The end of a decade - A recap of our past 10 years!

We went to church last Sunday where the pastor preached about how we are not only at the dawn of a new year but a new decade! 2020. The 2010s are going to be over in less than 24 hours.

I had to think about how old I will be when we are done with the 2020s. Yikes. I'll be in my late 40s!

He went on talking about how we need to be intentional about our time. Prioritising our important goals before mindless scrolling of social media (for myself). As I'm typing this, it's the 30th of December and I saw a couple of my friends' book list for 2019. I'm ashamed to say that I have yet to finish reading one book! One of them, a mom of 5 read 50 books this year. That's 4 books a month! 1 book a week. My first thought was, "How on earth does she carve out the time?"

But it really all boils down to priorities, doesn't it? If I'm honest with myself, if I was intentional with my reading, I would bring my book to the playground when the kids play and read on the bench. Or to the Family Centre downstairs where the kids play quite independently anyway.

I thought what better way to commemorate the past 10 years than to have a little recap! I inserted some links to my blog entries, so feel free to have a read!

2010 - God answered our prayers and we got pregnant with our first babe! 

After struggling to get pregnant for 1.5 years, we finally got pregnant at Christmas! I won't mince words. I was teaching for 3.5 years and somewhere somehow, I lost so much motivation because I didn't like the work environment. I kept toying with the idea of changing jobs but somehow didn't have the peace about it since we were also trying to conceive and I really want to have some maternity benefits. That meant though, that I was quite miserable for the 1.5 years that took us to get pregnant.

But guess what? God really rewards perserverance! That's because I could continue to claim maternity benefits with my school for up to 3 children! I didn't have to pay insurance (since I was insured by the state) and when the school shut down, they paid me more than 8 years of compensation even though I technically only taught for 3.5 years! It's truly God's providence! - Even if I only saw it at the end.

Little Sam was already growing in my belly in this pix!

2011 - I became a first-time Mom to Sam! 

Our first family photo as parents!

Oh boy, were we clueless! Like massively clueless! I had nooo idea that a newborn wakes up every 2-3 hours to be fed. Can you believe it? I kept praying for baby to sleep longer and was shocked at how frequently baby woke up and needed a diaper change / feed!

Motherhood hit me like a rock. It was / is the most challenging, rewarding, crazy and mad adventure I've ever been on. The first year after Sam's birth, I just knew I had to cling onto God every single day for strength and grace and more grace.

2012 - I got pregnant again! 

We were told to wait for 1 year after Sam was born by caesarean. So being the obedient people we were, we waited!

And once he turned one, we tried to get pregnant again and were gobsmacked when it worked out immediately! Funnily enough, we found out we were pregnant with Gabriel while we were on holiday in Teneriffe, Spain and while drinking (a lot) of wine. Sam and Gabriel have a 22-month old age gap and boy oh boy, 2013 was interesting!

Our photo shooting in Teneriffe when Sam was 1 and I was 4 weeks preggy with Gabriel

I turned 30!

I ushered in the 30s with a fabulous P-party! P for "Priscilla" you see. Every guest had to come dressed in a character that started with "p". It was the first time I had a costume party and I totally loved it! Everybody was so sporting and came dressed to the nines! It made me realise that after 6 years in Germany, I do have friends!

2013 - Gabriel, our second boy was born! 

Our first photo of the 2 boys together! 

Gabriel's birth was a story of healing. I had a traumatic birth with Samuel that resulted in an unplanned C-section, so I was sooo scared to give birth again to my #2. My heart prayer was that I wouldn't have to be cut up again and can have a natural birth. Gabriel's birth was such a healing experience for me!!! Thank you God! I don't know if I would have a 3rd, let alone 4th baby if I had more than one caesarean.

2014 - The Lord blessed us with a place of our own! 

We are so thankful we got a place of our own after renting for about 8 years. We moved into our new place with 2 children and are going to leave our current place with 4 children!

2015 - I got pregnant with Liam! 

Our birth announcement that confused so many people! Somehow for each pregnancy, the Lord gave us a special verse for each baby. This was the verse we had for Liam. It was so apt because we had a pregnancy scare with him. It resulted in us changing my gynaecologist because I wasn't happy with her bedside manners. She was discussing "exploring our options" (ie. abortion) even before we knew whether Liam was healthy or not. I held on to the verse we got for him and prayed God's protection over him. It all turned out to be a scare and Liam was born a healthy baby boy in March 2016! 

