been too cold over the past few months to swim, but now that summer has arrived, the water was warm and inviting! Looks like we'll be hanging out at the pool more often from now.

p.s. More pictures can be viewed on his birthday online album. Don't forget to click on the slideshow icon to read the captions that come with the photos.

From His Pie-Hole: Johno Epic Moments

2009-05-28T14:53:00.009-10:00

Sniggering at a bald Happy Meal doll after cutting off all its hair - "It's grandpa!"

Consoling a pouting daddy after mummy took his turn on the Bejeweled game - "Aww, Daddy. You're alright."

After making a really huge deposit in the potty - "Look, Mummy! Giant poo poo!"

Answering mummy's question of what his favourite part of the magic show was - "Girls."

In the shower - "My penis is so big!"

Lying himself in between two huge cushions - "I'm a sandwich."

Mummy: "Johno, can you say Happy Birthday in Chinese?" Johno: "Happy Birthday in Chinese!"

Happy 1st Birthday, Ryan!

2009-05-20T01:21:00.008-10:00

The boys' birthdays are exactly 2 weeks apart and since before Ryno was born, John and I were discussing if we should have a joint celebration every year or to celebrate each birthday individually. Despite what this photo might suggest, we decided that each boy will have their own special day. However, it turns out that we are going to have a 3-weekend long celebration!

This Saturday, we celebrated Ryan's birthday at Farrell's the ice-cream parlor. He had a fanfare in his honour and enjoyed a birthday clown sundae. Ryno was surprisingly calm amidst the noise and crowd, and was actually quite amused by it all. He was napping when we arrived for lunch, but as usual, the smell of food woke him. What better way to celebrate a milestone age than a lunch of junk food and ice-cream?

We went for a cartoon movie after lunch which Ryan slept through the first half of and spent the next half laughing at people who were laughing in the theatre. And I found myself laughing at him laughing at other people laughing. Haha! It was pretty hilarious.

This coming weekend, we are going the watch the greatest major magic show in Waikiki. In addition, John's gonna have a 4-day weekend to hang out with us! The weekend after that is Johno's birthday. At his request, we are going to celebrate his birthday at his all-time favorite place. Guess where. Find out then!

Talking Tumbling Tot

2009-05-01T12:56:00.004-10:00

Ryno's finally walking unassisted. At 11 months old, he had large shoes to fill with big bro walking at only 10 months old. Poor baby was faced with a month's worth of questions like, "How come he's not learning to walk as quickly as Johno," and "Is he too fat to carry his own weight?"

He was indeed one month behind Johno on the walking, but what's amazing is that he is picking up communication very much faster than Johno did. Ryno is now saying words like: mama, dada, papa (grandpa), more, ber (bird), nana (banana), and ball. He is also signing 'please' and 'more', can follow simple instructions, and points to things that he wants (sometimes throwing the snack packets at us to open for him!).

The point of this all is that every child is unique with their own style, talents, preferences, and personalities. Don't make the mistake of comparing them against benchmarks that others have set. Instead, recognize and adore their individual characteristics, develop their fortes, be there for them in aspects where more support is needed, remember significant moments, and more importantly, enjoy and appreciate every little bit of watching them grow and learn.

Never Judge A Book By Its Cover

2009-04-28T15:56:00.009-10:00

~~ The Street Gangsta ~~

~~ The Sweet Scholar ~~

We all know that Johno's the crazy stuntman while Ryno's the docile sweetheart; but look how deceitful appearances can turn out to be.

Or, maybe this is just a hint of how multifaceted the boys really are.

Can't wait to see how they will turn out 20 years from now!

All Battered Up!

2009-04-26T16:20:00.008-10:00

Help! Call Police!

No, Ryno has not fallen victim to abuse. What's boyhood without a few falls, scrapes and bumps? But it is moments like these that makes me thankful my kids are all boys. Seeing a little girl possibly scarred for life like this may actually bring up some guilt in us.

Don't get too freaked out thinking that your beloved Johno and Ryno could be in peril living with a set of hard-hearted parents who just let them out on the streets by themselves to get all scratched up. Sure, we are definitely not those parents who keep their kids completely germ-free, out of the sun, and in a confined playpen 24/7; but neither are we cruel, negligent bystanders.

We like to think of ourselves as parents who allow our kids hands-on exploration, learning through experience, practising pain and disappointment management skills, and to make good choices and take any consequence like a man. All this is a safe, supervised environment, of course. The boys appear to be thriving and are happy, confident little men.

Nonetheless, I know we'll be getting many calls and emails demanding account for Ryan's injuries if we don't explain it here. So this is the story: We were at a birthday party at a friend's place. The kids were hanging out in the living room. Ryno went over to stand by the screen door, holding onto it while looking out at the yard. He then got excited and started pounding the door with his hands. This must have shaken the door off its latch coz the door then swung open and Ryno fell flat on his face onto the rough pavement outside the door. We can imagine how much that must hurt. But he just cried for about a minute and was back to laughing and playing after washing up and lots of TLC.

He's now fine and doesn't seem at all bothered by the scrapes. So please don't dial 911 or call social services on us, ok? Feel free to $end hug$ and ki$$e$ to make him feel better though.

A Treat For The Ears

2009-03-14T07:54:00.011-10:00

Johno likes to entertain himself through song and dance. He makes everyone else around him dance when there is music around, and he sings along to songs even though he might not know the words to them.

Here's Johno's rendition of his favourite song: Old Mac Farmer

And of course there's the song that every child is made to learn.

And more.

He even knows Jay Chou's music.

But of course like every real pop star, nobody can make him sing if he doesn't want to!

Toddler-In-Training

2009-03-13T15:28:00.004-10:00

Ryno has this magical charm in him that makes people go "Awww..." with just about every little thing he does. That look he gives, that smile he flashes, that enthusiastic wave, and that innocent chuckle are all pure sweetness!

He has been learning how to walk and is one diligent little fella. All furniture and large toys become his cruising instruments to help him pull up, stand and toddle along. It seems like just yesterday when he was officially too fat to sit up; he's now all ready to take flight and soar. I'm starting to sound a little too drama mama, I know. But that's what you become when you watch your kids learn so much and evolve so dramatically every single day!

It's a Big Big World Out There

2009-03-03T13:14:00.003-10:00

We recently realised that there is so much to see and discover out there that we really should be bringing the boys out of the house more often to touch, smell, and learn something new as much as they can. Be it just shopping, visits to a humble little zoo, a lousy sea life park, or really action packed game arcades, the kids can really have so much fun and learning opportunities!

I remember my parents bringing us out every single Sunday when we were kids. They would always come up with some place to go or something to do and never seemed to get tired of spending all that time playing and learning together with us.

Now as a parent, I find it so easy to hear myself say in my head, "Let's just chill out at home this weekend. John must be tired from working the whole week and I certainly am looking for some rest time while John can be around to keep an eye on the kids". Despite that temptation and all the reasons to stay home, when we actually pull ourselves away to bring the kids out, we really all have an absolutely great time! And it definitely is more recharging for the spirit and mind than just resting the body.

I'm foreseeing that there will be times when all this will be forgotten and we just succumb to sprawling out on the couch in front of the TV. Enjoying a movie together at home once in a while is great too, but I just hope it doesn't take us a whack in the head to remind us the importance of spending quality time on nurturing activities as a family!

Babble Blab Blab

2008-12-24T08:14:00.010-10:00

Now I understand why people always comment that homes are so quiet without children around.

Kids really do yak a whole lot! When they can't talk, they just make any kinda noise they possibly can; and when they actually are able to talk, there's just no holding them back. More amazing than seeing them gradually learn to talk is finally being able to hear what goes on inside those little strange minds of theirs!

The Novice

The Shifu

Sumo-Ho-Ho!

