It was our long awaited turn to host the Sept parents and tods in our little tiny 3 room flat!!! We had a total of 12 adult and 6 little kiddos running and stepping over each other last nite! What chaos but oooo what fun we had!

We set to prep as soon as Sophie went down for her nap. We had to move the furniture around a little for more space and hide all the mess. When Sophie woke up, I roped her in to dry the dishes for the kiddos coz she was fussing. Yes, the best way to eliminate fuss? Involve them!

First to arrive - the Teos! With all their barang - 2 kids, 1 humongous tiramisu in a even more humongous pail, etc etc… hee… Super amazing coz they are the only one with 2 kids but the first one to arrive! And the last to arrive?????? Grace, CL n Clarence coz prince Clarence woke up late! Hee but he was in a good mood when he arrived! And they brought the very very nice fruit punch too!

While waiting for everyone to arrive, we had a conference call with the Ongs! We got to see little DN who is miles away in the UK! Oh how we miss the Ongs at parties!!! Unfortunately that didn’t turn out well coz we didn’t have MSN video on our side to support the call and June’s hardware couldn’t support Skype. But at least we got to see them and hear their voices for a bit! So cool!

While James went with Tony to pick up the dinner we ordered, the kids started feasting on the noodles that Joanne prepared. YUMS! Sam and Shawn took turns to feed Sophie. (Thanks guys!)

The guys finally arrived with dinner. The menu for the day was

1. Chefs Salad w Cherry Tomato Olive n Artichokes
2. Grilled Veg Platter
3. Mushroom Aglio Olio
4. Roasted Chicken thigh w Italian Sausages
5. Oven Roasted Meatballs and Mozzerella Cheese

Left: The Spread Right: The Tiramisu

YUMS!!! We finished all the food pretty fast and quickly went onto the famous Tiramisu that Sam made! Each couple had a 4"by5" piece! I’m serious. It was huge! The kiddos had a bowl of Haagen Dazs Berries ice cream each.

That was the best time to take pictures coz we got all of them to sit in a row and they were sitting as still as they possibly can! Bren and Shawn were going a bit crazy singing and making silly actions to get the kiddos to look up so that the rest can take pictures! Aiyo super funny!

Towards the end, we took a group picture. At the end of it, Sophie stood up and started singing and dancing in front of all of us! And the girls joined in and then Clarence and Jovann all joined it and they just all started jumping up and down and laughing. It was so funny to see our kids "performing" for us!

Finally we had the exchange of presents and they presented us with a special present for a reason which we will reveal in a bit on the blog. It was so sweet……. we got a calendar which Grace made with all the kids’ pictures and winter stuff like gloves and scarves. Cool beans, just what we needed!

I really had so much fun and I think the kiddos and everyone else too.

http://email.borders.com.au/sg/2008/20081226/t0k/coupon-02-sg.asp

Come buy my books so I can buy more books (scroll down for more info)! Hiak hiak…

As you know, we the Lims LOOOVE BOOKS and we’ve got quite a collection. The truth is, what you see on our shelves is not even all. We’ve got more that are still lurking around in the office and our parents’ home (They are so kind… hiak hiak.). But…….. we’re spring cleaning to have space for more. SO, we’re having a pre-loved book sale (Religious, Best Sellers, Business, Fiction, Sci Fi/Fantasy etc) at

http://daytimeco.com/books4sale/

How to buy: Email us a list of books you wish to buy at jamesandailing@gmail.com
Collection: Cash and Carry at Holland Village
Price: $7ea/$15 for 3

Whilst stocks last. First come first serve. Sale ends 2nd Jan.
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Please help us to forward to your friends and family.

We hope that our precious books will find new homes.

P/s Sorry…… I can’t bear to sell Sophie’s books so no children’s books for sale. Hee..

Dearest Sophie,

You are now 27 mths and you can still sit in your bumbo. That is amazing because most of your friends outgrew theirs long time ago.

This month you have been spending a lot of time with your Mama and Yeye and as a result picking up more Mandarin. You can now recite Tang poems like Chuang Qian Ming Ye Guang (Bed Front Got Moonlight… hahaha) and offered to teach me. I can’t believe it - you are two and you already are better than me in this area.

You stayed over at your grandparents’ for the first time this month. I’m glad to see you enjoying that. It’s hard to let you go but we know that it is a necessary part of growing up. And we know your grandparents on both sides are DEFINITELY ENJOYING IT! I love hearing their stories about how you are with them - sometimes it makes us laugh and sometimes it makes us proud.

Your current fav foods are Century Egg Porridge (Pei Tan Juok), donuts, yakult, Auntie Genie’s mushroom and minced meat pasta (You actually go over and ask Auntie Gin if we’re having lunch there), peanut butter sandwiches, pancakes, etc….. argh you have a sweet tooth just like me. WHICH MAKES ME SUPER GLAD THAT YOU FINALLY ENJOY BRUSHING YOUR TEETH! With toothpaste and you can spit! Woo hoo!

It really doesn’t matter that the only alphabets you recognize are M and O (which coincidentally spells Mommy’s hanyu pinyin surname Mo!?!), or you can’t tell 1 from 4 from 10, or wear your shoes by yourself. What matters is that you are growing well and healthy in body, mind and spirit. For that we are so thankful.

We love you dear one.

Love
Mommy