"I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence." Ps 16:8

2016 - Liam was born! 

I thought I had a good birth with Gabriel. Liam's one turned out even better with me not needing epidural. I experienced the full-blow of a vaginal birth and it was one of the most empowering experiences I've ever had. I had / have so much respect for the body God has given to me and I'm so in awe that God used me to birth 3 boys!

2017 - The year I worked from home! 

I started my own work-from-home business selling beauty products to slim, firm and tone the belly and to lose weight / get healthier. It was a wonderful experience when I learnt a lot about social media marketing and how to use Instagram to earn money! I loved all the products I used / sold and realise there's huge market potential to explore! When I got pregnant with Isabelle, I realised I needed to take a break because it was too hard having a pregnancy and taking care of 3 toddlers. It was a great experience nevertheless and I learnt so much!

2018 - I got pregnant and gave birth to our first girl, Isabelle! 

After 3 boys, I must say that I had ZERO hope to be a girl-Mom. I always desired to have a baby girl and I had a very girly childhood growing up with an older sister, but I really didn't know if I could have a baby girl. 

Gabriel was the one who prayed for a baby sister specifically. Don't ask me how he had the faith to do so. He just did. And before we knew it, Isabelle was conceived on 1.1.18 and born on 25.9.18! It was such an answered prayer! 

I had a smooth birth with Isabelle but I must have injured my tail bone during the birth that resulted in months of physio, chiropractic, osteopathic treatments. I'm still trusting and praying for 100% recovery. 

Isabelle is such a dream come true though. Her 3 brothers adore her so and she fits in so well playing with the boys and yet adding her own feminine touch with her constant need to hold anything with a handle and pretending that it's a handbag. 

2019 - We are building a house of our own! (no photos yet)

Oh yeah, that's our next big project! We've been living in our current apartment for 5 years and felt the need to have a bigger place. God opened the door for us to buy our second home 10-mins from our current place. It's still a huge work-in-progress but we are trusting God step by step to see this project to completion! 

And that's our last 10 years!!! Phew! I did it! It's such an eye-opener (even for myself) to see how the Lord has guided our steps for the past decade! I think that's why we, as Christians should read the Bible regularly so that we are encouraged by the progress and experiences of other Christians who have gone ahead before us. But we all serve the same God who is able and willing to help us through every single challenge in our life and to guide us like a personal shepherd. 

The Bible verse for 2020 is "I believe, please help my unbelief" Mark 9:24 

We pray that as we enter into a new year and a new decade, may we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who has gone before us, to pave the way for us. He is our Shepherd, our deliverer, our Master and friend and our Eternal Hope. 

Dear Isabelle - 1 year old

Dear Isabelle

You, my little princess have turned the big one! It's crazy how fast time flies when you're having fun! You are our 4th baby and we wish time would stand still for you! But you have 3 older brothers to show you the ropes, so you're ever so impatient to join them in everything! Here's a little interview of you at 13 months old!

So, tell me about Isabelle! What is she like?

Isabelle is a relatively calm baby who smiles and laughs a lot. But she's got a pretty determined (ie. stubborn) streak such that once she has set her mind on something, she would not give up until she's succeeds. That explains how she would be gingerly taking her first few steps one day and proceed to cruising through the house in just a matter of days! Her motor skills are really advanced, this one!

She absolutely loves the little Ikea chair in her brothers' room and would very often climb onto it and place her little butt there! She's also a cheeky little monkey who would climb up the sofa and bed that is three-quarter her height!

What does she like to eat? 

She has a very healthy appetite and eats pretty much anything Mummy cooks! But her all-time favourite food is mango, raspberries, kiwi and bananas (in that order). Her palate is very developed because she eats the same food as the entire family. She loves to self-feed, which results in a lot of cleaning up for Mummy & Daddy!

Does she sleep through the night now? 

She's a great sleeper in that she falls asleep relatively quickly by herself. She still wakes up once a night to nurse but since she is co-sleeping, Mummy and Isabelle do not wake up much at night. At the moment, she seems to be teething so that explains her more frequent night wake-ups.

What's her routine like?

She doesn't have a fixed routine because she's often following Mummy and Liam to do things around the house and pick up her older brothers from school. She absolutely loves going on the swing and would squeal in delight whenever we place her on one.

How do the boys treat their sister?

