Cross Culture

The Best of Gifts

2011-12-10T22:53:00.002+08:00

What are you looking forward to getting this Christmas?

I spoke recently at Bethel Baptist Church, KL, on the topic of "The Best of Gifts" as a means of preparation for Christmas. If you'd like to listen, you will find the message here.

Have a blessed Christmas if we don't post before then.

Chris, Cindy, Hannah & Isabel.

New Sermons

2011-11-08T21:42:00.003+08:00

If you ever browse the sermon list on this page, you might be thinking I've stopped preaching. Truth is, I just got lazy with updating the list.

You can now find 5 more recent sermons in the list. And by the end of 2011, there should be 2 more as well.

On the topic of preaching, let me share a couple of quotes I have found helpful recently.

In answer to the question "What is preaching?", Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote:

"Logic on fire!...Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire."

And along similar lines, R.C. Sproul writes:

"Preaching calls forth an emotional response. It is not merely an exercise in the transfer of information. The pulpit is the setting for drama. The gospel itself is dramatic...To communicate the gospel dramatically is to fit the preaching with the content. Dispassionate preaching is a lie. It denies the content it conveys."

Quotes like these help remind me how different preaching is to teaching - and how important it is to know the difference!

Isabel = 1

2011-08-15T21:55:00.001+08:00

It wasn't long after Hannah's celebrations that Isabel stole the limelight. About 90 minutes, actually!

She was cute an adorable, of course. And she even allowed people to carry her (even though she was more than capable of toddling around by herself, having decided to start walking a few weeks ago).

It may not have been Hannah's party anymore, but that clearly didn't stop her enjoying herself. How Hannah still had energy, I don't know...

There was another wonderful cake - TP's magic, again.

But in the end, it wasn't Isabel who shined for the camera. Her second cousin decided to turn up the charm and strike some poses.

(Thanks John & Karen for the pics!)

Hannah's 5th Birthday - a Princess Party

2011-08-10T21:25:00.005+08:00

We are playing catch-up on our blog now. Three things to post about, starting with Hannah's 5th birthday party on Sunday 31st July (one day after her birthday).

We had some stunning decorations, thanks to Kimberley, Melissa and Natalie. Here, Isabel is getting into the princess party mood.

There were so many helpers on the day, it is hard to mention everyone. But Maggie did a fantastic job of putting paint on faces in a highly artistic fashion.

The amazingly life-like 'royal tiara on a cushion' cake was the work of TP - something of a regular cake supplier in our family! (We are going to miss you when you move to Penang, TP!)

Just as the party was winding up around 4.30pm, Hannah's best friend arrived - Hayley! So the girls got some quality play-time together before the next big event...Isabel's 1st birthday party.

Once all the fun was over, Hannah was left with a large pile of presents and it literally took her a week to plough through them. Mind you, Isabel seemed happy enough with the unopened boxes!

Come back soon for the next blog.

Marrakesh 2011

2011-05-21T22:10:00.004+08:00

Finally, pictures from Marrakesh are here.

It was an amazing holiday, and a very different wedding (Tony and Mel, not us!). Great to look back at the photos and remember the experience. But also very sad to hear that just a few weeks after we came back a bomb exploded in the Djemaa el Fna square which we had visited (as all tourists do, both local and foreign) more than once.

Party on!!!

2011-05-17T06:39:00.005+08:00

We seem to be enjoying a spate of weddings and birthday parties this year. Or perhaps our popularity ratings have soared on account of our daughters.

Earlier in March, Hannah was invited to a classmate's birthday party. It was an afternoon of fun and games, including an appearance of a magician!

Spot the girls ?

Here's Hairdresser Hannah getting a taste of her own medicine, and seemingly enjoying it!

But of course, Hannah has always enjoyed food, especially CHOCOLATE!!

Here we are at my father's 70th birthday party with the extended family at the Empire Hotel.

Having been born during the time of Communist unrest, the actual date of Gong Gong's birthday had been a bit of a mystery as his birth was only registered several months later by the authorities.

My aunts turned up at his house rather unexpectedly one afternoon offering to celebrate his birthday. 3rd aunt had traced his ACTUAL birth date by cross referencing the Chinese lunar calendar of his birth year. So, according to the lunar calendar, Gong Gong turned 70 in March!

Such a milestone deserves a celebration, and so it was. The family was treated to a buffet lunch at a newly opened hotel in Subang.

As usual, the little ones raised the background noise by more than a few decibels. Here's her second cousins, Ivan and Isaac, trying to appear nonchalant.

A special treat from the hotel staff for the birthday boy. Happy Birthday Gong Gong!

Hairdresser Hannah

2011-03-02T22:13:00.002+08:00

Before.....

During....

Ta Daaaa!

Love that hairdo. Would love it more when Isabel is actually big enough to play with her sister on more equal terms!

Has it been 2 months?

2011-02-10T21:28:00.005+08:00

So much has happened in the last couple of months - our trip back to the UK, a short visit to Barcelona, recovering from jet lag, gearing up for a new school year, plunging back into our challenging workplaces, weaning Isabel, battling virulent strains of flu, and right now, enjoying the festive mood of Chinese New Year.

Since it is impossible to cover all that in a single blog, let us first journey back to December...

Our little family packed our bags and left sunny Malaysia for winter wonderland. While we were longing for some respite from the hot and humid weather at home, we were not exactly prepared for the coldest winter in Europe for the last couple of decades.

Thanks to family and friends who helpfully loaned warm clothing to the girls, they looked suitably (and fashionably) dressed in jumpers, tights and anything else that could keep our tropical babes warm in sub-zero temperatures.

Even Hannah got over her initial excitement of building snowmen rather quickly, when she discovered what a bitterly cold and numbing affair it could be.

We managed a trip to Barcelona to visit Aunty Sam, and discovered that 10 degree celsius could actually feel "warm". It was here that we first soaked in the atmosphere of a Christmas market, gazed in awe at the marvellous works of architectural geniuses, and where Hannah was touched by an angel...

Obviously the pride of Barcelona, Gaudi's influence on the landscape of the city was apparent and no tourist could possibly leave without visiting one of his landmarks or taking at least a hundred snapshots of his curious buildings.

Another highlight of our trip was visiting a popular cafe selling churros, a delightful fried dough snack dipped in hot chocolate. Did you know however, that this creation is really a modified version of the Chinese You Tiao, first introduced in Portugal during the Ming Dynasty?

We bade farewell to the friendly city, narrowly escaped an airport closure and landed back in England amidst heavy snowfall. Soon it was time to gear up for ...

CHRISTMAS!!

Aside from receiving enough presents to last a year, the girls had an enjoyable time getting to know the extended family. Here's Hannah with her 2nd cousins...

... who might well be Isabel's future babysitters!

It was a wonderful trip home that ended all too soon. It will be a long time before we wish for a white Christmas - simply too cold to handle.

A parting smile for now from our cheerful darling, until we find time to blog again...

Trigger Happy

2010-12-10T06:48:00.004+08:00

We've been slightly trigger happy this last week or so, and thought we'd share a few pics with you.

You might have noticed that our blog entries are now shorter and picture-packed to reflect the general sense of busyness in our household.

Our little sunshine enjoying a roll on her new playmat

What has the big sister been up to this school holidays?

This says it all:

Angel one moment...

... little imp the next!

Little Isabel continues to delight in everything surrounding her, and flashes her brilliant toothless grin ever so often

Things sure look different from up here!

Just in case we don't manage another blog before then...

Merry Christmas to one and all!

Feeding 101

2010-12-09T06:49:00.002+08:00

One lazy weekend morning, on a particularly bad hair day, we decided to introduce little Miss Chubby Chubbs to...

The Spoon

"Whoa.... look at my new toy today!"

"Wonder what it does?!"

"Hey, you think it'll tame my hair a little?"

"Oh how boring... it goes in my mouth like everything else."

Mummy, look at me!

2010-11-17T17:02:00.002+08:00

A week ago, a few days shy of turning 3 1/2 months old, I thought this was quite cool ....

Isabel sitting up with support

A few days later, I realised she could do this ...

Isabel sitting with minimal support, i.e. with mummy holding her right hand

Today, she decided to do this ...

Isabel sitting up without support!

Blink an eye and you'll miss a milestone.

Babies do grow so quickly ...

Hannah came home with a surprise.

2010-11-15T19:41:00.001+08:00

Taken at the end of the school year. At first glance a mugshot. In trouble with the teacher?

Quite the contrary. The writing actually says "BEST STUDENT IN CLASS: HANNAH WYLIE." Inside was three books.

And she celebrated with apple crumble and strawberry ice-cream. Yummy!

Sweet Baby

2010-11-03T13:19:00.003+08:00

Isabel turned 3 months last week, and this was marked by yet another round of immunizations. She continues to feed and sleep well, and has an increasing fascination with her surroundings.

She flashes her brilliant smile more frequently, and responds to peek-a-boo games with an infectious laugh.

The past weeks have seen an unprecedented number of reunions with old friends - some last seen as roommates more than 15 years ago.

Familiar faces or not, our girls played the part of gracious hosts and were the perfect ice-breakers - not that we needed any!

Last month marked the first time mummy had not been paid in 8 long years. She is thoroughly enjoying her no-pay-leave but admits that being a housewife is not for the fainthearted.

The true test will be when Hannah starts her school holidays in November and will be at home 24/7.

The sisters continue to bond well, with Hannah playing the part of the elder doting sister perfectly.

Isabel is developing her own distinctive features, although a casual walk through the morning market still gets us comments such as: "She looks just like her sister!"

There are more adventures in store for this little family in the months ahead, including a drive to the highlands and a flight to meet more extended family members.

Watch this space for more updates...

Happy Days

2010-10-19T13:00:00.003+08:00

The last 6 weeks have been busy for our little family. Here's an attempt to condense it all into a photo journey, beginning from where we last left off ...

You might remember Hannah's obsession with the airport, or more accurately, her little pink princess trolley bag. Since it would be quite a few months before we did take a real flight, we decided to repeat an outing to the airport.

Despite doing exactly the same thing previously, Hannah enjoyed herself tremendously. We caught sight of 2 air stewardesses enjoying a break in the cafeteria, and they were sufficiently charmed by our 4-year-old to oblige to an impromptu photo session.

Next, we were off to Port Dickson, a little beach resort just over an hour from Kuala Lumpur, also Cindy's hometown. We met and thanked all our friends who had sent gifts to Isabel and had a lovely time catching up with them.

Hannah spent the weekend building sand castles and getting sandfly bites! Thankfully only the adults succumbed to a week-long of agonising itchy spots, while Hannah miraculously escaped with mere red spots.

The following weekend marked another "first" for Hannah - her first speech in front of a crowd in a hotel ballroom! It was her kindergarten's annual concert and Hannah was given the task to deliver an introductory spiel for her class' performance.

A born performer, Hannah delivered her little speech flawlessly and proceeded to participate in 2 dances with the rest of her classmates. Snapshots of the day can be seen here.

Later in the week, Cindy and the girls had to sort out their passports. Despite capacity crowds at the immigration department, we were pleasantly surprised to sort out all 3 passports in about 3 hours, including queuing time!

However, 3 hours is still a long time for a little baby. Isabel decided to shut out all the noise around her and dozed off when nap time came. With her impressive ability to sleep anywhere, almost anytime, in any position, Isabel has all the makings of an efficient junior doctor.

