Persistence

Max watching TV
Originally uploaded by swang.

Well, that kinda describes how we've been living the last few days, Hannah has been unsettled in the evenings up until about the midnight feed so we've been trying to be persistant in trying to settle her and not letting it get to us. I mean we haven't done anything wrong or out of routine, she just has been unsettled around the evenings and awake. Maybe she's a night owl like her dad who just stays up late at night for the sake of it... :P

Went out to my inlaw's place this arvo with the girls which was nice, as it was Hannah's first visit there, and I think my mum-in-law was quite happy that she was visiting... :) She had even more fun trying to feed her this afternoon when Hannah woke up! I was more than happy to go out with the girls as even though it might be difficult getting out and settling Hannah outside the house, our persistence in this matter will only serve to make things easier in the future once Hannah gets used to being out so that we can carry on with our lives and not be confined to the house. Yay!

My family came over for dinner and even brought dinner to have with us which was nice, and Mum managed to feed Hannah again. Great that both mums are enjoying time with Hannah which means that soon we can just show up at either mum's place, drop off Hannah then head out for a movie or something... :) Shhhhh... it's a suprise babysitting, so don't tell them! :P

Max has been quite good lately, even though the poor thing has been ignored at times, but he's been a bit sulky at times, and tonight he was just sulking on the couch and watching TV so I couldn't resist the photo opportunity! :) He's so cute! Think we are so blessed to have two cute little ones in our lives, which tend to make this trying and tiring time more of a joy to experience.

"I Will Be Here"

It's been a busy weekend, and spent a bit of time out of the house with the girls which was tiring, but fulfilling all at the same time. Went to church this morning and also visited my folks place with the girls in the evening and stayed for dinner. Looking forward to taking Hannah to both sets of grandparent's house to visit and to settle her there as she'll be spending quite a bit of time there when wifey heads back to work in early September.

Was playing a CD for Hannah that I made a while ago which included christian artists/songwriters and one song had words that were particularly meaningful to me at this point. It's called "I Will Be Here" by Stephen Curtis Chapman and I thought I'd share it with everyone.

I Will Be Here
By Stephen Curtis Chapman

Tomorrow morning if you wake up
and the sun does not appear
I will be here
If in the dark, we lose sight of love
Hold my hand, and have no fear
'Cause I will be here

I will be here
When you feel like being quiet
When you need to speak your mind
I will listen
And I will be here
When the laughter turns to cryin'
Through the winning, losing and trying
We'll be together
I will be here

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up
And the future is unclear
I will be here
Just as sure as seasons were made for change
Our lifetimes were made for these years
So I will be here

I will be here
And you can cry on my shoulder
When the mirror tells us we're older
I will hold you
And I will be here
To watch you grow in beauty
And tell you all the things you are to me
I will be here

I will be true to the promise I have made
To you and to the One who gave you to me

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up
And the sun does not appear
I will be here
Oh, I will be here

It is particularly meaningful as it's the sort of reassurance that a little child needs from their parents, that they will always be there for them no matter what. It also reminds me that Hannah is a gift from God, and especially my responsibility as a parent... "I will be true to the promise I have made, To you and to the One who gave you to me"

Out and about...

It's 1am and all's well...

Hannah is asleep after her midnight feed, and wifey and Max are sleeping. Almost time to wake Max for him to return to his own room for sleep... :)

Busy and eventful day today (yesterday I mean, seeing it's after midnight...), packed the girls in the car to make Ming's hair appointment, and I took the opportunity to walk Hannah in the pram around the artificial lake in East Perth, whilst Ming got her hair cut. Afterwards we popped over to my sister's apartment cos wifey hasn't seen it since the painting and new carpets, and furniture and other stuff, and it was Hannah's first visit! She had her noontime feeding there and we drove through HJ's to pick up some lunch. A big day of firsts for Hannah. Yay!

