Stubbornness...

...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

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

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...

... 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

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.

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!

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

I will let Hannah's pictures speak for themselves.

Hairdresser Hannah

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

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

Any suggestions?

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

Desa Permai Condominium

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

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.

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





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

Nothing but the kitchen sink

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.