He's finally here!!!!

Jayden Nicholas Pak (Chinese Name to be picked soon) was born on 22nd December 2010, at 6.51pm, at the Adelaide Womens and Childrens Hospital. All digits intact with err.. a shall we say, healthy set of lungs.



Our happiness complete.



Jayden with Grandma..


And one very excited Grandpa..



Juusstt onnee more..




Thank you for all your presents, gifts, cards and well wishes.. We love you all.

Maternity Leave and all in-between..

I started 1 years worth of Maternity leave on Monday. You'd think it be easy, but its Day 4, and I have barely had the time to myself to sit and reflect and just relax.

Day 1 was.. interesting. The Big Wet weather brought thunderstorms, which resulted in my roof leaking in 2 places.. hence Dad Josh and I have been frantically cleaning out those damn gutters, been up on the roof repairing (okay, not me). Josh was up on the roof 2 nights ago at 1am, 3am and 5am..

But it will get better.
I still cant believe that in less than 3 weeks we'll have a tiny bubba out in this world.

And there's still sooo much to be done till then...

Joshua Pak - The Inside Scoop

Its been ages since I've blogged! Maybe because I've been so busy with exam preparation.. I promise to update after exams.. but anyway.. Josh's work Balance Professional Services did a feature on him in their monthly Newsletter for November.. so here it is.. (Yes, he also submitted the photo of us)




When you were little, what did you want to do ‘when you grew up?’
Scientist or inventor

What is your all-time favourite meal?
Roast pork including crackle on top, Chinese vegetables with rice. The bigger the portion the better!

How many times did you fail your driver’s test?
Once

What super power would you most like to have and why?
The power to manipulate time. I would go back in time to change some of my bad decisions and also enforce 28 hour days for more sleep and free time.

Do you have any phobias?
“The fear of other people knowing my phobias and using them against me” phobia.

What is your favourite movie & TV show?
Favourite movie: Black Hawk Down
Favourite TV Show: I don’t have a favourite

If you were having a dinner party and could invite three famous people, who would they be?
I don’t really have any famous people that I’d like to invite but for fun’s sake:
Lady Gaga
Katy Perry
The Pope
I would love to hear the awkward conversations………

Name 1 thing you miss about being a kid
Playing with kid’s toys like remote control cars, helicopters and Lego, AND not being asked “Aren’t you a little too old for that?”
If you had to be on a reality TV show which one would it be?
Wipeout, the show with the massive obstacle courses

Do you still have your tonsils?
No

My Brother's Visit

I come from a family with 4 kids and it was a blast growing up. Last week, my only brother Jeremy flew down from Sydney to spend some time with us and it was, again, awesome. He is currently studying Medicine in Sydney so we hardly ever see him.




We didn’t do the usual sight-seeing or even go to the show that was on that week, (though we did rock up we refused on principle to pay the extra $11 for parking), but rather the week was spent watching movies every night, playing monopoly cards and eating a whole lot of good Vietnamese food.

Just good old quality time.

He left at 5am this morning, and Josh took him to the airport. Hiding my unshed tears (We’ll only see him again in December 2011 which is ages away), we hugged goodbye and he left.

It was good seeing him – family is everything.

Our Charlie

This is Charlie.


Charlie is our beloved 2 year old dog that lives mostly indoors (and on our bed). He is best mates with our orange ginger cat Milo, and they love a good snuggle as well as a good play – mind you, anger and tears sometimes result but at the end of the day, like all siblings do, they never fail to make up.


When I walked past that petshop in September 2008, I had no idea how big an impact getting a dog would have on our lives. There, behind the glass, stood the fluffiest, whitest furball of a dog I’d ever seen, just pacing up and down in his cage. They told me he was acting up, because he had a sister that got sold earlier, and he was alone for the first time in his 9 week life.

Then they asked me if I would like to hold him.. and I did.. and my heart spun into freefall..

He was so light and fragile in my arms, I was so scared that I might drop and break him. When I put him down, I swear he singled me out and started barking at me.. it was like a “WHY did u put me down! Come on! You know u want me!!”

You’d think I was crazy, but I swore up and down that he knew my name right there and then. After 4 hours of deliberating (and ringing Mum, Josh.. and mum again), I paid for him and took him home in a little cardboard box pet carrier.

But that’s not the end of the story. The more he grows with us, the more we have learnt of his character.

At the petshop the sign read “Maltese x Shih-Tzu” but as you can clearly see, and as most people have commented, he is no maltese shih-tzu. He weighs 10kg!!



He loves people and dogs alike.. give him a treat and he’s your friend for life. He’s run away a couple of times, first time they found him in someone’s back yard playing with their dog, the second time he got out he followed a jogger down the road and so the jogger kindly took him home and looked after him..




This is indeed our one-of-a-kind Charlie.

My Father-In-Law

Last night, we went to Vietnam Restaurant (the one on Addison Road) to celebrate my father-in-law’s retirement from the workforce.



Born in Malaysia in 1955, Soon Tark Pak is the oldest of 6 kids. He met Mum in 1981 and they got married and migrated to Adelaide, South Australia over 25 years ago, when Josh was born in 1984, where he first found work in a factory.

In that time, successfully working his way up, he has well established his career as a mechanic as well as his business, Pak’s Auto Services. He is known as a humble man who puts God and his family above all else. He is kind and compassionate in all aspects of his life – especially in his business dealings. He never fails to lend a helping hand to anyone who crosses his path. A great husband to Mum and father to Josh, Joash and Eunice, he is the kind of role-model Josh aspires to be to his kids one day.



That dinner was awesome. We ate.. and ate… and ate.
Especially Baby Pak.

Under the Stars..

After weeks of emails, planning and anticipation, the date finally draws to a close. This weekend Josh has organised a camping trip to Deep Creek Conservation Park with a bunch of his mates, Eunice and Joash included. They are planning to leave on Thursday afternoon, and return on Sunday. There will be fun activities such as sleeping in a tent under the stars, hiking, cooking your own food and paint-balling.

These pics are from the last time Aaron and Josh went camping.. but the place will be the same, so, to give you a better idea, here they are..





As much as I hate the thought of going for 4 days/3 nights without Josh, as well as missing out on all the fun with our friends and family, I chose to stay home mainly because:
1) Its winter – think below 5 degree temperatures at night.
2) Its cold – think huddling in my sleeping bag, freezing my toes off (Yes I may still need them some day!!)

Instead, I will be catching up with some of my girlfriends and renting a whole bunch of movies for much needed relaxation time.

I will be praying for a safe and fun trip for all of them.
I pray that they all come back full of good memories and experiences.
From my nice, warm bed.