2008-12-23T23:49:00.007-10:00

Merry Christmas & Happy 2009 Ahead!

~~~~~~~~~~~

The year has really flown past quickly. This will be Ryno's 1st Christmas and the very 1st year our family is actually spending Christmas in Hawaii. Unlike the previous two years which we went to Singapore for Christmas, a piece of Singapore (in the form of Ms Pauline Fong) flew to us instead this year!

Pauline did a way better job than Santa, delivering a whole suitcase full of goodies and gifts from home. We spent an awesome 2 weeks of fastfood bingeing, impulse shopping and marathon driving (half that time in the car stuck in traffic though).

Storm struck Hawaii during Pauline's stay and other than the few days of rain we had to endure, we also had to mourn the lost of several of our electronic devices that fell victim in the disaster. The neighbourhood lost power in the night and the power surge that followed fried our laptop. Pauline's camera also died a mysterious death. The power went out again that day for almost 10 hours, so we were forced into spending more enjoyable hours in the lovely shopping malls.

With Pauline now back in disaster-free and power-outage-free Singapore, the boys and I have one less playmate for entertainment. We're gonna be here in Hawaii for at least another 4 years; so whoever is next in line to come send us Christmas gifts from afar, we'll be looking forward to your visit!

Overdue (Yes, I know!) Updates...

2008-11-04T10:23:00.012-10:00

The last update was months ago because we were getting prepared for our journey home to Hawaii: setting travel dates, saying goodbye, and a tonne of other this-and-thats to finish. We'll miss Singapore, of course, but great news is that (1) we'll finally get to reunite with John, (2) my parents are coming to stay for a month to help us settle in, and (3) I've finally finished my 2-year studies and will now have more time for my boys!

Johno will really miss his school. We had a little art exhibition going on to showcase his masterpieces from school that his brilliantly creative 陈老师 guided him to accomplish. He's gonna get so bored at home now - there's a long wait for daycare over here in Hawaii.

Before we left, we had the chance to celebrate Greatgranny's birthday! It was a real fun time, though I kinda have the feeling nobody actually knew how old she was. She probably didn't quite remember either. We were causing quite a commotion at the restaurant with our 40-strong family headcount. The boys are definitely gonna miss this big bunch of noisy, fun, affectionate loved ones!

Grandpa and Grandma were making most of the final chances to take pictures with all 3 of their grandchildren together before they left with us to Hawaii for the month. After spending the first 4 months of his life here in Singapore, Ryan did look a little reluctant to go...

The flight to Hawaii was early, but that didn't stop our convoy of escorts from seeing us off at the airport with their sadness and tears. Wait a minute! How come everyone looks so happy to see us go? Anyway...

The rainbow at the end of the treacherous 20-hour journey was, of course, the sweet reunion.

To make the reunion even more complete, our New Jersey side family came for a one-week visit too!

We all had great fun exploring, sightseeing, touring the island, and just simply hanging out!

After the fun was over, we put the grandparents right to work - Grandpa was fixing things and doing major cleaning in the house and patio. Grandma was babysitting, cooking and taking care of the domestic stuff. Johno was helping to clean up, while John and I just relaxed and enjoyed our slave-driving. *Wicked grins* But, the most amazing thing was that the grandparents actually seemed like they enjoyed doing all that for us. They just can't get enough of it! Haha!

We did find time to enjoy other non-slavery activities together too - like golf, pumpkin-picking, dinner cruises, and trick-or-treating.

It was a nice welcome back to Hawaii.

Yep! That's My Brother!

2008-08-12T03:19:00.014-10:00

Johno vs Rhino

Those kissable lips

Often slobbery

Relaxed yet full of thought

Confused sucklers

Hair-grabbing maniacs

Try telling them apart...

(Grandpa wearing the same shirt in both pics makes it even more confusing!)

Fatso and Friends

2008-08-11T14:39:00.006-10:00

Ryan is barely 3 months old but already looking like,
as Grandmama likes to put it, a sumo wrestler.

And he has chosen his BFF - Winnie the Pooh and Friends. It's easy to get a smile and chuckle out of our little guy these days - just lay him in sight of his new found best friends and he will burst out in a radiant bout of toothless grins and chatter that he doesn't even bestow that generously upon his Mummy. That is totally adorable to watch but also in the slightest wicked way makes me want to strangle those cartoon characters for stealing my baby's affections from me.

Good thing I happen to be the most magnanimous and forgiving person I know; Pooh and friends get to live another day.

What The Fork?!

2008-06-29T03:53:00.019-10:00

After many predictable shopping trips of Johno asking to buy cars, cars and more cars, he surprised me one day by picking out a Barbie doll, dressed in a dive outfit which can miraculously morph into a skimpy bikini upon contact with water, instead. I, of course, respected his choice and indulged in his request and bought him the doll.

I know what you are thinking. I've heard it all. "How can you let your son play with Barbie dolls? If he wants to play with such toys, at least give him a He-Man or something lah."

Other than the fact that it's the 20th century in which charming, hunky men make pink look good on them; can we still find He-Man toys these days? Young people reading this and have no clue what the heck a He-Man is, go google it yourself or just ask the next old but hip person who comes your way. The He-Man issue aside, who says boys fondling Barbie dolls should be frowned upon?

Are you sure seeing a boy hugging a He-Man will make you more at ease and happy? Let's face it - besides beautiful fast cars, the other thing that testosterone is attracted to is a hot girl in a pretty bikini.

I don't think it's a bad idea that my boy is starting his manly preferences and lifestyle at a younger age than others. Moreover, what's better than having the company of a gorgeous bikini babe in a hot tub? Are you the parent who will rather see your son sharing a bath with a gorgeous He-Man?

Look who's laughing now, suckers!

Urrrgh! You're 2 Years Old, Matey!

2008-06-03T17:19:00.004-10:00

Tattoos, treasure cove, stolen ship...

It's a pirates' affair for little Jellybean's 2nd birthday celebration!

Kudos to the party coordinating team of Johno's young aunts, Johnathan enjoyed an awesome birthday party of sweet yummies, exciting fun and endless surprises. With the party decked out with costumes, props, body painting, a pinata and the works, it was definitely one of the highlights of this beloved 2-year-old's life thus far.

Thank God for all the wonderful people who love Johno and came to spend the evening with him, showering him with attention and gifts!

Welcome Gummy Bear!

2008-05-26T16:05:00.006-10:00

Ryan Le'feng Wang

Praise God! The little prince is born.

16 May 2008

Weight: 3.1 kg; Length: 50.5 cm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scheduled c-section birth was a smooth, pain-free one. Even though the doctor warned that the baby might decide to come earlier, but our little sweetie decided to wait for Daddy to fly in and Mummy to finish her exams before coming to meet us! Thank God for the perfect timing.

It was funny how the first thing people did when seeing Ryan was to look for dimples and count how many swirls he had in his hair (just coz big brother Johno has a dimple and 2 hair swirls)! Just for the record - little brother has 2 swirls but no dimple, though people tend to see imaginary dimples on him all the time with their obsessed minds! Haha!

With John being AB blood type and me O, apparently, our children will tend to be jaundiced due to the incompatible blood types. Poor Ryan spent most his first days under light-therapy and even had to be warded again for a few days after discharge due to a rebound in his jaundice condition. He's now back home and doing well.

He's such a sweet-natured baby who doesn't cry much and has the most adorably obedient look. And even though Johno adores him to bits and is very protective over him, we can so see him being a willing victim to feisty big brother's bullying in time to come.

For now, all is good, peaceful and blissful; and we are all enjoying the moment!

4 Easy Steps To Sleeping Like The Pro

2008-05-13T04:39:00.023-10:00

1. Relax and make yourself comfortable in all ways possible.

2. Cut off as much oxygen intake as you can.

3. Stretch out to occupy as wide an area as you please.

4. Fight your way out of tight clothing if they annoy you.

Sweet Dreams!

Guilty As Charged!

2008-04-02T05:49:00.003-10:00

PIRATE J. FOUND GUILTY OF THE FOLLOWING:

Stealing hearts wherever he goes
Stealing kisses on a daily basis
Stealing the limelight in all possible situations
Conning people into doing his bidding with his smiles

Be warned to exercise caution upon encounter with the above-mentioned individual. The individual is known to be able to hypnotise, charm and manipulate all who he comes into contact with to be at his beck and call. It has been reported that interaction with the individual can be highly addictive and may cause many sleepless nights of sweet memories.

Make contact at your own risk.

恭喜发财！

2008-02-16T07:17:00.006-10:00

It was Johno's first proper Chinese New Year celebration with the red packets, mandarin oranges, reunion dinner and 拜年 traditions; He had a blast!

He has quickly learnt how to greet "恭喜恭喜" by clasping his hands together and waving them enthusiatically. That, of course, earned him many 红包s which he immediately handed over to mummy or grandma for safekeeping. But like any other CNY novice, he was of course more interested in the snacks laid out on the tables than the riches lying inside those red packets. Mandarin oranges are his favourite, and he can expertly peel the tiny ones on his own [check out the video here].

These days, he has cultivated the habit of grabbing someone's hand and dragging them with him to go places or to get him something he wants. Over this four-day holiday weekend, he has been going out so much that he seems hooked on it - constantly dragging us to the door and pointing outside, telling us to bring him out!

Festivals and special occasions are so much fun for kids when they are surrounded by family and friends to share the buzz with. Thinking back on our lonesome CNY last year and Johno's 1st birthday party of 3 people, I'm glad Johno finally got to be part of true celebrations this year and hope for many more to come!

Daddy Came For A Visit!

2008-01-24T17:08:00.000-10:00

My 2 boys look totally adorable together! Especially seeing each other for the 1st time after a couple of month's separation...

Johno wanted a hug from Daddy immediately, but looked a little shy and pretended to be super well-behaved. After less than 2 minutes, Johno went back to his super excitable and overactive self in the car.

He wanted his Daddy all to himself! He didn't let Daddy hug Mummy, no putting his arm around her, and even no holding her hand! Daddy was only allowed to hug Johno alone! That possessive little darling... And of course Daddy was secretly pleased with the attention he demanded from him. I guess this is the extreme opposite of what everyone feared - that Johno wouldn't even recognise his Daddy after all this time.

John just came by for 4 days over Christmas when his ship coincidentally pulled into Singapore ports during this period on their way to the gulf. It was an awesome blessing! We packed these 4 days full with great food and fulfilling activities.

Day 1 - Pick up from pier and went straight for lunch: John's favourite Laksa and Mee Pok. Then went to chill out at Kit's place for his first meeting with niece Yaya. It was cries-at-first-sight for the 5-month old beauty, but on 2nd looks, she started to bestow lovely smiles upon him endlessly! Yap. He has been charmed! Dinner that night was yummy pepper crab with lots and lots of crab roe!

Day 2 - Breakfast: Roti Prata and Dough fritters, with a traditional Teh-beng. Lunch: John's special request of Mummy's homecooked steamed prawns. Dinner: Met up with the gang for frog's legs porridge and durians at Geylang.

Day 3 - Day of blissful family time. Spent time with Johno at his school's Christmas eve party and had yummy steamboat dinner at home with the family with insane ripping open of Christmas presents! Then, proceeded on to Al's overnight hotel party (without the baby, of course!).

Day 4 - Beautiful Christmas Day. Extended family time of catching up over loads of food.

Though the visit was short, it was wonderful and very much appreciated. It made beautiful memories to be held and cherished till the next time we are together again!

We love you, John Wang! Don't you forget that! :)

First Greetings from Gummy Bear!

2007-12-11T16:11:00.000-10:00

Here is our first look at Gummy Bear at almost 15 weeks.

He's looking really active and waving 'Hello' to us.
We saw his little package between the legs too.

Not appropriate material to be published for the general viewing on our PG rated website, though.

Singapore School Experience

2007-12-08T23:23:00.000-10:00

Johno was pretty excited to explore the school on his first day. Looking geeky in his $30.65 school uniform, he was one of the 1st to arrive that morning. Running freely in the empty school, he seemed settled and so at home.

I left while he was having breakfast; he cried while I walked away, but I was told that quickly stopped and he had fun the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, there ends the beautiful part. When I went to pick him up later that day, I could smell his stinky diaper before he even laid a hug on me. I wonder how long that had been left on him. I changed him and took him home.

Back home where I lay him down and had a better look, I found horrible sores between his legs and in the groin area. It was the most serious case of diaper rash I've ever seen on him. Slapped on loads of diaper cream on his sores and wrote down clear instructions for his teacher to change him more often, clean him more thoroughly during changes and to use the cream on him.

After the 2nd day at school, the condition didn't heal that well, I hence decided to keep him home the rest of the week to see to his recovery. Brought him to the doctor's and was told his condition was a fungal infection due to soggy diapers left on too long and poor cleansing of the area.

Happened to speak to the parent of one of Johno's classmates who started school the same time as he. Found out that he too had diaper rash after the first couple of days. The parent even found her child sent to sleep in a stinky diaper when she visited him during their nap time!

Johno's rash is all better now and I'll probably send him back to school on Monday, but definitely not without making sure the school hears our concerns loud and clear.

BOO!

2007-11-03T22:12:00.000-10:00

Mirror Mirror On The Wall...

2007-09-24T22:05:00.000-10:00

Who's the fairest of them all?

