My Pride and Joy.

Jas once told me I have to be careful about "showing off" Cherise's accomplishments because I tend to overdo it. I don't mean to be ya ya papaya about it but it's just not easy to contain my pride when it comes to my little princess. For the record, I think my daughter's brilliant! But which doting father doesn't right?

Ok...since it's not nice to show off in public, I shall do all the showing off here!

Here's Cherise reciting "1-2-buckle my shoe". With a little help from mummy of course....


And here she is with "This Little Piggy"


For more videos of my little genius, please visit my Flickr page.

I'm still trying to video her singing. She's so adorable when she attempts to sing "I Know Who I Am" by Israel Houghton...she can only do the "am" though, but at least she tries to follow the tune. It's hilarious...

Third Time's a Charm...NOT!

Jasmine's got a thing with fish bones...they like to give her a hard time. She's got choked by these nasty buggers twice before. The first time when she was barely 5 years old, and the second time when she was about 14. Both times, she had to go to the hospital to have it taken out. One might think that she's learnt her lesson but noooo......she had to do it to herself one more time - this time with the help of the mighty unagi!

It all started at Sun and Moon Cafe where we were having dinner. Knowing how bad Jasmine was with fish bones (especially the small soft ones), I protested strongly when she wanted to order some unagi with rice thingy, but she went ahead with it anyway because she had a craving for unagi. Barely halfway through our meal (I hadn't started yet cos' I was feeding Cherise), my worst fear came to pass, Jas complained about something stuck in her throat and that she had problems swallowing. I knew something was really wrong when she rejected the piece of foie gras I offered her. So like any smarta@# husband, I told her to try and dislodge it by swallowing some rice. But it didn't work so we had to head to the hospital for some professional help.

Being an experienced fish bone victim, Jasmine decided to head down to the 24 hr clinic at Thomson Medical Centre where she had her previous two fish bones taken out. However, this time the doctor could not see the bone so to play it safe, he referred her to the A&E. So we ended up at Mt Alvernia Hospital A&E where the doctor also could not find the bone. Thus, we had to wait another 45mins for the ENT specialist to arrive with his equipment. For the first time, I saw this cool device they call the scope which the ENT doctor inserted into Jasmine's nose so that he could locate the bone. I was more interested in the scope (looked like the kind spies/police use in the movies for surveillance) than what Jasmine was feeling at that time. Well, the scope did the trick and we managed to locate the offending bone which was deeper down than where the doctor initially thought it was. I later learnt that it was probably my fault that the bone got so deep in - remember the swallow-a-lump-of-rice trick??? Bad move!!! The doctor says that in future the first and only thing to do for such an event is to go straight to the doctor. Attempting to dislodge it by swallowing will only make it worse.

Jasmine was quite brave throughout the ordeal though, she did everything the doctor told her to do. It was quite comical observing the whole process though. She had to pull her tongue and go "eeee". The doc was pretty skilled - he managed to get the bone (about 1.2 cm) out in a matter of seconds.

When it was all over, Jasmine was really relieved. As the doctor left the A&E, she went, "There goes my hero!" to which I retorted, "I would have been that hero if you had listened to me and not ordered that unagi in the first place!"

Lessons learnt today:
1) Always listen to your husband when he warns you not to order something detrimental to your health.
2) Never listen to that same husband when he tells you to do stupid things like swallow a lump of rice to dislodge a fish bone.

On a serious note, always consult a doctor immediately if you suspect that you have a fish bone (or anything) lodged in your throat.

Lastly, if you happen to be like Jasmine....PLEASE DON'T EAT UNAGI!!!!

The reason why this Hubby is Chubby...

Sinfully chocolatey Chocolate Cake with thick vanilla cream from Canele Patisserie Chocolaterie.
Muah ha ha ha ha!

The Macarons are to die for...beats Bakerzin anytime man.

Swimming Pools + Babies = ???