After coming home and bathing Hannah, I sent the girls to sleep whilst I did a spot of shopping. Got a few essentials and a cleaning cloth to clean the interior of the new car. Finally managed to wash the car for the first time since we got it, and it was pretty late in the day so it was dark by the time I finished. Mental note, wash car earlier in the day, cos it's difficult and cold trying to dry it in the dark. We shall see in the morning how good a job I did. :)

Also I've decided that I will not get the Mugen NR wheels that I lust after as just cleaning the stock wheels with the 5 spoke design was a real pain and the Mugen NR wheels are a 10 spoke design which will be double the pain trying to keep them looking nice... :)

Tomorrow we're returning to Subi church since the arrival of Hannah which will be great, and off to my parents place in the mid afternoon with Hannah for some time with my parents and dinner with them too! Hope things wind down at work this week so that I can take the rest of the time off before I start the new job.

Sad day :(

On my way to work today, Ming called me up with the sad news that her grandmother passed away early this morning. It was a difficult situation as I know that my wife's heart was deeply aching from the loss, as her grandmother moved over to Australia with her family when they migrated over here.

She spoke a dialect which I grew up with, Hokkien, which meant that I could converse with her during my the time when I was dating Ming up to the time when we got married. She had some minor surgery on her back which was troubling her a few years back, and then returned to Kuching to be with Ming's aunt. We were able to visit her last year when we went back to East Malaysia as part of our holiday, although she was not very mobile and could not speak due to a minor stroke. We are all saddened by this and she will be sorely missed, and I especially feel for my mum-in-law and her sister in Malaysia.

I will always think of her fondly as this little old lady who walks around the house wearing a sarong and likes to snack on chips in front of the telly. Po po we will all miss you, and know that you have returned to be with your Lord. It is a pity that young Hannah will not have anyone in that generation in her life, but she will be filled with stories by her grandparents about the lives of her great-grandparents and all the difficult times they went through which was part and parcel of growing up in their day, such that she will be able to know and appreciate her roots and how fortunate she is to grow up in this day and age.

Some things can wait

Like my desire to be a project manager... My current role at the client site is to be a pseudo project manager for trying to get a call centre implementation finalised. I find it frustrating chasing up people to do things, and waiting for things to get done such that other things can be done following that. I feel like I'm a nag, and I now remember a comment someone made earlier in my career that stated that if you don't like your project manager, then he/she's doing a great job! *heh* I'm too nice to be a decent enough project manager... "Nah, it's okay... just do it when you get time... I know you are busy..." :P Phooey...

Glad to have made it home after a reasonably long day at work, to be greeted with a screaming baby, and frustrated wifey. Hannah was more unsettled today and seems to be going through a growth spurt and thus being more hungry and out of routine. I quickly took Hannah off mum to give mum a much needed break and tried to sort Hannah out for the rest of the evening/night. It's now 1am and all is well, bub is finally back on routine, fed and tucked in for the night. Raining outside so if she's like me she'll have a decent sleep... Hopefully... :)

Wifey's grandmother in Malaysia is not doing too well and so the in-laws are heading back to Malaysia. Everyone's a bit stressed and saddened by her condition, and I would appreciate some prayers with regards to this matter. That things will turn out for the best and in God's plan, and for comfort and peace for the family as they return to see her.

It's late and I'm not going to be coherent anymore so it's sleepy time now...

Shopping Day!

Well, it wasn't planned, but I was on my lunch break so I decided to head out to the local Big W cos wifey saw a cool book to get to us to read to Hannah, it's the Peter Rabbit collection of stories, 14 in all I think and it was for sale at Big W. Went to the Riverton shops which was closest to work, and spend a great deal of time looking for the above mentioned book.

This led me to look at a whole heap of other kids books and it was really cool. Never really looked at kids books before, I mean like I really had any reason to before, sure the language was probably more at my level of reading than Shakespeare, but even then I didn't have a reason to browse before. Anyways I ended up buying another book similar to the ones Nick's family got Hannah, which was a nice velvety textured red cover, and the one I got today was a purpley one. Thought she might enjoy the texture of the book while we read to her.