~~~~~~~ Baby-Daddy ~~~~~~~~~~ Baby-Mummy ~~~~~~~

Baby-Baby

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Johno always gets compliments for being so cute, intelligent, handsome and lovable; but let's get real here - it's all about the top-grade genes, ok?!

Looks like he's still got quite a bit of catching up to do to match up to his brilliant and adorable parents. Luckily for him, two positives make one supercharged positive baby with infinite potential!

And to the ever popular question of who he takes after more - well, you be the judge.

Tiny Hands Hold Great Power

2007-09-22T22:16:00.000-10:00

It's amazing what a little person can do to a family, and what a family can do to a little person!

Being greeted affectionately with warm hugs and endless I-love-yous upon his very first meeting with his New Jersey family at the airport, Johno seemed a little overwhelmed but totally at ease, obviously enjoying the spotlight of attention bestowed upon him. And by Day 2, he was already ecstatic to see them again - greeting them with gleeful yells while bouncing on the couch like an excited little chimp. From that moment on for the next 3 weeks, laughter and cheer filled the house and the souls of everyone in it.

The family doted on him insanely while he reciprocated with generous hugs, kisses and smiles. Learning Mandarin and culture from the family, Johno in return successfully taught them the art of signing and had everyone hooked on using his signature phrase: "Uh-oh!"

This has been a very powerful 3-weeks which has greatly impacted the lives of those who experienced it; bonds have been formed and memories etched. A child who barely can speak has communicated on such a deep level with all 3 generations before him. We might never understand what that mystical non-verbal language was that transpired, but we most definitely know without a doubt that it spoke loud and clear.

Johno's Daddy-Bear!

2007-08-03T13:18:00.000-10:00

With John scheduled to be away most of the next 9 months, he decided to create a special memory to be shared between Baby J and him. They were going to customize their very own cuddly toy!

So, off they went to the speciality store in the mall where personalized stuffed animals can be created.

From the shelves and crates, purple hippos, spotted cows, grey elephants, and even pink shimmering unicorns were pleading, "pick me, pick me!" Spoilt for choice, they finally found the most perfect one out of over 30 other adorable different animals of various colours and textures - a timeless classic brown teddy with the most gentle face and cuddly fur.

Next, they filled him with just the right amount of stuffing; not too soft for endless hugs and not too firm for snuggling comfort.

He has to be just right!

Then, to add really special finishing touches, they picked out a musical sound chip, planted kisses on a guardian-angel bear and placed them safely inside the bear.

The store was full of clothes and accessories to dress the animals up in the most outrageous looks, but the boys insisted that teddy bears should be left looking like how teddy bears should - naked!

Finally, they picked up his adoption certificate and prepared him for his ride home.

Thank you, Daddy for such a special day and wonderful memories. I love my Daddy-Bear and will keep him by my side to keep me safe in your absence. I will hug him when I miss you and kiss him to tell him I love my Daddy!

Muack!

Footprints In The Sand

2007-07-06T00:23:00.000-10:00

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it, "LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way.But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life,there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."
The LORD replied, "My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you." - Mary Stevenson

----------------------------

Who can forget this classic story of God's unfailing love for us? Watching the sight of father and son walking hand-in-hand in the warm sunset, across the softest sand, towards the magnificent ocean just makes you stop to admire all of God's wondrous creations and to think of all the precious people in our lives who are always there behind us, supporting us in ways we might not see: our sweet Lord, loving family, quiet friends...

Etching the images of moments like these deep in our hearts and minds keeps us going strong in tough times and reminds us that life is too beautiful and dear to waste a single minute on frustration, sorrow, worry or anger. Instead, take that minute to bring yourself back to the precious moment you hold close to your heart that never fails to put a smile on your face. Return to that moment, remember the emotions, recharge your spirit.

So, what's your moment?

Men are from Mars

2007-06-20T13:20:00.000-10:00

It's pretty strange how grown men view things. They seem to completely lose sight of the beauty and wonder of the sweetest things in life as they pile up on testosterone.

Johnathan is very independent these days, shaking off our hands to tackle steps and explore new grounds on his own. We were on our way to the car one day when he decided to stop and smell the flowers growing outside our door. As I was sighing in appreciation to the endearing sight of my little boy taking an interest in nature, boom comes the deep voice behind me that shattered the lovely moment.

"Are you sure you wanna let him touch the grass? You know dogs pee on them, right?"

My husband, the testosterone well, just contributed to the Kodak moment with a perspective that has never crossed my mind. A nasty, far from pretty perspective, no doubt. But one so undeniably true and thought provoking.

If men are from Mars and women are from Venus, I'm sure Venus will be a much more pleasant and beautiful planet to live on!

Johnathan's 1st Birthday Cake!

2007-06-03T20:53:00.000-10:00

Johnathan's 1st birthday was a week long celebration, with us being exceptionally nice to him this week as our birthday present to him. We brought him swimming, treated him to scrumptious meals, bought him his 1st Happy Meal, took him to the zoo, and of course, carried out the whole candle and cake routine!

He loved it and had such great fun. The most wonderful birthdays are those filled with nothing but innocent fun and great company. This is the 1st of a few good years before he starts ruining the fun by asking for video games or tattoos for his next birthday.

