Dear Skyler,

You'll be 17 weeks old tomorrow. The magazine says that you should be 16.5cm roughly.

We went back to the hospital for a second blood test. Remember what I said the last time? Well, we went through a second blood test. We wanted to know why Daddy had to get more blood drawn since Daddy's first test was negative for any abnormalities but the nurse just said that both Daddy and Mommy must have their blood tested again. Oh well. We're waiting for the results now.

Daddy was thinking that we should tell you how Mommy and Daddy got to know each other so that you'll know when you grow up.

Mommy and Daddy met each other in church. The name of the church is St. Andrew’s Cathedral. When Daddy saw Mommy, Mommy was a cute little girl. She was only 14 years old then. But of course Daddy and Mommy were not together then!!! We were both in the Youth Fellowship and we got to know each other better over the years. Daddy and Mommy developed feelings for each other and finally Daddy asked Mommy to be his girlfriend on 20 December 1992. We spent a lot time after that getting to know each other better. Finally, we got married on 5 June 1999 in church.

Ok. That's a snapshot of it. We'll give you more details when you actually ask. :)

Grow well!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Dear Skyler,

You're 16 weeks old now. You're around 15 cm long.

We went to see Dr Kang Wee again this week, on Wednesday, 20th Jul. Again the whole process took a long time - the whole afternoon was gone.

Mommy and Daddy had to go through a "counselling" session with a Nurse Counsellor about whether we wanted to take a blood test to check if there was a risk of you developing Down's Syndrome. The problem with this test is that it is totally inconclusive. Even if the test came back positive, it didn't mean that you would have this syndrome. And if it came back negative, it didn't mean that you didn't have it either. Mommy and I thought that this was all quite silly. There hardly seemed to be any point in going through it because it didn't say anything at all.

Anyway, we decided not to take the test as it didn't serve any purpose whatsoever. Even if you somehow developed this syndrome, so what? It didn't mean that we would love you any less! Skyler, remember. Sometimes people will ask us to do silly things that don't make sense. You have to listen to what they ask and think very carefully about it before responding. Try to avoid doing silly things, okay?

Anyway, after that we had to get our blood drawn for some tests. There were several tests that were supposed to be conducted - for any abnormalities in our blood, HIV and syphilis. Just for your information, neither Mommy nor Daddy have the latter two. But, Mommy received a letter today that said that they suspected that she may have thalassaemia minor. This means that Mommy's blood cells are not properly shaped and are not functioning as properly as they should be. So, Mommy is a bit anaemic. Mommy is quite worried about passing this problem on to you. But Daddy should not have this problem because Daddy is all red in colour. :) So, you should not get it at all. Daddy has been encouraging Mommy not to worry. Help me to do it, okay? Assure Mommy that you are totally fine.

It was only after the blood test that we went to see Dr Kang. She examined Mommy and said that you were kicking very hard and that this was a good sign. Wow! You have strong legs? Well done, Little One!!! :)

We are hoping that you come out in December, remember? Try to cooperate, ok? Daddy has to be around to help Mommy bring you into the world. If you come out in January, Daddy may not have enough time to spend with you all as Daddy will have to work.

Today is Uncle Victor's and Aunty Li San's wedding day!!! They made their vows and signed their marriage certificate today!!! We all went down to Shangri-la Hotel for lunch and they exchanged rings and everything! There were about 25 people there. Your maternal Grandma and Grandpa (who came back all the way from Hongkong for this) were there. So were Aunty Li San's Mommy and Daddy. Some of Uncle and Aunty's friends were there as well.

Mommy and Daddy were given some work to do. We had to take photographs and video record the whole thing for them. It wasn't so difficult as there weren't that many people. It was quite fun to do this again.

So, remember, okay? On 23rd July every year, you must congratulate Uncle and Aunty on their wedding anniversary.

Grow well, Skyler. Mommy and Daddy love you very much. Be strong and healthy!

Dear Skyler,

You're 15 weeks old now. You're supposed to be 12 cm long according to some magazine that we are using to track your development.

