Stokke Xplory

Our Stokke is here!!!

And though it has a funny look, it sure is fun to use.









Read more about the details here

Our package finally arrived from the US after some fiasco with delivery over in the US. We liked the fact that it has an adjustable height allowing a young child to have a ride height that is above the level of an adults knees. This is after observing our niece having to endure the view of the table bottom during family dinners.

In addition, it has rave reviews from celebrity users. See their reviews

So if you see a red stokke pram. honk and wave

First Trip to the Zoo

We had to go out for some fresh air and sunshine. It was also an opportunity to test out our new pram which came over the weekend. And so we thought the area outside the zoo and night safari would have been a nice place to walk.

So Elijah has already been to the zoo and the tender age of 12 days :). And in anticipation of future trips to the zoo, we excitedly got ourselves signed up as Friends of the Zoo. This will allow us unlimited access to the zoo itself and other discounts e.g carpark, F&B ... The cost of it was SGD 150 but with a 10% discount with the ikea friends card. Since an adult admission to the zoo is about 16 bucks, 5 trips to the zoo for fran, myself and rlijah would more than make up for the membership to the zoo.

This will require a little re-think about the way we plan zoo trips. No more of those entire day, see the whole zoo type of trips. Rather, we should plan short, a couple of hours type trips to see specific exhibits or shows.

This was really quite a fun day.

(will follow with photos)

Did You Know?

Did you know that...


Shit from a one week old baby can: Fly through the air, more than 30cm, in stream and really soil you... if you are not careful.

That is exactly what happened during yesterday's diaper change and it had to happen past midnight. Not exactly a bargain just before going to bed.

One really had to see the humour in the situation and it still brings a smile to my face even when I think about it now.

his nails are SHARP!

Do not let anyone tell you that a baby's nails are not sharp. Apart from inflicting little scratches on their faces, these claws can actually cause quite a little bit of pain.

But I guess I deserved it for tricking the little one with my non-existent breast... Ouch, when he reached out and dug in with his claws. :0

The Many Faces of Elijah

Its amazing how many faces one baby can have. Its his 6th day of life and the little one already has a myriad of expressions on his little face.

It really is amazing and how wondrous a miracle life can be. We can already see subtle differences in his behaviour, expressions and development from day to day.

Enjoy his little faces..

Baby Elijah is here

Things have really been hectic and surreal since Monday, but the good news is...

ELIJAH is HERE!

The little one was born on 12 Feb 08 past midnight, weighing in at 3455 gms. Fran had to undergo a C section after a prolonged period of labour but thank God that both mummy and baby are safe and healthy.

I will be following up with photos here...so hold on tight

Update:
Follow the link here for photos!

Elijah Michael Tan

We have settled on a name, after mulling about it for a long time. The name is important and it gives meaning to what we hope for him as he grows up in our family, under our guidance.

So if you think Elijah is quite uncommon and why this name? Elijah was a prophet of God, set in the old Testament. Characteristically; bold, direct and obedient to God, he went about challenging the authority of the kind and the worship of false gods.

The painting below highlights some of the scenes from the story of Elijah including the call of fire from the sky to light the offering on the altar, the raising of the dead son of the widow of Zarephath, and his rising to heaven in a fiery chariot.

St. Michael, Mont St Michel

Photo by Adrian. f4, 1/10 ISO 1600

And then Michael? Michael is going to be his baptism name. We were very taken with the image of Michael the archangel during our pilgrimage to Mont St Michel. Michael, one of the archangel means "who is like God" is also traditionally depicted as a warrior with a foot over a defeated serpent. We hope these bring meaning to how we hope to bring up our little boy... an obedient servant of God and a defender of the faith.

Last Weekend as 2

It just struck me as we entered the weekend, that this is the last weekend that Fran and I were to spend as a couple.

Wait...let me correct that statement. It is the last weekend that Fran and I were to spend together as a 2 member family. Baby Elijah is due on the 8th and if all goes well, the next weekend will see 3 members in our family.

Well, I say this not because it is a problem and I made the correction of the first statement, as Fran and I can and will continue to make time to spend together as a couple despite the arrival of the child.

However, the permanent change lies with the fact that when I refer to our family... there will be an additional member. :)

Adrian's Mussels

If you thought this was a narcissistic post...well it is

Just to describe my inaugural attempt at cooking mussels. Having tasted these first in the UK and France a couple of years back, the concept of Belgian mussels have lingered close to my heart. Or rather my tastebuds.

Mussels and fries, or rather moules et frites is really quite something. Cooked in a iron pot, steaming in a broth of white wine, cream or even Hoegaarden and accompanied with a basket of crispy fat fries. The succulent mussels are plucked from the shells using the shell of another, rather like a tong.