Lizard Poop + Bugs Sashimi = Deadly Diet

2007-05-31T20:30:00.000-10:00

Pepper's autopsy results are finally out. Seems like his daily staple meal of lizard poop and favourite snack of live bugs are the culprits of his demise. Bacteria infection leading to pneumonia caused his lungs to malfunction. Our poor little sweetheart ate his way to doggie heaven.

Lizard poop and bugs sashimi to Pepper might be like coffee and french fries to us - habitual indulgence which seem harmless but are killing us softly. Let us not have Pepper's unfortunate experience be in vain, but be a wake up call for us to not unwittingly eat ourselves to the grave.

Thank you, Singapore! You love me!

2007-05-31T15:16:00.000-10:00

Johno was thrilled to open all his presents. They were such a lovely surprise!

His parents always get ride-along gifts too, of course. Love the Singapore movie "Just Follow Law!" and snacks you sent!

Thank you all in Singapore.

Teban Bird

2007-05-18T12:58:00.000-10:00

John and I affectionately named this the Teban Bird because it's the same kind of bird we often see near my parents' home by the Pandan Reservoir in Teban Gardens, Singapore.

Each time we see the Teban Birds, they give us the warm and fuzzy feeling inside which makes us feel closer to home. And over here in Hawaii, we often see them hanging out in little flocks near our home and Johno's school.

So often, we wished we had our camera with us to snap their picture when we pass them by everyday while taking Johno to school. And oddly, the one time we actually made the point to bring our camera with us, none of the Teban Birds were to be found!

Just as I subconsciously pleaded with God in a childish whine for a bird, one single Teban Bird flew in and landed on the grass patch next to the driveway as we pulled into the parking lot. Whipping out the camera as fast as we could, the bird gracefully paused to pose for our picture. And after we took 3 perfect shots of it, it immediately took off and flew back to the nowhere it just came from! That just blew us away...

We love God for the tiniest details He goes into to make us always loved and never forgotten.

Vacation Bliss

2007-05-16T09:29:00.000-10:00

Here is the very first Wang Family Vacation, and it was awesome!

Hopped on a little plane to the neighbouring Hawai'i Big Island and stayed in a cozy cottage up in an active volcano crater that's due to erupt any day now. Hiked to waterfalls and through lava tubes, stood on hardened lava flow and next to steam vents shooting up the ground. Tasted sweet guava wine and wine made purely from macadamia nut honey in the volcano winery, snuggled up in front of the fireplace roasting marshmallows with mugs of hot chocolate.

Yap! Life is good.

Warrior Baby

2007-05-06T23:08:00.000-10:00

Hula was a masculine warrior dance back in the days. Over time, it flourished into an art form performed by women and children as well.

More than just a dance, accompanied only by vocals and percussion instruments and sometimes the ukelele, Hula is the narration of Hawaiian legends through beautiful movements of the dancers.

Every hula movement has a specific meaning. Different gestures symbolize flowers, animals, mountains, oceans, even conflict and war. With expressive hands and undulating hips, a hula dancer can evoke a palm frond in the breeze or the menace of a shark.

--------------------------------

We had so much fun at the photo shoot. Johno was surprising cooperative. In fact, he was having such a blast - cracking up every few minutes with his costume, props and role play. And having 3 people making goofy faces and crazy sounds in front of him makes it all the more a laughable half hour of posing and dance!

When I grow up, I wanna be a baby!

2007-04-30T11:33:00.000-10:00

Oh man! This boy is one strange guy...

I've never been an advocate of the pacifier because it might result in distortion of teeth and lip shape as well as an addiction problem for kids. But since we received many pacifier gifts, when Johno was a newborn we decided to let him try it out anyway. He hated it! If we could even get it past his tightly pursed lips, he would spit it right back out.

And when he started to grow older, his pacifier became just another item in his toy box. He sometimes took it out to chew on the plastic handle, but never has he sucked on it like it was made to be sucked on.

This week, the titties decided they were sick and tired of the boss man's abusive biting, and tendered their resignation. So, when the boss got cranky one afternoon and demanded for the titties to comfort him to sleep, we introduced him to the new chick in town - The Prosthetic Tit.

We are shocked when he took it quite contentedly and proceeded to sucking himself to sleep. This was the moment that we realised the power of peer pressure; In school, most of the other infants in class use pacifiers. And we were told that his girlfriend in class, whom by the way enjoys kissing him, would sometimes even shove her own pacifier into Johno's mouth. So it's either the defeat of principles to normality or the sweet exchange of spit that turned my little man around to accept the lifestyle of the infants.

When other kids his age probably weaned off their pacifier weeks ago, ours just decided to accept his. Should we insist he grows up or should we indulge him in his final month of infancy? Never thought we will be torn making weird decisions like this...

Take A Hike, Boys!

2007-04-29T09:53:00.000-10:00

Grandma from New Jersey sent Johno a big, fat birthday cheque this week, and it was all spent in a day! About a fifth of it went to the comfy hiking backpack carrier for bringing him on nature hikes and island hopping, and the rest of it went to the awesome new Sony T100 camera used to take this beautiful shot with. Thank you, Grandma!

Before anyone starts accusing us of using our baby's money to indulge in our own ostentatious shopping, we'll like to assert that just last week, Johno smashed our camera and single-handed sent it to techno junkyard. Being the responsible parents that we are, we decided that there is no better way to educate our son on the meaning of liability, consequences and the harsh realities of life, than to let him pay for the resulting damages of his reckless actions. Even though it hurts us so much to see our son learn though the school of hard knocks, I guess if we truly want the best for him, we'll just have to keep enduring the pain of spending his money on his behalf. No wonder they say parenting is such sacrificial hard work!

That aside, we went hiking up Diamond Head Crater this weekend to warm up for our Big Island tour later this month. The hike up Diamond Head is the most popular and most civilised trail on Oahu, and from literature and the huffing, panting people we met on the trail, we expected the journey to be a long and tough one. But to our disappointment, it was nothing more than a pretty short and easy stroll up to an amazing view at the top. What tickled us most was the many people we passed who were complaining of nausea, shaky hands and shortness of breath from the strenuous hike.

But who are we to laugh at others when we are the jokers who decided to reward our hiking efforts with a large cold mango smoothie even before we started the hike? Slurp!

Chicken feed?

2007-04-18T11:12:00.000-10:00

Dining out is fun, but with a little person in-tow, it could at times become quite an unbearable experience.

He started off so adorable - sitting there in his high chair, munching on crackers, smiling at us.

And when he had enough to eat, he decided to share his food with the less fortunate and hungry. Breaking his crackers up into bits and dropping them on the floor, he got his chirpy feathered friends all flocked around him, pecking in delight.

But when he got bored playing philanthropist, he started looking for other things to keep himself busy. An empty pair of hands is all it takes to drive this little guy nuts. He has to have something to fiddle with all the time! Sugar packets, napkins, pieces of food, whatever convenient manipulatives available. There's no problem with that, except for the fact that he doesn't just hold on to them; he'll tear them up, toss them around, drop them deliberately... You get the drift.

As we ran out of child-safe objects to hand over to him, we sat watching helplessly as that tiny gleaming halo over his head morphed into a little pair of shiny horns right before our eyes. He reached over to grab anything within a 2-arm radius around him, kicked himself up in attempt to escape the highchair, waved his arms dramatically and vocalising with intense emotions exactly what his intentions were, while getting totally frustrated that these boneheads around him couldn't take simple instructions and just get him out of the chair!

We never thought dining could ever be a challenging task to accomplish, but obviously we thought wrong. So, we have carefully thought it over and strategized how we can enjoy our next fine meal out:

Execute "Battle Plan Babysitter"!

We'll Miss You, Pepper...

2007-04-06T20:23:00.000-10:00

You brought much laughter and joy to the lives of everyone who crossed your path. We watched you grow, we saw you learn, we smiled each time you lit up with excitement and came running to us. You were brilliant and loving, playful but gentle, obliging but with character, incredibly sweet and amazingly understanding. Thank you for all the fun times and beautiful moments we shared. You were loved by many and will be missed by all.

------------------------

I got a call this morning from my family vacationing in Bali. "Why are they calling me while on vacation? Something must be wrong," I thought. My bro muttered they had bad news, and passed the phone to Mum. The moment I heard Mum's shaky voice, fear gripped me. I was praying it wasn't something about Daddy. The relief was that Daddy was fine physically, but the upsetting news was that he was devastated. Pepper died.

The family was attending a wedding in Bali this weekend, so decided to send Pepper for boarding at Pets R Us. They even opted for the more premium package which was to board him at the owner's house where he could get more attention and better care, instead of being caged up at the shop. First, Pets R Us called to say Pepper didn't seem to be eating or drinking. Then, they called with news he was dead. Cause of death is still undetermined; will have to wait for the autopsy results.