The two older boys pretty much dote on their younger sister. Unfortunately this results in them trying to parent her as well. The youngest boy, Liam is more of a play buddy with Isabelle because they only have a 2.5-year age gap.

Does she talk? 

She loves saying "Mama" and "Dada". While she seems to know that "Mama" refers to "Mummy", "Dada" seems more of blabbering for her. She understands the meaning of "no" and has (finally) stopped putting lego into her mouth. You can tell that she's processing a lot of information in her brain when you talk to her. I have no doubt that she will be a talker because she blabbers from the time she wakes up to the time she goes to bed - a typical girl really!

What does it feel like to have a girl after 3 boys? 

Honestly, it still feels really surreal for me. Even after 1 year, I still find it hard to believe we have a baby girl in our family! Its definitely very fun to be able to dress her up in girls' clothes. I'm going to milk it as long as it lasts (ie. before she insists on choosing her own clothes). It does feel like being a first-time Mom all over again because Isabelle gives a feminine flavour to our testoterone-dominant family.

How did you celebrate her first birthday? 

It was a very chilled affair! We had immediate family members and close friends over.

The hub baked a Russian cheesecake and brownies. I was in-charge of the decorations - which we got from Amazon. This time, I went all out to have a pink party!  It was so fun! And girly! But guess what? The helium itself cost way more than the balloons! Argh. Lesson learnt!

Our guests stayed for dinner. But this time, instead of cooking dinner, we decided to just heat up some frozen pizza! It was the BEST.THING.EVER! I could actually enjoy the party with my baby girl and talk to my guests! I think this will be the muster of our future parties. Just more chill and no more slogging in the kitchen food-wise.

At first, I thought I should do bake the birthday cakes and cook dinner. But the hub kept telling me to keep it simple. Soo, I really had to get over myself and my Asian cook-up-a-storm mindset, to simply feed my guests. Germans are happy with Abend Brot (evening bread with cold cuts of ham and cheese). So, I'm a happy camper to feed my German family and friends.

Sounds awesome! How are you coping as a Mom to 4, 8 and under? 

Hmm, what can I say. It is a lot of juggling and being on the ball. Some days are just crazy madness. Some days, like Wednesdays are awesome! Since last week, my in-laws have started taking the two younger ones in the afternoon, while the 2 older ones stay in school longer. I actually had my first-ever kids-free day in years!! I'm so definitely going to book myself in for a massage soon!

I'm always praying to God for wisdom, strength, lotssss of patience and grace for the parenting tasks at hand. I make a lot of mistakes! But I'm constantly reminded that God is my children's Father and I'm just a steward that He has chosen for my children. God sustains me and my husband day after day. Motherhood is honestly the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life and yet the most challenging one at the same time.

Dear Isabelle

We pray that you will know that you are so loved by all of us and by our Heavenly Father! Don't define yourself by the world's definition of beauty, because God looks at the heart. I pray that you will be a mighty princess warrior for God, but always have a gentle and quiet spirit that draws your strength from Christ. Grow well little one! Enjoy your toddlerhood and try not to skip all these milestones in your hurry to keep up with your 3 older brothers ok. We need you to stay young and babyish for a little longer.

Love
Mummy & Daddy

xoxox

So proud of my little pink party! 

The boys were so excited about the candles

My DIY decoration! Liam and Gabriel both did the center pieces.

close-up! 

It's all about presentation right? Brownies on top and Russian cheesecake at the bottom

This was a last-minute savoury dish. Egg mayo with spring onions to be eaten with the brown crackers. The flower bouquet was also DIY!

My 6, 3.5 and 8 year old!

She was quite dazed because she had just taken a nap and woke up to her birthday celebrations!

My ex-pastor came along with his wife! It was soo good to touch base with them again!

My church mates!

Mummy is so happy to score your 5€ Zara jacket!! 

See how much you have grown in the past 12 months?

Dear Gabriel - 6 years old

This post is sooo late. It's already end September and Gabriel's 6th birthday was back in early July. But I've always had an update of the kids on their birthday, so here goes!

It's so true that the days are long but the years are short. Gabriel will always be our chilli padi. We had a very difficult first year with him when he cried a lot! I remember thinking I'm so thankful that Gabriel isn't our firstborn, because he might very well be our last!

