Beautiful Spring Day

A beautiful spring day was spent at Wisley Gardens.



The daffodils were planted in rows and some magnolia trees were in bloom.

The green house was filled with healthy and strong orchids. The highlight was the waterfalls. Leanne knew exactly where the lift was for me to take; no doubt that she has been there more often than me.

Bird of paradise against the waterfalls. There was even a banana tree. To keep pests at bay, biological pest control methods are applied.

We met a pair of twin boys aged 3 at the Pavillion, and then another pair of newborn twins later, a boy and a girl.

The cherry blossoms are in full bloom, making a pretty picture.

After pointing out the bees to her, Leanne was fascinated with them. We spent ages spotting bees here.

Proof that I did bring Joshua along. However he was asleep almost all the time that we were there.

He made up for it later when we got home, giving us proper smiles for the first time.

Contentment

Contentment is when:

1. You make time for friends and loved ones."Let no one seek his own, but each the other's well being" (1 Corinthians 10:24)

2. Giving thanks. "From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another (John 1:16)

3. Practicing contentment - getting used to dandelions. "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is love, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." (Philippians 4:8)

George Eliot wrote:

"Oh, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away."

Mother's Day

This year, Mother's Day is extra special, with two little ones to celebrate with. It was really sunny and warm as well, so we ventured out to Painshill Park for a picnic and walk.






It was about a 1.25 mile walk, so Leanne piggybacked on Daddy some of the time. Being a historic park, the owner Charles Hamilton designed landscapes, like the ruined abbey by the lake and vineyard.

Feeding the ducks was a little intimidating as one of the geese kept hissing at us. They broke the rule as well - didn't stay put in the waters. It made Leanne run away at a point.


Not to worry, she found her confidence again soon enough. The grotto is in the background.





Beautiful crystal grotto.





While his sister was running around, Joshua was blissfully asleep. Didn't budge at all even when a butterfly floated onto his hood.



Just love the composition of this picture and the contrast of the colours.

Growing fast

Five weeks now - beginning to respond to our callings and cooings.
He seems to enjoy catching the fishies on his swing. It seems really cosy - Leanne tried to have a go in it as well.

Daddy has his hands full with two cheeky chubs. Leanne is now 13.3kgs, and Joshua is 5.1kgs. No need to go to the gym anymore.


Joshua is just chilling out here with Roo. We started calling him 'Sifu', after the character in Kungfu Panda, as he is small and likes to sway his hands, somewhat like kungfu moves.




Flowers and thoughts from our church which came in a timely manner






and flowers from a sweet friend. Some friends have cooked and brought us dinner the whole week, which we are really grateful for. Daffodils signpost that spring is here.

Full Moon

I can't believe that Joshua is exactly 1 month old now. I am still trying to get used to all the boyish sounds and grunts that he makes, in contrast to Leanne's sharp cries last time. He is now 4.8kgs.
Being over here, full moon celebration is rather quiet, if any at all. No sign of red eggs, or kunyit rice with curry chicken. It is supposed to signify the end of confinement period as well.

There are usually 6 main reasons for crying:
1. Feed me
2. Change me
3. Burp me
4. Carry me
5. Put me to sleep
6. Iwant my dummy - may have fallen out
Just have to work it out by process of elimination.

Joshua is growing really fast. He seems to be awake more as well, reducing his sleeping hours from 20 hours a day to about 15 hours a day.


He still has milk spots on his face, but the midwife and health visitor said that they will clear up on its own soon. Some newborns have them more than others.

Some really cute babies in church. Natalie celebrated her first birthday last week. Andrew is about to turn one soon too.

Confinement

Ginger, ginger, ginger everywhere. Been having a special red date with longan and ginger tea everyday and special double boiled herbal soups. Taking over from my mom, Robin has cooked up lunches and dinners almost everyday this week as I am not allowed to do so yet. That's what paternity leave is for!

This was his special concoctment today, beef-chicken mushroom soup with pak choi and noodles. It was very yummy. Leanne loved it too.

We went to register Joshua's birth earlier this week. (He is now officially a person.) The registry office was pretty secluded.

Just after the registration, outside the registry office, here's Leanne - the flowers seemed to have bloomed with the sunny spell we have had over the last few days.

An inch of time

Grandpa came for a visit, just two days. An inch of time is an inch of gold. Leanne made the most of it, spending all her waking hours with him.
Joshua has a little bit of jaundice, so we brought him to the park for some sunshine.



Here we are waiting for our table in the restaurant. Grandpa's still acclimatizing and recovering from jetlag.
Joshua was asleep as usual, all the way there and back. We had a good dinner.
Just me and grandma, celebrating grandma's birthday.
Exercising his lungs every now and then to remind us that he's around now.
Surrounded by her grandkids and having a great time, although we didn't get to play as much scrabble as before.

KC and Hannah came to visit two weeks ago. Hannah got her hug when Joshua awoke.
They came bearing gifts for the happy sister and blissfully unaware brother.


The glowworm for him has been claimed by his sister as her baby.
Leanne has been very excited with her brother's presence. She likes to pinch his cheeks and tell him that he's cute, probably because we did it to her last time.
So poor Joshua gets a poke in the eye every now and then, great big hugs and squeezes from her. Sometimes he may protest when it gets too much, like in this case.