keeping things simple & sane

17 June 2019: Taking a moment to close the fourth trimester as #hunbaobao🍔 turns 3 months. Already missing how tiny he used to be, but not missing the “Parenting Prelude”. Totally understand why it is called the fourth trimester after going through it. For every moment sweet there was also sorrow. For every joy there was also pain. Yet in it’s entirety, there has definitely been love. In a nutshell, my heart has been emptied out so many times only to be filled again. My mind a constant web of questions regarding baby development. My body is a battlefield after all the crazy hormonal changes the past year. My Google searches are on the weirdest things like “Normal baby poop” & “How much should babies sleep”. Not to mention my nose has smelled anything & everything baby/ from baby as well. There is nothing Hbb that my nose has not smelt 😂 . All of that aside, @dantanzy & I are still here alive because of wonderful family & friends who have stood by us & supported us in one way or another. And this post goes out to all of you. Thank you. 💗 For praying, for visiting almost immediately at the hospital, for waiting until we were ready for your visits, for calling, for texting, for bringing food, hampers, gifts, love. For veteran parent-friends who have been through this to assure us that things eventually get easier & better. For mom-friends! Oh thank God for you; for late night texts, virtual hugs, virtual company via WhatsApp during ungodly feeding/ pumping hours. For sharing mom hacks & experiences. To the friends who journeyed with me to help me be more cow, thank you. 😢 To family, you have never ceased being there & I cannot be more grateful. Thank you @shumin.evangeline especially, I never dreamed that we would reach a place like this in our sisterhood. For all you’ve done my thank you is not enough. Thankful also for Hbb’s first playmate Thaddy bear, you are always such light & joy. Thank you Hun @dantanzy for being the pillar & cradling not just your son but also my heart during overwhelming moments. And last but not least, thank You God, Creator of life. For without You all of these would not have been possible. #ps139 #chaptertanplusone https://www.instagram.com/p/By1whIEnuz6/?igshid=kf0lbr6v53m5

16 June 2019: “Walk a little slower, Papa,” said a little child. “I am following in your footsteps & I don’t want to fall. Sometimes your steps are very fast, sometimes they are hard to see; so walk a little slower, Papa. Thank you for leading me. Someday when I’m all grown up, you are what I want to be; then I will have a little child who will want to follow me. And I would want to lead just right, like how you showed me to. So walk a little slower, Papa... for I must follow you.” 🥰 . Happy Father’s Day @keesemsamuelkoh. Thank you for walking a little slower all these years, so I can now do the same for Hbb. You are an awesome 公公 & we all love you very much. You will always be the first man I loved & still love. . Also, happy first Father’s Day Papa Tan @dantanzy. Thank you for walking a little slower since preggy days, holding a little #hunbaobao🍔 & loving us with all your heart. Thank you for working long hours, flying away on biz trips, doing what it takes to build this fam together. It’s so apparent Hbb is already your greatest fan. Not looking forward to the day you two gang up against me! Hehe. We love you. 😘 https://www.instagram.com/p/ByxxcR-HCX7/?igshid=dexb8aw3nx6x

14 Apr 2019 // 22 May 2019: Brothers from another. mother twinning. // Kodak moment when two babies look at the camera at the same time! 👶🏻👶🏻 Double the joy, double the laughter, double the fun. #blessed #TYJ #19weeksapart https://www.instagram.com/p/BxxVqFLnMt1/?igshid=mbc874t545of

12 May 2019: A memorable Mother’s Day celebration as first time moms together with my sis. Thank you @shumin.evangeline for signing us up for the Mother’s Day lunch! 💕 I was so so touched by the effort put in for the mothers attending & so many moments I had to hold back tears. I did feel so very loved. It felt amazing to be able to have a relaxed meal without needing to pause midway/ drink my lunch up in order to attend to hbb. It was also my first time being away from him for three hours straight. Thank you @dantanzy for a wonderful job of tending to hbb solely without me. All in all it was a bittersweet but good day. The moms had a nice lunch, the dads survived theirs with the babies & the cousins had each other for company. ♥️ https://www.instagram.com/p/BxZ33TrH_Ss/?igshid=brnxyiksf62j

12 May 2019: 🎼Hey Mama... I see you, no matter how far. You’re the song inside my heart. || This would have been your first year as grandmommy. You would have made a wonderful one. Missing you ten years on. Happy Mother’s Day. We love you. ♥️ . 🎶: The Hound + The Fox @thehoundthefox https://www.instagram.com/p/BxVtDH9HOkF/?igshid=oh5jpp017w55