Daddy is crushed - Don't beat yourself up over this, Daddy. You always give Pepper the best of everything. The only thing you are ever guilty of is loving him so dearly and taking such great care of him.

John is enraged - Don't go beating up the pet shop guys, sweetie! We either do it the civilised way and sue their pants off for negligence, or we can just accept that Pepper has had his glorious 6 years and has now retired, but will always be loved and remembered...

How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?

2007-04-03T21:30:00.000-10:00

Our little friend is walking at just 10 months old. Still a novice, no doubt, but thrilled with the new addition to his repertoire of means to see the exciting world around him in different views.

He climbs onto any surface with the confidence of an X-games pro, scrutinises the tiniest details on all objects like a fascinated scientist, and even takes time to acknowledge and indulge any audience around him with the charismatic charm of a seasoned performer.

How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand? You can't. Just proudly watch it shine...

No Tears. No Fear. Waterbaby Is Here!

2007-03-19T23:19:00.000-10:00

He's a natural in the water!

He splashes, he floats, he screams, he laughs, he kicks, he drinks... He loves it all!

Float, no float; he doesn't seem to care. I'm quite sure he wouldn't even mind if he's not held on to. The only thing between him and swimming freely in the water is a pair of parents too chicken to let him go.

Cluck at us all you want; this little chicky is not leaving the nest any time soon.

The Drama King!

2007-03-07T13:24:00.000-10:00

It's amazing what great control this little boy has over his expressions. His tears flow and cease at command, whichever is required for the situation and works to his advantage. He is such a master of emotional manipulation that it's no wonder we so often forget he is still just a little infant.

Sure, lots of babies can burst out in tears all of the sudden, but how many can actually burst out laughing in the middle of a bout of hysterical crying like our friend here? Sometimes his mood changes so fast it leaves us scratching our heads in confusion.

These drama royalty - you hate to love them and would love to hate them; but most of the time, you just can't help loving them!

House Of Sickos

2007-03-01T22:54:00.000-10:00

Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to our houseguests of the week: Ms. Vomit, Mr. Diarrhoea and Dr. Fever!

Baby J has finally fallen ill for the 2nd time in his life. Was running a temperature over the weekend, threw up for 2 days, and has been having diarrhoea for almost a week now. Thought it was symptoms of teething or food allergy, but turns out to be a bug apparently going around recently. John Sr. is also down with the fever and cough.

With John Jr. throwing up everything he eats and drinks (even his bile) from top and bottom, we decided to shift his changing HQ to the living room to prevent disgusting messes on the rooms' carpet from diaper leaks or Merlion moments.

The premiere night of all this drama was the most spectacular. He started the night off by drenching his cot in puke. Moved him to a baby mattress in our room - drenched that too, then put him to sleep with us in our bed, but he got that too! Running out of dry surfaces to let him sleep on, we laid a large blanket on the floor, threw on his cushy baby quilt, and there he finally slept through the rest of the night.

Through this all, Baby J didn't seem to mind all the expelling of fluids much; grinning at himself in the mirror each time puke was washed off his face in the bathroom. In fact, the clinic staff said he seems to be the cheeriest patient they have seen. Little sicko!

**********************************************************************************

The Merlion (鱼尾狮) is a statue with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. Its name comes from a portmanteau of mermaid and lion.The Merlion was designed by Fraser Brunner for the Singapore Tourism Board in 1964 and was used as its logo up to 1997. The Merlion continues to be its trademark symbol. The original Merlion statue stands at the opening of the Singapore River while a taller replica can be found on Sentosa Island.

According to the STB's publicity campaign, the lion head and fish body of the creature recalls the story of the legendary Sang Nila Utama, who saw a lion while hunting on an island, en route to Malacca. The island eventually became the sea port of Temasek, a precursor to Singapore.

[Abstract courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlion]

Chronicle Of The Preschool Freshman's First Day

2007-02-22T20:10:00.000-10:00

I'm now all of 8 months and 3 weeks old and it took them long enough to finally send me to school to get some real education!

Let me make sure I've got everything I need for school in my backpack: bottles of milk - check; diapers and wipes - check; extra clothes - check; socks and shoes... Hey! Where are my socks and shoes? Oh. They're on my feet. Haha! Ok, I'm set. Let's go!

The school doesn't look bad at all! It's colourful, clean, bright, with lots of toys and pictures. But most of the kids here can't even move about on their own! What fun is that? And when I try to give them some of my highly sought after friendly hugs, they cry like a bunch of girls! No, wait. I think they are a bunch of girls. But I must say it's quite fun to see how far I can go with them before they start screaming their heads off!

This Creative Curriculum which makes us learn through play is pretty hard work! I have to push buttons to play music, climb over obstacles to get to toys, roll balls around and all. I get thirsty from all that sweating. Mummy, I'm ready for a drink now. Mummy! Mummy? Where did she go? You mean mums don't stick around in school with us? WAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These ladies here take care of me like Mummy does, but you're telling me now I can only drink milk from a bottle? I get only one meal of solid food? What about my junk food? And why can't I be cuddled more often? And why are you holding me down like that? Diaper change? I don't want a diaper change! I don't want to be held down and get my butt exposed! Let me get up! Let me go!

So, this is a typical school day. We get here in the morning, Mummy kisses me and disappears. I play, I make kids cry, I scream for Mummy, I spit out bottles of fake milk they try to feed me, I sleep, I play again, I fight off women trying to strip me, I play more, I look at the door and cry for Mummy, I eat, I play some more.

Preschool - Paradise or Prison? I haven't quite figured it out yet...

Thou Shall Not Kill... Opps!

2007-02-21T17:00:00.000-10:00

Good thing that commandment isn't about animals or I'm in big trouble. But it was an accident, I swear!

It all started one fateful morning when I was planning to spend some quality time on my toilet. I heard a disturbing noise coming from inside my washing machine. It sounded as if something was trying to bang its way out of the machine! Gosh! Would a rat or some other bacteria loaded creature come jumping out of there and onto me?! On closer inspection, the noise sounded more like fluttering. It had to be either a bird or a bat that somehow flew in via the dryer duct and got itself stuck.

Called up the condo management crew, but took them 2 days to show up, which in the meantime, not extremely keen on baked poultry for dinner, I obviously let my laundry pile up. The guys came over to look at the dryer tubes and all, and not finding anything, assured me that whatever in there must have flown back out or just been a figment of a desperate housewife's imagination. Anyway...

Taking the word of the professionals, I went ahead and did 2 loads of my overdue laundry, dismissing the nagging hunch that something was still faintly fluttering in there. Darn it! I knew I should always trust my intuition! Smelled the decomposition that night.

When John came home the next day, I begged him to show me what a man he was and dig out the dead thing from our machine. After much dismantling and investigation, the deceased was found in the wall cavity. The hot air from the dryer must have blasted him through the tubes, pinning him against the wall and broiling it alive. My bad.

Nonetheless, the body of the victim was recovered, given a proper burial (under tonnes of other waste material), and an obituary was posted (this blog entry) with the greatest respect and deepest condolences.

Yeah! The Postman's Finally Here!

2007-02-20T16:03:00.000-10:00

We spent the whole week peering out our window every hour looking out for the mail truck, wondering if the postman will come our way with a parcel...

The joy of receiving gifts is incredible! Especially when they are extremely thoughtful gifts from the most sincere hearts: Chinese New Year goodies for a festive feel, home-cooked yummies for a touch of mummy's love, child-safety devices from an ever-so-concerned Grandpa, souvenirs all the way from Kit and Angel's Japan honeymoon, my favourite Chinatown pastries and Johno's favourite Sound of Music discs from Pauline, and more!

Surely the courier charge cost almost as much as the contents, but who can place a price on the value of a parcel packed full of love, right? So, no apologies from us but buckets full of tearful appreciation!

Come To Me, Baby!

2007-02-16T09:51:00.000-10:00

He loves the girls.
He chases the skirts.
We see great potential in this little man!

We've been attending occasional playgroup sessions for the sake of socialising and a break from the monotony of our 4 walls. Baby J sure does love these sessions! He'll spend the first 5 minutes just sitting there quietly and looking around to observe the whos and whats. And when that's done, he's up shouting from the depth of his lungs and going for the girls and toys!

Besides his obvious attraction to the pretty little cutie pies, without a doubt, he enjoys the company of people more than toys; groping everyone, flirting with his goos and ahhs, staring and listening intently at people speak (not to him!) and pretending he is part of their conversation. This probably stems from the fact that our little alien friend craves for much human contact other than that from boring old Mum and Dad.

So, you reading this, better start saving for a plane ticket and get your butt over here soon to visit!

Toys!

2007-01-27T13:04:00.000-10:00

Who needs toys?

When you have...

garbage

blinds

yanked out edge protector strips

door stoppers

the springy door thingy

cookware

and remote controls?

But I'm no egghead all the time!