And then, finally, the EVENT OF THE YEAR...

JOHN AND KAREN'S WEDDING!!!

wedding pictures

The final week leading up to the wedding was packed with last minute shopping trips, errands and rehearsals for the special day. Hannah worked herself into a state of excitement, anticipating the day she would be the flower girl for her Uncle John.

Hannah thoroughly enjoyed her day as a "princess", and even enjoyed a costume change to her "golden gown" for the evening's celebrations. Isabel still managed to sleep through much of the day's fanfare, but handled the evening less well.

Anyone familiar with a Chinese wedding dinner knows what a long drawn affair the 8-course-meal is. The meal started past 8pm and went on to 11pm. Amazingly, Hannah kept up her dazzling smile throughout the evening and has received tentative requests for future flower girl duties, pending parental approval.

Our Cinderellas were home and tucked into bed before midnight, while the parents thankfully collapsed in bed shortly after, in an exhausted post-adrenaline state.

We are looking forward to the next few weekends spent quietly at home, although events and outings have a habit of springing on us unexpectedly.

We leave you now with a few snapshots of how much Isabel has grown over the weeks ...

Gifts Galore

2010-09-08T12:43:00.004+08:00

Even before the arrival of Isabel we were giving and receiving gifts. The sisters' birthdays are merely 2 days apart, and from a previous blog we mentioned that Hannah had pre-birthday celebrations.

We have all heard about sibling rivalry, and were particularly concerned about sibling jealousy, since newborns are notoriously time consuming. Even with Hannah's eagerness to be an older sister, there was a feeling that it could all go pear-shaped if she felt her position in the family was being usurped by the new addition.

So, to prevent Hannah from looking like this when Isabel inevitably became the centre of attention,

we had a steady stream of presents ready to make sure Hannah didn't feel left out:

Having inherited her father's penchant for LEGO, Hannah was absolutely enamoured by her new Thomas the Tank Engine set. She can easily spend an hour playing with her Duplo sets, which gives us the breathing space we sometimes need.

Of course it helped that friends were thoughtfully giving presents to Isabel AND Hannah. Here's a lovely clay model set that required a lot of input from Daddy!

Isabel, on the other hand, was expectedly oblivious to the fuss her arrival had created. After 4 weeks of eating, sleeping, excreting and possetting, Isabel celebrated her "Full Moon" in her grandparents house with minimal fanfare.

Here's our little baby grasping Gong Gong's "Ang Pow", embodying his blessings for her to have continued good health and growth.

It would be impossible to include pictures of all the gifts the girls received, but we simply had to say we are mightily impressed by the beautiful gift-wrapping skills displayed,

which Hannah clinically destroyed in seconds, of course.

We were taught as children to remove wrappers carefully so as to re-use them, but these days children are encouraged to enjoy ripping off the very same beautiful wrappers. Thankfully we've managed to immortalize some of these creations digitally.

Special mention goes to our friends from PD who somehow managed to organise themselves and bought us this McLaren rocker, which Isabel has gradually settled herself into.

No less gratitude goes to all our friends (& family) for your cards, ang pows, diapers, books, toys and clothing. We truly appreciate your effort and thoughtfulness.

This is one girl who feels very welcomed to our world indeed.

Isabel's Dedication Service

2010-09-07T20:22:00.006+08:00

Last Sunday was Isabel's dedication service. As always, we will tell the story with pictures...

This was the dress rehearsal a day before Isabel's "Big Day".

We ditched the hairband since she was at risk of looking like a mini version of Scary Spice. A lovely hairband - but I've never quite figured out how to use those on babies with unruly hair.

Here's the scaled-down version of Isabel with her beautiful elder sister.

Will there be boy-trouble in 10 year's time?

Our church Elder conducted the service with little Hannah getting progressively bored and restless. In the end, she didn't do too badly for a 4-year-old who is usually full of beans.

Our retired pastor delivered the sermon for the day, which was a biblical and practical presentation of parenting for today. The dedication service itself was a meaningful time as we took pledges to guide and nurture young Isabel in the way of the Lord.

A regular feature at all major church events - TP's creations! The painstaking effort taken to make each of her cakes is truly admirable.

The day was over before we knew it. A big thank you to our family and church friends for being a part of the special day. Thank you for all the lovely presents - that will need some mention in another blog!

Similar Yet Different

2010-08-24T13:12:00.003+08:00

We often get asked if Isabel is like her sister Hannah. Our family can't quite give a definite answer, so we will leave the decision to you...

Hannah at Day 2

Isabel at Day 4

Would you say their features are alike? Perhaps. However, the sisters are like night and day as far as their infant habits go.

Here's a slightly painful memory of what we went through with Hannah.

Taken at day 8, we were already experimenting with the "Tiger in the Trunk" carrying position, thought to reduce colic in infants. Thankfully we were also 4 years younger, and staying with grandparents who could share out the burden of calming a screaming baby for at least 2 hours every evening.

Hannah at 8 days

Isabel seems a calmer person, with occasional unsettled evenings, but nothing quite as dramatic as our darling firstborn.

Isabel at week 1

Daughter number 2 sleeps beautifully most nights, waking up only once or twice for feeds, then swiftly dropping off back to a peaceful slumber.

Having braced ourselves for Hannah-like colic attacks, we could hardly believe that we were getting decent hours of sleep right from day one.

But of course, looking after a baby is still exhausting work, but for everyone?!

The BOTTLE was our next battle with Hannah. Both girls were introduced to a bottle of expressed milk at about week 4 to give mummy a bit of a life.

Hannah, being in general a very intense (shall I just say fussy?) baby, screamed murder for a long time before succumbing to the charms of her experienced grandmother.

Hannah

Certain that Isabel would go through the same anguish, we were again pleasantly surprised our little angel took to the bottle at the first attempt, after making a few faces.

Isabel

Surely we have learnt by now that Isabel is nothing like Hannah, even if they do resemble each other.

What is YOUR verdict?

Isabel at two weeks

2010-08-17T20:55:00.001+08:00

Isabel on the move

2010-08-09T16:13:00.002+08:00

What a week!

2010-08-03T20:38:00.002+08:00

It is hard to express what it is like to have a new girl in your life(!), but let me do what I can with simple phrases and pictures:

Sleep, open eyes, sleep, drink milk, sleep, dirty nappy, sleep,...

Hannah suddenly seems years older.

How do you fold cloth diapers again?

Isabel's race: British or Chinese???

Have we taken as many pictures as we did with Hannah?

Beautiful soft skin.

Black hair.

Enough words - now take a look at Isabel's 1st week in photos here:

Isabel's First Week

Reflections on yesterday: Daddy's perspective

2010-07-29T10:34:00.002+08:00

I say Daddy's perspective as I suspect Cindy will want to write something in the days to come, although I hope she has more positive reflections than 4 years ago: (http://cindychris.blogspot.com/2006/08/hannahs-birth-story_115571046881389819.html and http://cindychris.blogspot.com/2006/08/admission-it-has-begun-when-we-reached.html
and http://cindychris.blogspot.com/2006/08/too-late-for-regrets-at-2pm-male.html)

First of all I am struck by God's goodness yesterday. His provision, his protection, his gift of life.

Actually things really began 8pm on Tuesday 27th July. Cindy felt her contractions were getting worse. Hannah was already asleep so thankfully Cindy's parents could come over and stay with her while we went to hospital.

Cindy was admitted at Prince Court Medical Centre at about 10pm. Bupa medical insurance has proved to be a real blessing! And the midwife/staff nurse was a wonderfully gentle and professional lady that Cindy had met on a previous visit and had already hoped would attend to her.

We watched repeated news stories on the Astro BBC news channel in the labour room, until…

…things got serious at 1am on Wednesday 28th. By 2:06am it was all over. I got to be present at the birth unlike last time. It was amazing, and I'm so glad I could be there. Very emotional, especially seeing Cindy go through so much pain. But the minute the baby came out my heart couldn't help but leap for joy and give thanks to our Creator God.

Our first impression of Isabel was how much she looked like Hannah at birth. And yet how quiet she was! She slept much of the first night peacefully.

We stayed the rest of the night in what can only be described as a hotel room. With a 5 star view.

By the morning, everything was so good that Cindy requested to be discharged that evening. The paediatrician and obstetrician were both happy with mother and baby so they agreed.

In the afternoon Cindy's parents brought Hannah to see her baby sister. Finally, Hannah is a true jie-jie.

We were home by 8:30pm. Less than 24 hours after we left home! And Isabel (and parents) slept VERY well. And if that doesn't deserve thanking God for, I'm not sure what does :-)

Isabel Ju-Yi Wylie

2010-07-28T07:05:00.000+08:00

Hannah's 4th Birthday

2010-07-12T11:44:00.003+08:00

With 2 weeks left before Baby is due, we thought it wise to organise Hannah's 4th birthday a little early.

Here is Hannah, all ready for the guests to arrive and the party to start.

And a good chance for an overdue family portrait.

A day later, and this is the clear winner of 'My Favourite Birthday Present" (although she hasn't had most of her presents yet!) It is a Barbie art set. Pencils, crayons, pens, pastels and paints.

And it didn't take long before Hannah was begging to put them to good use.

Here is a collection of her artwork so far:

A rollercoaster.

A rocket.

A rainbow doughnut.

The Sun.

Nice work, Hannah. And happy birthday. You have grown up so fast!

Expect our next posting to be all about Hannah's baby sister.

One month...

2010-06-24T18:20:00.001+08:00

...from Baby's due date.

What to do on a public holiday?

2010-05-31T09:27:00.008+08:00

Friday 28th May. It's a public holiday. Hannah's off school. Daddy's off work. Mummy's on sick leave...

I know, let's go to the airport!

So we pack our bags, pack a picnic and head off down the highway.

We play I-spy, which Hannah seemed to get the hang of. She could guess 90% of the words we threw at her, but her questions were a bit too difficult. Took us a while to figure out that I spy with my little eye, something beginning with 'l' was actually 'tree'.

We stop in a lay-by after a good 20 minutes of solid driving and tuck into Mummy's delicious chocolate rice crispy bars. Then we set off again.

We reach the airport around 11:30am. Having heard there was a viewing deck, we goin search of it. It's on the 5th floor (departures), past all the check-in counters, past the shops, past the escalators to customs and immigration, down a long corridor until you finally reach a large windowed hall, from which you can see the domestic and international gates, and the runways on either side. Cool!

After a while, we start to get hungry, so we venture back to the Departure Hall and stumble on KFC. Would Hannah eat nuggets and mashed potato (she's never been a fan of fast food before)? Yes!

And once that was done, Hannah got to play in the playground, which she had been eyeing all through lunch. How cool is a giant airplane playground? The only problem for Hannah was deciding whether she was going to be a pilot or an air stewardess.

After a goodly time playing here, we went around the shops and headed home.

But what REALLY inspired our trip to the airport?

A new bag! Hannah has been hankering for a pink trolley bag, and she finally got one a few days ago. She couldn't wait until December, but where better to test it out than at an airport?

Hannah went home a very content little girl!

Mother's Day

2010-05-19T10:30:00.001+08:00

We celebrated my 4th Mother's Day a couple of weeks ago and I was pleasantly surprised to receive Hannah's little gifts.