6 Apr 2019: I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always. 💗 Pinky promise to you #hunbaobao🍔 & your papa @dantanzy ♥️ #chaptertanplusone https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv65PNhh49f/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11e8d2qb74gaz

31 Mar 2019: 🎼 Oh my sleeping child, the world’s so wild but you’ve built your own paradise. That’s one reason why I’ll cover you sleeping child 🎶|| . What a month March has been. #hunbaobao🍔 is 2 weeks old today. Earlier this morning during the 1AM diaper change, we discovered the umbilical cord had dropped off. Seems to me like this boy loves the wee mornings to surprise his parents as with the water bag leaking at 4AM & his own birth at 6:49AM the next day. But I guess when you’re doing all the sleeping & your parents all the waking... AM or PM doesn’t really make a difference 😅 I look like a panda 🐼 these days but oh baby you’re worth it. 💗 #chaptertanplusone https://www.instagram.com/p/BvqsdqWh8KG/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=m79a6gncx12h

30 Mar 2019: A belated birthday celebration for daddy. Fellow March baby gets to take pictures with his 公公... But we forgot a family selfie! We love you grandpa/ daddy @keesemsamuelkoh. Thank you for loving us to the best of your ability & now for loving your grandkids too. We love you! ♥️ https://www.instagram.com/p/BvqnXh-Bdak/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=13p9gjkal7944

22 Mar 2019: #hunbaobao🍔 was estimated to make his entrance into the world today, but 5 days ago he chose his own birthday. Here’s 5 of my favourite Hbb moments captured in pictures: A caricature courtesy of @joycites. Hbb at a few hours old, Hbb 2 days old, @dantanzy & his mini-him, Hbb’s first photographed smile at 5 days old. 💗 Life is never going to be the same again. #chaptertanplusone https://www.instagram.com/p/BvT_HbPhjNf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1951slj15qqfk

28 Feb 2019: Round like the belly. Thank you @joysighted for coming by, for the the 马蹄酥 noms & mom-talk! The next time we meet, the mbbs (March babies) will get to meet too! :D https://www.instagram.com/p/Bua0eQfBF5W/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11bt82s570a3z

24 Feb 2019: Waking the #hunbaobao🍔 wobble. A child-friendly family game. 🤣 #chaptertanplusone https://www.instagram.com/p/BuQyTotBHyn/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15rxx1bdqvdq1

16 Feb 2019: 🎼So when you need her touch & loving gaze, gone but not forgotten is the perfect phrase. Smiling from a star that she makes glow, trust she's always there watching as you grow. Find her in the place... Where the lost things go.|| https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt8y4K4hgDh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=rqxbrwlupsv7

5 Feb 2019: Dressed like a 红包 with the Ang and the Bao. #cnypun #dialectpun #chaptertanplusone 🌸 我们和 #hunbaobao🍔 祝贺大家春节快乐、心想事成、万事如意、风和日丽。我的中文飞回上海了😅 https://www.instagram.com/p/BtfsRSSBYJq/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=126pengeszixe

4 Feb 2019: The baby is 19... Where did time go? Happy birthday @gaojiemin_ ♥️ it’s a bittersweet feeling seeing you grow & blossom. Proud of who you are & your quiet confidence. We love you. Much. 😘 https://www.instagram.com/p/BtcREF4BzBG/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1w5tzfr3hpfeu

20 Jan 2019: Food conversation with Uncle D. Thaddeus trying to convince @dantanzy that broccoli ain’t that bad after all. 🥦 😂 https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs3Hs6HBL1B/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1mhaas7hnmjxk

14 Jan 2018: This arrived in the mail a few days ago but I couldn’t bear to open it immediately because it looked so pretty (does it make sense?) 😆 So after letting it sit pretty on my wall for a bit I finally opened it today... & did this simple letter spark much joy! Thank you @joycites @joysighted 💕will write you soon. #simplethings #stationerylove #snailmail #sparkjoy https://www.instagram.com/p/BsnNmjZBhZo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=n57bqe8672ed

12 Jan 2019: Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, @redsizzlinglips & her beast 🌹 Ten years is a long time! May your love for each other continue to bloom & blossom for many more years to come. Honestly never seen you this happy. Not even when all your children are well-behaved in your class 😉 congrats again! #cherylgotchewed https://www.instagram.com/p/BsimJoKh8DI/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=8odnoc74f9j9