Daddy's birthday

Maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had, and what you've learned from them, and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated ~ Unknown

My dearest E.,

We celebrated your father's 32nd birthday over the weekend (December 9). For a treat, you were allowed to stay up an additional half hour, to play with your cousins, Maya and Leia, who were also there and having a riotous time. I had spent the entire afternoon, slaving away in front of a hot stove, cooking up food for the party we had that night: spaghetti bolognaise (with angel-hair pasta) with a thick tomato base and chunky capsicum pieces, button mushrooms and thick tomato wedges; fragrant and wickedly spicy Devil curry (an Eurasian dish which you will grow to love!) and fresh garden salad with olive oil, vinegar & chopped onion dressing. We also had delicious beef rendang, fragrant from spices and its thick gravy, made by Mommy's friend from work, wrapped into a burrito with cheese tortilla wraps. Delicious! Your Aunt Christine (Maya's and Leia's Mommy) made some fresh mushrooms & celery cream sauce for the pasta, and your Godpa, Charlie and Aunt Shen, brought good ol' fried chicken from KFC. It was a wonderful feast- with family and good friends.

You'll forgive me for not taking any pictures. Our digital camera had the nerve to fail on us that day. But that's ok. Reliable and snapshot-crazy Aunt Shen (hehe!!) took heaps of pictures, and I'll be able to get some of them off her for your viewing pleasure.

I think you were excited at the prospect of a party at home. I must apologize to you first, for not being able to spend the entire afternoon at your side- your father had to take care of you throughout, as I was busy preparing food for the party. But I still, of course, whipped up your food for lunch and dinner, and was thankful to see that you ate well. We had been worried about your eating habit of late: you were more fussy and restless when it came to meal-times, and you would rarely finish your bowl of food- very uncharacteristic of you. You also refused to have your milk on a number of occasions. I was able to deduce that you were teething, as I took the liberty of examining your little gums one day while I was cleaning your teeth and tongue. I saw, and felt, the little bumpy ridges on the surface of your gums. Hehe. That was cute. To think of the little pearly whites beneath those gums, eagerly waiting to push themselves out and be seen, and eager to wreak havoc on food and drink alike!

But anyway, I digress. The party...

Fun, fun, fun...Good food (if I may say so myself) and even better company. Our guest list included:-

Your Grandpa Joe & Aunt Joanne; Uncle James & Aunt Christine, plus your cousins, Maya and Leia; Uncle Jerry & Aunt Sofea; your Godpa Charlie & Aunt Shen; Aunt June; Godma Bugs (Godma Jean); Uncle Gary; Uncle Calvin; Uncle Cheng Yan & Aunt Felicia (my cousins). Some of our other friends did pop by for a short spell of time, but were unable to stay on for various reasons.

I had dressed you in your new Poney dress, the cute on with purple flowers. You looked sweet and pretty, as usual- but there was nothing sweet nor pretty about the riot you caused with Maya & Leia. I was ready to faint at the thought of chasing after you, you little tyke: but thank goodness, there were more than enough people who fancied playing with you and keeping you entertained, which enabled me and your father to entertain our guests too! Needless to say, your cousins and you morphed our living room into a frightful mess- but that was to be expected, with 3 little tornadoes flying around, screaming and laughing. I had no idea girls could be this riotous. But I enjoyed every single moment of it, sweetums. I really did.

I took you upstairs for bed and warm milk about 11 p.m. Aunt Christine had brought some pretty clothes for you, and you were wearing Freego pajamas, so cute. You were tired, clearly, but not tired enough to scuttle over to my prone, tired body on the bed, and you lay your head on my tummy, sighing loudly as I smiled and ran my fingers through your thick hair. As the moonlight quietly crept into our room, you began to close your eyes, and fall asleep- and pretty soon, I heard your quiet breathing beside me; kissed you lightly on your forehead and put you into your crib, where you tossed and turned a little, then fell into a deep slumber.

I think you were oblivious to the party going on downstairs- and that was good. Maya & Leia continued to cause a riot without you; our friends and family continued drinking, watching football (Liverpool thrashed Fulham 4-0 that night) and the party continued into the wee hours of the morning. I crept in to bed at 4 a.m. after a hot shower and settled in with the warm comforter pulled up to my neck- your father was still drinking and chatting downstairs in our garden.

I was so tired out that I must've fallen asleep not long after my head touched the pillow.