I decided to start brainwashing Hannah at an early age, and had repeatedly reminded her that Mother's Day is a time to give Mummy presents. More accurately, a time to remind Daddy to buy Mummy a present until she gets old enough to cook me breakfast in bed.

Sure enough, Hannah burst into our room early Sunday morning to announce she had bought me a gift - Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera" music book. A pretty sophisticated gift for a 4-year-old eh?

Hannah's pink-and-white straw necklace and pink carnation flower still takes center stage on our dining table to this day.

My special Mother's Day prayer is for Hannah to continue to be the lively, cheerful, cheeky little monster-child with an insatiable appetite for love and life.

Holiday Photos

2010-04-20T21:15:00.003+08:00

The latest photos of Grandma and Grandpa's holiday in Malaysia are here:

Watch out for impressive Thai Buddhist Temples in the Malay hearland of Malaysia, a GIANT bird cage, 360 birds singing simultaneously in a competition, Sleeping Beauty and Hannah catching the surf.

Bye bye Grandma & Grandpa

2010-04-15T20:12:00.000+08:00

The end of a holiday with Grandma and Grandpa who came over from the UK for three weeks.

Hannah had a great time, including her first trip to the East Coast (picture below was taken in Kota Baru).

More pictures to follow soon…

Budding artist

2010-01-29T20:50:00.000+08:00

Finally, some signs of artistic talent from Hannah!

This really is the first recognisible picture (of a person) we've seen Hannah draw.

But once she got started, she couldn't be stopped. Next up, a family portrait:

All three of us are in this picture…but we will leave you to identify who's who.

Well done, Hannah!

A New Year, a new life.

2010-01-19T21:22:00.000+08:00

Ok, ok it's time for the Christmas tree to come down.

So 2010 is upon us. I still find it funny that a whole decade has passed and we failed to name it!

Anyway, I have a question for parents (or maybe aunts and uncles too):

We are expecting our second child in July. Some of you have had your 2nd…3rd…4th(?) already. So how is it different second time round compared to the first? What do we need to be careful of? What are the special highlights? Do share your experiences and help us prepare for the biggest event in our lives this year.

Christmas is coming

2009-12-23T16:01:00.001+08:00

The Christmas season maybe be well and truly upon us but there are only a few signs of it in our home. The most obvious is our modest 4ft tree with decorations and gifts. Well, it does the trick.

Then there is Hannah's highly detailed 3D advent calendar from Grandma & Grandpa. Hannah has been attending to it with devout religiousity each evening!

We don't have any Christmas lights. Call it paranoia over a 3 1/2 year old tearing round the apartment if you will…

But even without lights, we intend to enjoy our celebration of the coming of the True Light into the world. We hope you will, too.

Merry Christmas!

Chris, Cindy & Hannah.

Hannah's first SMS

2009-12-08T20:08:00.000+08:00

Ready for it?

,,--,::::~::

Yep, she typed it all by herself. I promise I didn't even help with the tilda.

Not impressed? Well, I suppose what was rather surprising was that she managed to send it from Mummy's phone to Daddy's phone.

Is this just a foretaste of runaway phone bills? Anyone actually experiencing that yet?

Things you can do…

2009-11-26T23:02:00.000+08:00

…with an iPhone.

Astonishing.

Well, let me take this opportunity to post a pic on my phone of Hannah in our pool.

After an exciting trip to the beach in PD a couple of weeks ago, Hannah decided she really DID like swimming. Since then, she's been splashing, floating, ducking, kicking and drowning (her word) like nobody's business. Great!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What is preaching?

2009-11-08T21:37:00.005+08:00

I am preaching (on Joel) this coming Sunday. In my recent sermon preparation, I have intermittently stopped and asked myself "What exactly am I being asked to do when I stand up and preach in church?" Admittedly, I haven't come to a wholly satisfying answer just yet. But one preacher who consistently inspires me, John Piper, has these words to say about "What is preaching?" and I find them refreshing.

I would love others to watch what he has to say and add a comment on this issue. I still feel I have a lot of unanswered questions and maybe you do too.

In an English country garden...

2009-10-30T21:56:00.001+08:00

Our holiday (well, it was a holiday for 2 of us, and study leave for 1 of us) in England seems quite a long time ago now (actually we've been back less than a month), but it will take much longer for Hannah to forget about the joys of having a garden.

The neighbour's spare paddling pool made an appearance on particularly hot days, while Dad's tent was a permanent fixture in the middle of the garden.

It wasn't all fun and games. Hannah insisted on doing some gardening - sweeping leaves and watering the flowers.

And then there was the scooter. It took Hannah practically the whole 4 week holiday to get the hang of this, but eventually she did. And it is still in Grandma & Grandpa's house waiting for our next visit.

At the zoo again!

2009-08-19T15:09:00.005+08:00

What do you do when your school is closed because of H1N1? Go to the zoo!

On monday morning, the first day of my week off work at BC, I drove Hannah to school to be greeted by masked teachers giving out letters explaining that the school was shut for a week due to a child having H1N1. Time to rethink my week off.

Well, by Wednesday I managed to muster the energy to get Hannah and myself to Zoo Negara for a morning of animal magic. It didn't seem very long since our last trip here, but it was well over a year ago. That time, Hannah called everything "cows" and "ducks". This time her vocabulary was very much expanded. But she was still only really keen to see a select few animals: giraffes, lions, tigers and flamigos. Go figure...

When all is said and done, it was a fun morning out and Hannah was tired enough to take her nap without a fuss when we got home. Well worth the effort, I say.

A Smashing Weekend

2009-08-02T21:23:00.003+08:00

"Let's keep it simple."

Or at least that was the plan. Afterall, how complicated can a 3-year-old's birthday celebrations be? To the uninitiated, NOTHING about a child can ever be simple.

So, Hannah's birthday celebrations started on Friday, when Mummy + doting grandparents made a special appearance during her scheduled break.

Not only did we meet the "naughty boys" Hannah kept talking about, we also gave a little extra attention to the poor new kid that Hannah reportedly bullied.

There was also a particular young man I wanted to meet - someone who apparently meets Hannah at the door each morning and carries her bag into class!

What was planned to be a short half-hour treat turned into an hour's nightmare. Multiply a 3-year-old's hyperactiveness by 13, with dripping ice-cream, messy creamy cake and spilling Ribena, we were profusely apologising to the teachers by the end of the session.

Po Po and I spent most of the time catching drips, washing little hands and wiping up cream from the floor. It was utter chaos. Hannah lost her spoon (can you blame her?) and ended up in a heated argument with her arch rival. Someone vomitted.

Somehow we survived, thanks to the skilled competence of the teachers who managed to smile and look cheerful through it all. The children probably enjoyed themselves, but we vowed never to do this again...

Fast forward to Saturday - Hannah's birthday party! ... the second one.

Hannah managed to catch an afternoon nap despite the excitement of having all the family over for her birthday party. She was up and about by 5pm, all dressed up and anticipating the arrival of her guests.

Unfortunately, a series of road blocks in town meant that ALL her guests were late, leaving us to answer repeated questions of "Where's Po Po? Where's Gong Gong?"

When they did arrive though, Hannah had a splendid time, staying up way past her normal bedtime. More pictures on our web album...

Possibly her favourite new toy, a shopping trolley!

Tesco seem to be the only hypermart around with little trolleys for children to push around, so it was a no-brainer to get Hannah the toy version of "Tesco toy shopping trolley and playfood".

Predictably, it is now her #1 toy.

By Sunday, energy levels were running low.

Somehow we managed a full morning in church and a quick dash to Midvalley for some errands before having a nice long nap at home. Hannah's birthday weekend was then wrapped up with a bit of quiet activity (although Hannah's never really quiet) and a quick dip in the pool.

Happy 3rd Birthday sweetie!

The latest signs of growing up

2009-06-07T20:33:00.002+08:00

Above is a collage of images representing what Hannah has overcome in the last couple of months. We are very proud parents of an almost-three-year-old girl.

1. She stopped wearing diapers quite a long time ago, and we took the bold step (actually, she was the one that took the step, insisting that she didn't want them) of not giving her nighttime diapers about a month ago. Only two wet beds since then. (Hey, nobody's perfect.)

2. Rather suddenly, she decided medicine was all right. Following a nasty cold Cindy started Hannah on anti-biotics. The medicine was pink and sweet but it took a colossal battle to get her to even let it touch her lips. But when she did, she just totally changed. Since then, she has had about three other medications (don't ask...), and even cod liver oil, without making the slightest fuss. On the contrary, she even gets excited by the word "medicine"!

3. We were telling Hannah that when she was three years old, she would have to stop using a pacifier (she only used it at night, but it was part of a highly rehearsed bedtime pattern). But when she nearly bit the tops off three pacifiers, we decided enough was enough. So no more pacifiers, and she doesn't seem to miss them. Having been repeatedly warned about soon not using, I think she was mentally prepared for this.

4. Another part of Hannah's bedtime routine was listening to a CD of lullabies. The same CD night after night for more than two years. Then suddenly she told us not to turn the music on. So it stopped about three months ago, and we have probably saved a few ringgit in electricity since then.

It certainly feels like our girl is growing up. I would like to say she is leaving the "terrible twos", but that would be wishful thinking. But who knows. Our next blog may well herald that next milestone.

Stubbornness...

2009-05-12T21:47:00.004+08:00

...is usually infuriating, but can sometimes lead to hilarity.

Take Hannah's antics this evening. At dinner, Hannah got very grumpy and refused to eat. And then started to scream. And then threw a pen at Daddy. So she was 'removed' from the dining room and taken to another room to be told off calmly. But stubbornness set in and it became a ten minute tantrum. When she finally ran out of steam (and both Daddy and Hannah were sweating by this point), Hannah managed a feeble admission of wrong-doing and an apology.

Well, that is the ugly side of stubbornness. But a couple of hours later, we were treated to the lighter side. Hannah has been going through a phase of picking out her smallest baby clothes and insisting on wearing them. That resulted in her demanding she wear her all-in-one pyjama suit to bed this evening. Mummy and Daddy were getting ready for a battle when we both decided to concede this one - and if hannah COULD squeeze into her old pyjamas then she could wear them to bed (and probably suffer, but, hey, it would be her choice.)

Judge from the photo just how tight her pyjamas were:

'Ouch' indeed. But it made Hannah happy. Happy enough to do some dramatic poses for us.

Oh, Hannah. We suffer terribly from your stubbornness. But once in a while, it puts a genuine smile on our faces!

Love Affairs

2009-04-20T17:39:00.002+08:00

Cliche as it may sound, we often appreciate what we have only when it's gone.

In our case, it's precious s p a c e

So, in anticipation of our loss, we had to snap a few pictures to remind us what it was...

... and what it is now!

Music has always been a love of my life and an utterly inseparable companion as I was growing up. Be it playing instruments, singing, dancing and even acting in musical productions, music always featured prominently and probably provided the necessary balance to the seemingly relentless academic pursuits we were subjected to.

So, it is with great joy that I announce my reunion to an old friend...

Now, the task at hand is to find all my old books (including a set of Bach's Preludes and Fugues I was meant to work through; doubt I can do that now) and ensuring Hannah doesn't destroy the piano before she is old enough for lessons.

Hannah, on the other hand, has other interests at heart.

Having both inherited a little bit of Po Po's blood in our veins, mother and daughter have discovered the joys of baking! Specifically, cupcakes.

