January 2008 ~

We celebrated Christmas in Singapore on the 24th because Paul was unable to get time of work to travel to Canada. Sophia and I left for Canada on the 25th with a plan to celebrate Christmas with my family on the 26th. Christmas in Canada is always wonderful, especially when there is snow, however, a 30 hr flight on my own with an active 14 mth old was NOT fun. Sophia was very good but there is only so much a child can sleep during a 30 hr trip and when she did sleep it was on my lap. We spent most of the trip running up and down the aisles making friends with everyone and running around the Hong Kong airport during the 6 hr delay.

Sophia loved getting to know her cousins during our visit. We had a great time visiting with all my family and my friend April. Unfortunately Paul could not make it so we Skyped with him on Dec 26th, the day we celebrated Christmas, so he could see Sophia opening her presents.

Sophia absolutely LOVED the snow. For a tropical baby, I was surprised but she actually cried when I brought her in out of the snow. Let's hope she also likes skiing in a couple of years : ).

December 8 , 2007 ~

Once again it has been ages between updates so we have a lot of news to catch up on.

October was busy month full of birthday parties as most of Sophia's little baby group friends were having their 1st birthday in October. We had a party to attend every weekend but each one was a lot of fun. Near the end of the month Sophia came down with a very bad gastro infection and ended up in the hospital for dehydration. Poor little thing was in there for two nights. Paul had to stay with her in the hospital because I happened to be travelling in a remote part of China for work when she was admitted and couldn't get a flight home. Fortunately all worked out okay and she was good as new within a week.

At the end of the month was Halloween. Sophia dressed up as a bumblebee and went out "trick or treating" around our complex with her little friends Luc & Jacques. Very cute.

November was Sophia's birthday. We had a little family party on November 2nd but waited until Paul's parents were here to have the big party. Sophia was a bit overwhelmed by all the people taking over her space but I think she enjoyed herself. I even made & decorated my first birthday cake for her ... a pink & purple butterfly ! After everyone went home we opened the mound of presents. I had to clean out her toy box so we had room for all the new toys. Not sure where we are going to put future gifts in our tiny townhouse as we are already overflowing with toys.

Sophia started swimming lessions for the first time in November. Paul takes her on Saturday morning for some father/daughter bonding time.

Paul's parents came to visit mid-november for about 10 days over 2 weekends. It was so great to spend some time with family. Unfortunately I had to travel to Korea on business the week they were here but I was around for the weekends and they got to spend quality time with Paul and Sophia.

The beginning of December brought more family, with Paul's cousins from South Africa, Sharon, Karl, and their kids, Courtney (5), & Maddy (19 mths). They were only in Singapore for the weekend but we had a nice time with them. Sophia really liked Maddy & followed her around when they visited our house.

Sophia started walking around 11 1/2 months but has only just started walking everywhere now at 13 mths. Occasionally when she is tired her legs are still a little bit wobbly but very cute. We're really getting our exercise chasing her around the house.

In baby news, our newest little on is growing well. I am now 23 wks. She is extemely active, moving heaps everyday. Not a lot of belly pictures this time around but I'd say my belly is about the same size as first time although it did seem to grow a little faster.

Paul is doing well at work although it is really busy. Unfortunately he will not be able to get time off at Christmas this year so Sophia and I will be going to Canada alone for about 10 days, leaving on December 25th. We plan to celebrate Christmas in Singapore as a family on December 24th. We'll have friends over for Christmas dinner that evening. Our first Christmas in the tropics : ).

September 23, 2007 ~

Wow !! It has been such a long time since I've written an update, this could be a very long entry.

First our exciting news. Just before heading out to Vancouver on our August holidays, we found out that I am pregnant again ! Very unexpected but very relieved that it was so easy the second time around. I am 12 1/2 weeks now, due April 2nd so Sophia will be 17 months when the new baby is born. We are going to have our hands full !

