Training: The Church Part

Derod and I have come face to face with a growing gabe and decided that certain forms of training have to be put in place. For starters, we have set aside a routine to take place on Sunday during church services.

Thanks to two very kind and generous ladies who are supporting our efforts, we are training gabe to sit through the front part of the service like every other member in the congregation. That means that he'll participate in the singing portion of worship and sit through intercession and the Lord's supper with me. After this, he'll follow derod to the toddler's class, and spend time singing, learning a short lesson and getting some craft work done.

He has been relatively cooperative thus far and except for one occasion, we were able to co-exist peacefully. The distraction comes when he starts shouting out the names of people who go up to lead various portions of the service. He grins in glee when the children are dismissed to their classes. According to derod's reports, he is beginning to settle down as part of the class, versus living in his own world while being in the same room as the other children. He looks forward to the singing (and comes back home to ask us to sing the same songs for him), and to the tubes of glitter during craft time.

But of course, the papa is the one who has to do most of the craft work and getting the son to press the pieces of paper down after he glues them. Derod speaks with pride at this piece of work shown below, because he says the others just randomly paste the stars around, while his was the only one with a sense of artistic direction...

Gabe Says in "I Am Chao Been Because..."

My mummy turned me from this

To this...


Yee yee and auntie livingjoyfully have been the most articulate in expressing their *ahem* opinion towards mummy's "talent", which she doesn't exactly refute. Her only defense is that I can't sit still, a reason she can't use this time because I was happily watching Veggietales. Looks like the more challenging it is, the better my haircut will be.

What to do? I howled down the entire Compass Point and the small hair salon at waipo's place when they tried to give me professional services. So mummy says I'd better not complain too much. We just hope the hair will grow out soon.

Uncle ET in Beijing

Gabe's uncle et is well settled in the Paralympics Village in Beijing and has now got a space on the Straits Times blog to pen some thoughts prior to his race.

Please continue to pray for him to fully recover from the bout of flu and be in tip top condition as he races down the track for the heats on 11 September, and the finals on 12 September!

Conversation at the Masak Station

Gabe managed to "cook" a plate of vegtables and a plate of sausages, and derod came walking by.

Cheoklet: Why don't you let papa eat the sausages?
Gabe: Papa! *took the sausage out of the plate and handed it to derod*
Derod: Eee... use hands one. Papa give you rating "D".
Gabe: What's that!!

I thought that to be absolutely hilarious.

Paralympic Champ!

Image taken from the Team Singapore press release on 28 January 2008 entitled "Boccia Team Achieves Singapore ASEAN Para Games History"

Gabe's Uncle ET flew off to Beijing early this morning to participate in the Paralympics 2008. He's part of Team Singapore, and the only representative from the country in the wheelchair racing event.

We're cheering you on, and keeping you in our prayers. So fly with the wind and race your best! Whatever the outcome, you're already the champ in our eyes. And as for gabe, he's just waiting for you to come back soon so he can play with your wheels and see those lights on the little wheels go.

Clap clap! Uncle ET's the best!

The Father and His Son

Derod was a jitterbug when he discovered we were expecting our first child. Elated, but jittery. He won't say it but if you probe and probe enough, he would tell you he doesn't really know how to be a father, and most of all, about his fear of carrying a new born baby. A wobbly, fragile, head dangling (if you don't hold the neck properly) new born baby.

But he rose to the occasion effortlessly, and by Day three, was already doing this.


From then on, derod has been nothing but an amazing dad. In fact, he can do everything that I can do and look after gabe independently. Everything except cook his meals, cut his nails and hair. When I was stuck at home the last two months, he took gabe to church on his own, brought him to class, fed him lunch while out with the lunch kakis and took him home half a day later. He can bathe the fella, have his meal while feeding him, play with him, change him, put him to bed, basically exist independently with gabe, without me. I know of very few fathers who can, and who are willing to do that (kudos to you, you know who you are, dear friends).

So needless to say, derod has cultivated a certain bond with his boy. I've always been very proud to have derod as a husband, and now looking at him with his son, am so proud of him as a papa too.

In matching OP tees

Gabe Can Spell!!!

Actually, it's only just because he can sing "The B-i-b-l-e"...

Hee...