Waited for 5 weeks, now wait 5 more months.

5 weeks from the last appointment and we visited our gynae today mainly to find out if our baby is a boy or a girl. Not that we have specific preference, but rather so that we can anticipate and buy baby stuff of the correct colour.

Our doctor first go through the results of the tests done on the last visit, and its all going well, which means Em Be is going to be a healthy, bouncy baby. He/she was not really cooperative, and the ultrasound machine used this time did not produce crisp and clear images for the doctor to confirm our baby's sex. He said it might be a girl. But we heard the extremely fast heartbeat and see some movement, indicating that baby's brain is developing well.

Whatever the case, we are glad that he/she is healthy and active, even when inside the womb, we can see the little hands moving up and down. Maybe Em Be is just saying hello to us.



The little one is facing us with his/her legs curl up and arms moving around.

The Passing of Popo.

She was 93. I don't get to see her much the last couple of years, but her smile is etched in my memory.

Her adopted son, which we called "小舅" or youngest uncle holds her portrait as he leaves the crematorium.

She is my maternal grandma's sister-in-law. We called her Popo since young and her house was just next to grandma's at Jalan Kayu. I was too young to remember much before the house has to be torn down and semi-D houses now stood on the same plot.

Adoption was pretty common in those days when families couldn't afford to raise the children. She helped to save my mum from being given away as well.

She has always treated 小舅 as her own son despite having one son and 2 daughters of her own.

As the photographer of the family, I have photographed the funeral of relatives. I am not sure if I can do the same for a family member. Even for Popo, I hesitated, but realised that perhaps her family can look back at the pictures and recall those final memories. I am glad a distant relative took pictures of grandma's funeral, as I was too young to do that at 12 years old.