The beginning of August we headed off to Vancouver to meet up with my parents and brothers and sister and their families. After a family reunion on my father's mother's side, we all headed off to tour B.C. We first went over to Vancouver Island, Victoria and Tofino, where we went on some fantastic hiking tours, then we came back to the mainland and drove out to Banff for some more outdoor adventures. One of the highlights for Paul and I was canoeing on Emerald Lake. Just stunning. While we were in the Rockies we saw mountain goats, a black bear, and deer. But Paul's favourite wildlife viewing were the little chipmunks that were everywhere during our Johnsons Canyon hike.

Sophia is doing well. She is such a little doll. She is now 10 1/2 months and crawling everywhere! She is cruising all over the furniture, standing, and climbing up stairs, but no walking yet. When she gets excited and let's go to walk towards you her feet freeze & she just falls face forward. She started with a lot of stranger anxiety at 8 months which has been a bit of a challenge. It is getting better so we are hopeful this stage will pass soon. At the beginning of 10 months her teeth finally popped through.. yea! 3 came in at once though so that was quite painful for her. She now has 2 on top and one on the bottom and you can just see her eye teeth on top starting to come in as well. They look really cute. She also has a very full head of hair, getting thicker by the day. It is almost time for her 2nd haircut.

Sophia still attends a playgroup once a week with babies she's known since birth. Sophia is the youngest in the group so the other's are all turning 1 year over the next month. We have birthday parties at least every other week for the next month. We're not quite sure what to do for Sophia's 1st birthday yet ... hmmm.....

Attending a Birthday party
of a playgroup friend

Showing off her new teeth

July 1, 2007 ~

The last month has been a whirlwind of business travel for both Paul and I. We have felt like two ships passing in the night sometimes. Fortunately on one of the trips, Paul and I were able to go together. It was a week long trip to Europe. It was work related so unfortunately we were unable to take Sophia so she stayed behind in Singapore with her Grandma (Ahmogs) and Grandpa Abrey. We had a fabulous time touring Budapest, Bratislava, Venice and Salzburg, while Sophia had a wonderful timing with her Grandparents who took her out to play and go swimming everyday.

Sophia turns 8 months tomorrow ! She has become a very fast crawler but is still not fully up on her knees. We rented a play yard last month to help us keep track of her. She has just started pulling herself to stand.

Sophia finally got her first real hair cut this month. She was really good and sat quietly through the whole process. It is a bit to short for me as I can no longer put barrettes in her fringe but I know it will grow quickly.

June 2, 2007 ~

Sophia turned 7 months today. She is now a very heavy 8.2kg and 69 cm long. She is getting very good at crawling on her belly and has been moving around pretty quickly. Just this past week she has started to get up on her knees so it is probably only a matter of time before we have to fully baby proof the house. She mastered "dada" over a month ago but her new favourite word in the last few weeks is "mama". Of course she has no idea what she is saying but I am thrilled anyway. She has also learned how to wave bye-bye and will even do it when asked now. Flora is now trying to teach her how to do a hi-5.. hehe.

In non-baby news, Paul and I are off on a trip soon. I have a work trip to Europe to host an award event and partners are invited so Paul gets to join me. Unfortunately we can not take Sophia so Paul's parents are coming up to stay with her.

Paul's new job just seems to be getting busier and busier but at least he is really enjoying it. There may be a business trip to Paris soon. Sophia and I are planning to tag along if that's the case!

Before I forget, we changed our email address a few months back so if you have not already, please change our personal email in your address books to the one under Contact Us.

May 6 , 2007 ~

Sophia turned 6 months this past week on May 2nd. Wow, the time has gone fast. Just this past week she has been sitting for more than 30 seconds at a time. We still have to be close on hand though as she is not entirely stable yet. She also did the "military" crawl for the first time this morning -- pulling herself forward with her elbows. She definitely has her own personality though. Almost always happy she loves to laugh, although Auntie Flora is the best at making her giggle.

Sophia loves to swim. In addition to taking her to the big pool in our complex every weekend, we also tried out her baby pool. She loved it.

Paul is absolutely loving his new job. It is a lot of work and the hours are not too favourable as Sophia is almost always asleep when he gets home, but he is very happy. It is a bit of a role reversal for us as Paul is often checking his email in the evenings now instead of me.