Fast forward 6 years and he has just started elementary school. He's truly excited about joining his older brother in school. Having a 22-month age gap between them really paid off. They experience milestones so closely together and can go to the same kindergarten and school. I pray that they will have such a wonderful relationship that lasts the test of time and they would be each other's closest supporters and encouragers in life!

For myself, I always feel the pinch that I don't have more one-on-one time with my second-born. He's one who thrives on personal time since he's not much of an extrovert like Sam is. He was also breastfed the longest of all my kids - so far. I think he could even say "boob" when he wanted milk! Lol. Before he started kindergarten, he would be a night owl like myself and we would fall asleep together, with him holding my hand.

This year, we decided to throw a kids birthday party just for him instead of doing a combined birthday party with Sam in August. Reason being that he would not see most of his kindergarten friends anymore and we were in Singapore in August.

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Dear Gabriel

You have turned six! We are so proud of the person you've become. The past year saw you growing as a child because Isabelle was born. Somehow, having a 5-year age gap with Isabelle, you've really blossomed in your role as an older brother. Yes, you have a younger brother in Liam but you and Liam seem to be at loggerheads, whereas you really love being the older one towards Isabelle. Well, that's not entirely true. You and Liam play AMAZINGLY well together a lot of times too. You love playing lego and chess together. Chess! You actually taught Liam how to play Chess. I think you secretly enjoy winning all the time, while Liam does not seem to mind losing since he just enjoys being able to play chess at all!

You love to talk and have the wildest of all imaginations. You looked up in the night sky once and claimed that you saw an astronaut! You express yourself in drawing. Honestly boy, you draw wayyy better than anybody in the family! Your pictures are so creative and they capture your imagination! I need to take some photos and post them here!

You have officially started elementary school for 1.5 weeks now. It has been a huge change for all of us. Your kindergarten used to be a stone's throw from home. Right now, your school is a 10-minute drive away. Our final goal is to get you to go to school with your older brother by public transport. We are still figuring out the logistics of it all because you and your brother have different starting and ending school times. It's been nothing short of a headache.

Personality-wise, you are more reserved and introverted. You take more time to familiarise yourself to a new environment and find new friends. That's totally fine baby. We pray that you'll find close friends who'll encourage you to be the best version of yourself. You love doing your homework, but need help to finish a task once you've started it.

Your love of craft and design continues to shine through. We think that you might be interested in creative art or design when you grow older. Swimming continues to be your favourite sport, mainly because that's the only sport you can do. Hah. We are all trying to take things slow now that we have 2 school-going kids and 4 kids in total.

Seeing your brother at the brink of being a tween, I'm too aware that time with you will fly by too quickly as well. We pray that God will give us wisdom for parenting you all.

Organising your birthday party was a breeze! You had about 4 friends on your invite list, so we had a wonderful children party! Daddy and I decided to plan some games for you guys. However, all but one game went bust.

Your birthday is right in the middle of summer so we wanted to milk that by doing some water bombs. Unfortunately, we were not able to fill up the water balloons with water! What a bummer! The water balloons we bought were too small to fit into the tap! Try as we did, it was seriously to no avail. Hence, there went our first game!

Our second game was newspaper game. You all had to dance to the music and as soon as the music stopped, you would have to stand on the newspaper - 2 people to one newspaper. With each round, the newspaper would get halved, then quartered and even smaller. It was so fun watching you children have a blast!

Our third game was passing the balloons and when the music stopped, one child would have to burst the balloon and do the task written on the paper in the balloon. This game went bust as well because we were not able to execute it! It was too windy downstairs so the balloons kept flying away! We decided to salvage the remaining balloons and continue the game in the garden next to our house. Unfortunately, as soon as we threw the balloons over the fence, each balloon starting bursting after the next because the grass / shrubs were too sharp for it! You should have seen Daddy's face when that happened. He looked positively pissed. Lol.

That was when we decided we would call it day games-wise and just let you children play at the playground. That was really the best idea really. You children simply wanted to have fun having unstructured play. After that, it was presents opening time and you kids spent a full 30 mins just playing with the lego that you got! You could choose some presents that you wanted at Müller (a drugstore) so your friends could get them for you. Needless to say, all your presents were legos! Nothing else!

We love you so much our beautiful second boy. You had so much fun at your birthday! We pray that you'll adjust well to your new primary school and make like-minded friends who would encourage you to be the best version of yourself!