Wet daddies and even wetter babies!!!! (Thank you Roy and Ade for the pictures!)


Our carecell organised a BBQ for our friends and families yesterday and boy was it fun! The food was great, the company was even better. We even had free Christian music courtesy of the friendly folks from another church using the next BBQ pit, that really brightened up the whole atmosphere. Thank God for that.

The only problem was that it was really humid and there was no wind at all. So when ZG brought Zoe for a little dip in the pool, the rest of us daddies gladly followed suit. But none of us had brought our swim suits along so you can imagine how drenched we got - I'm talking about the the daddies. The babies had a change of clothes so they were more than happy to stay in the water with their clothes on. Cherise was a little hesitant initially, sitting quietly on the step, kicking her legs in the water.

But once she got the hang of it, there was no stopping her!




Note to self: Always pack a change of clothes when bringing kids to places with water fixtures.....

Nursery Adventures!

We put Cherise in nursery during service today!

Adrian and I were serving together at Adam, so we decided to put Cherise in the nursery (our church's childcare) while we were in service. Larlar (our helper) would keep Cherise company, and well, rescue her if necessary!

She started off in N1, and then got "kicked out" to N2 - because I think the helpers realised that she could walk pretty ok and didn't really belong in N1 anymore (where she might accidentally step on one of the sleeping babies on the mattresses). Being a bit kancheong, I popped down to check things out after the worship segment was over. Bad mistake. On seeing me, her little mouth turned upside down, and I had to carry her to soothe her a bit. Sally was there and we chatted for a while. She told me that Cherise had been doing really well in my absence - she did not cry at all, had fun kicking ball and had been enjoying the singing session in N2. Reassured, I settled Cherise down in a chair with her milk and biscuits, and snuck out once more. I think the worst thing about me popping down was that Emma saw me and started crying. Oh dear. I am so sorry Emma dearie! And even more sorry to Emma's mommy and daddy! I won't do it again!

Yup, I think we'll continue to let Cherise enjoy nursery each week, especially since I'm now serving on Saturdays. A part of me does wish, though, that I could be in there with her. I listen to Larlar's account of what transpired - how Cherise was playing with the toys, how a little naughty boy kept snatching toys from her, how she sat on the little kid-sized chair and ate all the little biscuits during snack time just like a little girl and not like a baby anymore - and I feel a little twinge that I missed all that. But it was good also to sit in service, next to my husband. It's been so long since we've been seated in service together that when he slung his arm around the back of my chair I got a fright, wondering who it was before it hit me that it was him. :)

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

My dad turned 61 on Tuesday. This year, instead of going out for our traditional dinner, we decided to book a chalet at NSRCC and have the whole family chill there instead.

The BBQ was held on the first night - I forgot to take pictures! There was a lot of food, because my sister, in usual Chan family fashion, over-ordered. Most of the meat was ordered from Mmmm, this great place that sells meat and marinates it for you, so all you have to do is open the pack and dump the contents on the BBQ. I love their kurobuta (black pig) - super yum!

Here's my dad and his birthday cake - tiramisu from Bakerzin. Incidentally, nobody in the family likes tiramisu. Except for dad, of course.


Adrian was in the middle of an exercise so it was really difficult for him to get time off to spend at the chalet, but he managed to get Thursday off (after pulling a super long shift on Wednesday, arriving only at 12 midnight to stay over). We took Cherise swimming at the pool and she had a whale of a time!

Daddy and baby in the water. Her cheeks are smeared with sunblock!


Water playground...


Baby loves the water! Likes to taste it too...




Here's a video of Cherise playing with the jets of water.


It was a really enjoyable time spent with family. We all had so much fun, we're planning the next chalet gathering already!

Family Fun!

Given Adrian's busy schedule, it's not often that we get to spend a whole day together as a family, so it was a real treat that we found ourselves with an entire day and nothing else to do but spend some good quality time as a family.

