Hello, I blog!

Gee, it’s been such a long time since the four of us took a proper photo together. (Okay, I lied. Our last photo had been early this year – but this is the first one in a long time where all of us look decent.)

Sticking together since young – the awesome foursome.
Clockwise from top left: David, me, Jeremiah, Matthias.

I look really tiny here.

The above was taken during a double celebration within my extended family – my uncle’s birthday, and the 1st birthday of his second grandson.

As usual, I came face to face with so many people I didn’t know. But then again, since when do we attend a large family gathering and not find any faces we don’t recognize?

Apart from the usual members of my extended family who meet on a regular basis – there were vast amounts of people from what I call, “the other extended family” – namely, the extended family of my cousin’s wife.

Kids, kids, everywhere
Boy, “the other extended family” really did know how to reproduce! Look at all the KIDS.

They ran around the living room, screaming their lungs out, shoving toy guns and all sorts of thingamajigs all over the place. They fought over balloons. They pushed each other. They threw themselves on the floor and kicked and screamed.

One kid crawled under my legs while I was seated – which made me jump up and yelp.

And another stepped on Jeremiah’s foot – which was recuperating in a huge cast after a recent operation. (Props to him for not jumping and yelping, though.)

And boy. Not only are they rowdy kids – they’re a bunch of smart alec rowdy kids.

There was one occasion where I shouted (to make myself heard over the din) at them to play outside the house instead of around the living room where plates and cups are precariously stacked, and the adults struggling to watch television.

The response I got?

“YOU WANT US TO PLAY ON THE ROAD AND GET KNOCKED DOWN AND DIE, IS IT?”
– Kid in the orange sleeveless tee.

?!?!?!

Pfffffft, never heard of the garden and the backyard, is it?

More babies on the way?
I received news that a cousin (J) is expecting her second child. (Which makes the fifth kiddo from the fourth generation on the way.) I’ve another expecting cousin as well – although I’ve learnt of her pregnancy much, much earlier.

And it seems that my reactions towards each pregnancy are becoming more and more varied.

Eight years ago, when I received news that my first nephew is on his way, my response was an enthusiastic “Oh my gosh, that’s fantastic!”

Two years ago, upon learning about my upcoming second nephew, my response was a mere “Mmmmmph!”

Last year, when I learnt that the third nephew was coming along, my response was a sharp squeak – “Another boy?!?”

A couple of months ago when I learnt that another cousin is pregnant with her second child (in two years), I reacted with a … “WHAT?!? You mean they’re so bored they have no other form of entertainment at night?!?”

And after tonight’s news? I leaned towards my mum and whispered “Whose condom broke?” Needless to say, my speechless mum couldn’t garner any response.

Later on, J confessed that she decided to have a second child because Little Joshua (her first child, now seven years old) wanted her to.

I immediately had mental images of Little Joshua approaching both parents and asking – “Mummy, Daddy! Can you two have sex? Pleeeeeease?” and couldn’t stop cracking up after that. Hehehehe.