Love is in the air again. Two more of my girl friends in Singapore just got engaged -- Anne, one of my Canadian friends here, and Judy. Judy is getting married not far from her home town in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, on December the 30th.

There has been a complaint or two about only pictures of Sophia on our updates, but what can we say, we are typical new parents and that seems to be all we take pictures of lately.

April 6 , 2007 ~

It has been a long time since our last update. I guess that is what happens now that we have a young baby and both of us are working full time. Anyway a lot has happened in the last couple months.

Some exciting news, in the last 2 months two of Paul's closest friends have had their first baby as well. Ben and Susie had their son, Samuel Benjamin on the 23rd of February. Elliot and Clare had their son, Patrick O'Dwyer, on the 22nd of March.

Paul's mum & dad came for a visit mid-March so they were here to celebrate Paul's 30th birthday with him. Although they did bring heaps of stuff for Sophia with them. A lot of staples that we can't get or are more expensive here. We celebrated Paul's birthday for about 3 nights with a nice dinner at home, a night out for a seafood dinner, and a BBQ on our rooftop terrace. It was a fantastic visit. As expected, Sophia was spoiled. She got to go out swimming with Ahmogs (Grandma Abrey) and Grandpa every day.

At the end of March Paul was offered a new job to go work for a financial software company that he used to work with in his previous back office job. The role is exactly the type of job he wanted to do. His last day at his old job was Good Friday and he starts his new job on Monday. Fortunately his current company was very understanding and let him leave on only a week and half of notice. He is pretty excited about the opportunity.

I am well into my new role now and for the most part, I am enjoying it as it is a new area of the business for me. Unfortunately it does mean travel will start up again with my first trip next week. It is only a couple of days but I am already dreading how I will feel about being away from Sophia.

Sophia is growing up so quickly, as everyone told us she would. She turned 5 months on April 2nd and now weighs 7kg (15.5 lbs) We started her on one bottle of formula a day as I was having some supply problems as her appetite increased. She has taken it to it really well, seeming not to even notice the difference. We also started her on rice cereal last Saturday because she was making mmm noises & smacking her lips when she sees us eating. It has taken a few days for us to get more in her mouth than on her person but it has been a fun experience for all of us.

Sophia is still not sitting up but is rolling around all over the place and loves to stand (while being supported). We bought her an "exersaucer" last weekend that she can stand up in and play with the toys. She loves it ! Unfortunately she has just started getting upset when we take toys (or things she is not supposed to play with) away from her. It is so amazing to see her little personality emerge. Everyday she seems to be a bit older.

Sophia and I are just recovering from a cold that has us missing a lot of events leading up to Easter so that was unfortunate. Sophia was real brave throughout and despite a sore throat, cough, runny nose, sneezing, you would not even know she was sick she was so happy. I, on the other hand, was the weak one, feeling miserable & sorry for myself. Tough little girl.

More pictures of Sophia have been added to a new 5 month Photo Album.

February 16, 2007 ~

As I was heading back to work on February 1, Paul planned a surprise trip to Bali. He kinda let it slip that we were going to Bali beforehand, but everything else about the trip -- accommodation, itinerary -- was a surprise. We stayed in a beautiful villa in Ubud. As this was my first time to Bali, I was amazed at how beautiful it was. Ubud is in the center of Bali, surrounded by tropical forests and beautifully terraced rice fields. There were literally temples on every corner and elaborate alters in every home. The Villa was very authentic and very private as Paul rented the whole place just for us. It had a wonderfully warm pool so we took Sophia for a swim every day. She absolutely loves the water. We spent our days touring around the countryside, stopping at arts & crafts places, and stopping for great food along the way.

Beginning of February I started back at work. Although I am enjoying my new role, it is very hard to be away from Sophia.. even when she is just downstairs !! Fortunately she started sleeping through the night the same week I went back to work. Very considerate of her. Sophia and I are also still attending a weekly mums & babies group which is great for maintaining that work/life balance.

Sophia is developing very quickly and is already rolling over regularly (back to tummy, tummy to back she does rarely), holding her neck steady all the time, and grabbing and playing with her toys. Her favorite activities are to go walking outside (in carrier or held) and swimming. She loves other people and will smile and laugh at everyone she meets.