For all her hyperactivity, Hannah manages to spend at least a couple of minutes each time in front of the oven inspecting her work of art evolve into something yummy.

Life has certainly become more interesting.

Debut

2009-03-31T08:25:00.014+08:00

6th April 2009

It has been an eventful week.

We've sworn in a new Prime Minister in Malaysia, rained out the F1 race yesterday, witnessed the unveiling of a 100-million-ringgit dress in KL and nursed Hannah through yet another bout of flu.

As exciting as the local political arena might be, surely nothing beats being summoned to Hannah's school once again - this time for a concert!

While we were curious to know how Hannah's first term school fees were utilised, we felt it was a little early to assess the progress of such young toddlers, much less expect them to bloom into confident performers in less than 3 months.

Nonetheless, we were keen to see Hannah's arm-biter in the flesh.

It was the center's "Fliptec@Q" celebration, a demonstration of the multimedia teaching tool used by their centers nation-wide. Children between the ages of 2 to 6 presented a variety of action songs and displayed their reading and mathematical skills.

Rightfully introduced as the babies of the school, this little bunch of toddlers did not disappoint the appreciative audience. Amidst the "media frenzy" created by excited camera-wielding parents, the young performers stood their ground and presented not one but three songs in two languages!

Alright. Some were outrightly stunned and stood staring ahead blankly, while some found the large screen projector behind them much more interesting than the crazy adults. As for Hannah, we'll let the video do the talking:

One of the highlights had to be the way the children filed in and out of the room. It's pretty hard to imagine our stubborn, strong-willed little girl following instructions and being an obedient student. But there you go, the evidence is undeniable.

Not only did we catch a glimpse of Hannah's "attacker" - a surprisingly meek little thing - we also managed to meet with Hannah's best friend, Mei Qi.

So perhaps this little girl is learning something in school after all and we'll make a performer of her yet.

You know Hannah's started going to "school" when...

2009-03-18T22:25:00.002+08:00

... She starts parading in front of the mirror in her "gym" kit in anticipation of the actual session

This was taken during the weekend, and till now the kit remains ridiculously loose, all in the name of economics.

... She comes home with a bite mark on her forearm

It was a shame Hannah wouldn't keep still for a clearer picture, but trust me on this one - if you were a dentist, you could probably jot down a complete set of dental records for the offender.

How do you react to something like this?

While the initial reaction was to be angry at the little child, Hannah was so unaffected by the incident that it seemed funny. Since Hannah had forgiven her friend, it seemed right to do the same.

... She talks about birthday parties, drinking Ribena and eating cakes

So much for parent-instilled discipline of no refined foods and only "natural" flavoured food (well, as far as possible). Hannah now enjoys the world of chocolate, sweets and all manner of hyperactive-inducing snacks, courtesy of her friends, their parents and her teachers.

... She gets a string of viral infections, one after another

and may I add, passes it on to her parents and grandparents. While we can only remember one or two episodes of vague illnesses in her first two years, we have already lost count of the number of flu bugs Hannah has caught from school. As they say, a necessary rite of passage.

... Her parents are summoned to school for a "Parent-Teacher Session"

Thankfully, all her teacher said was "She's a keen learner, but stubborn at times". Well, in many more words, but that was the gist of it. Nothing we didn't already know though.

Pictures with stories

2009-02-14T22:32:00.002+08:00

I'm not going to make excuses for the lack of blog posts, but just get on with telling a couple of stories.

This picture was taken at Cindy's parents' place. It was the first day of Chinese New Year (Jan 26th) and we had managed to coax Hannah into a rather elegant Chiong Sam. During the day we heard the "Bong Bong Chang!" of a lion dance. Hannah rushed tot he window in the vain hope of seeing her first ever lion dance - and managed to spot it through trees, across a main road, in someone's front yard! From that day on, Hannah has been talking about lion dances. She got to see one up close when we were having lunch in Midvalley a few days later - but it was almost too close. It is a very noisy performance with all the drumming, and probably a bit much for a 2 1/2 year-old.

This is Hannah in our apartment's swimming pool. Admittedly, we get in it rather infrequently (a couple of times a month?). And probably for that reason Hannah is quite anxious every time we take her to the pool. But once she is in there, she doesn't want to get out. A familiar experience where kids are concerned, I suspect. Anyway, she is in her new blue swimming outfit bought especially for pre-school (which she started in January - 3 hours a day). She actually has a swimming lesson once a week... but since she always comes home with a dry swimming costume we can only assume she doesn't take the plunge!

Any tips for getting our kid to swim like a fish?

Managed a spot of blogging after all.

2008-12-25T16:56:00.004+08:00

Christmas 2008

Click the pic above to see our efforts in cooking a Christmas roast (close your eyes, and the chicken could be a turkey) and Hannah's efforts in creating mayhem with her presents. Notable highlights for her include her first watch, 3 jigsaw puzzles and a rather fetching eye-piece. You'll have to have a look to see what I mean.

Merry Christmas once again from Chris, Cindy and Hannah.

I've been elf-ed!

2008-12-19T14:18:00.002+08:00

Along with a couple of BC colleagues, I have been transformed into a disco-dancing elf. Click on the picture to see the video, if you really want to! It will expire mid January.

I suspect we won't be blogging again until after Christmas when we will (hopefully) have a brand new computer, and some pictures of Bukit Fraser (Fraser's Hill) to show you.

Let me take this opportunity to wish all my friends and family a very Merry Christmas. Thank goodness Christmas is not really a celebration of sugar-sweet elves but a celebration of the coming of God to be with his bitter-sweet creation: Emmanuel - God with us. Have a blessed Christmas as you remember that wonderous fact.

Chris, Cindy & Hannah

Cheeky girl

2008-12-07T22:40:00.000+08:00

I will let Hannah's pictures speak for themselves.

Hairdresser Hannah

2008-10-20T22:26:00.002+08:00

Hannah was temporarily inspired by one of her current favourite books

If only Hannah would allow us to tie up her hair like this every day...

BTW, thanks to Cindy Seow for the recents shots.

A growing girl

2008-10-14T22:13:00.003+08:00

Looking at these photos just makes me think how fast Hannah is growing up...

Any suggestions?

2008-10-05T15:32:00.004+08:00

Ok, so Daddy has one and a half weeks of leave, and he's at home with his 2 year old daughter in KL. What should they do together?

I had to scratch my head somewhat. We had done the Zoo and the Bird Park not so long ago. What other wholesome activities are there for little ones and their parents in KL? Well, here is what we did, but do please add comments with YOUR experiences and sugggestions. I've got 3 weeks of leave in December to look forward to...

This is at the Butterfly Park, one of the many parks within the Lake Gardens. I must admit, there is more to explore here with Hannah, even though we have done the Bird Park. There is also the Deer Park, the Hybiscus Garden and the Orchid Garden.

Nick and his son Adam joined us on this little excursion. Unfortunately, due to their vertically challenged perspective I think they spent more time looking at their feet than the lovely butterflies overhead. Oh well. We can always make another trip...

Oh, and also at the Lake Gardens there is a stupendous array of children's playground facilities. Being a hot afternoon during Ramadan, the whole park was deserted and Hannah could really run amok!

On another day, I drove us into town at 10.30am - a pleasant experience since traffic was minimal - and we headed for KLCC. I was aiming to get into the KLCC Aquaria for its opening at 11am, but I hadn't reckoned on a queue to buy tickets. Still, it was relatively painless. And soon Hannah and I were enjoying the wonders of undersea life. I must say, this is worth visiting. The displays are of a quality not often found in tourist attractions in Malaysia.

The highlight of KLCC Aquaria is a long underwater tunnel with stingrays, sharks and giant sea turtles gliding over you. And this culminates in a 15 minute feeding show, not very well captured in my picture directly above.

Well, we couldn't go out EVERY day, so some home entertainment (apart from TV) was in order. After buying this magic painting book for Hannah we found she has quite a thirst for artistic expression. I see more painting to come in future holidays...

So what have you done - and what should we do in December???

Hannah in our new home

2008-09-06T22:15:00.000+08:00

Desa Permai Condominium

2008-08-30T22:19:00.000+08:00

We REALLY love our new apartment. These are a few shots taken by our interior designer (sounds posh, huh?) before we moved in and messed the place up ;-)

Catching up

2008-08-25T15:55:00.005+08:00

There is so much to blog about from the last 2-3 months, that it is almost too daunting to try. But let me make a start. Here is a link to a photo album of our family holiday in Kuching. We went with my parents and sister while they were visiting us in Malaysia.

Kuching 2008

A lovely place for a holiday, and the Orang Utans were particularly impressive. God has created some truly astonishing creatures.

I have preached a couple of times since the last posting. See the updated SERMON links on the right-hand side of the screen.

Oh, and what about our new apartment I hear you cry. Well, that deserves another blog posting, methinks.

Jeremiah - a survey of the Old Testament book.

2008-06-08T13:56:00.004+08:00

Here's my most recent sermon, continuing from Isaiah in the Old Testament Survey series.

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Most likely my next sermon (in August) will be on Lamentations.

Nothing but the kitchen sink

2008-05-15T20:55:00.003+08:00

Welcome to our new home!

Unfortunately, we can't make you a cup of tea because the kitchen is empty.

But you can enjoy our million dollar "Mid Valley" view... from the yard.

Yes, we have the keys to our new apartment. PRAISE GOD! It is no longer called Taman Bukit Tenaga, but now "Desa Permai". Give it 4 weeks and it should be inhabitable. More pics to follow.

Happy Birthday, Michael!

2008-04-28T15:06:00.000+08:00

On Sunday, Hannah attended her first birthday party (apart from her own!). It was at "Kidz Sports & Gym" in Great Eastern Mall. Michael was 3 years old. Sorry, Michael, we didn't get a picture with you in it!

Although Hannah probably had no idea she was at a birthday party, she did have a good time. Lots of space to run around, lots of brightly coloured balls to play with, lots of soft mats everywhere, lots of happy children running around. Oh, and air-con.

However, being less than 2 years old, a couple of features of children's birthday parties didn't agree with her:
1) Organised games involving bigger kids. Too confusing and scary.
2) Party food. Fries and nuggets just don't do it for Hannah. So we resorted to sharing the parent's food with her - White rice and curry! That's our Hannah. But she did manage some birthday cake and fruit.

So what should we do for hannah's 2nd birthday in July? Will she be ready for some serious partying?!?!

Hannah's first drawing?

2008-04-09T22:20:00.000+08:00

(Daddy would like to confess to adding the pink 'flowers', all in the spirit of encouraging Hannah to express her own creativity.)

A Survey of Isaiah

2008-04-07T14:33:00.005+08:00

Talk about a mammoth topic for a sermon... And it turned into a mammoth sermon! Apologies to those who sat through 1 hour 7 minutes of my voice on Sunday.

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Next up will probably be a survey of Jeremiah, but before you run for the hills I promise to find a way of making it shorter ;-)

Who's Who in the Zoo?

2008-03-31T19:57:00.001+08:00

Until today, Hannah had never been to a zoo. Since Daddy is on leave this week, he decided to give Hannah the ultimate 'animal' experience at Zoo Negara (Malaysia's National Zoo).

