16 April 2024

Adam's First Safari Party!


It's been more than 4 months since Adam turned one, and I totally forgot about writing this post about it and for him. Oopsie hehe. 

I wrote 1 each for Alex and Sofia, so here goes for our third-born son. 

It was hard trying to choose a theme, because obviously he doesn't know what he likes (yet) and I also need a theme that is like easy. So, in the end we went with animal theme again, like Alex's - which is quite sentimental because 2 of our boys have the same kind of first birthdays.

Rachel and Vanessa (by default yeah) were put in-charged for the decorations and all things beautiful. Most things were ordered online because cheap and save time. Heh. 

Rachel also baked a smash cake (by default because she did for Alex and Sofia). Heh. 


Vanessa also helped with the e-invites and it was super cute. It was not very difficult to 'assemble' the guest's list, because like Alex and Sofia's party, our max number has always been set at 100 people, so yeah. 

We have close to 80 adults and 20 children. Finding a place to have this party was a bit more tricky. We also were determined to keep our budget at the same level with Alex, which was like 5 years ago. I thought it was going to be an impossible task, and we may end up paying more than we had planned. 

But I am a good, never-give-up-easily-planner, so you bet I managed to organize and have the party go as planned. We actually paid lower than we did for Alex and Sofia. Heh. I'm taking this huge win ya please. 

So, we booked James Foo Restaurant for a few hours on a Saturday noon, and have the whole place to ourselves, which was ideal because we were very noisy please. 

We didn't do buffet this time, because we want our guests to have their meals hot and whenever they are ready to eat. So, it's like course-meal with unlimited servings of mushroom soup and drinks. 

Another secret to a happy marriage is letting your wife plan and decide on the party entirely, as long as you don't go over budget. Clever Adrian Koay. Heh. 

But we did have a few discussions on this party and we both were agreeing on similar things, so yay. 

There was no discussion to whether we were going to have Adam's one year old party, because he knew that I got to have them for sure. Need to be fair for all children ya. Heh. That is also why we never had any maternity photoshoots, because I knew that if I took one with Alex, I need to take one more with Sofia and Adam. So, no thanks. 

I cannot believe, Adam is already one year old plus. Like, serious I need him to slow down and let me enjoy every baby-era of him pleaseee. 

His photos are a lot lesser than his two siblings' because we were so busy with everything else. But thank you guys for helping us capture some photos here and there.


Hello Adam Koay, 

You already knew (from the many mentions), that it was really hard when I was pregnant with you. It was physically and emotionally unreal, but when the doctor took you out of my body, I fell in love immediately. It was worth it. The pain, blood, sweat and tears. 

You are growing to become such a sweet loveable person. You have got some temper in you (at such a young age), but hey, we love you the same. 

I love how you enjoy your food, and how you copy us so well. I saw you today using a fork to get the roti canai, and boy, that made me so happy. It's really the smallest things. I love how you are so playful and cheeky in your own ways. 

I love your little walk to the bedroom when the clock hits 8pm, and I start calling you over. Sometimes, you would let out a cry (with real tears) while walking to the room, and other times you would wave and smile or whined a little. 

I love how you stand in your crib, asking me to wake up so I could make you milk or change your diaper. I have seen you see me still asleep, and then you just plopped yourself on your bed and stare into the ceiling quietly so I could sleep longer. You're a sweet boy. 

When you started walking, my heart broke a little, because it felt like you are growing out of me, and no longer need me to carry you everywhere. Yet, I like that you are now independent, because now I got to move around freelier for a bit. (Is freelier a word?). Oh wells. 

I love you, and I wouldn't change anything in our story even if I got a chance to. I would go through the pain again and again for you. Thank you for being ours, Adam. 

I love you with every piece of me. 


Till next time, bye now. 

03 April 2024

Family Camping Trip at Lata Felda Lawin Selatan, Perak.

 Okay, this is like super delayed post. 

I suddenly felt the mojo to update it here, because we just came back from our second camping trip with the Seahs and Koks not too long ago. 

This was our very first planned family camping trip together - 6 adults and 8 children. We adventurous or what? For me, this is like dream comes true. I have always wanted to go for legit camping trips with my little family, and we finally got to do it together. Whoohoo! 

The Boys Brigade team was having a camping trip so we thought it would be fun to join them and kick-start our first real camping trip! 

Location: Lata Felda Lawin Selatan, Perak. 

It takes about 2 hours from Penang Bridge to this location. It is not located on top of a hill, so expect same weather in Penang: VERY HOT. 

As usual, our holiday trip must always start with breakfast, and this time, we went out of Penang for Maxim Dim Sum House, which was not great. 

We reached Lata Felda at 1230pm, and took us 4 hours to set our tents and all. FOUR HOURS. I guess okay for first timers with many children ya. HAHA. 

By the time we were done setting up our tents, and dining area, we changed the kids to swimsuits and went for river-swimming. The water was icey-cold, which was just perfect for the weather. The kids had so much fun, except Adam. The water was too cold for him, and eventually he fell asleep on me. 

There isn't much to do here actually except soaking in the river nd using our imagination to 'entertain' ourselves. More for the kids le. But it was really nice to bond and all. 

It rained a while the next day (in the noon) which was great because it cooled everyone down, but our flysheets almost flew away! All of them stood outside and held on to each corner of our "rooftops" while I took care of all the kids in our tents. 

Fun times for sure. Heh. 

We were also very gung-ho and brought so many food items for our meals here. It was a bit too much to do since the children outnumbered us. So, our next camping trip, we became smarter d. Heh. 

We ended the short holiday at Kang Fresh Water Food, at Bagan Samak - cheap and good - big win! 

Enjoy the photos :)