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

Our Third Meeting 10 Aug 07

13 Weeks 4 Days

It was our third glimpse of our kiddo. She has sure grown and now stands at 8.2 cm tall. we are at the end and entering the 2nd trimester already. The most dangerous period for the baby is now over. Fran is doing well also with minimal manifestations of morning sickness.

Today, we saw he tilt her head back and forth and also opening and closing her mouth. You can definitely see the profile of the face and her hands and feet has little fingers and toes. It is so mesmerizing, Fran and I could just watch all day. If only we had an ultrasound at home, we can meet her as and when we want.

So here she is.




Just look at the last photo, thats is a view from the bottom, so we are looking at ahem...the butt. Look at the 2 legs extended and spread apart. There is something else there... our little "she" may turn out to be a "he" after all.

Continue to check out her photo album at Project Baby@Flickr

Close Encounters of the 2nd Time

Age: 11 Weeks 0 Days

Today was our second check up and I had to admit we had our concerns. After all, the first trimester is fraught with danger for the unborn child and sometimes it is a wonder that anyone turns our normal at all.

It is therefore a huge relief to see his/her little heart pumping furiously away when the ultrasound came to pass over her (not that I am hoping only for a daughter, but for convenience sake let us just use the feminine convention). In turn, the head, then the little arm and then the little legs came into view. She was quiet and still... asleep?

Then she STRETCHED! She was moving here legs and kicking them around, and stretching her little arms. I could stare at the screen forever.

She has grown, bigger than expected and the age has been corrected from 10 W 4 D to 11 W 0 D. She will join us much sooner.She now stands at a height of 4.38 cm. I am such a proud dad so far.

So you all know how she looks now:

Hair today, Bald Tomorrow

Age: 7 Weeks 5 Days

Tomorrow is the day I lose my hair. Am i worried or apprehensive. So far, even after thinking about it, I have not experienced the jitters yet...not yet at least. I think I will only feel the full impact of it only when I am there.

It is all for a good cause. The bald head will raise questions and it will get the the awareness level up for these children. Is it worth it? Definitely!

So 1 July, 1705 hrs at Velocity.

The Latest Addition to the Family

The latest addition to the family. Just 7 weeks 4 days old and 1.27cm tall. oh my, what a change in my life!

Off to France

I suppose this will be the post in about 2 weeks because Fran and I are off to France for a 15 day pilgrimage to the cathedrals and sacred places of this land.

It promises to be a time of many experiences: travel, devotion, fellowship.

Among the places visited will be Nevers, Le Puy, La Salette, Lourdes, Mont St Michel and of course Paris. It will probably feel a whole lot shorter than the 14 days.

I will share photos of the trip and definitely a description of it also when I get back.

Vive La France

Hair for Hope 2007

I cam across this event in 2006 after it was over and I felt it was a wasted opportunity to be part of something this meaningful. So resolving not to miss it this year, I have stayed true my word and taken the step to register myself for the event.


The event consists of 2 parts, one is the chance to get a free haircut in the form of a shaven head and the fund raising portion. The shaven head, to me, is symbolic. It serves as as publicity to the entire fund raising event as well as brings the attention of the public to the plight of children cancer patients.

However, a more important effect, is to tell the kids that there are people out there who are trying to help and understand. The show of support and solidarity with them is immeasurable by this little act that is done.

So,, I ask for your to visit their website and see the work that is being done for the children. In addition, I sincerely ask that any of your who read this, to kindly support my fund raising effort for this event and pledge a little something through the online portal at this site here.

The event is on 1 July 2007 at Vivocity. To all my family and friends who will be keen to see me with a clean shaven egg head on that day, you are kindly welcomed to witness the event on the day.

My Baby Niece

My Niece

I have a new niece. My sister delivered yesterday at Thomson medical centre to a healthy baby girl.

Joelle Wong Jyn Ern
2.74 kg
47 cm
@ TMC, 1747 hrs

Photos at Baby Joelle

10 March 2007 Surprise!

This marked the part 2 of this year's birthday celebrations. This involved a rather sneaky but ingenious plan hatched by fran to make this a surprising but memorable occasion.

It all started when my friend, Farhan, messaged and asked me out for coffee on Saturday at 5pm. This was rather odd as we have never met for coffee before dinner. I was not keen initially but he was surprisingly persistent. So since he claimed to have a dinner appointment, I agreed as we would have to split before dinner. So we met at TCC at Velocity.

Farhan needed to wait for his wife to turn up so we sat around till about 7pm when she turned up. He then asked if he could come to my place to see a couple of textbooks. Strange request so it sparked a suspicion that something was brewing at home. I tried not to think too much about it otherwise I might spoil my own surprise. Ha.

When we came up on the lift to the 19th floor, there was a catered dinner outside the lift landing. There was no one around and my home door was closed. However, there was a stray slipper belonging to our neighbour outside our house. So there must be others in our house.

When the door opened, I was surprised! Not so much that there were people in the house waiting for me to get back but rather the number and breadth of my friends who where invited. It was rather overwhelming as they were friends who I have gone through significant activities together but due to work commmitments, have not met for quite some time.

There was a birthday sign hanging from the foyer beams and 4-5 streamers of stars at the door entrance. There was a cake with 3 candles with the number 30 made from wax at the top. There were so many people to speak but so little time.

The Lims
Yiyong and Jasmine (minus lucky)
Felix and Alicia
Andrew and Wan Ling
Fred and Lay Fang
Laurine
Karen and John
Vernon and Jocelyn
Desmond and Julie
Graeme and Shanren
Farhan and Haslina
Dehui
Ivan (minus Juan)
My family
Fran's family

It was a very good gathering. I did not have enough time to speak to everyone as much as I wanted to. The atmosphere was good and time all too short as soon friends had to go.

I have to thank my wife, Fran, for working so hard to make this all happen. To organise the dinner, getting my friend's contacts and arranging for them all to be here. Most difficult was to orchestrate my departure from home and making sure I got back when needed.

I do not have photos of my own but here are those taken for me...

My Big 30

Here is just a shot of me.

9th March 2007 Gordon Grill

It was a long day waiting for the time when Fran was going to celebrate my special day with me. When the time came, we met at the Goodwood Park hotel car park where she had made arrangements for dinner.

I have heard of Gordon Grill before but did not suspect that she might be bringing me here to dinner. The ambience was good but the place was not large. It was rather empty when we got there with only a table of japanese diners. It was a different setting from Morton's. The place was famous for its steaks and the Wagyu beef served. This was an opportunity to try the wagyu that has so often been raved about.

I had the lobster bisque soup and we shared a platter of oysters. Main course was a nicely done wagyu beef cheek with a slab of foie gras. The beef cheek was good and aged well but I could not feel the marbling that the wagyu is famous for. It was very tender nonetheless. What really stood out was the foie gras. It was oily and putting a piece of it in the mouth, it just melted away. It was magnificent.

What was distinctive was the meat trolley that went around if diners decided to order the steak. Slabs of wagyu prime rib and angus filet mignon lay wrapped in the wooden trolley. Prices were high with a 10gm of wagyu steak costing $4.50. An average steak of 250gm would have cost $135. We hesitated to do the prime rib thing but after dinner, it was clear that we would be back to dinner here once again.

Dinner was washed down with glasses of cafe lattes and a birthday cake to commemorate the occasion.

So for if you have something special, this place would be a good place to try out

Gordon Grill
Goodwood Park Hotel
67301744 for reservations
dinner hours from 7-1030 pm

It was a very good and pleasant birthday dinner.