Love
Mummy & Daddy

Gabe and all his friends - 4 from kindergarten and 2 from church 

Clowning around

I must say he hangs out with cool, well-behaved kids! 

We had simple kids-friendly food - fruit salad, chips and a Russian Zupfkuchen (cheesecake with chocolate!) 

Look at that grin! 

Newspaper game - starting off by dancing to the music on a big piece of newspaper

The newspaper gets progressively smaller

Getting creative with limited leg space 

Trying the balloon game before the balloons started to fly away

Ready, set, go!

Before finally deciding on playground time instead

All the fun just running around with a ball

Ending off with lego time - pardon the mess! It's our office / housework space

Dear Isabelle - 6 months old

Dear Isabelle

You're already half a year old! Mummy is so not ready to celebrate your first birthday yet, so please slow down with your growing up my baby girl.

Mobility 

You are officially a crawler! You've been on your belly for a while and finally you decided that enough was enough, so one day you left your playmat! Mummy was so surprised when you were in a different spot from where I left you. Unlike your brothers, you actually managed to crawl forward instead of backwards at first try. Well done you!

Now, we have to make sure that your brothers' loose legos are not scattered all over the floor because it won't be long before you realise you can actually pick things up and put them in your mouth.

Food intake

Honestly baby, you're still 100% breastfed. Usually Mummy would introduce solids at the 6-month mark but since you're so well-fed and contented with breastmilk, we have decided to continue to breastfeed you exclusively for a longer time. You are very interested in food though and often make chewing movements when you see us eat. We have given you bits of bread, cheese, pear, banana and even rice for you to nibble. What can I say? You're a foodie really!

First accident

Oh baby girl, unfortunately you experienced your first major accident 2 weeks ago. It happened at the paediatrician of all places. We brought you there for your 6-month check-up and your older brother Liam climbed onto the bed where you laid down. Just when I was undressing your for your check-up, Liam insisted on climbing down the bed. However, Mummy was unable to coax him to climb down by himself. He kept insisting that he needed my help. Just when Mummy was guiding his leg to reach the step at the side, that was when the doctor's assistant screamed. Mummy was unable to react in time and the next thing I knew, you were lying on the floor, screaming your lungs out.

It was the most terrifying thing ever. It was quite a high bed and I was totally in shock. You screamed, Liam cried and Mummy almost cried, but managed not to. The doctor examined you immediately and he said you're fine. We even had an X-ray of your skull to see if there were any internal injuries and thank God, there was nothing.

Mummy examined you, expecting to see a huge bruise / bump on your forehead, but there was nothing! Just a slight scratch and redness, but no obvious sign that you had a terrible fall. It was really quite a miracle! Mummy is 100% convinced that God really sent his angels to protect you! You were really unscathed from the whole ordeal.

Thank God, Thank God, Thank God! At moments like this, Mummy is really reminded on the fragility of life and how dependent we are on God!

Size

You are about 8.2kg and 68cm at 6 months. You're pretty much at 50% percentile for length and 90% for weight. Know what I mean about why I know you're well-fed with breastmilk? In a baby's first year, 100% of your nutrition comes from breastmilk, so Mummy is going to milk the whole breastmilk goodness for what its worth.

Personality

You continue to be a happy and easily contented baby. You love sleeping in the stroller and would wake up with all smiles. You have started to experience separation anxiety and would no longer allow any stranger to carry you. Even Daddy has a hard time putting you to bed these days. Oh well, Mummy has got to try to enjoy these exclusive moments with you even more. Thank God that you're more mobile these days so that means you can be put on the floor where you crawl around and Mummy doesn't have to carry you all over the house.

Sleep habits

You're not sleeping through the night yet. You still wake up for feeds at least twice a night. I don't mind that really, because it means that you sleep longer in the morning. We co-sleep and you enjoy snuggling up to Mummy.

Family time

Your brothers continue to adore you with Gabriel having such a soft spot for you. Mummy can always count on Gabriel to take care of you and soothe you if you're crying.

I think that pretty summarises what you're like at 6 months old! We love you little Munchkin! We pray that you'll continue to be little sunshine that you are and that God will be the source of your light and strength for each day of your life!

Love,
Mummy & Daddy

Dear Liam - 3 years old

Dear Liam

As I'm writing this, it's the eve of your 3rd birthday. I find it hard to pen down in words what I'm feeling in my heart. All kinds of emotions really.

Sappy. Proud. Sad. Nostalgic.

