Our Sweet Elijah ;-)

Elijah has just turned 3 months old, and looking back at the last 3 months, he's really grown quite a bit. From a birth weight of 3.25kg, his most recent weight 2 days ago was 6.915kg! He's more than doubled his birth weight already, and Daddy says that that proves that Mummy's milk is best ;-) (haha, and free and convenient too, since he doesn't have to wake up at night to feed Elijah ;-))

First bath at home

At 2 weeks ago.... comfy in Granny's arms

Daddy makes a real good pillow

Is that a smile I see??

Is it nap time already?

Other than growing in size, the last 3 months have also seen Elijah progressing from near constant sleepiness, to now cooing and playing. He has a really nice and pleasant temperament... very undemanding... I don't think it's only because as 3rd time parents, we are a lot more relaxed, but rather that he is really not a fussy baby. We very seldom hear him cry very loudly, and although he fusses on and off and wants to be carried (which I guess is normal for any baby), his cry is usually a whine or a whimper (unless that is ignored for prolonged periods), and he can sleep through his brothers' endless chatter, singing (which is very loud), quarreling, temper tantrums and crying. I don't know how, but he seems to understand his brothers' need for attention, and in his own way is willing to share the attention with them.


Lazing around on a late morning...


Mummy making me "do a workout"...

Caleb and Dylan have also been darlings in their own right... from attempting to change Elijah's pampers when he is dirty and fussing (see earlier post), to offering to give him milk (even breastmilk!) when he is crying and hungry. They even sing to him in the car when he cries in attempts to calm him down...


Dylan trying to wear the breastfeeding pillow so he can "feed baby Elijah".

Caleb thinks Mummy also produces Milo and Apple juice.... Gosh... is Mummy really a vending machine???

Dylan looking on as Elijah sleeps, trying not to make too much noise so that he doesn't wake up...


"Er Ge" paying extra special attention to his "Xiao Di"..... always wanting to carry "baby Elijah"....

"Da Ge" carrying "Xiao Di"


Guess u can see how difficult it is to take a nice picture of the 3 of them all together???

I just thank God for our 3 lovely boys, and I won't exchange them for anything!

Unfounded Worries!

Since Elijah arrived, I have been plagued by a constant worry each time Andrea calls. I fear she will tell me that Dylan climbed into E's cot and sat on his face or that Caleb swung E around and dislocated his arm. These are the less worrying damages that I fear the 2 "big" brothers will inflict on E.


I can't say that these fears are entirely irrational. I also grew up in a family of 3 sibs where the oldest brother did cajole the middle child to chew steak made of rubber pieces with lots of ketchup on top and wrestled with the youngest brother, who is 12 years younger, until my parents' bed broke. It didn't help that I was the oldest brother and more often than not, behavioural traits are hereditary.




Thankfully, neither C nor D have given me any cause for worry. In fact both of them have been exemplary.




C has been a great brother to D, and that has rubbed off. Here's D trying to help E change diapers.



I guess my worries are unfounded, at least for now...

E has arrived!!

After much anticipation and waiting in the hospital for about 30 hours, E finally arrived. But it must be said that the timing was perfect. (Disclaimer - this statement and the paragraph that follow are made by a passive participant in the birthing process. The passive participant has never experienced any uterine contractions nor gone through any form of pain that is half as excruciating. Apologies in advance to any mother, in particular my better half, if the descriptions are inadequate, inappropriate or downright wrong.)

The early admission meant that Andrea could have a night's rest before the big day. Being in the hospital allowed her to have greater peace of mind as she knew her antibiotics which had to be administered at least 4 hours prior to birth would be given in time. Then came the whole day of waiting, which allowed her to clear her emails and buy those much needed bedsheets, where else but online. She must be one of the few women who contribute to retailers on the other side of the globe, while on the delivery bed. Awesome!!

Alright, I'm taking a dig at my wife, but what I'm really trying to say is that she was a scene of serenity and calm before and during labour. A real champion of a mother.

Some photos of Elijah Choo Zhong Yi.

Waiting for E

As we suspected, Baby E really wants to be a June baby. Andrea had rather severe contractions in the afternoon and was admitted to labour ward. However, they eased up in the evening but not enough for her to be discharged. So here we are again ... waiting. We finally decided that Baby E would be Elijah Choo. After going a whole big round, I can only say that it was simply divine.

A Day Out With Dylan

On 21 May 2010, my wait to go on a school excursion with Dylan (or Caleb for that matter) finally ended. (Mum had been hogging all the school outings, but since she's 38 weeks pregnant and due anytime, I got to go!)

I got to spend the morning with Dylan and his 2 buddies Arryan and David at the Jurong Bird Park. Arryan (who is half Rwandan and half American) is really spunky and has an appetite to match Dylan's. David is a sweetie that spent most of the time on the bus trip sharing his food with his 2 buddies. I wonder whether they actually snatch David's food during a normal school day.

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• I thought the Bird Park had changed quite a bit such my last visit... Actually it probably changed so much that I can't seem to recall visiting an outdoor tourist spot in Singapore with so much a/c spaces.

The kids had quite a lot of fun, getting to pet a cockatoo and standing on an ostrich egg...

That's Dylan with a Macaw's tail feather.

Let's get it started ... restarted

Its been almost a year since the last entry and during this time, quite a lot has taken place. Dylan's started school at Faith Montessori. Its more a daycare but he only goes for the morning activities. Apparently he's the darling of the teachers and the Chef Aunty. He asks for seconds, thirds and fourths until the teachers actually tell him that he's not allowed to eat anymore. After meals, his tummy resembles a bloated puffer fish

Caleb's now in K1 and having a good time. He's one half of a blossoming romance, with the most sought-after girl in this class making up the other half. Over milo and a muffin, he agreed that there were other girls in class who like him but he only likes M. These events were corroborated by his teachers when we met them at PTM.

Andrea thinks she will deliver any moment now. She's been looking good. Apart from the gait, you can't quite tell she is pregnant - that is when you see her back view. Things are quite different from the front, the bump has just been growing. We are glad that Baby E has been growing well inside Andrea.

Weekend Getaway

It was rare but we could actually take leave on the same dates at a week's notice and we decided to make a quick dash to Langkawi.  We travelled quite a bit alone with Caleb, but since Dylan arrived on the scene, we travelled as a pack (with the larger family).  We finally plucked up the courage and ventured 2 on 2.  No regrets!!  (Perhaps only 1 - wished that it could last forever) 

That's us at the highest point in Langkawi.  We took quite a scary "Caleb"Car Ride up but the view was worth it.  I think it was quite a technological feat to build the cable car towers.

Having fun at the plunge pool in the villa

The kids... rather all of us enjoyed the villa, especially the kids.  It was fun spending time togethe doing nothing much at all.  I don't quite buy that "quality time" theory.  Most of our pictures are in and around the villa because that's where we spent the most part of our time.

The beach was literally a stone's throw from our back door

Caleb enjoying the really comfy bed, after soaking in the big bath tub.

Dylan had fun in the bath too, but nothing like having one custom made

Food was pretty good too