Some time back I blogged about how we loved this place called Caffe B. It's still one of our favourite places to eat at, and guess what? Cherise loves it too! They've changed the look of their menu somewhat, and the famous side orders that we love are no longer on the menu, but still available for order. I like to think that it's sort of like an insider's secret. Heh. (The sides are additional orders that you can add on to your basic order of toast, which only comes with butter, jam, vegemite, marmalade or all of the above. Some examples of sides are: sausages, eggs, avocado, spinach, banana, roast beef, smoked salmon.)

So when we have breakfast at Caffe B, we would have our toast with eggs, sausages etc etc, and we would order a few sides like avocado and banana for Cherise. We'd share our yummy soup and toast. The little girl gets to feel all grown up, eating the "same" food that we are.

Perched on Daddy's lap for breakfast.


Happily attacking a crust of bread that we gave her to play with. We were quite shocked when she bit off a rather substantial chunk while we were momentarily distracted, and then even more amazed when we found out that she (and her four teeth) could handle it quite well!


Ah! The kiddie ride... situated just next to Caffe B. She clamoured to "sit, sit" the moment she saw it, so we obliged, but haha! no coins! Anyway, there'll be plenty of time for that as she grows older.


After a fantastic breakfast, we headed to Takashimaya to pick up some baby items. To keep Cherise occupied while Adrian picked up what we needed, I let her play with some of the stuffed toys at the toy section. She usually loses interest in any one toy pretty quickly, but somehow, she got really fixated on a particular doll. It's from the Baby Gund collection - and we already have two dolls from the same brand. I didn't really want to get it for her, as I felt that it would be so similar to the ones we have at home (which she isn't interested in anymore). But when we tried to take the doll away from her, she howled! I mean, really really howled! So we were like, "Ok, ok let's get this for her since she likes it so much." She screamed when we took it away to pay. We had to hurry the cashier, "Please, just cut the tag." And for the rest of the day, she was really happy with her doll-doll, talking to it while she was in her stroller, hugging and kissing it at regular intervals, and even cuddling it to sleep.



So much for being firm disciplinarians, eh? But I tell you, she really likes that doll! It's so cute to see her with it - she calls it her baby. Rocks it to sleep. Feeds it her biscuits. Tells it "gaigai (go out)". I think my little baby is trying to be me! Aww.

I'm getting her a toy stroller for Christmas. I chope first.

This One's for Nai Nai...

Everyone knows it's never easy to get that perfect shot of a toddler, it's even more difficult with an energizer bunny like Cherise. But when you wait patiently for that picture perfect moment...you get this!



Great job Nai Nai!

Weird Dream

Just 2 days ago I had this crazy dream that Cherise - still 14+ months of age - got a job as a sales assistant at a shoe shop. She looked incredibly cute with her salesgirl uniform (looked like sailor moon) and pretty little name tag which she kept fiddling with. She was so adorable, going "See see....shoe shoe...." and then waving customers into the store, saying, "Come, come" just like she does at home.

You think it's cute? Well, I didn't think so cos' I woke up in cold sweat! Why in the world am I even dreaming about my little princess working as a shoe salesgirl? Not branded some more! Some people say that dreams are reflections of what's in our subconscious...so it's probably all the negative vibes I'm getting everywhere regarding this whole "we're in a technical recession" thingy that's stressing me out unknowingly. I'm claiming Philippians 4:19 (New King James Version) "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." My God is rich...so I think I'm pretty safe.

Anyway, I'm thankful that Jas is always very level headed when it comes to our finances (clearly she's the smarter half of this relationship). When I brought up the topic of recession, she had this to say, "Recession? Give less then." Wise words indeed. Now before you go away thinking that we're being stingy, allow me to explain why my wife said what she said. Jas and I consider ourselves to be pretty generous to the point of fault. Why? Because we often give beyond our means. I'm not talking about giving to God. What belongs to Him belongs to Him so we will never even think about shortchanging God. For the record, we have experienced God's faithfulness financially even through the tough times so we understand first hand what it means when the bible says "Give and it will come back to you". What we are really talking about is our generosity towards others and charitable causes. So in future if we don't offer to belanja you next time...you know why la! Muah ha ha!