Also bought a big thick book of nursery rhymes and other stories which should last us a bit, I mean the reasons are probably such that we don't get bored reading the same stuff over and over again, but I'm sure Hannah doesn't mind repetition at this stage. And I did manage to find the book I was chasing in the first place and got that as well.

Went to Woolies Supermarket and bought a whole heap of Coke which I ran out of ages ago, but never got around to getting more. And Huggies diapers were for sale! w00t! I've been told not to buy anymore newborn sized diapers cos Hannah is now about 4 kgs so she might need the next size up in a few months and we have a stockpile of newborn Huggies already. But alas the Infant sized Huggies do not come in the bulk box pack. They have newborns, crawlers, toddlers, walkers, but no infants... so no diaper purchasing happened today... *sigh* I did manage to get Hannah a pink Bonds wondersuit and she looks absolutely adorable in it!

Funny how my shopping now revolves around Hannah, and not little cool toys for myself... :) And I don't mind one little bit!

Full Moon Celebrations

Proud Dad!
Originally uploaded by swang.

It was Hannah's Full Moon celebrations tonight, or more like last night seeing it's now past midnight, but the little one is fast asleep and so is mum, and the brown furball behind me.

It was 3 days shy of the full 30 days which is a lunar month which is why the celebrations is called the Full Moon celebrations... yeah the asian culture is whacky and cool all at the same time. :) This means that the little one and mum is now allowed outside the house officially and all privileges revoked after the birth is now to be reinstated... :) Now all this sneaking around can stop... :P

Everyone at the dinner seems to have fun, and I had a quick speech and said grace before the meal but I forgot to thank people specifically, so I'm using this forum to get my thanks across. To the mums, all 3 of them, my mum, mum-in-law and my wifey... thanks to both our mums for tirelessly cooking for Ming and I throughout this confinement period and delivering it to us. We are well nourished throughout this period thus far, and more than likely overnourished... :)

And to my lovely wifey who carried Hannah to term, enduring the discomfort, sleepless nights and general not-so-nice things that go along with pregnancy, as well as continuing to nurture and nourish Hannah through feeding, changing, reading to her and playing with her.

To the dads, they are the unsung, unmentioned heros who like me try and help out the mums, but try not to get in the way... heheh... :) Thanks dads!

And all the support and concern of all our other family and friends here and overseas who make us feel as though they are carrying us through this tiring and trying times when things get a bit much for both of us.

That is all I can think about in my tired state...

Long week

Hannah sticking out her tongue at Uncle Nick!
Originally uploaded by swang.

Well, it's true. Can't remember who it was that was telling me when Hannah first came along that I won't be tired initially, but I'll start to hit the wall at about 4 weeks, and this week has definitely been tiring.

Apparantly the first few weeks we were running on adrenaline of excitment, and now we're just tired, or I am at least. Been going too hard trying to make sure I'm a good father, husband, son, brother and employee, and I think I'm doing a decent job of most roles... :) But the jury is still out seeing I'm not coming from an impartial standpoint. :P

Anyways, Nick and Di got home safely on Monday, and they were back at work on Wednesday. Young Nick's company got bought out (yet again) and he got a new job, well same role but new company, and they are now paying him closer to what he's worth... (No, not $2... I meant more than previously... *heh*) So things are looking up for him as well which is great news. Nice to share the joy with what's been happening to me lately.

Hannah's Ferrari Bear!
Originally uploaded by swang.

Nick and his wifey bought a special gift for Hannah, which I'm really excited about, cos it came from halfway across the globe from Rome, and to top it off it came from the offical Ferrari store!!! It's a cute little teddy bear with a red scarf, leather jacket with a Ferrari branded patch stiched on, and cool leather driving hat and goggles! How cool is that!?!? Thanks guys, I promise to teach her to appreciate and understand the significance of the prancing horse.

P.S. Glad the weekend is here, might head out with the girls for some outside time, and may drop by my sister's new place which is looking swish now that it's painted, had carpets changed, furniture and electrical goods moved in... :) Now all she has to do is finally move in!

Photo fun!

'Official' flickr Badge... :)
Originally uploaded by swang.