Mommy is recovering from her illness already. The biggest sign is your renewed demand for food. Mommy is so hungry again. :)

I figured that I should let you know what's going on in the world while you're in there so that you can catch up when you can read and understand what's going on. :)

Two weeks ago, terrorists let off five bombs in London. I think four of them were in their Metro system - their version of the MRT - and one on a bus. These terrorists are quite terrible people. They take away innocent lives and they don't seem to care.

Why am I telling you this? I hope that when you grow up and are able to think about what's going on in the world and what kind of place this world is, the world will be a safer and better one. Most governments of the world are trying to put an end to this problem but it is difficult.

If the world is still the same when you are old enough to be aware, I hope that you will learn to pray for the safety of all people and some how be aware of how you can help make the world a better place - to somehow bring some balance to the pain that terrorists cause. Remember: we have to share the love that Christ has shown us to all those around us. Everyone needs to know that God does care.

As always,

Mommy and Daddy love you!

Dear Skyler,

Hi! Mommy and Daddy have decided to address you by your name now since you've grown so big by now. We figured that calling you Jellybean does not fit you anymore. :)

Mommy was looking through a book of baby names the night after we found out about you when she came across the name "Skyler". It means "wise". We decided on the name immediately because we like it so much. It reflects our hope that you will depend upon the wisdom of God in all that you do and lean not on your own understanding or worldly knowledge. It's a very special name. We hope you like it!

Daddy's work has begun already so Daddy can't write to you as often. Daddy has got lots of work to do. But remember: no matter how busy Daddy is, you and Mommy will always come first in Daddy's priorities whenever possible. You two are more important than anything else in the world.

Mommy has been suffering quite a bit lately. She's got food poisoning and the flu at the same time. However, even so, she's still very concerned about you. Instead of taking the medicine that Doctor Wee prescribed, she's trying to not take any medicine at all in case you get affected by it. So, Mommy would rather suffer now than to have you affected by the medicine. See how much Mommy loves you?

Guess what? We've got you a toy already! Do you like it? Mommy saw it and couldn't resist getting it for you now before the store ran out of it. :) He's soft enough to be your companion from Day One! His name is Eeyore and he comes from the Hundred Acre Wood. Take good care of him! :)

Well, Daddy's got work to do. You take care, ok? Grow well, our baby.

Mommy and Daddy love you!

Dear Jellybean,

Hi! Sorry for not having sent you mail for some time. Daddy has very busy with work. Couldn't sleep tonight so I finally have time to write to you again.

You are 13 weeks old now. Some people say that you are about 7.5cm now.

Mommy's doing much better. She's not having such a great aversion to smells as before and she can eat more things so it's so much easier to get her food. You seem to have taken to beef! Hmmm... you naughty baby... Mommy doesn't like beef but because you want to have it, she has been taking beef dishes this whole week! Hope you don't continue to like beef when you are out here because we are NOT going to give it to you! :) It's not healthy!

Okay, you must understand. Practically all red meats are not as healthy as white meat. Mommy and Daddy are not the healthiest eaters in the world but we do what we can and eating red meat is something that we have decided that we will not do. So, being our child, we are going to make you do the same, okay?

On another note, Mommy and I have realised that there is a secret that only parents-to-be find out only when the Mommy is pregnant. Apparently, there is this big Hypermart along Kaki Bukit that sells baby stuff. It's supposed to be very big and sells everything that a baby needs at a cheaper cost for most things compared to most other places. We are amazed that such a place exists and we totally did not know about it! Many people have told us to get your pram/stroller from there. I guess we'll visit it to see.

We're continuing to pray that you grow well and healthily. Mommy is very conscious about what she eats and she is dutifully making sure that she takes enough supplements so that you get all that you need. Mommy is also taking great effort to avoid smelling noxious air so that you don't get affected by it.

We love you, Jellybean. Come out well.

Oh! By the way, do you think you could come out in December this year rather than waiting until 2006? If you come out during the Christmas period, you'll get to share the joy that people have celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ! It'll be beautiful!

Mommy and Daddy