Early morning preparation included reading all Hannah's animal books with her - in the hope of priming her vocabulary for the outing. Unfortunately, most of her books cover pets and farm animals, so she was woefully unprepared for 'rhinosaurus', 'hippopotamus', etc. not to mention the world's largest rodent (you know, the 'Capybara') or local animals such as the Tapir and Kancil.

Other preparation involved packing Daddy's backpack with food, water, diapers, more water, and a couple of Hannah's favourite toys. Then 8.30am came, and it was time to get going. The zoo opens at 9am, and even then the day is starting to get hot.

Driving to Zoo Negara took a reasonable 30 minutes using the MRR2. I had already checked the price of tickets online (RM15 for adults, RM6 for children over 3). Disappointingly, it turns out you also have to pay for parking (RM4) on top of your entrance tickets. As I drove in at 9.05am, the large carpark was deserted. I picked my shady parking spot, and gave Hannah an obligatory change of nappy to start us off nice and fresh.

Once inside, I decided to take things easy and hopped on the free train that does regular rounds of the zoo. We sat for 5 minutes, Hannah got fidgety and indicated she preferred a more 'happening' form of transport. So we hopped back off and set out on foot.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised by Zoo Negara. It is bigger and more stocked with animals than I expected. The paths are nicely shaded by very established tree canopies. Some of the exhibitions have seen better days, but generally the animals looked healthy and well looked-after. It was sadly quite empty, even by lunchtime, although a modest crowd of about 50 mostly foreigners magically appeared for the "Multi-Animal Show" (every day at 11am, but don't worry about missing this underwhelming performance).

Hannah was kind enough not to demand being carried everywhere. But still, it was a pretty tiring and sweaty day out. Some respite came from lunch in the air-conditioned fast-food restaurant. I was the first customer of the day at about 11.45am. Then the lunch-time rush came in with, ooooh, 3 other families.

And now for the photos. No great wildlife shots I'm afraid (hey, you try lining shots up with a 20 month old toddler pulling at your arm, or worse still try and get her in the shot with the animals!!!). But I just felt I owed it to Hannah to have photographic evidence of this adventure.

As you can see, Hannah had trouble focusing on the animals.

By the way, the animal vocab priming really didn't work. Anything big was declared a "cow!", while anything bird-like was a "duck". Oh, and Hannah got a fright from a "lamb" (which was actually a goat).

Going Against The Flow

2008-03-26T20:20:00.002+08:00

Having been parents for a considerable amount of time, we've learnt that toddlers do the exact opposite of what they are told, most of the time.

Whenever we say "NO!", we realise it is a double-edged sword: she may well obey us, or flash us a cheeky grin and do it anyway, and perhaps do it repeatedly in the days and weeks to come.

In case you are wondering, the following sequence of photographs are in the correct order:

The young adventurer not only discovered that handrails usually accompany stairs, she has discovered how to use them, even if she's not quite the correct height yet.

To her (and our) amazement, Hannah discovered yet another skill - walking up the stairs backwards, all the while holding on to the handrail! No wonder she is a picture of concentration, tongue sticking out and all.

Little Hannah conquers yet another obstacle. It seems as though recently, Hannah has been blossoming into a little girl and leaving her little baby identity far far behind.

Not only has she developed a considerable amount of vocabulary, our little angel seem to be hitting the "Terrible Two's" a little prematurely.

"NO!" is the ruling word in the household - either announced by the obstinate toddler or screamed by the terrified grandparent.

Some of the controversial issues in this household includes:

The potty - some time ago, Hannah decided the potty is for playing and not for you-know-what. She happily sits on it, lid closed, diaper on, and proclaims to the whole world that she is, well, sitting. 'Everything' gets caught in the diaper these days. Sigh.
Bath water - as the name suggests, water in a bath tub is for bathing. Simple. Our Hannah decides she needs a little alkaline addition to her tummy and regularly drinks it. We've tried taking away her plastic tubs, firmly but calmly reprimanding her, but all to no avail.
Pyjamas - Hannah has quite a few lovely body suits given to her, but we've had to pack it away prematurely. One night after we had put the little girl to bed, we popped in to check on her and discovered to our amusement (and horror) that she was soundly asleep, but half naked. Having acquired the skill of undoing poppers, she now takes off any article of clothing that has poppers. She then comes over and dolefully goes "mummy help", and expects me to do up everything just so she can take it off again. Typical, isn't it?

And of course, there's the favourite video, the favourite book, the favourite song etc that Hannah requests over and over again. Recently, she's taken to the Doxology, a song that we sing at the end of our bedtime story and prayer routine. It doesn't take Einstein to figure this one out though - a smart toddler bedtime delaying tactic.

So, our little Hannah has a mind of her own. Whether it is climbing up a flight of stairs, combing her hair or getting potty trained, she decides to do it her way, on her terms. The occasional battle of will ensues whenever parent and child disagrees.

You win some and you lose some.

Who can resist this cheeky face anyway?

Now that we have to sing "Doxology" so often, can someone offer us alternative tunes? The least we could do is to make it interesting if we have to sing it for the umpteenth time.

Recent shots

2008-03-23T20:31:00.004+08:00

While we have managed the odd blog with photos here and there over the last few months, you might have noticed a distinct lack of more reflective entries. Nothing very deep and thoughtful. Well, that is mainly because a) Cindy is usually the one who writes those, but b) recently she has been worked pretty hard in her latest hospital department, leaving her very little free time, with c) whatever is remaining being consumed with preparing for some exams coming up next month. You get the picture.

So, I'm afraid you will have to be satisfied with another of those 'odd blogs with photos'.

2008-03-09T20:15:00.003+08:00

You might remember a previous blog a few months ago when Hannah won a couple of magazine photo competitions.

You may also remember the blunder on the part of "Mother & baby" magazine who failed to print Hannah's name and age alongside the photo.

Well, as a goodwill gesture they featured Hannah again in their March 2008 edition.

And did they remember to publish her details???

Well, she might be 19 months now, but that will do just fine. Thanks, "Mother & Baby". Do we get more free nappies for this???

Learning Chinese

2008-02-10T18:15:00.000+08:00

Recently, Hannah's vocabulary has mushroomed. From colours to letters to numbers to people's names to all sorts of household objects. All in English (apart from terms for relatives, such as 'aunty' and 'uncle', for which she uses Chinese). But this Chinese New year has given her reason to learn a couple of useful Chinese words: "ang pow" (red packets containing money) and "xie xie" (thank you). Have a look for yourself:

For more pics of our CNY celebrations, have a look at this:

CNY2008

Happy CNY 2008

2008-02-09T13:40:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year is in full swing, and Hannah is lovin' it.

Here is just a teaser of Hannah in ONE of her New Year outfits (and Daddy's cap). More pics to follow soon...

Hannah approaching 18 months

2008-01-27T20:31:00.000+08:00

In about 3 days, Hannah will be 18 months old. A landmark. And in the absence of many recent photos of the young lady, we think it is high time we let you see her again. These shots include various poses from the last couple of months, culminating in a surprisingly nice family photo taken at Rajes and Shan's wedding in Seremban today.

Well, pictures speak louder than words, so don't let me delay you:

Come and See

2008-01-25T21:26:00.000+08:00

In case you haven't seen this addition to the list of sermons on the right, this was preached by Chris on 20th January. It is part 3 in a 6-part sermon series that our church is conducting on the topic of discipleship. This message is about the first phase of discipleship, as modelled by Jesus, entitled "Come and See".

Click the 'play' button to listen now, or right-click the title in the playlist and chose the 'download' option.

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Chris will be preaching again on 3rd February.

More memories

2008-01-12T17:32:00.000+08:00

My Dad has just uploaded some video clips, mostly of Hannah, from our Christmas holiday in Ashtead. These are on his own website, along with a few older video clips. Click the link below, or follow the additonal "Videos" link on the right-hand panel.

Click here

Oh, and happy 30th birthday Cindy. Welcome to the club dear ;-)

Memories of Christmas

2008-01-02T23:04:00.000+08:00

Spending Christmas in England was great, and we have lots of pictures to remember the holiday by. For Hannah, it was her first time on a plane, her first time in England and her first experience of * * WINTER * *

Check out the pictures, and read the captions, by clicking on the web album link below or on the right-hand panel:

Christmas in England 2007

By the way, do any seasoned family travellers out there have advice for parents of jet-lagged babies? Hannah waking up just as Mummy and Daddy are going to bed has been a painful experience for us!

Merry Christmas 2007!

2007-12-16T16:14:00.000+08:00

Click here for some festive fun from the Wylie family ;-)

Hide and Seek

2007-12-15T12:39:00.000+08:00

Behind the trolley, eh?

Let's take a closer look

Poor photo quality aside, I do believe you can make out the side of Hannah's face, and her hair, as she skulks behind the changing trolley. Close your eyes for 2 seconds, and you won't know where this little girl has gone...

Getting ready

2007-12-13T21:27:00.000+08:00

Ok, here are signs of packing in earnest. We actually packed these bags at the weekend, and have been adding things during the week. One case is full of Hannah's winter clothes (and nappies and milk), while her parents will either brave the elements with their limited winter wardrobe, or shamelessly borrow clothes from family members once we get to the UK.

Hannah has decided this pile of luggage forms a handy chair for her to perch on every once in a while. She is even learning to declare aloud "Chair!" when she sits / leans on it. Cute.

And how about an up-to-date picture of Hannah? Well, here is a mystery shot taken today. Who can spot the girl? Answers via the comments button below:

Generations

2007-12-11T23:11:00.000+08:00

I suppose we should be blogging about our upcoming trip to England, but after snapping this shot today I feel I have to share it, for fun if nothing else.

My car (Proton Saga, on the left) is parked next to a new Mitsubishi Lancer in our apartment's carpark. Funny thing is, they are essentially the same car. Well, a few generations apart, and lots of Malaysian plastic inside mine, but otherwise for all intents and purposes they are both Mitsubishi Lancers!

I thought they looked quite nice together. And mine doesn't even look that bad despite the 23-year age gap.

And of course I could talk about how many multiples of my car I could buy for the price of that ONE new Mitsubishi Lancer.

Hurrah for the Proton Saga.

That's all I wanted to say, really.

Games that make a difference?

2007-11-10T21:46:00.000+08:00

The internet is great for many things, including free games. I remember days long gone of saving up pocket money for weeks just to buy a £9.99 cassette game for my Commodore 64 (Rainbow Islands, Batman the Movie, etc.). Nowadays, of course, you can find all the classics as well as plenty of new game online for free.

Well, I could give you a host of links to some of my favourite "safe" games sites... but today I came across a couple of other sites that really ARE worth sharing. They both entertain and educate, and one even contributes to needy people in the world.

The first game [click here] was created by the UNHCR to help people empathise with refugees. Well produced, a little scary and definitely eye-opening.

The second game [click here] was created in tandem with advertisers to fund contributions that provide rice to hungry people in the world. You improve your vocabulary, and actually feed someone at the same time.

Hannah's Web Album Update

2007-11-09T21:25:00.000+08:00

Admittedly we haven't taken many photos recently. Maybe we're too busy, maybe we can hardly catch Hannah standing still long enough... but here are a few shots for your viewing pleasure.

Hannah at 12-15 months

Some are of Hannah smearing her face with rice (her favourite food right now - yes, plain boiled white rice), most are of Hannah roaming around the Bukit Jalil Park.