One tends to think that 1 kg seems like quite a lot of mussels, but it disappears rather quickly so when ordering, go for a minimum quantity of a kilo. 500 grams will just leave you a little disappointed.

So back to my attempt. Here are the photos to prove it. 2 kg of green lipped mussels served in 2 different sauces; white wine and Hoegaarden.




I am actually quite proud of it.

Now, should I follow up with a recipe on this?

Promotions

Guess what came in the mail again...


A seemingly innocent mailer from Home-Fix regarding my loyalty card. But on closer look...

Haha. Me... PROF!

Surprise, surprise

Guess what came in the mail today...

Now I am an official UNDAC member

Sir Edmund Hillary 1920-2008

Today, the world has lost a great man. One who at an early age, braved tough and difficult conditions to achieve what was thought impossible, to stand on the the roof of the world. Together with his sherpa partner Tenzing Norgay, they stood on the summit of Mount Everest, 8850m on 29 May 1953.

If one thinks that climbing Everest today is a difficult task, think back 50 years when the luxury of modern equipment and technical clothing were absent and their achievement becomes ever more significant and admirable.

What is even more admirable was the friendships he developed during his climbing days in the Himalayas and these became a driving factor in his quest to provide for the needy communities in the country of Nepal and the Himalayan region. It was so fitting that he spent a greater part of his life giving back to a place that made his name one remembered throughout the world to this day.

If you know the story of this man,it is a sad day for the passing of one of the greatest mountaineers in our time. If you do not know the man and his story, maybe take some time to find out a little of what he did and how he went about doing it. A very interesting read will be a memoir entitled, The View from the Summit, which details not only his extraordinary climb but his friendships with the sherpas and ultimately his projects in the himalayas.



God bless his soul.

Our 9th Meeting 4 Jan 08

35 weeks, 2.2 kg

5 more weeks to go. I actually feel jumpy and impatient about it. I can' wait! His movements have been a lot more and he is really an active fella. I want to see how he looks like and I want to hold him in my arms.

The past few weeks have been busy, taking advantage of the holiday season to pack and prepare for his arrival. The room has been cleared out, his cupboard bought and the little odds and ends for his survival and comfort. The first trip out, I could not believe I was queueing up to buy sterilizers and milk bottles. However, since that trip, it got more and more exciting each time we went to buy furniture, fixing it all up as well as putting the seats in Miss Daisy for the baby seat.

Here are some photos


Look, it really is a boy!


A side profile of the head


His hands and holding on to his feet!

Time to meet soon!

Mother Monkey

Was driving home today when I witnessed something that made me a little pensive a moody the rest of the evening.

It was along Mandai Lake road just at the junction to the colambarium. I slowed Ms Daisy, seeing that there was a monkey in the middle of the road. Due to my approach and that of a taxi, the monkey looked up, hesitated, then ran to the side of the road. There was a still something left on the road...

It was a the body of a baby monkey, probably knocked down by another vehicle earlier. In the rear view mirror, I made out the monkey bounding back onto the road where her baby laid.

Do animal really not have souls? It was behaviour too human-like to ignore...

What a day

Dinner on 31 Dec 2007

Dinner today was simple for a New Year celebration. The name of the place we went to, Cafe 211, did little to betray what was in store for us.

Tucked up on the 4th floor of Holland Village Shopping Centre, it will be missed if one was not actively seeking it out. It had some indoor seating but the highlight would have been on the terrace outside overlooking the streets below and under the night sky. The only outdoor seats left were, according to the waiter, quite 'low' and seeing how Fran, in her advanced state of pregnancy, would have been quite tortured in that kind of seating arrangement, we opted to sit indoors.

We had the a cream of mushroom soup and a Waldorf salad to share. She, as usual, picked the spaghetti vongole depriving me of my first choice again :) I finally settled for a linguini scampi and to wash it all down, a fresh orange juice for Fran and a rambutan ice blend for me.

The food was excellent, in my opinion. The soup was creamy with mushroom bits to the last drop. Even the bread that came with it was warm and so soft. The salad was interesting enough for me to even hazard a taste of it. However, the highlight had to be the pasta. The portions were very generous. The 'al dente' spaghetti being coated with a very tasty olive oil base sauce laced with a hint of white wine. The red chillis added both colour and a spicy tang to the tongue. The linguine was not to the outdone, also done with an olive oil base sauce noticeably different without the wine. The generous serving of prawns were so perfectly done, they had a crunch and bite to it, when bitten into.


Linguine Scampi

Any place that tops of the meal with FRESH orange juice, cements its place as a place to come back to. The rambutan ice blend was surprisingly good, very pleasant taste and the blend of ice was so smooth.

