Standing Tall

Our Precious Piglet stood confidently today after her first stand about 2 months ago. Midori loves to practise standing up on the bed.Our Golden Piglet finally did it! She stood tall and made Mama Pig and Papa Pig so proud of her.

1 Year, 1 Month,1 Week and 1 Day Old

Today our Golden Piglet is 1 year, 1 month, 1 week and 1 day old. The 3 Lil' Pigs didn't celebrate the occasion, instead Mama Pig brought Golden Piglet to a birthday while Papa Pig rested at home on Buß-und Bettag day, a state holiday in Saxony.

Nathalie turns 1 today so her Mexican mom and German dad threw her a real kiddy birthday party complete with pinata.Midori and Mama Pig had so much fun. We tried hitting the pinata, but too bad we couldn't break it. Mama Pig got to know many Spanish-speaking lady expats in Görlitz and Midori made many new friends too.

Happy Birthday, Naty!

Cheers,

Mama Pig & Golden Piglet

We R 3!

3 is the magic number today. Because today is the 3rd of November. Because Stephan and I tied the knot in Denmark 3 years ago. Because there are 3 Pigs in our sty.

Mama Pig + Papa Pig = Golden Piglet

The 3 Lil' Pigs celebrated the occasion at home over homemade Sprinkles-inspired cupcakes. Oink Oink oink.

Tarantino in Town

Quentin Tarantino was in town over the weekend to shoot the Inglourious Basterds, starring Brad Pitt, Samuel L. Jackson, Diane Kruger and even Maggie Cheung.

Görlitz was once again in Hollywood fever and we were thrilled to watch extras roaming around, dressed in WWII costumes. Almost a year ago, we were over the moon seeing Kate Winslet filming The Reader in town. We'll definitely watch the film which is scheduled for release in February 2009.

Too bad, those big names weren't in town this time around for the shooting scene in what is to depict Nazi-occupied France during World War II. It is definitely cheaper to film here than in Paris, given the numerous well-preserved prewar buildings in this town, which largely escaped the Allied bombing in WWII.

And too bad we didn't see Q too. But we heard him yelled "Action!" & "Cut!". That's a consolation.

BOO!!!

It's Halloween! Oh, how fun it would be to go trick or treating. Too bad there isn't such a tradition in this small German town. However it's Reformationstag (reformation day), a religious holiday observed only in the protestant former East Germany. It was on this day almost half a millenium ago that Martin Luther posted a proposal at the doors of a church in Wittenberg, Germany to debate the doctrine and practice of indulgence. That was the start of Protestantism

Anyhow, I wanted to introduce our Sweetie Pie to this fun American tradition, so I dressed her up as Mrs. Santa Claus and baked some cookies. Even though Papa Pig was out of town and we stayed at home, our Pumpkin was having a delicious sweet time. She loved the cookies! And her belly button!

Our Golden Piggy likes to check her belly button and "belly dance".

Happy Birthday, Mrs Tan!

Today is a very special day because one of my dearest oldest (in terms of friendship) friend, E aka Mrs Tan, was born some XX years ago today.

I'm so grateful to have such a precious friend. E is one of my pillars of support who keeps me in sane by giving me constructive and honest (so much so that some times the truth hurt kinda honest opinion) advices which help me through thick and thin.

So here's me (imagine) singing the following and trying not to go off keys.

Happy Birthday to E
Happy Birthday to E
Happy Birthday dear Mrs Tan
Happy Birthday to E!!!

Big Hug,

The 3 Lil' Pigs in Germany

The Morning After

Midori woke up and started playing with her new toys even before she had her breakfast.

Stephan joined our precious Piglet and it seemed that the old Pig had more fun with the baby toy as he couldn't keep his fingers off it. Poor Midori, she didn't stand a chance with her toy when her Papa was around.

Thank u very much for the wonderful presents and for celebrating our precious moment with us! U know who u are.

Hugs,

Lily + Stephan = Midori

Happy 1st Birthday, Midori!!!

Time flies. Midori turns 1 today! I can still recall vividly how we were in the hospital anxiously waiting for the arrival of our Golden Piglet last year.

Our Piglet is happy cruising and crawling around the apartment, exploring every corner and studying everything like the great detective Sherlock Holmes. She understands a few commands, words and names of her toys. Our Precious can also say "mama", "papa", "baby" and "bye-bye".

Midori's hearing is very keen and any noise will immediately catch her attention. She also has eyes of a hawk which enable her to spot and eat tiny crumbs off the floor.Our Piglet adores her belly button and feet like no other. Oh, she also loves babies and dogs and will point them out to us and squeal in delight whenever she sees them on the streets or on tv.We threw a birthday party for Midori this afternoon and invited friends over for brownie popsicles, lime cream cheese cupcakes served in ice cream cones and Thai curry sausage rolls washed down with mango lassi served in baby food bottles with straws. Yeah, lots of carbs and cals, but what the heck they were yummy.
The guests showered Midori with presents and she loved it! Her new toys kept her busy and happy through out the day.

Our Piggy loved her vanilla and chocolate mango birthday cake. Then again she loves anything sweet because our Pumpkin has sweet tooth just like her Mama. Actually, 8 sweet teeth (4 each on top and bottom)! We let the birthday girl stayed for as long as she wanted, but by 8:00 pm she was too tired and had to call it the night.

Too bad Midori's dearest Opa, Oma, Tanten, Onkel, KongKong, MahMah, 11, 99s, 99mas, cousins and cool Aunties (u know who u are) weren't here. Wished u were here!

Happy Birthday, Sweetie Pie!

Mama & Papa wish Midori health, happiness, love, beauty, intelligence, wealth (toys) and peace always.

