December 2007

December was a very full month - besides trouncing around Singapore, we went to Taiwan for a week and traveled along the east coast to celebrate Taichung Azo's 90th birthday. It was a wonderful Lan family reunion that introduced us to scenic and culturally rich parts of Taiwan we weren't familiar with. The day we returned to Singapore was also the day Billy's mom - Nana - arrived for a week-long visit for the holidays. We spent the week showing her around our Singapore and even took a quick trip to Bintan, Indonesia. Even though we had our usual 90 degree weather here, all the lights, (fake) trees, and Nana's presence made it feel very Christmas-y! Will continues to delight us every day with his quirky sense of humor and wide-eyed curiosity. We hope 2008 is full of happiness, health, and peace for everyone!

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November 2007

Earlier this month we went to Taiwan for Ama's 92nd birthday. The family reunioned in Wu Lai and Taipei, eating, taking dips in the hot springs and paying respects to our ancestors. There was also a fierce game of King Elephant, of which there thankfully aren't any pictures! After returning to Singapore, brenda's mom came to visit for a week. Last year, Will narrowly missed Thanksgiving, so this year, we had three! One at Billy's office, one at home, and one at our friends' Carolyn and Martin's. The highlight of this month was, of course, Will's first birthday, which has prompted us to reflect a lot on the last year...we are so very grateful for our little miracle, and for all our family and friends who make life meaningful.

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October 2007

It was good to be back at home in Singapore after our long tour around the States - it didn't take long to fall back into our routine of swimming, checking out local parks, and eating our favorite foods in Singapore. Not long after settling in, however, we were off to Hong Kong for Adrian's 2nd birthday. Will had a great time playing with his cousins (all boys!) and visiting baby Parker. A week after Hong Kong, we went to Bali for Billy's work retreat and enjoyed the lush view from our villa and swimming in our own private plunge pool. Then Joanne came in for a quick visit, gave Will a private concert and took him to the zoo. For Halloween, Will dressed up as a rugby player (a la Agong, but also because rugby is so big here). Besides running around, Will has been signing, reading (and chewing and tearing up) books, and dancing anytime he hears music.

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New York, Part II September 2007

New York, New York. We were back for just one night and boy did we do it up right! On Friday we had dinner with Bindy and Prashant at Gigino's with spectacular views of the Statue of Liberty and then we topped off the night with drinks at Bindy and Prashant's. The next day was our "Day of Meats," where the goal was to eat all the best meats the city has to offer. Breakfast was a hot pastrami sandwich on rye at Katz's. Lunch was paper thin serrano ham and a bottle of excellent Rioja at Bar Jamon. Dinner was a porterhouse, a side of bacon and another bottle of red at Old Homestead. Wasn't easy getting on an 18-hour nonstop flight back to Singapore after that, but we did it! Though being home after traveling for 5 weeks felt good, it was still bittersweet to end our US tour. It felt so good to be with all our favorite people in the world and to share Will with everyone. We miss you all!

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Camden/Dover/DC/Baltimore September 2007

We missed Grandma Bellafiore's 85th birthday by a few days, but were lucky to celebrate with her again on our trip to Delaware. At 85, she is strong, sharp and beautiful as ever. We spent some time at Aunt Gina and Uncle Dale's in Dover and had the chance to experience the Hubcaps' music on dvd before Uncle Dale retires. On our way to Baltimore to see Billy's cousin Ed, Chrissy and Lucia, we stopped in DC for an afternoon and visited the Jefferson Memorial. We were at Ed and Chrissy's for two nights, which was way too short, as we always have so much fun when we're together. So nice to see Leah, Lloyd, Alec and Chloe for dinner at James Joyce, too. Can't wait to meet Tre soon! Maybe it was because he had Lucia as motivation, Will took his first steps in Baltimore.

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New York, Part I September 2007

This was our first trip back to our beloved New York after moving to Singapore a little over a year ago. It was so exciting to visit old friends and bring Will to all our old haunts. And since brenda started eating meat during her pregnancy, this was also a trip about eating all the meats in New York that she missed out on before. The highlight of this trip was Aileen and Lawrence's wedding on September 15th. They were married in a beautiful ceremony at the W Hotel in Union Square - so swanky! Aileen was absolutely gorgeous and radiant and bubbling over with happiness. During the quiet parts of the ceremony everyone could hear little Will chuckling to himself. Ah, well, at least he wasn't doing one of his screams!

Click New York, Part I September 2007 

Atlanta September 2007

Next stop, Hotlanta! First we stayed with my cousin Erica and Josh and their kids Zoe and Silas. What a fun house to stay in, with lots of toys, costumes, and a big dog Shakey, who Will was deathly afraid of at first, and then wanted to befriend by the end of our stay. Erica brought us out for great southern grits and biscuits. We visited Silas' cooperative pre-school, Zoe's dance school, and went to the Daisy Fair at Stone Mountain. Then we moved over to Elaine and Drell's beautiful new home. Elaine was about a month away from her due date, boasting the most adorable belly ever. After his first dog encounter with Shakey, Will warmed up to Momo more easily, though whenever Momo went in for kisses Will still crouched into fetal position and cried for help. Elaine and Drell took us to fabulous Paschal's for fried chicken, which we loved so much we had it again at the airport on our way out!