It's official... well not really... Came across this Badge Maker which lets you 'Make your own (unofficial) flickr badge. Print it out, laminate it, wear flickr with pride! Show the world how truly photographically geeky you really are!'

Hmmmm... that pretty much describes me all over! ;)

But seriously, I've found that flickr has been an excellent way to share photos and is easy to use and makes blogging with photos a breeze, which is probably quite unfortunate for people who actually read my blog. 'Honest! I read it for the articles/entries!'... Heheh...

Old Times

Baby Hands Free Kit! :)
Originally uploaded by swang.

Had some spare time at work today whilst waiting for the servers to get upgraded with latest service packs etc. so since I didn't have internet access on the client site, I decided to read my old personal emails from way back.

The prodominant emails that I was reading was between my best mate Nick and I around the time when I first got married. He was working around the corner from where we were staying at the time so he was parking his car in our driveway so we got to see him quite a bit during that time. He was still unmarried at the time, but was engaged already and our conversations covered a wide range of topics, but scattered through them were the topics of being newly married or soon to be married.

Mostly it was just amusing useless banter where I was disillusioned with work and was in the process of starting my own company, and Nick trying to get motivated at his work with learning new stuff cos the current stuff was quite boring. Loads of car-related stuff and amusing musings about my dirty pool and dramas with tracking a package which contained a much coveted cold air intake for Nick's car.

Most memorable was when I replaced all the heater hoses in the MX5 with Nick, and we went for a spirited drive around the area which included some unplanned sideways action and eventually mounting the curb sideways with all 4 wheels! :)

Funny how I remember those conversations and events clearly in my mind even though it was more than 3 years ago, and it was interesting to see how both our views of marriage and parenthood seem to be unchanged even though we've matured in our marriages. We're both optimists in our view of marriage as illustrated from the results of the pre-marriage counselling session called 'Prepare', but it's good to see how far we've come over the years.

Incidentally the email reading was prompted from the lack of convo with Nick as he and his wife is on the last leg of their 4 month long epic journey around the world, finishing in Europe and is currently on a plane back to Perth as I type this. And now that the travel bug is out of your system guys, and according to the Wang timetable of procreation, it is now time to 'Go forth and multiply!' :)

Tiredness sets in

The Princess and I
Originally uploaded by swang.

It's been a long weekend, or maybe it's just because it seems longer than usual. I was glad it was the weekend as it means that I can spend more time with the girls, however I've been more tired as I think working this week meant that I had a break from the routine of feeding and settling Hannah.

Both the wifey and I were dead tired yesterday which meant that tensions were a bit high, however we just had to take a bit of time out to realise that we're both not very effective parents when tired so we decided to just chill and let things slide a bit and get more rest.

After a good nights sleep, it was much better today, and we both managed to get some rest, and some self-enforced rest for me as I find it hard to nap during the day, and I would normally find something to do. Just realised that I had to force myself to rest otherwise like all those baby books we've read, I'll get overtired and then things will go pear shaped real quick for me.

So I guess 3 hour feeds and sleep for me will do me wonders as well, such that Sammy will be a happy little bub and not a cranky grumpy old man like he's been recently... :)

2 degrees of seperation

Perth's a pretty small place I realised, especially in the IT industry. Yesterday I bumped into a person at Microsoft that I met on a training course years ago, and he didn't remember me, but rather a person that attended that course that we both knew. Also bumped into 2 ex-colluegues that were working with me at Computer Associates ages ago, one here at the client site that I'm working on, and another on the train.

At the same meeting at Microsoft I bumped into someone who attends BSF(Bible Study Fellowship on Monday nights) with me and is in my same class. And just today around lunchtime I bumped into someone else working here onsite who used to be in the same BSF class with me and caught up for a bit. Small world eh? Oh, and did I mention I bumped into anothor person who is good friends with my sis-in-law who is working here too?

I've always said it was nice that Perth is like this, but just don't offend anyone, or do bad work in the industry cos it might mean that you won't be able to get a job in this city again... :)