Hugs & Kisses,

Mama Pig & Papa Pig

Beautiful Fall

It was a glorious day today. The warm sun lured the 3 Lil' Pigs out their cozy sty for a stroll in the fresh cool autumn air. Thank God, there was no big bad wolves.

A walk in fall is like no other. The cool fresh air spices up the romance, while the colorful fall foliage with its bright orange, red, yellow and brown on the trees is a treat to the eyes. Walking on thick piles of crisp fallen leaves is very therapeutic too.

We chanced upon a free admission to the local museum of natural history so we thought we'd just drop in for a quick 5-min look around. In the end, we stayed for almost an hour as our Golden Piglet squealed in delight and pointed at the exhibits as we went from hall to hall. Midori was totally fascinated by the museum.

Einheitstag

Today is Germany's unification day. It is a national holiday, commemorating the day that East and West Germany re-united.

We stayed at home, which by the way is in the most eastern part of Germany, and I made takoyaki. I know, it has nothing to do with Einheitstag nor Germany. But who cares! They are so oishiiiiii!

Schönen Einheitstag, Deutschland!

Let's Play, My Friend!

I noticed Midori has been reaching out to babies and kids. She squeals in delight and points at kids whenever she spots them. However, I had yet to see her play with kids until today when my Japanese friend, Y, brought her baby, A, to our place. It was the first time that Midori and A played together!

Y and I were amazed and amused at how our 2 golden piglets seemed to understand each other via their baby verbal and body languages. They enjoyed chasing each other on fours which left us laughing and snapping away with our cameras.

4.5 months ago, both of them were just sitting in their baby car seats without interacting with one another.

A, is exactly 6 weeks younger than our Sweetie Pie. Technically, she is our Pumpkin's first friend because the 2 Eurasian piglets have known each other since they were still in our tummies! However, the first few meetings weren't fun as both babies cried when they were put next to each other.

Selamat Hari Raya!

Today, Muslims around the world celebrate Eid ul-Fitr which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. In South East Asia, this holiday is celebrated for a month with family and friends over lots of delicious cookies and food.

Festival likes this makes me miss South East Asia. Oh, how I crave for rendang, sate, kue lapis, pineapple tarts and many more mouth-watering yummies. Yeah, I'm greedy!

Of course, I could cook up a feast here in Germany, but that would miss the whole point of getting together with friends of different cultures and joining them in their celebrations.

Living harmoniously in a multi-cultural society is both enriching and delicious!

Wishing all Muslims around the world a wonderful Eid ul-Fitr!

PS: Selamat Hari Raya to my dearest friend X and her family! X, loosen your belt and feast!

Midori Loves Papa

Our Sweetie Pie loves it when her Papa plays with her. Midori loves Papa!!!

Zam-buk To The Rescue

Our Piglet missed a step and fell the other day, hitting her temple on the hard floor.

Thanx to her thoughtful MM99 who suggested to her dearest BB11 to send Zam-buk all the way from Singapore. The irony is Zam-buk is produced by the German chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer, but is not sold in Germany.....at least not that I know of. The ointment worked wonders. Midori's boils subsided within an hour and the bruises were gone by the following day.

Thank u, BB11 & MM99!

Picturesque Prague

I'd been wanting to visit Prague since 1996 but never made it there until yesterday. Thanks to S, whom I met while taking French in Alliance Francais Singapore a decade ago, I can now strike the Czech capital out of my travel wish list. Incidentally, S is also my older bro's ex-classmate in middle school. Yeah, Singapore is small.

The weather was beautiful and we had a few hours to walk around before meeting S and her lovely Spanish friend, R, for coffee and cakes.

Prague is indeed one of the most beautiful and visited cities in Europe. Its baroque and renaissance architecture is attracting tourists from all over the world who pack the city and jam the streets and bridges.

Since Prague it's only 2.5 hrs by car from our place, we didn't stay the night and drove back in the evening. But rest assured we'll be back with more Czech Korunas to spend.

Oh, don't ask me about French! Except for the notorious French phrase, I can't speak Francais but I can understand the ingredients written in French cookbooks. Ha ha ha.

Alles Gute zum Geburstag, Tante N!

Heute hat die Tante N Geburtstag.

Herzlichen Glückwusch zum Geburtstag, Tante N!

Zum Geburtstag Viel Gluck

Zum Geburtstag Viel Gluck

Zum Geburtstag Viel Gluck

Zum Geburtstag Viel Gluck

Alles Liebe aus Görlitz,

Lily + Stephan = Midori

Up & Down

Our Golden Piglet can get up and down the couch and bed. She is better at getting down and still needs a little shoving up the couch and bed.

We Love Hamburg(er)!

We drove to Hamburg last weekend to meet our dear friend Dr. R from India. Dr. R was on a short business trip to Hamburg so we decided at the very last minute to head north. Stephan's younger brother, U, and his lovely pregnant wife, S, were very kind to put us up for a night in Germany's second largest city.

It was our first visit to the free & Hanseatic city of Hamburg and we totally love it. The Hamburgers (not the buns) are chic folks who dress to their nines. The bustling city is Europe's the second largest port and has over 2000 bridges. I particularly love the Fischmarkt for its very good bargains on fresh produce. Errrr we didn't see any fish auctions nor many fishmongers as we'd expected, but I was over the moon with my tutti-frutti bounty. The housewife me just couldn't pass off good bargains so we went home with crates of figs and peaches which kept me smilling for days.

S & U, thanx again for your great hospitalily! We'll see u in a couple of weeks with your lovely bundle of joy!

R, see u & your family in 2010!

Love,
Lily + Stephan = Midori