Birthdays!

We have 2 birthdays to celebrate this month!

The first is Annika's full month celebration, which we held on the 22nd of August. It really is a milestone, surviving the toughest month of the baby's life. I'm so grateful that she didn't have any major problems the first month, unlike Madison, who had the groin abcess, bad jaundice and then URTI at the end of the month.

We held the party at the Novena house. Catered with Gustos-- they catered for Pa's opening at Healthway at 111 Somerset, so I figured they must be reasonably good since Healthway has an entire marketing team to source for caterers.

The party was a success. I'm glad we opened it to my parents' choir friends, they made up half the guests and contributed quite a bit to the atmosphere. The entire event lasted over 4 hours and the guests came at just the right time throughout the event. Am also grateful to my mother-in-law for helping in the preparation of the party. And of course, my parents who shopped endlessly to get stuff ready for the party. There were plenty of kids to entertain each other and of course, they had fun with all the toys at home.

Today, is the other birthday! Mine! Turned 33 .. I was thinking, 33 years ago I was a tiny baby, not unlike Annika and my mother was the one carrying me. 33 years later and the roles have changed... I'm the one carrying the baby. 33 and 2 kids. Am happy with my job. Hopefully the kids turn out ok. Good hubby... supportive families on either side. That's not bad. Of course I could do with Heidi Klum's body, drive a Porsche Cayenne or Panamera and live in 4,000 sq feet of land, but really I shouldn't complain.

To celebrate my birthday, Pa cooked an elaborate Japanese dinner yesterday. He started planning the minute I told him I'd rather have dinner at home than to go out to a fancy restaurant. We had sashimi, home made chawanmushi, wagyu steak, tempura and ramen noodles. There wasn't time to make the california rolls so they became a DIY course. For dessert we had the birthday cake from Cedele and lots of mooncakes. Of course there was the mandatory picture taking, candle blowing ( this time Madison actually blew the candles out for me! ) It was a really nice family affair. Pa spent over 3 hours slaving away in the kitchen. That is better than any restaurant meal.

Today, we had dinner at Marriot with Chris' mum, Neil, Tim Hui and Brenda. Tim and Brenda were visiting from Hong Kong. They were really thoughtful and brought gifts for the kids too. Madison absolutely loved her soft toy bumblebee backpack. Smart choice. We had the buffet dinner and of course Madison had her fill of dessert.

I'm still eagerly awaiting my present from Pa and Ma! I know what it is already.. but am not going to jinx it until I receive it. I'm really excited. I also had a few messages from close friends wishing me Happy Birthday. It's so touching to know that people actually remember and care.

The day is over... my final wish is for a good night's sleep.. that'll be a great gift from both my children.. if they can possibly grant it for tonight! ( wishful thinking! Maybe in another year's time..)