It's a Boy! (I think...)

We went for our regular gynae check up yesterday, and the Dr asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. We said yes without hesitation but the Dr took a long time to figure it out because the little beanie just did not cooperate at all...super active and kept squirming away from the scanner as if he was deliberately trying to keep us in suspense. Anyway, the Dr did manage to get a glimpse of "something sticking out" which indicates that it may be a boy...but then again it could simply be the umbilical cord that is round the baby, giving the appearance of a male appendage. Sigh...looks like we have to wait another 5 weeks for the detailed scan to confirm the gender. Jas is very sure that it's gonna be a boy though...in her words, "How can Intelligender and Dr both be wrong?' We'll see won't we? Thank goodness our Dr did not give us the probablity of the baby's gender in percentages else we might have wound up with a situation like this.

I'm her best friend!!!

At least for today...Cherise seemed to want my company a lot. From the moment she woke up, she went "daddy daddy daddy...." and she even gave me a big kiss (the kind reserved for her dohdoh). Maybe it's because I got to spend a lot more time with her this week, thanks to Jas for making sure that I don't rot in front of the TV when I'm home. Simple things like feeding and bathing her go a long way. And I'm slowly learning how to play with her for extended periods of time without the pressure of needing to keep her entertained. She's more than capable of entertaining herself and you'll marvel at her ability to play pretend. Oh, and by the way, my 14 month old girl actually likes to play soccer!!



Looks like it's gonna be goodbye Disney Channel and hello Football Channel soon!

Insomnia

Can't seem to get to sleep. Maybe I have too many things on my mind.

We had cell group today. I love my cell - someone said that even before we were formed into a cell, we were a clique. Well, maybe that's not entirely true (a clique connotes exclusivity - which I don't think we ever were), but we certainly are close. We all share something in common, see. Our husbands all work for the military. Which makes the women of the cell military wives.

A friend in church once told me, "It takes a strong woman to be the wife of a military man." Not to be presumptuous, but yes, I think I do agree.

We have to deal with their crazy work hours. Adrian often does night shifts of more than 12 hours, sometimes several times a week, and almost every weekend he pulls a 24-hour shift. And my friends have it worse, I think.

It's not about the lack of family time. It's not even about having to tell your daughter, "Daddy's at work," when she goes, "Daddy? Daddy?" over and over again. It's about having to go it alone.

I remember when Cherise was barely 5 months old, and Adrian had to travel to Thailand for work for 3 weeks. Oh how I cried! It wasn't the fact that I had to do everything by myself, it was the sense of aloneness that I felt. The sense that I've got no one to help me in this and I have to handle everything-whatever-may-come-even-if-the-sky-were-to-fall all by myself. No one to back me up, no second opinion, no safety net, no reinforcements, no one to swap shifts with.

And every time he goes on night shift, that same sense of aloneness creeps back in.

I thank God we finally hired a helper. And she's fantastic. But it's not the same. Helpers, parents - they can't take the place of a husband, your partner, a helpmeet. They are, after all, one step removed. For one, they don't sleep with me.

What's it going to be like when the new baby comes along? When Adrian goes off on his inevitable night duty, who's going to help me if the baby cries at night? If both babies cry? What if I need to change one baby and nurse the other - at the same time? What if there's an incident - like baby regurgitating milk, or pooping/peeing on the bed?

And who's going to hold me when it all happens and tell me it'll be ok?

But we'll manage. We always do.

We are, after all, military wives.

Updates and News

It's been a long time since I blogged about my little girl (actually, since I blogged about anything), and she's grown so much, I don't really know where to start.

