Two Male Dancers @ ho-me

Watch the 2 boys dancing to a sweet soothing music....

Now this video shows TWO. But in reality there's always that third male dancing with them! He's the one who taught them the dance moves. He's the demonstrator. And that's how the boys caught the dancing bug. Are you ready to know who that is? Make a wild guess!

Growing Tomatos @ ho-me

We have this small little pot of tomato plant and it is bearing much fruits! It is nice to be supplementing our tomato demands with supplies from ho-me! Long may this lasts! ;)

Eshai's Tricycle

This evening, we bought a preloved Tricycle from the DB Forum for Eshai. And he loves it very much - climbing and sitting on it for us to push him around. Eshai sure took possession of the bike! This is looking to be a good buy!


Soon a small drama started! Elkan the big brother started to lay claim to the bike and displaced his little brother from it. The fight for the bike started! Look at them. Make a guess how we resolve the situation???

2010 HK Marathon Results

The results are out... and Patrick did reasonably well. He clocked 4hr 6min 13sec. The breakdown of his run is as follows:
Time for 10K - 00:55:42
Time halfway - 01:51:26
Time for 30K - 02:46:30

This isn't Patrick's best timing for a full marathon. He did 4:00:53 back in 2004. So he has only slowed down by 6 minutes in 6 years! So it's not too bad. Well, the challenge is still to break the sub 4-hr barrier! Can he do it? Time seems to be running out.... ;)

But there's still a personal achievement in this recent run. Patrick ran non-stop from start to finish! This is something that he has always wanted to accomplish. He is a real marathon RUNNER now! ;)


More pictures of him running is available at Marathon Photos!

The Arrangement

Shan Lei brought the boys to the end point at Causeway Bay to soak up the Marathon atmosphere. And of course, the plan was to let them watch and support Patrick as he run into the last stretch at the finishing line. But a marathon race can be very long. And Patrick wasn't very sure how long he would take. The two boys couldn't possibly wait indefinitely at the end point. They would be too restless for that!

iPhone to the rescue! Thankfully Patrick used it to listen to MP3 as he ran. So the arrangement was that Shan Lei would call Patrick and ask him where he is. With the reply, she will then know when to station at the end point. Meanwhile, they could laze around at the nearby library!

But lo and behold, the arrangement didn't work out exactly on race-day Sunday. While running, Patrick picked up the call through the headset and replied. But Shan Lei could not hear him. She made a few more calls to him. The same problem. In desperation... she asked Patrick to "text" her instead. WHHHHAAATTTT!!!! It ain't easy texting while running... what more asking a dead tired marathon runner! Patrick hesitated as he ran further. But it seems to be the only solution. Finally... at around 38.1km into his run, Patrick picked up his iPhone.... disregarded his run and became the first runner in the world to text his wife after running such a distance. The message "20 mins more" was sent out at 10:56am. It nearly caused cramps to his body.

Shan Lei received the message. She took the boys to the end point area. Looking for the entrance into the finishing area proved difficult, especially with some restricted areas. But they finally managed to get there just on time. Then they waited....

A few minutes later.... they saw Patrick entering the last stretch. They called out to him. He saw them, slowed down to give them a flying kiss and a huge smile. Then he raised both his arms and ran through the finishing point.

The arrangement worked out afterall.... and here are the family pictures after the run. Praise God!

A Wise Young Man-to-be

In this video, we gave Elkan a new book and told him to read the titles to us. And he could read some 90% of the words. He's been so blessed in this area. Praise God!

We are so glad that Elkan has picked up the skill of reading, which is really an important skill in life. From now on, his own curiosity will take him on from here. He's got loads of it at his age currently, always asking questions and such. We pray that he will make good use of it and will learn wisely. May he grow up to be a wise young man with a good heart! Amen!

Marathon

28th Feb Sunday is coming... and Patrick is going to run the full marathon. It will be his 3rd attempt, with the 2nd one some 5 years back in 2005. This run will be a good gauge of how much the body has aged! ;)

This will be Patrick's first marathon in Hong Kong. It all started with him making it a company initiative (following the Singapore office) to sponsor the staff to participate. To lead by example, he's going for the full. haha!

Serious training started since 1st January, although he's been keeping fit through weekly soccer and a bit of running before that. We were amazed at how intensive the January trainings have been... because he ran 22 times in that month! And all were done outdoors in the cold. There were some adjustments to the cold (Singaporeans are definitely not accustomed to it), choosing what to wear, when to run, etc.