This weekend is Chinese New Year so a 4 day long weekend. Unfortunately Paul does not get it off but will have shorter hours due to so many markets closed.

January 8, 2007 ~

This year we spent Christmas in Australia at Paul's parents in Mt. Tambourine. In order to make it feel a bit more like a Christmas in Canada for me, I usually get to make a Christmas Turkey, stuffing and all. Sophia was a bit oblivious to the exciting event and slept through most of the present opening and dinner. Although it is summer in Australia, the weather was unseasonably cold (19/12 degrees) and rainy.

Fortunately the weather cleared up for Sophia's big day. We decided to have Sophia christened in Paul's parents Anglican church while we were back. As I am more used to baby dedications and baptisms when older, I was surprised at what a big event a baby baptism is. It was almost like planning a mini wedding. We spent the week after Christmas planning the day. Sophia was baptized on January 31st and afterwards we hosted a big BBQ at Paul's parents house. There is a tradition that you save the top tier of your wedding cake (freeze it) and eat it at the baptism of your first child. So in addition to using our wedding candle at the ceremony, we also enjoyed our wedding cake at the BBQ. The cake topper had a new addition of a delicate icing cradle thanks to Sophia's godmother, Carol. We will also dedicate Sophia at our baptist church in Singapore early this year.

The week after New Years we headed down to Melbourne to attend the wedding of Paul's cousin, Graham. While in Melbourne we stayed with Paul's friend Elliot and caught up with some of my work colleagues. Graham and Michelle's wedding was absolutely beautiful. It took place in Lilydale near the Dandenong Ranges National Park. One of the best things about family weddings is catching up with everyone. After the wedding a few of us went for a walk at one of the sanctuary's in the Dandenong National Park. It is a beautiful park but we didn't have a chance to spend much time there so we'd like to go back again someday.

December 18 , 2006 ~

It has been an eventful month. My parent's were here for most of November. We really enjoyed having them here for so long as we will not see them at Christmas this year. Despite having a tiny baby and my dad, a sore knee, we still got out and about almost every day. Just before they left we put up and decorated a real Christmas tree.

The end of November our good friends, Farhana and Bill, were married in Singapore. It was an Indian/Muslim wedding so was a 4 day event. We made it to all but the mosque dinner. Each of the wedding events were wonderful. Bill and Farhana looked amazing and very very happy.

Sophia is now 6 weeks old and growing rapidly. At her 1 mth appointment she had grown to 4 kg and 55 cm. She is starting to settle into a routine but that still means she is up every 4 hours at night for a feed. We are keeping very busy; out almost everyday including going to a 'Baby Cafe' every Monday afternoon to bond with other new moms & babes. Sophia also went to the pool for the first time. She did only get her feet wet but she seemed to enjoy it.

In early December, Sophia had the opportunity to practice her acting skills by playing baby Jesus at our Church's "Journey to Bethlehem" event for the pre-schoolers. She played the part perfectly, sleeping in the manger or 'Mary's' arms the whole time.

Later this week we leave for Brisbane, Australia for Christmas. Sophia is looking forward to her first Christmas. We are planning to get her Christened at Paul's parents Anglican church on December 30th. Sophia will be wearing Paul's christening gown so it will be a pretty special event for us.

November 18 , 2006 ~

It's a GIRL! Sophia Ann Abrey was born right on schedule on Nov 2nd at 5:45 am (she was due Nov 1) . She was 3.1 kg and 50 cm long. Not sure who she looks like more but she definitely has Paul's curly hair.

Thank you to everyone that visited us in the hospital and sent baby gifts and flowers. Our hospital room and house looked and smelled beautiful for days.

Sorry it has taken me so long to update our website with the news but our darling daughter had interrupted my usual sleep patterns so if I'm not looking after her, I'm sleeping these days. For not doing too much, a baby sure is a lot of work!

Paul and I are thoroughly enjoying parenthood. Paul's mum and dad were here soon after the birth and then my parent's arrived on Nov 7th and will be with us until the end of the month.