Malaysia to England in 2 minutes

2007-10-29T21:46:00.000+08:00

No, not some Richard Branson Hyper-galactic low-cost flight from Malaysia to England. Rather, a stroll in the park...

...starting in the 'Malaysia' corner of the park, and after a 2-minute stroll...

...ending up in the 'England' corner. Oh and we passed the Netherlands on the way:

This is how we like to spend time with Hannah. Either early in the morning, or in the late afternoon. This park is about 10 minutes drive from our apartment, and offers lots of space for Hannah to run around, look at birds and pick up leaves. Surely better than rattling around our apartment for hours on end!

Here are some more shots of Hannah having a good time.

A powerful sermon

2007-10-25T20:49:00.000+08:00

No, not a new sermon by me. This one is by Professor D. A. Carson who was in Kuala Lumpur this week, speaking at the annual Klang Valley Bible Conference (http://www.kvbc.info/).

Don Carson is always good. Good to read, good to listen to. I recommend anything by him that you can get your hands on.

And at the KVBC, his talks were as good as anything he has preached. But I was especially touched by his second talk - an exposition of Matthew 27:27-50 entitled "The Ironies of the Cross."

He brought out in my a fresh appreciation of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. I thank God for his ministry, and the fact that he has come to Malaysia (it is actually his 3rd time here as the speaker at KVBC). I am so glad I recorded his sermon, and I encourage you to take time to listen to this message. It is long - over an hour - so if you have an MP3 player, I suggest you download the file (about 16 MB) and take your time listening to it. Sorry if the recording quality is not fantastic - the official CD will only come out in about a month's time, but I really wanted to share this now!

Click here to listen to / download the sermon. I have also put a link in the right-hand panel.

Sweet Dreams?

2007-10-21T22:03:00.000+08:00

As I write this, Hannah has just fallen asleep.

That might not sound like blog-worthy news. But right now it feels like it to me! Let me explain...

In Hannah's first few weeks, I think we would have classified Hannah as a baby with a 'sleeping problem.' Not able to sleep without considerable carrying, waking up frequently, etc. Then after a couple of months (and up to a few days ago) we considered Hannah to be a 'good sleeper' - especially compared to some nightmare stories we heard of some people's babies. She could actually sleep a solid 10 hours every so often. And then things changed.

Hannah has always enjoyed being carried when she wants to sleep. But three days ago she insisted on being carried UNTIL she fell asleep, and that meant about half an hour of carrying/rocking 10kg's worth of baby. Two days ago she insisted on the SAME treatment. Thus, a new habit began to develop. Yesterday she insisted on the same treatment AGAIN. At the same time, her daytime naps had also got more difficult. But this time Daddy was getting tired, and getting worried about the new sleeping trend. And so ensued a "battle of wills" as Hannah did her best (screaming, throwing things, crying, choking) to win sympathy while Daddy did his best to ignore her. The result was, after a LONG time Daddy managed to pacify Hannah while sitting next to her cot and without laying a finger on her. After a few more minutes, an exhausted little girl fell sleep. Ah-ha. Hope for a better way.

So, tonight, Hannah tried to be carried again - but without as much conviction as the night before. And Daddy stuck to his new plan. It took more than 45 minutes sat next to her cot, but she did fall asleep - and with less fuss than the night before.

Given our concern about her sudden change in sleeping habits, I decided to do a bit of internet research, and found this rather neat Johnson's Baby-sponsored site that produces a "Customized sleeping profile" for your baby, complete with practical tailor-made recommendations for improving your baby's sleep.

You can try it out here:

Some tips I picked up

Her sleep patterns are not entirely unusual for babies of her age - an encouragement!
We should move Hannah from 2 naps per day to just 1, and plan it in the early afternoon.
We shouldn't put Hannah's pacifier in her mouth for her (she always sleeps with a pacifier!) - rather, put it in the cot and let her pick it up so she doesn't depend on someone to do it for her (e.g. in the middle of the night when it falls out and she wakes up)

I hope you find something useful on the website, too.

Good night, and sleep well.

Solving the Unsolved Mystery

2007-10-08T15:13:00.000+08:00

Thanks to everyone that took part in our poll.

Now before I reveal and analyze the stats, I want to clarify one of the comments made in the poll.

After THIS comment...:

":-)If based on baby photos, Hannah looks a lot like Chris when he was a baby but...sad as it may seem, Chris is no longer a "round" but more of an "oval" now and I will have to say that Hannah looks very much like her mummy...thumbs up for you Cindy ;-)"

...Cindy added THIS comment...:

"That's one vote for option 3!!"

...which I think is a misreading of the first comment. It should actually be a vote for option 2 BASED ON THE BABY PHOTOS. (P.S., as you might have guessed, Cindy is not the one typing this particular blog!)

So let's have a look at a visual representation of the voting:

Just to clarify, there were 3 voters in total, one of whom split their vote between options 2 and 3. And who are options 1, 2 and 3?

Option 1 = Samantha Wylie (Chris's big sis)

Option 2 = Chris

Option 3 = Cindy

Memories

2007-09-30T14:47:00.000+08:00

What are your earliest memories?

The brain is a curious and complex organ, with much left for scientists to unravel and comprehend. Experts say that human beings unconsciously store memories of their experiences as early as the first few months of life in the womb, triggering off a mini-explosion of commercial ventures aimed at producing future little Einsteins.

We won't argue about that for now.

Among some of my earliest memories are that of my older brothers having a fight and breaking my first hairband; crawling into that very same brother's bed in the middle of the night during a particularly bad thunderstorm; having a 'black and green' apple computer; witnessing the death and funeral of our first family dog etc.

For some strange reason, I remember watching a monkey eating a banana. We were in a park and I was absolutely terrified of those vicious monkeys who were known to snatch cameras and scratch over-friendly visitors. Despite several notices advising visitors not to feed the monkeys, many still did. One monkey ventured near us and boldly grabbed the banana offered to it.

It was fascinating to observe the process: the monkey flipped the banana the wrong side up, bit off the black end, swiftly peeled the banana and gulped it down in a couple of mouthfuls.

I remember thinking, was that the right way to peel a banana? Could it be that we humans have been peeling bananas the wrong way for centuries?

Not the most profound question in the world, but nonetheless that image stayed with me all these years.

So, it was a sort of deja vu when Hannah got her hands on a whole banana for the first time (we normally peel and cut it up in manageable chunks). Being the stubborn toddler that she is now, Hannah refused to surrender and proceeded to figure out the best way to eat it.

Since she hasn't had too much conditioning, could it be that Hannah would show us the right way to eat a banana and solve my inner turmoil once and for all?

Oh mommy, do you really have to follow me around all the time with that camera? Enough already.

Right, let's see. This doesn't look too tasty. How do I get to the goo-ey stuff inside?

There we go. Easy-peasy.
Yummy.

Oh, this is taking too long. I reckon this is the best way to do it. Watch and learn, mommy!

Ten minutes later, our young warrior tosses aside the carcass of her prey and walks away triumphant - with banana mush down the front of her dress and all over her face and hands.

Looks like I'll be sticking to my way for a while.

Unsolved Mysteries Part II

2007-09-30T14:32:00.000+08:00

The red-haired woman remains a mystery.

Although you folks could not help us arrive at a confident conclusion previously, we trust you may be able to help us do so this time.

Once and for all, we would like to know, who does Hannah look like?

Cast your votes, NOW!

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

And just to make sure you get to make a side-by-side comparison, here's the young lady:

Official voting closes in a week's time. So please say your money's worth now, OR, forever hold your peace.

Perhaps then, at last I will have hard statistics to quote when people ask about who Hannah resembles most...

"Oh, a recent internet poll reveals a 66% lean towards Mommy. Yes, definitely a 'Mommy' look."

How nice.

Malachi: Sins of the Priesthood Part 1

2007-09-26T10:46:00.000+08:00

That rather long title comes from my latest sermon, preached on Sunday 23rd September. It is part 2 in a 7-part series.

You can access it HERE, or click on the link in the right-hand panel -->

I am preaching part 3 this coming Sunday.

Who is she???

2007-09-24T15:28:00.000+08:00

There is obviously a limited to kind of spiritual input parents can provide for their 13 month old baby. But we do make it a habit to read Hannah a story from her 'Children's Bible' and then read a couple of prayers together each night before she sleeps.

We have been using "A Little Child's First Prayers" given by a friend, Mag, for quite a few months now.

On the last page is the 'Doxology':

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him, all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, you heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

We quite often sing this to Hannah, who rewards us with a round of applause at the end.

But she has another habit. She likes to point to one person in the picture, and make a lot of noise. Every time we turn to this page, she will home in on the same lady.

We are rather perplexed as to who Hannah thinks she is pointing at. Could it be Daddy, with his red (but very short) hair? Could it be Mummy, with her long (but very black) hair? Could it be someone else?

We welcome your verdict! You know where the comment button is...

Merdeka!

2007-09-01T14:12:00.000+08:00

Call it writer's block, call it stress, call it whatever.

It's been a long time since I left an entry here, and our nation's 50th Independence (Merdeka) Day seem the best topic to talk about, since the nation's patriotic spirit is currently running at an all time high.

Well, not quite so in our household.

There seems to be too much our plates to chew. So much to handle and so little time. Despite having been in a new department for the last month, incidents still occur to remind me that I am still, the new kid on the block. More about that another time.

Yesterday was a historic day for our nation - we celebrated 50 years of independence from the British colonial rule. Events were organised throughout the country in commemoration of this special day. This weekend was to be a time of joyous celebration.

One little snag though.

Chris was back at work this morning, bright and early, post Merdeka celebrations (not that we did anything significant). Tomorrow, I will be labouring well over 24 hours in the beloved Aceh-like Male Medical wards. What was to have been a long bank-holiday weekend will instead be a dreadful, unsynchronised work week.

I reckon poor Hannah gets a little confused. She doesn't know when to expect Mummy or Daddy to be at home. No wonder she often says "bye-bye" to me out of the blue, as though expecting another disappearing act from me. How heart-wrenching.

Grouses aside, I must admit that the Merdeka celebrations always had a special place in my heart. I remember as a little child I would rush down early Merdeka morning to catch the annual parades live on television. Secretly I longed to be part of those colourful formations and be among those proud marching students.

So, what DID we do for Merdeka?

Well, we had a leisurely breakfast at our local dim sum shop, and proceeded to mingle with the MILLIONS at Mid-Valley Mega mall. Even after we had done all we had planned, we were forced to retreat back into the shopping mall when we discovered a horrendous standstill traffic jam in the parking lot at lunch hour.

Later in the evening, we met up with old university friends back from England and met their little cross-cultural darling for the first time. We would have posted some pictures, but ah, we seem to have stopped taking pictures since Hannah's triumph (been there, done that!), and discovered a little too late that our camera was out of battery power.

To cut a long story short, we found ourselves in front of the TV at the end of a long day, somewhat dreading the working weekend ahead of us. After immersing ourselves briefly in the dramatic life of Jack Bauer (24), we found ourselves surfing the channels and ending up with ... the Merdeka parade.

In spite of himself, Chris had to admit it was an impressive display that kept us watching till the end. In fact, here are some snapshots of the day.

Commentators have much to say about the progress of the country over the last 50 years, both positive and negative. Everything said and done, it is no doubt difficult to attain racial harmony and unity in a country as diverse as Malaysia. This young country has struggled to become what it is today, and rightly deserves to be proud of what has been acheived.