February was a slower month because he caught a cold bug for a week plus. He continued to run with it, although taking it easily. We spent CNY in Singapore, but he still managed to squeeze out 4 runs during that period. Tonight he had wanted to do one final light run, but it drizzled so that got called off.

So if he ready? Well... one can never be ready for the marathon. It all depends on the form on that actual day. Let's hope all goes well! Cheers!

新年快乐

There are 15 days of celebration... so it's still not too late to wish all our blog readers a blessed happy new year!

Both the boys wore traditional chinese costumes on the first day of CNY. But we did not take many pictures... so you see Eshai here only. Shall get them to dress up again for a proper photo shoot!

Tulips @ Ho-me

We went to the flower market at Mongkok and bought this Tulip plant for HK$25. The flowers bloomed beautifully for two weeks and that was so nice!

Sleeping Guests

Our two boys having their afternoon nap at a relative's home on day 2 of CNY! This is probably the only age where it is ok to doze off while paying others a visit.

Steamboat Reunion Dinner

Catching up on some blogging....

Well... here's our small family having a simple family reunion dinner in HK before we went back to Singapore. Sipping the hot soup in the cold winter weather was awesome! Kinda funny to think that we have always enjoyed steamboat in the hot Singapore weather. ;)

Elkan the Informer

We had a 'Meet the Parents' session with Elkan's teacher to receive his Term 1 report card for 09/10. His teacher told us that Elkan is her Informer, always pointing out to her when fellow students do not follow instructions. We agree with this observation because Elkan always insists things to be done the right way! Looks like our boy has the making of a 'HEAD PREFECT'! ;)

The following comments were written by his teacher in the report:

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Elkan is a very intelligent and independent boy who gets along well with all his classmates yet preferring to stay in a small group. He enjoys all aspects of physical activities, games and music & movement. Elkan is proud of his achievement in reading the books from home with more than seven to eight words. He can count up to 29 and trace the numbers very confidently. Elkan is a mature boy who loves to take on responsibilities with great pride and sincerity. His fine motor skills continue to develop at a positive rate.

I am confident Elkan will continue to flourish in all areas. Excellent work Elkan!

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We are also very proud that Elkan has been graded 'ACHIEVED' for ALL section in his report: Social Development, Discipline, Intellectual Development, Learning Performance, Language Development, Mathematics Development, Sensorial Development and Aesthetic Development.

Window Shopping

Eshai loves to walk... he's exploring with his new found freedom. And he loves to do window shopping. See him outside a boutique shop at IFC. On a closer look at the right picture below.... we now know why he likes window shopping!

Knocked Out....

After they got back home from Church on Sunday, both Patrick & little Eshai were so tired that they "knocked out" together on the bed. These are candid shots of them!

Pa-pa! Pa-pa! Pa-pa!

Our 15 months old prince Eshai has started saying a few words. This video managed to capture the precious moments of him saying 'Pa-pa' for the first few times! This is price-less! Enjoy!

Elkan - A Make-Up Boy

Just the other day, Elkan was fidgeting with Shan Lei's make-up set... and here's the outcome....

New Skill - Wiping Mouth

Taken earlier on the 2nd of this month, this video captured Eshai and his newly acquired skill - Wiping His Mouth! It is so interesting to also see him responding to our instructions. Our boy is growing up!

A Self-Portrait of Elkanho Da Vinci

Elkanho Da Vinci is at work again! This time round.... it is a self-portrait of himself. Yes, he said that it is a drawing of himself. Quite difficult to figure out any resemblance huh!?! Guess we have to appreciate it with an abstract perspective! Now sadly, this piece of art was 'destroyed' almost immediately with simply a swipe! Thankfully we managed to snap it with the camera and this posting will preserve it. Cheers!

Brushing Teeth with Passion!

We have been blessed with a little boy who likes to brush teeth! Yes, Elkan will faithfully brush his teeth before he goes to bed every night. Previously he used a conventional brush, but lately he has a preference for an electronic brush. He does the brushing on his own and is able to do a good job.

Well done, son! And keep it going....

Check out these 2 postings on Elkan's earlier teeth brushing experiences... (1) & (2). He's come a loooonnnnnng way!

Where Do Headaches Come From?

Mummy had a headache on Friday and Elkan asked her where did her headache come from? Mum said she didn't know. And here is Elkan's answer:

"I think your room has a lot of headaches. When you go to your room, the headache goes to your head and you have a headache!"

Now we know....