Not to be slowed down much by the arrival of our little one, we had her out for dinner with us at 4 days old and continue to take her on daily outings. Fortunately she is a good baby so she makes parenting easy for us.

October 31, 2006 ~

Well we have some very exciting news. My sister Karen had her baby 3 weeks early on Oct 28th. It is a girl ! Julie Eleftheria MacDonald arrived at 12:34 (noon). She is 19 inches and 6lbs 8oz. Mom, baby, Dad, & little Jack are all doing well. Finally we have a girl grandchild on the Chapman side of the family.

I am now at 40 weeks and still patiently waiting. There are so far no signs that our little one is on its way so we are anticipating a late arrival. Paul is on leave for the next 3 weeks so we are running a few errands before the baby arrives & basically trying to spend as much time together as possible before we become a threesome.

We finally finished the atrium in the middle of the house (the 40 week photo on the right was taken in the atrium). It is nice to have a fountain and a bit of a garden in there instead of a big concrete void. We've kept the style of it to reflect the Balinese theme of the main floor. The only other part of the house that still needs some work is the roof top terrace. We have the outdoor furniture and Paul's parents have kindly sent us a BBQ that we will hopefully pick up this week. So the only thing left to do up there is a bit of basic landscaping, some outdoor lighting, and arranging for a sun canopy.

My brother Mark and his wife, Mary, also just bought a house in Canada. It is only a couple of years old and really beautiful. They will busy for the next few months as they plan to move in before Christmas.

Let's hope next post brings news of a new addition to our family ....

October 7, 2006 ~

It has been a busy couple of months since I last updated this site. We are well settled into our new home with the final touches of putting a garden in the atrium (middle of the house) finally completed last week. We've had a few overseas visitors making short stays since August so our guestroom is being well used. Last night we threw a going-away / housewarming party. Yay is finally off to meet her new husband in the UK. Iain has been there for a few months now.

I am now almost 37 weeks and the baby is doing well and making no signs of an early arrival. I've been fortunate enough to have had 2 baby showers so I am feeling much more prepared than I was. Everyone has been very generous. The baby's room is all ready to go now. I finish work on October 23rd (a week before the due date), but I am hoping to have at least a week to do some last minute organizing/shopping before the baby arrives.

The rugby season has almost finished. Paul has decided this will be his last year to play. He does say this every year but with work being so busy for him now, I think he is serious this time. A busy work schedule and a new baby will keep him active enough.

Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend! Unfotunately it will be our first year to not celebrate it. Our schedules and weekends have just been to busy so we decided not to add yet another event to our calendar. But we hope all our Canadian friends & family enjoy & we will still remember all we have to be thankful for !

August 11 , 2006 ~

In mid-July we moved into our new townhouse; it is fantastic to have more space. There are, however, a lot of stairs in this house. The first few days of the move I think I actually lost weight going up & down the stairs trying to get everything unpacked & organized. Our new place is a 2-story townhouse with an attic & a basement. The "attic is actually a 3rd floor as it has the guest room and a roof terrace. The basement is just a small utility (maids) room & storage room. Right up through the middle of the house is an atrium which we hope to build a garden in soon.

The weekend after we moved Mark & Mary came to visit for almost 3 weeks. Paul and I really enjoyed spending the time with them. A highlight of their visit was a weekend trip to Tioman, a small Island in Malaysia. It was the first time Mark & Mary had ever been snorkeling. After a bit of a slow start they really enjoyed it. Too bad there are not too many good snorkeling places in Canada (you'll have to come to visit again guys!) Fortunately I was able to take quite a few days off work while they were here so joined them on a lot of their outings around Singapore.

Pregnancy is going well. I am 28 weeks now and growing well. Baby is doing just fine; moving a lot. Good news is our new house is only 10 min walk from the hospital & my OB's office so it makes it easy to make it to all the appointments. We just ordered our baby furniture but other than that we have done virtually no planning or shopping for baby. We'll start looking into some birthing classes soon but I think Paul and I are both avoiding it at the moment.