I also enjoy doing other meaningful things like

ripping up books

licking educational posters

and helping mummy rearrange the pantry!

Need I say more?

Let me out!
I'm ready to get my hands on the rest of the world...

The Price of a Little Taste of Home - US$10.75

2007-01-23T13:49:00.000-10:00

This tiny bunch of rambutans cost us a small fortune. Never imagined that in certain parts of the world, these gross looking hairy red balls would be valued almost as high as their spiky ugly counterparts - the XO D24 durians...

But that spiky guy has a good reason for that - he's the King of the Fruit. What excuse does these guys have? They are the whacky looking jesters? Unfortunately for John, I love those sweet hairy balls, and he will pay any price to make me feel closer to home; he did after all snatch me from my cosy protected cradle!

We were feeling a little homesick on Sunday and decided to hit Chinatown to check out a restaurant we read about which serves Peranakan food. Like how it always happens in the movies, the place had to decide to be closed that day! Somewhat disappointed, we explored further to see what we could find. Stumbled across a hot, dark, indoor market which houses an international food court. Was put off almost immediately by the heat and crowd and was backing out the door when 2 words screamed at us to stop! SINGAPORE LAKSA Though presented to us through a little less-than-appetizing food stall and not the decent restaurant as planned, it was still what we came here for. We had to give it a shot!

Looking down expectantly at the precious bowl of his favourite noodles, John dug right in. "What's all this stuff they put in there? Where's the taupok? And they got the totally wrong kind of noodles in here!" Turns out that the gravy was just almost right and everything else in that bowl was completely wrong. Nonetheless, it was polished off in seconds.

After lunch was our mini shopping frenzy of asian products not found in local supermarts.

Rambutans - $10.75

Bottled mapo sauce - $8.60

Five-spiced dried toufu - $6.95

A taste of home - Priceless!

Independence Is Such A Pain...

2007-01-15T13:00:00.000-10:00

It's a daily battle. 3 times a day too, for that matter!

It's a thrill to see how Johno is developing. No more milk-only diet. He's started eating solids: cereal, baby food, crackers, soft fruit and pretty much anything he can gum or swallow without gagging. If he eats something his stubborn mind tells him he can handle, but his guts disagree, he just ends up throwing everything up in a gross stinky mess, and starts all over again!

It was fun to feed him initially and hear him whining for more. He also has this distinct expression he makes which shouts, "More please! More! Now! I want more!"

But as he discovers the fascinating world of spoons, bowls and that sticky mushy goo they hold, all hell breaks loose! Sometimes in the midst of yet another mealtime battle with food splatter in my ears, I swear I miraculously received the gift of comprehending baby talk...

Ang goo - How hard is it to use a spoon? I totally nailed it!
Yeeee - Why use a spoon when you can lick it straight from the bowl?!
Tiap tiap - So what they say is true! Food does taste better from the fingers!
Mmmmm - Running this warm goo through my hair feels so good...

His insistence of "feeding" himself in the most exploratory ways leaves me dumbfounded and clueless of whether to encourage it and cheer him on, or scream and bind his hands. Sure, learning independence and eating right are equally important and should be well-balanced, but what's a mummy to do when more food lands up on baby's tummy rather than in it? Just brace yourself, make more food, grit your teeth and present it to baby with a smile!

The Greatly Anticipated Return!

2007-01-12T16:47:00.000-10:00

"Where have you guys disappeared to?! Come back! We miss you!"

Yes, yes, we know... Everyone has been yelling, begging and nagging at us to update our site! It's sweet to know how many people live and breathe our stories, but come on guys - we're not celestial beings sitting in the clouds all day in front of a computer; we have a life! The fact is, we love writing, but there are so many more exciting things going on recently which steered our focus away.

Here's the lowdown on what has flown past us these couple of months...

November

We were so excited about our trip back to Singapore, we spent the whole month carefully packing our luggage and picking out the perfect gifts for people back home! Since we were to be away for almost a month, we had to walk through the house over and over again, identifying fire hazards to clear away, throw out things which might rot and stink, and conscientiously plan our daily meals to clear out the freezer and fridge by the day we leave.

December

Arrived in Singapore on the day of Daddy and Mummy's 30th wedding anniversary - we claim to be their most precious gifts! Attended the most beautiful wedding a few days after that. I tell you, this couple really worked some magic; just for them, John wore a suit for the first time in his life, and Pauline was in a pretty frock and wobbly dainty high-heels!

The vacation was great for us! Johno had loads of people to play with, while John and I got to go out on our first date in a very long time. 2 weeks of movies, dinners, shopping, fun and clubs without the baby! The best part was, the family seemed to enjoy babysitting so much that we didn't even feel the least bit guilty about it!

Left Singapore after Christmas breakfast with the family, travelled 23 hours to join John back in Hawaii for Christmas brunch. Praise God for different time zones!

John had to work that day, so we went on board his work place to spend the afternoon with him. I do not like the place one bit. Every corner seems like a tight trap and everywhere you turn, cold metal greets you. He sleeps on the middle shelf of what they aptly name the Coffin Rack - 3 narrow beds on top of each other, with a locker space under each mattress. No wonder John doesn't toss and turn much when he sleeps; he can't!

January 2007

Been busy searching for childcare for Johno while I start my job hunt. It's unbelievable how expensive putting a little baby to "school" is! Ranges from US$880-$1500. What if we have a couple of kids? Do many people even earn that kind of money? Plus, some of these places are nothing but a rotten building in an old and gloomy environment with "teachers" making the babies sleep most of the time so they can sit around and chat.

Johno is getting pretty in tune with his feet. In just 2 months, he has advanced from novice shuffler, to speed crawler,

to assisted cruiser,

to Ta-da! I-can-stand-for-2-seconds!

I guess 2 months really has been an incredibly long time...

Caution! Rookie on Board.

2006-11-06T13:47:00.000-10:00

Driving is more than an artform...

You can always tell a character from his car, the way he drives, and the words that emerge from his mouth behind the wheel. Trust me; it's easy to fill in the blanks:

1. A pastel pink convertible with the top down in the scorching hot mid-day sun, signaling left when meaning to turn right, and signaling right when meaning to turn left. [The well-endowed _______ ]

2. An unscratched, spotlessly clean 1992 sedan, consistently driving 10 miles below the speed limit, and stopping at stop signs to look left and right and left and right and left again at every completely deserted intersection before moving on. [The goody _______'s boy]

3. A zooming-so-fast-you-can't-tell-what car, cutting in and out of lanes, punctuating every "Get out of my way!" with honks and profanity. [The total _______ ]

The road can be such a colourful canvas full of sights, sounds and surprises. Good thing for us, here in Hawaii, everyone supposedly drives with the *Aloha Spirit, where courtesy is the way of life, everyone gives way to everyone else, and your honk is only used as friendly beeps of 'Hello'. What never fails to tickle John and I is the Hawaiian-styled appreciation wave (what we privately label as the cow's horns). The Hawaiian drivers thank one another on the roads by showing their fists with the thumb and pinkie sticking out. We're seen several different style of the wave - simply raising the 'horns' where the other party may see it, rotating it repeatedly, sharply jabbing it out of the window, and our favourite, twitching the thumb and finger concurrently (as if one's scratching inside an ear).

John's working at getting his driver's license and I'm his drive instructor! But as you might have guessed, he's already a pretty good driver. In fact, he's a much safer and more patient driver than I am. Don't be fooled by that dorky look in the photo; that was just goofy him posing for the camera! We'll both be taking the road test for the local driver's license in a couple of weeks' time. May we remember to put on that Aloha Spirit, say a prayer to the Holy Spirit, keep our fingers crossed and those horns twitching!

*Find out more about the Aloha Spirit:

http://www.hawaiischoolreports.com/culture/aloha_spirit.htm

Who Says Being A Baby Is Child's Play?!

2006-10-26T08:20:00.000-10:00

It takes such a man to be a baby boy!

We have an ambitious little boy in our house. Barely even 5 months old yet, he wants to stand and walk when he can hardly sit or even crawl. And boy has he been working hard on it!

We lay him on his back, and a microsecond later, he would have flipped himself around onto his belly. He does this on the soft bed, rough carpeted floor, hard wood floor, over his rubbery changing mat, his cushy quilt; in fact, he does it on any surface he's on. He'll stay on his belly for the longest time, trying to shuffle himself around. Sure, he can get some distance rolling around, but barely does he get to move an inch on his fours. But does he give up? No way, José! Even if it means blistering his tender toes and bleeding a river, he presses on without a fuss, not letting injury set him back.

Sometimes we wonder how much pain would set him howling like a baby. Scrapes, scratches, bumps, nips, and even jabs don't seem to bother him much at all. At worst, they sometimes make him cry out for 3 seconds, but even before his last sob is over, laughter takes over again! Just how high up the skies is his threshold of pain?!