Let's see - she's now an active little girl, approaching 15 months, but sometimes behaves older than her years months. She's running all over the place now, sometimes in a really scary way, heedless of all obstacles in her path. She's a little chatterbox too - in addition to the words that she mimics, she can say so many while understanding what they mean. Some favourites are: "go-go" when she wants you to go somewhere, "come", "hug", "food", and my favourite - "ma-bao-nen" - which means "mummy baobao and nen nen (nurse) please"! She recognises people - like when she sees her Nainai, she asks for her Yeye. She sings along with the tv, and knows the actions for many songs, like London Bridge, The Grand Old Duke of York, If You're Happy, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Head and Shoulders, and many more. (So you can imagine how tiring it is when she wants us to go through the whole repertoire!) When we ask her where Jesus is, she points to her chest and says, "Heart!" Oh and our favourite - she dances to the Hot Dog song at the end of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (on the Playhouse Disney Channel)!

It's really a blessing to see her grow each day.



And now, we're expecting blessing No.2! I've been wondering - will this baby be more like me, given that Cherise is so much like Adrian in personality? We bought the Intelligender test, and guess what? Result = Boy! I've got to stop buying pink.

There are going to be a great many changes in the coming months. It isn't easy, being pregnant (tired and pukey) and still having to chase after a little energizer bunny, but it will all be worthwhile in the end, I'm sure.

Significant changes...

So...what has changed in our lives since we last blogged? Hmm...let's see...

1) We did some minor renovation to our flat. What started out as a simple project to replace the aircon system for the whole house turned out to include the following:
- Removed the platform in the living room to make it more baby friendly.
- Removed mounted cabinet in the study room that was threatening to fall off and converted it into a spare room for our helper.
- Converted the original baby room into a "classroom".
- Reconfigured our master bedroom to house EVERYBODY.
- Re-tiled the kitchen floor (at last!)

Thank God for a reliable contractor who worked within our budget and did a great job. This is one guy we'll highly recommend to anyone who needs a good contractor.

2) We have a new addition to our family!
Yes...our new helper whom we refer to affectionately as Lar Lar (Cherise calls her Ya Ya). She's truly an answered prayer - a strong Christian from Myanmar, a really good cook, hardworking, speaks English fluently and she takes really good care of us. What more can we ask for?

3) Jas can't fit into her clothes anymore ha ha!!!
That's because we are expecting BabyLoh no.2! Ok ok...it's all my fault....I think Jas is still sore about it...she'll probably tell you more about it in days to come. But at the end of the day, we are thankful for another beautiful gift that God has given us.

4) I can't fit into my clothes anymore too!!!
Blame it on Lar Lar and her fried chicken wings. My pants went up 2 sizes and my t-shirts are getting too "sexy" for my body.

5) Cherise has a thing for latinos!!! (Jas says which woman doesn't...?)
We say that because she always has this shy shy sweet sweet smile everytime she sees Handy Manny and Mario (from Barney) on TV!!! For the record, I'm not thrilled...not at all! Hmph!

Welcome to our new blog...again!

Hi everyone! We are BACK! For those who have been "yearning" for our updates, we apologise for our long absence. If you have been wondering what happened to us, here are some quick answers:

1) How come so long no updates leh??
Well...not that we didn't want to update, it's just that Wordpress was giving us a lot of problems (keeps causing our browsers to auto quit). As such, we could not post anything even if we wanted to.

2) Then why wait so long before returning to the blog scene?
That's because we have been VERY busy preparing to be parents of almost 2! Plus Cherise is too adorable for us to ignore her so we practically spend every waking moment playing with her.

3) So why a family blog?
Because the wife says so. Plus it's a lot easier to just maintain one blog between the 2 of us. Makes things a lot easier for our readers right?

4) Erm..btw, who are you?
Wah biang! Read so long then ask!?!?

So, thank you for bearing with us through our many moves. We hope this will be our last move for a very long time...