June 20, 2006 ~

I just received this photo from Mary and had to include it. It is a picture of my brother, Bobby, with our nephews. He doesn't get to see them very much as he lives in Vancouver so this was a very special trip to Toronto and a rare photo of the 4 of them together.

Paul and I are hoping to close on our house by the end of June so we spent all last weekend preparing for our move. It is a brand new house so there are absolutely no window coverings or light fixtures (just wires) so all that has to be arranged before we can move. Every weekend up until Mark & Mary arrive mid-July will be crazy now as we try to get semi-settled before their visit.

June 18, 2006 ~

On June 12th we attended Yay and Iain's wedding in Manila. Saturday night was a pre-wedding dinner at Yay's parent's lovely home and the wedding was on the Monday. It was a beautiful ceremony, a traditional Filipino Catholic wedding. Yay looked amazing and Iain had a grin from ear to ear all day ... as you can see. Photos from Yay's bridal shower, the pre-wedding dinner, and the wedding are now posted in our Photo Albums.

Paul and I arrived in Manila on Friday night so had all day Saturday and Sunday to sight-see. On Saturday we went to Old Manila. We visited the old fort there and stopped at the Cathedral. Unfortunately it was REALLY hot so we didn't stay out too long.

On Sunday we got really adventurous and decided to climb a Volcano. You could get up to the top by small horse (which looked a little worse for wear) or by foot. As I am pregnant we decided to walk. It wasn't a very difficult or long climb (not after climbing Mt. Kinabalu) but it was very, very hot. I had to stop many times on the way up to try to cool down. The lake in the middle of the volcano & the view from the top was very pretty though so it was worth the climb. By the time we reached the bottom I was exhausted and both of us were covered in fine, black volcanic dust. Recommend it if ever in Manila though. Just go early morning when cooler .... we went about 3 pm and it was still too hot.

Monday morning before the wedding we took a more relaxed approach & spent the morning by the pool before heading up to help Yay & get ready for the wedding.

June 7, 2006 ~

A couple of week's ago we held a bridal shower for Yay as her wedding is coming up the 12th of June. It was all done in traditional Canadian bridal shower style complete with crazy bow hat and silly games. Peggy was a little disappointed there were no firemen there but Anne's promised some for Farhana's bridal shower later this year.... haha. Bridal shower photos are in the Photo Album's under Yay's Wedding. The picture is all of us girls (except Peg who was traveling) at Yay's engagement party earlier this year.

On to some more baby news. We had our detailed scan today and our baby appears to be developing perfectly normally. I am able to feel the baby move every day now but unfortunately so far every time Paul puts his hand on my belly, the baby stops moving.

Thought this might also be a good time to include lovely photo of my sister, Karen, Adam, and their very cute son, Jack. Karen is pregnant with their second child, due only a few weeks after me.

May 20, 2006 ~

This past week has been pretty exciting for us. We finally received permission to purchase a townhouse from the government and put down our next deposit. It will now take anywhere from 5 to 9 weeks to finalize the sale. If all goes well, we will be moved in before Mark & Mary come to visit in July.

Also, I first felt the baby move this week!! Paul and I were having lunch after meeting with our lawyer and I kept feeling this funny rolling in my abdomen. It got stronger throughout lunch, actually feeling like little rapid kicks. The baby was pretty active all afternoon, moving/kicking for about 20 minutes every 2 hours. My abdomen actually moved with the kicking, boxing... or whatever the baby was doing. It was the most amazing feeling!

Last weekend we went up to Sungei Buloh for a hike in the mangrove park. Paul captured some amazing shots of a few birds we had never seen before.

Paul starts his new job at the beginning of June. He's really looking forward to the new challenge. Unfortunately he has one more licensing test still to take so he's spending most of his free time studying late.

April 22, 2006 ~

Plenty has happened since our last update. It appears 2006 is going to be a big year for us. After 2 1/2 years of trying, we are finally going to have a baby! I am now 13 weeks and due Nov. 1st. The pregnancy is going very smoothly with no signs of morning sickness. However, I have started to get a small belly already. Even more exciting is that Karen is also pregnant, only 3 weeks behind me!