The service was good with the soup, starters and mains served at appropriate intervals. There was not the rushed feeling one tends to get at other restaurants on a busy night. I may have already said this but the portions were much more than one would have expected.

So all in all, a more than pleasant meal. A real surprise find for me to have found such good food to accompany such a pleasant location. Some place to really try out!

Address:
211 Holland Avenue
#04-01 Holland Road Shopping Centre

Tel: 6462 6194

Our Eighth Meeting 141207

32 weeks, 1.6kg

8 weeks more. This little fella is quite a mover and a kicker. The one at the end of his little punches and kicks is poor frances. We could just spend time looking at the little movements of her tummy or just waiting to feel the little jerks with my hand.

It is surreal, how life is growing day by day and even from within the womb, he can interact with the outside world. I can located the position of his hand or foot and when he kicks or punches, I can push against it and he will withdraw, only to kick and punch again a while later.

So preparations are underway to prepare his room and soon also his cot, stroller and the car seats to accomodate him.

It is fitting that the scan this week could not get a shot of his face but his hand and foot.

Waiting for the day we can hold them in our hands

What the..... !?!?

This strangely humorous episode happened after I parked Miss Daisy at the Angullia carpark yesterday evening.

Me: *Just turned off the engine*

Woman: *knocks on my window and looking expectantly at me*

Me: *winds down my window* "Yes?"

Woman: "Are you from AA (Automobile Association), there is a problem with my car"

Me: *!@#%$!@$@%*

Now, I know I drive a rather unusual vehicle and it is YELLOW, but there is surely no way that it can be mistakened for the YELLOW VAN with AA RECOVERY pasted all over it.

Strange day

4 Years and kicking

In a twinkle of an eye, 4 years of married life has passed. When I look back, it does not seem that long...but it has

Another great thing, is that after 4 years of being along as a couple, we will soon be joined by a new addition to the family. And the small boy sure made his presence felt 12 minutes into the 4th Oct .... I felt him move for the first time.

I was not sure it was him at first and I had to keep asking Fran if she was the one moving. But after a few more times, I could feel the distinct movement made by our son. I wonder what he was doing?

I am so excited I cannot wait

Cendarawasih Off-Road

14-17 Sept 07

10 landrovers departed Singapore in the wee hours of the morning for 4 days of adventure and off-roading in the jungles of Malaysia. The expedition took a total of 610km for the 4 day journey, quite short compared to previous expeditions we have been on.

The journey north took us on the North-south highway till the Yong Peng exit, after which we took the federal highway 1 to Segamat. After an early lunch, we set off the remaining 1 hour journey to Cendarawasih on highway 12 where we met up with our guides at the plantation turn off.

The initial half hour drive was through an oil palm plantation. The plantation then gave way to an old logging trail. After about 2 hours, we came to our campsite, a nice open area just next to a flowing river. This was to be our base for the next 3 nights. This trip was different in that each day was spent moving out from the base camp along the path, tackling different obstacles and learning how to do it right. This included clearing of fallen trees, bridge building, driving over gulleys and bypasses. There was lessons on spotting and hand signals and winching techniques.

The weather was hot and humid with the rain on the 2nd day making the trail all the more muddy and tricky. Through this, we learnt about the limitations of the truck and our driving skills and learnt as much as we can to improve ourselves in the outdoors. Obstacles we encountered were quite tough with log bridges no wider than the width of the tires, log steps, V gulleys with an angle of 60 degrees at the bottom of the V, ensuring that every truck had a bent rear bumper or 2

Some details of the trip below:

2nd Link
Turn off at Yong Peng Exit: Toll 10.70 RM
Highway 1 to Segamat Town
Highway 12 to plantation turn off
Turn Off to Campsite
N 02 48.243'
E 102 56.717'

Campsite:
N 02 44.903'
E 103 07.601'

Total distance 610km

Our Fourth Meeting 310807

17 Weeks 0 Days, Height: 10.6 cm

It was with great anticipation that we approached our 4th meeting with our kid. And true to previous experiences, we were not disappointed. It was a time filled with amazement and wonder at how beautiful life is, even at this young stage.

He (see previous posts for explanation of how this came about) is much bigger, more developed and we can make out his eyes, nose and lips that make up his little face. His legs look lanky but they remain flexed at the hip and knee, nicely tucked up. This static description cannot begin to describe his activity during the entire meeting. He was busy opening his mouth, nodding at the neck and twisting and turning around. We could even make out his little finger as he opened and closed his hands.

By now, you probably cannot wait to see him too, so here are the photos


A good look of his face here. See the little eyes, nose and lips

Here are the legs.

Right arm then left arm

Full body shot