Happy 50th Birthday Malaysia.

When Children Ask Questions

2007-08-12T18:01:00.000+08:00

This is Chris's latest sermon (preached this morning) on Deuteronomy 6. Find out what Moses instructed parents to say when their children ask questions similar to 'Why do we go to church?' 'Why do we study the Bible?' and 'Why do Christians have to follow all these rules?'

You can click HERE or on the link in the right-hand pane to listen to/download the sermon in MP3 format.

Oops!... I did it again.

2007-08-08T19:56:00.000+08:00

The next baby/parent magazine to come our way was "Mother & Baby" (Cindy subscribes to this one. Well, it is 'Your favourite pregnancy, baby & toddler mag.'). After retrieving the August 2007 issue from our letter-box, as ususal we had a quick flick through the pages...

...and, being so hot on the heels of her recent media success, we didn't think for a moment that Hannah might have done it again. But when we saw page 94, there was no mistaking the cheeky face that greeted us.

A very pleasant surprise! This time, Hannah clinched first place. The only slight disappointment is that the magazine failed to print Hannah's name and age on the photo. Well, she might not be made famous by this media exposure, but we are sure proud of you Hannah.

Here's looking at you, babe!

Finally!

2007-08-05T15:32:00.000+08:00

While perusing the Baby/Parent magazines on sale today, we picked up the August 2007 issue of Parenthood (Well, it is 'Your No.1 Baby Magazine', afterall.)

And then, while waiting to pay for it, we flicked through the pages, until...

Could it be???

We took another, closer look:

Yes, it was true! Hannah was officially "A Happy Baby", her parents were finally over their 'our baby isn't cute enough to win competitions' complex and the Wylie household needn't worry about buying disposable diapers again for a while. Hurrah!

Gasping for Air

2007-08-04T09:35:00.000+08:00

I dislike farewells.

I dislike major changes.

I dislike chaos.

This past week has seen a major upheaval in my career. I packed my bags and left my 'home' for the last 3 years and moved on to something not entirely different, but significantly so. Nothing could have prepared me for the 'cultural shock' I am experiencing now.

Yes, I have finally secured my release from the Anaesthesia department and moved back to my 'first love', General Medicine. Whatever plans I had years ago when I first stepped into the world of Anaesthesia had derailed, and only now am I back on track.

Or am I?

No one will fault me for having occasional doubts, especially in this precarious time of transition. After all, having been in the sterile and often well-controlled world of Anaesthesia, I am now expected to stay afloat in the roaring chaos of our medical wards. A friend who had volunteered in the aftermath of the Aceh Tsunami disaster often had this to say of his experience:

" Oh, it wasn't that bad. It was something like our general medical wards."

I dislike farewells.

I was spoilt. Among those I miss most are my staff, who count among the best and most efficient in the hospital. Of course that would be expected of Intensive Care Unit and theatre staff, who are expected to deliver quick and expert services in times of crisis. Every verbal and written order would be carried out as soon as possible, every suspicious order (related to bad handwriting) clarified and rectified with expert tact.

I learnt much from my nurses - from professional skills to compassion for patients. Not only did they help in daily work such as interpreting ECGs (and tactfully suggesting what could be done!), but also demonstrated the finer points of breaking bad news to relatives. I remember a certain ICU nurse who would painstakingly comb and tie up female patients' hair in cheery ponytails whether they were conscious or not!

I spent endless hours gossiping and chatting with my colleagues over endless cups of coffee and glorious home-cooked food (brought in by the night staff) during those long long nights of work. We knew who was in a new relationship or in a bitter divorce; we talked about the intern who owned a bright red Porsche; we moaned about our pay but rejoiced with the recent pay-hike announcement. Most of all, we talked about our families - most of my staff know Hannah by name!

Leaving such a wonderful working relationship nurtured over the last few years was difficult. Saying goodbye in an appropriate manner was even more difficult. The Malays have a beautiful practice accompanying farewells - that of requesting the forgiveness of fellow colleagues for any wrongdoings or misunderstandings in the past. A potential tear-jerker if you ask me.

I dislike major changes.

Well, getting married, then pregnant and being a mother are major life events as it is. Having a major shift in my career is another. Where previously I could cruise along in my work, I now find myself akin to a fish out of water, ill-equipped to handle situations thrown my way.

Where previously I could call out my staff by name, now I would not recognise one even if they were to stand beside me in the lift. All sense of familiarity and security has been thrown out of the window.

I dislike chaos.

Anaesthetists are meticulous people. They try to anticipate problems before they occur and often prefer to err on the side of caution. Even in the midst of a crisis, there is always a plan, always some sense of control.

Call it a baptism of fire. I have been assigned to the ward with the notorious reputation of having one of the highest BOR (bed occupancy rate) in the hospital. Where cubicles were originally designed for an occupancy of 6, I found double the number of patients in mine one fine morning.

Patients are wheeled or pushed in in a steady stream throughout the day (and night). Even if we appear to be bursting in our seams, no patient can be turned away.

Chaos rules.

There is no growth without challenge, and there is no challenge without change

- Warren Wiersbe

My learning curve will be a steep one. In the mean time, it will be longer working hours and a daily struggle finding satisfaction with my standard of work.

Hopefully it won't be too long before I find the stream and start swimming again.

First Birthday

2007-07-30T21:30:00.000+08:00

With all the media hype surrounding environment consciousness, Hannah has gone ahead and left a huge carbon footprint. Not satisfied with just one, this little girl ended up with TWO birthday parties, generating a massive amount of waste. At least guests had to car pool for her 2nd party (due to stringent security requirements) and we did try to recycle all the cardboard and wrapping paper from her presents.

Since we are still recovering from all that partying, we have decided to allow the pictures to speak for themselves:

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Hannahjuenwylie/HannahSFirstBirthday

We continue to be thankful to God for our little daughter, and all the loving family and friends surrounding and supporting us.

A year on, we still wonder how anyone can ever be adequately prepared for parenthood. We realise how we've changed - our threshold for noise, dirt and general chaos has risen considerably; our multi-tasking skills have improved immensely and our conversations with colleagues at work are inevitably about ... Hannah.

Happy First Birthday darling Hannah

Too Close for Comfort

2007-07-16T21:07:00.000+08:00

It's official.

We are now known as "Hannah's Daddy" and "Hannah's Mummy". I thought that only happened when kids started going to school and teachers refer to the parents in that manner.

Let me explain. A typical incident would be something like this:

Our happy little family decides to drop by the local hypermarket (yes, that's how rampant these stores are now!) to pick up a few things for dinner. As we innocently browse through the cheese section, Hannah gets a greeting from a total stranger. Well, at least a stranger in our eyes.

The over-friendly lady pinches Hannah's cheeks, comments on her lovely eyes and tries to get her little 3-year-old grandaughter to wave to Hannah, all the time speaking in an animated high-pitched voice. Her pregnant daughter smiles but maintains a comfortable distance, probably realising how unnerving it is for parents to have such an invasion of privacy!

Little children have limited memories, and that little girl obviously didn't remember their supposed meeting several days ago at the bank. Our excited stranger-friend quickly explains that the two girls had become instant friends while waiting for Hannah's grandparents to sort out a bit of banking.

Where was my mother or mother-in-law? In her excitement, she probably didn't realise that Chris was not likely to have a Chinese mother. Anyway, a question like that was more acceptable than an incredulous, "are YOU the mother?".

We gave a polite answer, grabbed a tub of yoghurt and excused ourselves. Now, we were more aware of several salesgirls trying to make eye contact, some even calling out to Hannah with unusual familiarity. We quickly paid for our purchases, slightly unsettled by the attention.

"So, she's your daughter!"

Despite trying to ignore that comment, eventually I had to turn to face the lady who was making repeated attempts at starting a conversation. It turned out to be the Ice Cream Lady, located strategically at the exit of the hypermarket. Apparently she had noticed Hannah with her grandparents before.

By the time we got home, we were sufficiently relaxed to laugh about the whole experience. Hannah's grandparents validated the bank story, but could not recall ever meeting an Ice Cream Lady.

Obviously, Hannah has been going places with her Gong Gong and Po Po. Supermarket runs probably take a lot longer than before with the amount of socialising that must be taking place.

This leads us to a few question:

If Hannah is so cute, why hasn't she won any photo contests? We have come to the conclusion that there are way too many babies cuter than her.

Are we being too obsessive about strangers keeping their distance? Obviously her grandparents have been making more friends than her parents (who have a policy of being aloof to strangers).

Will this ever stop? Call us ungrateful or over-sensitive, but we'd appreciate an outing to the supermarket or a meal out without having to be vigilant about strangers coming up to pinch Hannah's cheeks.

How often do children get kidnapped in public places? Ah, the ultimate irrational fear of all (new) parents.

Unfortunately, Hannah's proud grandparents thrive in this sort of attention (as all grandparents do!). As long as we go to the same places to shop or eat, Hannah's likely to meet people who know her better than we would like.

Shouldn't we be receiving free ice cream samples at the very least?

Holiday

2007-07-09T15:29:00.000+08:00

We're back from a few days' holiday in Bukit Tinggi. "Where?" I hear you ask. Think Medieval France. Think narrow cobbled streets and wobbly wood-beamed buildings. Think fountains and wishing wells. And then think 3000 feet above sea-level in a Malaysian rain-forest. That's Bukit Tinggi. If it still defies imagination, please click on the pic below to see a rather OTT collection of holiday snap-shots.

Holiday in Bukit Tinggi 2007

Highlights of the holiday (for Chris, anyway) were:
* the cool weather (think 20-25 degrees C. Yes, that's cool)
* the privacy - and not just in our suite. The whole resort was almost a ghost town on our first night.
* the reasonably authentic Italian food (ironically, we didn't eat any French food)
* the quality 'family-time' that we enjoyed.
* complete control of the TV.
* the sofa to loaf on (despite having a crater in the middle)
* the feeling of not being even remotely near a big city (although it only takes about 45 minutes to drive there from the northern outskirts of KL)

For Hannah, it was a chance to cool off, to see lots of God's creation, to bathe in a full-sized bath and to learn some new vocabulary. The new words had nothing to do with the surroundings and everything to do with Mummy and Daddy repeatedly reading her books out loud. She definitely got her tongue around "bear" and "dog", and Mummy swears she also said "kangeroo." Well, if she did, we are still waiting for her to repeat that one. Anyway, these are in addition to "daddy", "papa" and "mum-mum" (which might mean 'Mummy' but more likely means 'I'm starving - feed me NOW!')

Well, now we are back in KL. Chris goes back to work on Thursday, Cindy is already on call. Oh, and the TV is no longer ours. Life goes on...

Dead Men Walking

2007-06-30T10:19:00.000+08:00

One of my greatest regrets of working in the Anaesthesia department is the lack of follow up.

In other words, I hardly know what happpens to the patient after they leave my care. Surely, the greatest satisfaction one can have is to see someone brave through a stormy illness and step out to greet the sunny skies.

The majority of our patients are seen in the intensive care unit or the operating theatres. You can be well assured that none of these patients are allowed to WALK out, much less be discharged from the hospital!

Yet, God has a way of throwing a few 'sunbursts' along the way.