Paul is in the process of moving to a new job in the front office which he is very excited about.

And finally, with a baby on the way and a new job, we've decided to investigate purchasing a house in Singapore. We have found a place we really like and have made an accepted offer (''option'' as they call it here) but are struggling with navigating the ins & outs of the system here as we wait for government permission to buy to finalize the sale. We are also struggling with fair value as the property market doesn't seem to have much rhyme or reason to its ups & downs, or at least not the same rules as other countries due to government control on who can buy landed property.

Dave and Tonya made it back safely from their extended honeymoon after a few adventures and are now settled in at Mt. Tambourine while Mum & Dad Abrey are spending a few months in Europe as Dad works from Germany.

December 12, 2005 ~

Well it has been another very hectic month. Our latest travels were to Brisbane on Dec 3rd for Dave & Tonya's wedding on the 6th. It was a beautiful wedding with plenty of happy tears to go around. Dave and Tonya started their honeymoon staying with us in Singapore last week. They left on Saturday for Borneo and will spent the next few months traveling Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Tibet, and India. Now that's a honeymoon !!

I'll update our Photo Albums with photos from the wedding shortly but in the interim, our photos from South Africa have finally been added.

November 20, 2005 ~

Wow, I can't believe Christmas is just over a month away. Instead of having flowers delivered, the flower shop dropped off a 6 ft Christmas tree Friday morning! And yes, it is a real tree in Singapore. From the Nordics I think. It is a bit different then the type of trees we get in Canada, a wee bit bottom heavy, but doesn't matter, I'm just thrilled to have a real tree.

This is our first Christmas tree together (we've never had one in Singapore before), so we were out yesterday busily shopping for lights & other baubles to decorate our tree. As I am traveling so much over the next few weeks, Paul ordered the tree early so I would have time to enjoy it.

This weekend was a busy one for us. Paul played and won in the National Rugby Grand Final in Singapore... yea! And we went to our first Malay wedding on Saturday night.

Steve and Kari have finally named their new baby. His name is Dominick Christopher John Abrey. He is out of the incubator now but may still be a couple of weeks before he gets to go home.

November 4, 2005 ~

We received news that Kari had her baby 8 weeks early! At a light 2.2kg, he's fine (it's a boy btw) but will have to stay in the hospital for a few weeks until his lungs get strong.

November 3, 2005 ~

South Africa was probably one of the best trips we've ever had. Our first 6 days was spend in the north east in Nelspruit and near Kruger Park. We stayed at a private game reserve beside Kruger for a few days and despite the cost, was well worth the money. We were treated like royalty for 3 days, with 5 star plus accommodation and food, not to mention the effort the ranger put in to ensure we saw all of the "Big 5" game (Lion, Rhino, Leopard, Buffalo, Elephant). By the way, we learned they are called the "Big 5" because they are the five animals that have killed humans while humans were hunting them.

After Kruger, we flew to Cape Town in the south west of South Africa. We spent a few days there then drove south east to Hermanus to see the whales then continued along Route 62, enjoying the stunning scenery, then headed down to the Garden Route, stopping in beautiful towns along the way. We stayed in Knysna for a few days, spending one day hiking in Tsitsikama National Park and another doing the "Awesome Four", and adventure tour that involves canoeing, hiking, quad bike driving, and abseiling (Paul also did Rap Jumping, face forward down the cliff... very scary).

On our last weekend in South Africa, we attended Paul's cousin, Michelle's, wedding. The wedding was held in a private game reserve with an outdoor boma type setting and african dancers and music. Michelle and John looked glamourous in the setting. It was almost surreal as at one point they had wedding pictures taken with elephants. The evening of the wedding most of the family members attending stayed in the game park in luxury safari tents beside a river. We actually had to take a small boat to get to our tent. The morning after the wedding the family that stayed over night all went on a morning game drive with the bride and groom. It was a beautiful wedding and a great opportunity for Paul and I to catch up with family.

Mangrove Tree, Singapore

Malaysian Water Monitor, Singapore

With Ben & Susie on Bintan Island, Indonesia