Gong Gong's Birthday

Gong Gong had a special birthday celebration last month and Aunty Ruth and Josie came all the way from Australia to celebrate!

Talia was on her best behaviour and sat with Gong Gong for a looooong time devouring a yummy peach with all of her 2 new teeth!

After polishing off a great lunch by Por Por, all the kids got down to super fun and a grand time playing with all the cousins.

Daddy had fun cuddling the little uns too!

It was a really memorable time with all of the family taking time to be together. Ethan still misses Josie and still asks "Where is Josie?" when we gather as a family!

Daddy is in School

The time has come and Daddy is standing on the green Kentucky grass on Asbury Theological Seminary's campus. Behind me are the apartments where 8 of us in my cohort live. We come from 8 different countries representing 5 continents. In front me is the building housing the programs and classes that are the reason for our being here. The Beeson International Center for Biblical Preaching and Church Leadership

I'm here alone for the next 6 weeks, away from family for slightly longer than that as I meet other churches here in the US. Pray not only for me but also for Renata, Ethan and Talia back home!

Want to Wash the Car Daddy?

One of Ethan's favourite activities is to wash the car with his daddy. He's getting quite good at it though he still needs help pointing the powerful water hose and sometimes soaps up the car after I have already dried it!

After washing the car he always wants to taste the fruits of his labour with his favourite Dad. "We drive the car now Daddy!" After a day of washing the car it will usually score highly on his list of what to thank Jesus for that day.

Bath Buddies

Like most babies, Ethan and Talia love their bath times. It's not just about getting clean -- it's a whole other sensory experience that includes lots of happy splashing and feeling the freedom from clingy clothes and cumbersome diapers wearing only your skin! It's also a great time of bonding intimately with the important people in your life.

Talia enjoys regular bathtimes with her favourite Daddy but a few weeks ago, she had her first bath with Ethan! As you can see, Ethan seems to have been the happier of the two since it was like a reunion with his old bathtub (now Talia's) since he graduated from it more than a year ago!

Although Talia wasn't thrilled with having to share her bath with Ethan, she seems to have warmed up to having a new bath buddy once in a while and I'm sure this won't be the last you will see of them sharing baths on this blog!

A Grand Time

Talia has been such a sweetie and is so loving to her daddy recently. With the morning off we are now in Vivo City. Ethan is playing outside with mummy while Talia is napping on her favourite daddy who is enjoying iced frappucino on this warm day! There is nothing quite like having a calm and trusting baby fall asleep on you. Ladies passing by are glancing with "awwww...." looks too! :)

Fountains of Fun!

Cousin Josie and Aunty Ruth were in town recently and one of the first places we went to was the Vivocity Playground for all the kids! Ethan had a good time playing with Josie but was a very caring big brother when Talia joined in. Here he is helping her enjoy the water fun... ...

......and it didn't take long for her to warm up to the joys of splashing around! Its funny how different personalities come out through play -- she seems to be much more adventurous about getting wet than Ethan who is usually more interested in the mechanics of water-pouring in his various cups, cans and pails!

It was a little difficult getting all 3 cousins in the same photo as they were running aroung quite a bit! Managed to catch them on in action in this video tho!

40 Winks

We were having lunch in a small restaurant when Ethan fell asleep while eating! There was unchewed spaghetti in his mouth which he later swallowed after he woke up from his brief nap... Yummy!

Time with Grandparents

Ethan & Talia enjoy the time they spend with their grandparents. Here is Ethan learning how to bake with Ah Mah. Like his Daddy, he tends to take his culinary skills quite seriously......

Looking very pleased with himself with the end product of his hard work (with a lot of help from Ah Mah!)

Talia is still to young to bake but certainly old enough to enjoy a nice breakfast at the club.

Somehow the kids always manage to save their best behaviour for their grandparents!! (wish this could last all day....)

Water Fun

A great photo montage of Talia having fun with water from our friend Sharon! We all went to IMM for the morning with a total of 3 families and 4 kids in tow!

Walking the Dogs

Grandma and Grandpa have two minature pinschers - Buster and Pixie. Buster-the-boy is quite strong for his size, but Pixie-the-girl is just nice for Ethan to walk. They are sized just right for one another and Pixie doesn't pull so hard that Ethan can still control her. Here he is in the Botanic Gardens where his grandparents like to take him. Yes, he loves walking the dogs as you can see by his big and happy smile!

Flying Lesson

Talia is getting a nice flying lesson on the "Winnie the Pooh" Airplane that is still a favourite toy around the house. Ethan has been very good not only sharing with his sister but showing her how to play the toys that were once his and his alone. "Press here Talia..." "Wanna hold Talia!" and "I love you Talia" are things we hear frequently around the home!

My Sister the Model

Ethan was snapping pictures at random so I showed him how to use camera "properly" to take pictures of his cute sister. This is his best one! Not bad eh?

Dr Jones

We were both going to the doctor today to get our vaccinations, but Daddy got the wrong date - it's not for another month! So instead we detoured to Jones the Grocer for father-son time. This daddy knows where the good deals are and Jones is one of them. At this upmarket Australian cafe, a pot of tea is $4.50 which is very reasonable cos it can be shared by two, hot and ice water is complimentary, colouring pens and paper are provided for kids, service is excellent, there is no service charge or GST and parking is free! See what a good deal it is!? Ethan loves it here just like Daddy. We are now sharing "vanilla cream" tea (caffeine free) with honey!

Driving Ms Talia

Ethan not only likes driving Daddy's car, he also likes playing with his own. He does modification, washes it, and of course drives his sister too! What a sweet pair - and both in yellow too! He really treats Talia well, being gentle and protective of her, and we can already see that she in turn adores her big brother.

Tennis

Ethan loves going out to play tennis with his daddy. Actually, he only loves it for about 5 minutes then he loses interest in the game! So daddy has to remind himself that it is about having fun in the experience at this stage and not so much about getting Ethan "into" the game. We did buy a tennis racket together though - this cutest little Wilson which is well sized for him. But after the initial 5 minutes Ethan wises up and prefers to use Daddy's racket instead. Apparently bigger is better in his view.