Like most Moms would know, the days are long but the years are short. For myself, birthdays are a time when I look back and reminisce on the past 365 days gone. I know that the days I have with my kids are fleeting and that I should hold on to the best memories and discard the worst! Or maybe blog about it and embarrass them on their wedding day! *kidding*

Liam, you are such a sweet sweet kid. You're so smart and eloquent. You form full sentences by yourself and enunciate them with your gentle melodic voice. A friend once said that you sound like you're singing when you speak.

You love to watch "Fast and furious" and have a penchant for "Lighting McQueen". You asked for a Lighting McQueen puzzle for your birthday, so that's what we got you! Together with a remote-controlled Lighting McQueen car.

You're so talented at doing jigsaw puzzles, it's incredible! You can even fix a puzzle upside-down! You love crafting. You insist on cutting out shapes by yourself and can concentrate on a task until its done.

You're so helpful! You actually delight in helping Mummy to do things around the house. Even when Mummy is on the toilet, you will insist on tearing out toilet paper for her. #truth

You're still around Mummy 24/7 because you will only start kindergarten in September. Your 2 other brothers started kindergarten at 3, but you, my child will start at 3.5 years. Honestly, I love having you around the house. We have very relaxed mornings when you bond with your sister and you play with all the toys on your own before your brothers come home and you'd have to share everything. (Ie. fight for every toy).

You're learning how to control your emotions. Whenever you're very pissed about something, you will let out the highest-pitched scream. Mummy will give you a time-out then, because that's the only thing that helps you to get out of your tantrum.

Oh, you're fantastic at acting. When someone hits you, you will fall onto the ground dramatically AND stay lying on the ground. *facepalm*

Once, you didn't even fall down immediately, but when you saw Mommy looking in your direction, you turned around and flung yourself to the ground just to show me that you got hit. Daddy said that you should be a football player because your acting skills will be put to great use!

We're probably going to start you on a swim course soon so that you can swim with your brothers! When we went to Munich to an indoor thermal pool recently, you would climb up the stairs and slide down the water slides for hours on end!

We think that you're an audio learner because you pick up songs ever-so-easily and your sentences are so advanced for your age. You're probably also a fast learner because you have 2 older brothers from whom you pick up your skills from.

It's not easy being the youngest of 3 boys and you're constantly in a power struggle with your second brother. You seem to look up to your oldest brother but you have a competitive edge with your second brother. We hope and pray that in time to come, you'll realise that you both are so different and equally wonderfully and beautifully made AND you're on the same team! There's simply no room for comparison and competition, since you two are so unique and have such different strengths and talents.

Your favourite bible stories are "Baby Moses" being rescued by Pharaoh's daughter and "David and Goliath". You also love the books "Zoo" and "We're going on a bear hunt".

You're my only child who loves to eat his salad. I remember the first time you told me you wanted to try my salad, I almost fell off my chair! So shocked I was! Since then, you've taken a liking to cherry tomatoes, green salad and cucumber.

Little one, you're going to enter kindergarten soon. We pray that you'll meet wonderful friends and learn so many new skills. Most importantly, we pray that the Bible stories you hear about will become real to you! That you will know that the God in the bible, is the same God who hears your prayers and who is close to you in your heart. Continue to grow well little one. We are so proud of whom you've become and look forward to see how God continues to grow and mould your heart!

Love,
Mummy & Daddy

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He was so excited for his birthday!!! Love witnessing him growing up! 

Look at that dreamy look while he watched his "magic 3" sparkle on his cake! 

The calm before the storm party

We bought 2 little cakes - choc & cheese cake from Breuninger. Absolutely loved them!

Centre piece of the car cake

Store-bought choc praline cake. I DIY the decoration with the bunting and bought the little Lighting toy car

Taking a family shot and thinking, "what a pity that Isabelle was still sleeping"

Immediately after this photo, Isabelle woke up so she could be part of the action!

Normal shot as a family of 6!

First crazy shot

2nd crazy shot. Liam looks exactly the same!

Kids' grandparents who absolutely dote on them!

3 boys & 1 girl

With our little guests! 

Love all their funny faces!

We bought some canvas and acrylic paint so the kids could do some craft

Weather was gorgeous so we could paint on the balcony!

Liam loves painting and doing crafts!

The finished products! Can u guess who deferred from the norm?

Birthday boy with his presents

Look at how happy Liam is