One evening, after a particularly tiring day, I stared blankly at the parking lot while lining up to pay for my purchases in the hospital shop. Silently, I was resenting the long queue that was obstructing my planned quick exit from work. As I turned to study the people in the long queue, I could not help but notice a young man.

He must be a young punk.

You know, they are the sort who dress up like hip-hop artiste wannabes, sunglasses and all even if it's so dark they can't see beyond their fingers. He had a jumper with a hood pulled over his head, knee length shorts with worn-out sneakers. Then I noticed something else - he was thin, abnormally, heart-wrenchingly thin.

Oh wait a minute... I know this guy...

I could hardly suppress a smile when I finally recognised him. Short of calling out his name, I tried to catch his eye, but he was obviously trying to remain as anonymous as possible.

Gary* was a young hairdresser admitted to ICU for severe complications after several cycles of chemotherapy. I had seen him in the ward, brought him into ICU, saw him deteriorate into a coma and wondered many times if he would survive the ordeal. Following that I was rotated out of ICU duties and, like many other patients, didn't know the continuation of his story.

Seeing him stride out of the shop, arm full of junk food, was probably the highlight of my week!

On another occassion, our ICU team was headed to the hospital canteen for a quick morning break. As we stepped into the canteen, we were stopped by a hospital attendant who worked in our department. He shook our hands and introduced us to his father - another patient who had a miraculous recovery.

Months earlier, Ali's* father was involved in a car accident that left him with several fractures and a huge clot in his brain. The neurosurgeons did their best to clear the clot, but the initial clinical signs were bad and we concurred that he had a slim chance to recover from his coma. As expected, he deteriorated further and the family was called in and kept updated about his progress. Somehow, Ali's father hung on precariously, but remained in a coma.

The family was so thankful for what little signs of life he had, and the tireless efforts of the ICU staff that they bought us lunch packets one day as a sign of their appreciation. Again, I was finishing my ICU rotation, but quietly signed off the chances of this unfortunate man.

Imagine my surprise and delight, to not only see Ali's father again, but to see him walk unaided into the hospital compound months later for his clinic follow-up.

Such patients are refreshing rays of sunlight through the thick, overcast clouds that often hang over our ICU patients. Most have lives hung precariously over the edge of life and death. Daily, our ICU staff toils to tip the scales in their favour. Often it just doesn't seem to be worth the effort.

These 'sunbursts' makes it all worthwhile.

*not real names

Shooting Hannah

2007-06-26T09:29:00.000+08:00

I must say it felt kind of weird taking a 10 month old baby to a photo shop to have her picture taken. But Hannah didn't behave according to her young age - throughout the photo shoot, she was perfectly composed and cooperative, perched on a stool (while Po-Po and Daddy held her tight just out of shot) not making a single noise.

Why did we do it? Well, Hannah needs a passport. That's right, her own passport. She can't be added to Mummy or Daddy's passports, she has to have her own. With a picture. Goodness knows how she is going to convince immigration of her identity when they look at her photo in 5 year's time, but we will worry about that later. The important thing is we get a passport ready for (God willing) Hannah's big trip to England in December.

I must say I am quite pleased with the results. The BIG blackish bruise on the left side of her forehead was conveniently covered by her wild fringe. Her two bottom teeth can just been seen through her vague smile. She looks quite grown up (for a 10 month old!) in her wistful pose.

And she did such a good job of charming the young lady serving us that we got a couple of 'touched up' photos for free. I think they are intended for us to enter more competitions. Well, the lady showed us all kinds of fancy effects and borders (none of which really grabbed us) but eventually we settled on the 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' design in commemoration of Hannah's favourite song.

Angelic, isn't she?

Shangri - La

2007-06-23T10:07:00.000+08:00

If you happen to be in KL, more specifically the Bukit Bintang area, this weekend, it may do you good to listen to this bit of advice.

While strolling through the shopping malls or crowded pedestrian walkways, if you happen to experience chest discomfort, difficulty breathing or any uncomfortable physical sensation, you may want to head over to the Shangri - La.

Evidently, we are not talking about the mythical Himalayan utopia, but the classy hotel nestled in the heart of the glitzy Bukit Bintang.

After all, hundreds of healthcare staff, including the leading Intensivists of this country, as well as several from Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland, the USA and Singapore are convening at the venue for a weekend conference.

It was quite a sight seeing tourists clad casually in shorts and sandles studying maps under electronic signboards with flashing messages such as: Haemodynamics - Sabah Room

Why do I think you might be even remotely interested in something like this? Who knows. Perhaps there'll be something more exciting in our next blog.

(We can't be talking about Hannah all the time)

* Latest Web Album Photos *

2007-06-21T09:57:00.000+08:00

It's been about 3 months since we uploaded photos to Hannah's Web Album. But now I've got a bit of time on my hands (3 1/2 weeks, to be precise). Here is the link to the latest pictures:

Hannah at 8-10 months

And remember the photos are quite high definition, so perfect for downloading/printing if you are so inclined.

A winning photo?

2007-06-19T10:09:00.000+08:00

Just decided to blog this 'cos it's my favourite photo of Hannah right now. She can be really adorable at times.

Here she is showing off three tricks - standing by herself (she can pull herself up using just about anything more than a few inches high) and waving. The third trick is not quite captured in this shot. You can probably make out that she is standing next to our Hi-Fi. Well, she has already located the volume control which she enjoys fiddling with when her music is playing (or when Mummy and Daddy are watching a DVD).

Now I entitled this "A winning photo?" because we have resurrected our photo competition hopes with this one, along with a couple of other cute shots. Hey, Pampers don't grow on trees, y'know. I mean, it's about time Hannah started paying her way in life...

P.S. Anyone know any Mother/Baby magazine editors?!

Father's Day

2007-06-17T22:04:00.000+08:00

...or as Han said in church today, an 'afterthought' to Mother's Day!

Well, Hannah didn't forget her Daddy today. Chris got a rather handy book, in preparation for our new apartment (should be ready by early 2008 - click here for a link to an old blog on the apartment). In case you can't make out the title in the picture, it is "Home Improvement 101" (from Black & Decker, no less!)

So the gauntlet has been thrown down, it would seem, for Daddy to ensure the new apartment is inhabitable. But as Chris happily pointed out to his wife, to avoid any hint of sexism, most of the pictures in the book are of women wielding spanners, screwdrivers, drills and the like. Even the front cover features a woman with a paint roller. Ah, yes. Equality of the sexes. Let's not forget that when we get our new apartment. ;-)

Ok, let's finish this one with a call to all 'Fathers' reading this - post a comment with YOUR Father's Day gift and we'll see if we can spot any trends...

2007-06-11T12:10:00.000+08:00

Sermon Update: I have mananged to upload the latest sermon to Archive.org, so now you can download a smaller (20MB) file or even just listen to it by online streaming (just like all my other sermons). Here is the link, and the link on the right-hand panel has been updated too:

http://www.archive.org/details/Leviticus19

Recordings from church

2007-06-04T14:04:00.000+08:00

Here are two different types of recordings with very different content matter!

The first is some video footage of Hannah, recorded by our friend Eddy. Very sweet. For those of you who haven't seen Hannah in the flesh, you will get to see Hannah doing a bit of crawling and standing.

The second is Chris's latest sermon. The title is "Standards for Holy Living" and it looks at Leviticus 19 to see what it says to us today. Click here to download, OR go to the 'Sermons' section of the blog on the right-hand side.

Unfortunately my previous method of uploading audio files didn't work this time, so I'm temporarily using a free service called Badongo - it means you have to download a 40MB file, with no other options! My file will also be deleted in a few weeks' time. :-(

Hannah's F I R S T

2007-05-28T20:52:00.000+08:00

F

A

L

L

L

L

Well, it wasn’t quite as dramatic, but you can be assured it got my adrenaline pumping. After getting over the initial panic, logic and common sense kicked in and I convinced myself that Hannah was alright.

Immediately, my next thought was : how embarrassing, how could I ever have allowed that to happen? What kind of Mummy am I?!

For the last month or so, Hannah’s motor skills have developed exponentially, leaving poor Gong Gong and Po Po utterly exhausted and eager to hand over this clumsy bundle of activity to her parents by the evening.

She graduated from sitting up unsupported to crawling, turning, climbing and walking with support in a matter of weeks. We had to lower her cot, add cot bumpers and purchase a playpen to keep the young lady from injuring herself. Above all, we followed a fellow blogger’s advice and started teaching her the meaning of … NO. After all, it made more sense to teach her to obey a command (mainly to stay away from danger), rather than childproof the entire house (which is impossible).

Hannah seemed to be making quite a headway in this, often stopping her enthusiastic crawl whenever she hears a stern NO. Perhaps we became a little over-confident.

One morning, I was reading her some nursery rhymes and she started getting up to her usual tricks. She flipped, turned, crawled, rolled and moved steadily towards the edge of the bed, which is perhaps two feet from the hard ground. Rather than line the bed edge with pillows, we had previously decided to stop her with verbal commands, which had worked up to now.

You can guess what happened next.

Somewhere in the middle of “twinkle twinkle little star”, our little darling tucked her head, turned over and rolled off the edge of the bed onto the floor.

It took a split second for it to sink in.

All at once my heart rate tripled and Hannah’s inconsolable wails pierced the air. I was certain that picture of her casually rolling off my bed would play in my mind over and over again, each time amplifying to nightmarish proportions.

Despite managing severe head injuries at work on a regular basis , checking my own baby over proved more difficult than expected. I toyed with the idea of visiting a paediatrician, but finally convinced myself that it was just a bad bump. A quick look at several websites gave me more reassurance, but ultimately it was Po Po's cool reaction that made me feel better all at once.

"Hannah's a tough girl. You should have seen your brother. He's fallen off the walker AND the bed and knocked his head so many times as a baby."

Indeed, a quick check with my colleagues at work later in the day revealed a simple truth. 3 out of 4 babies seem to tumble from elevated surfaces at least once in their lifetime, as though this is a rite of passage.

Anyway, Hannah seems to have graduated from the "School of Hard Knocks" with flying colours. A week on, she suffers no ill effects from the incident and has progressed further in her plight for independence.

"Mummy, see, no hands!" seem to be her latest war cry, and Daddy has counted a full 20 seconds of Hannah standing alone unsupported.

What a relief.

Caught in a moment

2007-05-24T21:04:00.000+08:00

This gorgeous photo was taken by TP, a good friend from Church. Thanks for making Hannah look so angelic, TP!

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-14T09:40:00.000+08:00

First of all, for our UK readers, you ought to know that Malaysia doesn't follow the UK date for Mother's Day. I don't know why, but they follow the US 'Second Sunday in May' date - which was yesterday.

So it was Cindy's first Mother's Day. I think she was a bit sceptical about whether Hannah would remember, or indeed come up with anything to mark this special occasion. As it turned out, Hannah did rather well:

Not only did she give Mummy a cute book entitled "101 Secrets A Cool Mom Knows" (note the Americanism in the book's title!)...

...but Hannah also managed to buy a lovely bunch of red roses, which arrived a day early.

Finally, Hannah spared a thought for Po-Po, too. The flowers are from Po-Po's daughter and Son-in-law, but Hannah happily gave Po-Po a winsome smile as her photo companion.

All in all, a big "Well done" to Hannah.

Now, dearest daughter, what can you manage for Father's Day?