The only thing that makes him cry endlessly is us not showing him the undivided attention he desires. When he wants to be picked up and cuddled, in his tireless and boisterous manner, he makes sure the whole neighbourhood hears his demand!

Sweat and blood doesn't bring him down, but the absence of hugs and kisses from the woman he loves crushes him. Tell me this little guy isn't every bit a man!

Getting Intimate With Nature...

2006-10-24T14:36:00.000-10:00

At last we get the chance to go on our first beach outing and picnic!

With everything we had to do settling into our new place, and no thanks to John's undesirable work schedule as well, we finally have our first weekend just for fun and chilling out. Packed our picnic and headed out to the North Shore to watch the big waves.

We are beginning to appreciate more and more how many a times, the journey can be more enjoyable than the destination itself. Taking the nice drive up to the North brings us so close to what we city dwellers hardly remember exist: mountains, agriculture, horses, wild chickens, mills, and undisrupted conversations.

It's amazing how John and I can learn much more about each other on these drives. As he is awed by the presence of mighty mountains, he turns and realizes that every mountain and landscape was the same to me - a lovely mount of rocks. And as I squeal in delight and excitement at horses grazing in a ranch, I have to live with the whole "City Chick" teasing from John, and his cheeky grin and raised eyebrow.

The journey's fun, but the destination is great too. Huge waves crashing into us, seabreeze stroking our faces, birds sharing our picnic; we could do this every week. But I guess we could do away with another ordeal of almost getting our car completely stuck in a sand patch on our way home!

Happy Birthday Johnny-Boy!

2006-10-20T12:26:00.000-10:00

"It's my birthday and I get to do what I want - cook myself dinner and take a nap before I go to bed!"

You know how some people kick up a big fuss about their birthdays - writing a wish list, hinting reminders to the whole world, wondering what surprises await them, getting upset that they only receive e-cards and not handwritten cards, feeling disappointed when their birthday celebration is not touching or romantic enough...

Well, our dear John is definitely not one of those. In fact, my perfect plan of creating a fine candlelight dinner for his birthday was flushed down the sink when he said, "Oh, it's my birthday this Thursday? Don't bother doing anything fancy for me. In fact, why don't I do the cooking? Yap! I'll cook!"

And there was his romantic birthday dinner:
Stew of Exotic Pig Trotters coupled with Homestyle Sauteed Cabbage and a side of Yesterday's Leftover Jasmine Rice, topped up with an ice-cold mug of Rootbeer!

To the man who gives his all to gladly present the finest of everything to the people he loves, but seeks joy and satisfaction in the most basic and simple things for himself:

Have a very blessed birthday!

Eat your hearts out, ladies; this man is taken!

Earthquake!!!!!

2006-10-16T07:54:00.000-10:00

And yes, we are still alive, thank you very much...

It was 7 am on Sunday, and I was up getting ready to leave to pick John up from work. It was raining outside; a strange sight in this dry area of ours. Well, there is after all a flashflood warning for the region this weekend.

Was going to the kitchen to get a drink when I felt the strong tremors. The floor was shaking and shelves and furniture rattling. Surely the neighbors upstairs can't be having a dance party at this time of the day! This must be my maiden earthquake!

Ran to the room to get the baby from his crib - he was sleeping, erm, like a baby... Just when I was wondering if things were gonna get worse, the trembling stopped. Wasn't planning on sticking around to find out if more would come. Left the house for the drive down to Pearl Habour (not the best move, I was told; you should remain at home when earthquake strikes).

Not even 3 minutes into the drive, the radio stations went silent and all the traffics lights died on us as well. There was a state-wide power outage! Traffic was left undirected, phonelines were either down or congested, people were stuck in elevators, emergency staff fully activated; Hawaii was declared in a state of disaster.

Throughout the day, there were reportedly 3 major quakes and 15 aftershocks, with the largest at a 6.6 on the Richter scale. Good thing we didn't feel most of them.

Most stores were not open, and those few which ran dimly on backup generators were flooded with people stocking up on ready foods and ice to stuff in their now bacteria-friendly warm refrigerators. If anyone's wondering, of course the stores raised the price of ice! Despite so, they were sold out in a flash.

Other frozen food and dairy products were not in saleable condition,

but breads and such were totally snapped up.

What an experience to learn to thank God for the everything things in our lives, and not only when we lose them! And lost them we did: light, fans, TV, security, communication - for 13 hours in our case. When power was restored at almost 9 pm that night, that was the first time we heard unanimous cheering for electricity!

We Are Not Homeless Anymore!

2006-09-30T18:40:00.000-10:00

Palm Court @ Ewa (eh-va) Beach

We have finally moved into our most lovely first own home! It's a townhouse condo in a gated community. Really peaceful and quiet out here. Slightly further away out from town, in the west-southern part of Oahu.

400 units in this community, and here is ours! Took us 2 weeks of house shopping to decide this was the perfect place for us, and another 30 days for the paperwork to clear. Everything in the unit is relatively new and very well-kept; definitely in move-in condition. So in no time, we were moved in! Check out what we did to the vacant house to make it our cozy home...

The Hall of Fine Dining
Before

After

The Hang-Out Lounge
Before

After

I absolutely love my kitchen! Simply because it is mine! Haha! It actually makes me look forward to cooking. If you know me at all, you will recognize how miraculous that is!

The Boss' Office

The Kid's Den

Love how spacious our room is, and I just adore the fully-mirrored 2-door wardrobe. We have been very generous with Johno by inviting him to bunk in with us for the time being while his room is turned into storage for stuff yet to be unpacked. *Grin*

The Head of the Household

And my favorite part through this whole process of moving in is discovering how extremely sexy a man can be when he's busting his ass to make sure that his home is comfortable and safe for his family. I love my man!

Our Little Angel!

2006-09-28T23:51:00.000-10:00

It's that time of the year when the malls are filled with monsters, skeletons, cobwebs and jack-o'- lanterns. Halloween - I never liked it much.

Sure, the kids might find it cool looking horrid and getting treats for it, but do we really want to dress our sweet babies up like demonic creatures, celebrating God-knows-what-the-hell festival anyway? Well, if we choose not to look too much into it, I guess it has just become one huge, fun costume party.

Still, I refuse to be part of this nonsense.

-------------------

Grace: Let's set a rule in our household that all Halloween costumes cannot be of ugly, evil creatures!

John: What else is there left for the baby to dress as in that case?

Grace: Well, he can always be something cute and innocent like a plump little pumpkin or a fluffy white angel...

John: Hey! No son of mine is gonna be a fruit or a fairy! He's gonna be macho!

Baby J (seemingly saying): Look at me! Look at me! I just picked up my prop!

-------------------

With him being just a third of the size of that pitchfork, he simply looks too darn adorable for me to snatch that prop away from him. Hmm... Who says that has to be the devil's pitchfork anyway? With that prop, perhaps he can dress as a chubby barbecue chef holding his prized BBQ fork! Fire away!

We are looking good!

2006-09-01T09:15:00.000-10:00

So this is a hint of what 'paradise' is doing to us...

The sun's great, so everyone's semi-naked half the time.

John's shrinking coz of long & busy work hours, lack of sleep, a whole gym-less month and wife's absolutely yummy gourmet dinners.

I'm a smiley unemployed bum, leeching off my hubby, doing nothing much else but hanging out with 2 gorgeous men in my embrace everyday.

Baby J's cheeks are constantly trying to outgrow each other, he's flirting with every single female who passes him by, babbling to the world endlessly, and laughing out loud at practically anything possible.

Looks like we have 1 overworked breadwinner, 1 overdressed babe, and 1 oversized baby living on 1 overpriced beach! How are we doing? You tell us.

[John took this one and only photo of us 3 together on my new camera phone himself! Some skill huh?! *Wide smiles!*]

Aloha!

2006-08-17T21:59:00.001-10:00

We've been in Hawaii for almost a week now, but checking in with everyone only now because we're still staying at a hotel with only our super-slow laptop to work on. My trusty desktop with all my prefered programmes are still stuck in storage with the rest of our stuff till we find a place to move into.

It's been a crazy week! Doing paperwork, running to banks and admin offices, dealing with car issues, house hunting and baby cooing all at the same time. John has it worse than I, having to go in for work at 7am every morning on top of all that.

Took me 3 days to get really comfy with the Hawaiian left-hand drive system. We have a new baby - a Toyota Matrix XR in Indigo Ink Pearl. Been driving around town only for errands and household shopping. Haven't had the chance to see the paradise side of Hawaii yet; not even a grain of sand. We're in the middle of town by Pearl Habour - looks more JB-ish to me. But we get to see a rainbow almost every day while crossing the bridge from the lodge to the harbour. That's a reminder of God's promise and love for us. It's really neat!