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Los Angeles August 2007

(Everyone knows that Billy's the photographer in the family, which explains why there are significantly fewer pictures during the parts of the trip when brenda and Will are traveling on their own...) The morning we boarded the plane from Oakland for Los Angeles to visit Yvonne and Dave, Yvonne called to say that she was at the hospital and was starting labor. My secret wish for Sonia to arrive early came true!! It is beyond words how very special it was to share in baby Sonia's first few days at home. i have never seen a more beautiful mother immediately after giving birth and the new parents were over the moon with joy for their beautiful, precious baby girl.

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SF/Sonoma/Oakland August 2007

After Bodega Bay, we traveled around the Bay Area. First we were in San Francisco, where we visited our friends Josh and Christina and their newborn son Dylan. Then we went to Sonoma, where brenda's cousin Amy and Han were married. Needless to say, it was a big, fun-filled family reunion - so incredible to witness our ever-expanding family. After Amy and Han's wedding, Billy had to return to Singapore for work while brenda and Will stayed on in Oakland for a few days visiting with Emily, Andy and the very latest addition to our family: Scarlet S. Shinkle. On this leg of the trip, Will's two front teeth started poking through (and my, are they the size of Mommy's teeth!) and he also started cruising around, holding onto furniture.

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Bodega Bay August 2007

In August and September we took a 5-week/12-city tour across the US, visiting family and good friends. Our first stop was Bodega Bay, where we rented a house on the beach with Billy's family, Eric's family, Amanda's family, and Ali and Lauren. Since it was the very beginning of our trip, Will was a bit shy and took a while to warm up. But once he did, he had a great time playing with his cousins Calvin and Charlie and new friends, Tyler and Riley, taking walks on the beach, going to his first county fair, and going trout fishing for the first time. On this first part of the trip, Will learned to use his index finger to point.

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First half of August 2007

We spent the first part of August preparing for our big trip to the States, so it was a nice, unharried couple of weeks at home in Singapore. Will is getting more and more vocal and has learned how to shake his head no - while this makes the lines of communication clearer, it also makes for even messier meal times!

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July 2007

At the beginning of the month we hosted a 4th of July BBQ at our place and there were more kids than adults - a real sign of the times. The next day, brenda took Will to Taipei for 5 days to visit Ama, Agong, and two Azos (grandparents and great-grandmas). Back in Singapore, Will went to Underwater World on Sentosa, the Singapore Zoo, the Botanic Gardens and visited a couple museums. This month, Will has learned to crawl, clap his hands, wave hello, and pull himself up to stand. Will says ma ma, da da, ba ba, and ta ta, but the only thing that consistently means something is mum mum mum, which is food.

More pictures from July 2007 

June 2007

June was a nice and relaxing month in Singapore. Will continued with Kindermusik classes, weekly playdates and baby groups, visiting Dad at work in the afternoons, a weekend trip to Sentosa, and, as usual, fooling around and having fun on Mommy and Dad's bed. This month, Will learned to do "downward dog," say "ma ma" and "da da," and crinkle up his nose if he doesn't like something.

More pictures from June 2007 

Maldives - Ten years

Ten years ago this week, we met in Finland and then spent a most magical summer in St. Petersburg. We had planned to come to the Maldives for our honeymoon, but because of the 2004 tsunami, we had to change our plans. A few years later, the Maldives is restored to its pristine beauty - the perfect spot to celebrate ten magical years of being together.

Pictures from Maldives 

Six months May 2007

Will had an exciting last three months. He started going swimming every weekend with Billy, learned to roll over, sit up and blow raspberries and is just beginning to have his first tastes of solids. In March, we had lots of visitors - Bindy, Irene, Mike, Ryan and Nate, and Pei - and had fun showing them around Singapore. In April, we took two trips - one to Bintan, a small Indonesian island off the coast of Singapore (where Will went into the ocean for the first time!), and Hanoi, in Vietnam (where Will made fast friends with everyone he met). In May, Gary and Nick visited from New York, just in time to teach Will about the wonder of Warriors basketball. And last weekend, we went to Taipei to celebrate A-gong's 62nd birthday.

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Three months March 2007

Will had an exciting last two months. He began 2007 in Taipei. A few days into the new year, after brenda finished her yue zi (postpartum care), our family of 3 flew to Singapore, where Will has settled in nicely in his new home. He goes to Kindermusik class and enjoys eating out at different restaurants with us. In early February, we took Will to Bangkok. Despite getting TEN mosquito bites on his forehead, he had a great time visiting with our friends and exploring a new city. Last weekend, we flew to Taipei for the Lunar New Year where Will was showered with attention from his grandparents and great-grandmothers. He also got to meet his cousin Adrian, who is 16 months, for the first time. They don't quite know what to make of each other yet, though we know in due time, they'll be running around, getting into all sorts of mischief together! We hope everyone has a healthy and happy Year of the Golden Pig 

More pictures from Three Months