It's 10pm now and the 2 men of my life are sound asleep - the only break time off this full-time job of mine! Haha! Won't be able to post photos anytime soon coz John forgot to bring the plug adaptor for our camera charger, but will definitely be writing to touch base.

Don't miss us too much! Love you all...

Chinatown Ah Peks!

2006-07-27T21:30:00.000-10:00

People around us are showing much concern:

"Aiyoh! He's gonna become a banana! Outside look like a Chinese boy, but probably gonna be a white boy inside!"

"Are you sure he's gonna be able to speak a word of Chinese? I bet he's gonna sound strange!"

"Is he gonna keep his roots? Will he know what roti prata is and can he appreciate chay kueh teow with cockles?"

Well, Jellybean has been surrounded with people of different tongues for the past few months and is subtly becoming a multilinguist through all the influence. English, Mandarin and Cantonese mainly, with the occasional Malay and Singlish, some Hokkein from Taiwanese TV dramas theme songs, and broken Japanese now and then, courtesy of Daddy and Mummy's crazy half-past-six-Jap-learning Mahjong gang. So no worries; it looks like he's got half of Asia conquered!

And looking at the picture above, it's not hard to imagine Johno and Grandpa Edwin years later, sitting together in a non-airconditioned Chinatown coffeeshop, sipping Chinese tea and slurping bak ku teh, surrounded by fellow Chinatown Ah Peks all clad in their trademark white singlets.

And that's oriental for you, people!

*Glossary for the unfamiliar:
roti prata - Indian pancake with curry
chay kueh teow - fried flat rice noodles (a Singaporean favourite)
Singlish - unique Singaporean English
bak ku teh - pork-ribs soup
Ah Peks - elderly men

这是我学会的第一个中文字 – “大”!

2006-07-23T16:11:00.000-10:00

大 = HUGE

Watching Jellybean sleep in his 大字形 seemed just like him screaming in our faces - "Look how huge I've grown!"

Those chicken drumstick thighs and chewy arms look irresistibly yummy! With his firm, bouncy cheeks, Jellybean simply 似个大肉包!

Weighing all of 5.5 kg at just 7 weeks old, carrying him around the entire day and night is my secret recipe to toned arms. So ladies who are dying to slim those flabby arms, and gentlemen who want a change away from lifting cold boring weights, Jellybean is available for rental at a very affordable price! Interested parties may dial 1800-MEATBALL for further details. Lines are open 24 hours, 7 days a week. We guarantee absolute product satisfaction!

♪♪ Now my bags are packed ♪ and ready to go…♪♪♪

2006-07-19T18:14:00.000-10:00

We've been spending the past week packing and trashing - making sure we pack what we need to pack, trash what should be trashed, don't trash what we need and don't pack what we should trash...was that pack or trash again? Urgh!!! Besides that, we need to sort out what goes on the air freight, what goes by ship, and what comes with us. At times the whole house is in such a mess, we get confused of what should go where!

So we had a system going - all things that are to come with us goes into the suitcases first. Voila! No mess, no confusion, nothing's missed out and everybody's happy!

Now, we're pretty much packed and all set to go in 3 weeks' time. 3 weeks used to sound like eternity, but for this instance, it's simply way too short a time. Even with the numerous lunch and dinner dates lined up, we still won't be able to get the chance to say goodbye to half the people we know! So here's a big tata to all...

Goodbye, 再见, adiós, さようなら, au revoir, 안녕, auf wiedersehen!

One Month Old Already?!

2006-06-29T22:35:00.000-10:00

A whole month has passed us by in a wink!

Johno is one month old today and solid like a rock. It's amazing what a little breastmilk can do for a teeny weeny baby - it transforms him into a tough, chubby, screaming machine!

It's awesome how this little thing grows despite the large amount of poop and puked milk that comes out of him each day. In fact, he is the only creature I know who has the talent to eat and poop at the same instant (even our dog Pepper can't do that!).

With his cow (yours truly) at his beck and call 24/7, he has eaten his way to a figure the Marshmallow Man would be proud of. No offense to anyone, but this is the only guy with a double chin and no neck who I can ever label gorgeous...

The Jellybean Welcoming Tea

2006-06-25T18:06:00.000-10:00

Great big thanks to everyone for your presence, prezzies, and ble$$ing$...

Family - for putting in so much effort and time in preparing food and helping out at the party. And especially for all your care and concern for us, and of course, the big money gifts.

Friends - for taking the time (travelling to the edge of the island) and trouble (with babies in tow and all!) to join us at the celebration with your well-wishes and blessings.

My pupils - for spending your last June Vacation Saturday with us, and making sacrifices to bring gifts (you shouldn't have!) and even send gifts in your absence.

Thank you one and all for giving Baby Johno the greatest gift of all - to feel the presence and love of so many people around him before he leaves Singapore next month. Though he was asleep throughout the whole celebration, I'm sure this is one of the most action-packed days in his early life!

Hair Fetish Freaks!

2006-06-17T19:08:00.000-10:00

They warned me about this! And now, the ultimate nightmare is coming true!

Those who have seen John and I together can definitely not help noticing how obsessed he is with my hair. He just can't keep his hands off them. Well, his family confirms that he's had this hair fetish since he was a baby. He loved to grab, caress and simply just hold on to hair whenever he got a chance to.

Now, who dares say Johnathan is not his father's son! They both have the same obsession with hair! My beautiful tresses are gonna be abused even more now that both of them are attacking me at the same time! *Groan...*

Grandparents Rock!

2006-06-07T23:06:00.000-10:00

Grandpapa Edwin and Grandmama Doris
Don't we all love grandparents? Especially the endlessly doting ones who sacrifice so much of their time, energy and money on!

Johno-boy is blessed with really awesome grandfolks who are ever so willing to spoil their 1st grandchild. They visit every single day at the hospital, take leave from work to chauffer us when we need to go places, "drop by" half-way across the island just to say Hi and keep us company - the list just goes on and on!

They will definitely be missed when we leave Singapore, but I'm sure Johno will never be able to lose that tight bond with his grandfolks especially when he is looking so much like Grandpapa Edwin (check out the photos)! Haha!

God bless the grandparents! We love you! *Muak!*

Welcome Jellybean!

2006-06-03T03:18:00.000-10:00

Johnathan Zhi'wen Wang

Arrival Date: 30 May 2006
Time Taken: 30 long hours!
Amount of Pain: Zero
Cute Factor: 100%

After being overdue for 3 days, we were admitted into the hospital on Monday morning for labour induction, but this tough cookie just refuses to come. Had an epidural on Tuesday morning and a stronger dose of induction, but dilation wasn't complete. Finally, a C-section was done to deliver the little prince.

Praise the Lord who knows best! Turns out he had his umbilical cord twined loosely round his neck. Things might have been complicated if not for the C-section. Thank God!

He's a charming dimpled little boy who has just the sweetest nature, loudest voice, and an up-sized "tool" his daddy is so proud of! Haha! This one is definitely gonna be a heart-breaker!

The Miraculous One-Month Pregnancy!

2006-05-14T16:04:00.000-10:00

Most women have a hard time with their pregnancy - morning sickness, swollen feet, lost of appetite, depression, and all that jazz. Thank God I'm not one of those poor mummies.

I've been blessed with quite an easy pregnancy through the months and am experiencing little irritations (gross skin problems, annoying backaches, repulsive weight-gain) only during the last month of pregnancy. So it's almost like a one-month pregnancy! *Grin*

The doc was saying that Jellybean is pretty big now (3 kg), and we probably might have to "convince" him to come out earlier than expected to avoid a difficult labour. Was hoping he'll be willing to come this weekend, but he's apparently getting too comfy where he is, and decides that we should wait a little longer.

Well, John and I think he deserves that little luxury before he comes and has to face our mugs for the rest of his life! Haha!

The Marriage Convention 2006

2006-04-03T01:53:00.000-10:00

2004 - They met
2005 - They got married
2006 - They welcome their first baby!

"Fun and laughter is the key to our marriage. It's important but so natural for us to seek joy in the little, everyday things we do. We also share a talent which keeps the fire burning for us - the ability to laugh at ourselves and each other!"

We were invited to the launch of the Marriage Convention 2006 at Caltex House where our photo was exhibited to promote the secrets of successful marriage.
It was quite fun to see our picture on display, but it was even more delighting to receive the free Bintan spa resort stay we won! But you know what's worse than not winning? Winning the trip to Bintan and not being able to go! Poor Johnny-boy is not allowed to step foot on Indonesian land...
That resort stay then became our gift to Daddy and Mummy to further spice up their marriage . Happy loving, everyone!

It's a Start!

2006-02-19T22:38:00.000-10:00

We will really miss everyone in Singapore when we leave here in August...
Hopefully this blog will help bridge the distance between us such that it'll feel like we never left!