All in the Family

Last weekend, I got to meet two wonderful families living here in Hong Kong.

On Saturday morning, I went over to Barry and Sandy Wong-Tam’s flat (which, upon entry, was radiant with good energy…feng shui, people!) in the Midlevels. Both of Chinese-Canadian backgrounds like yours truly, they are proud parents to 11 month-old Jayden (derived from the Hebrew name Jadon, which means “thankful”) who is one big boy, in terms of both size and personality.

Now, occasionally (and by “occasionally” I mean more often than not), I will get to work with someone I immediately click with, in the way that I’ll end up staying beyond the designated 2-hour time slot because both parties are too engrossed in the amazing conversation that has sprouted. Sandy and her husband, Barry, are two of those people.

Just call it a work perk!

Sunday afternoon was a relaxing one; I had been up for hours already, having gone to bed at 10:30 the night before (…) and woken up early to go hiking with my better half and a couple of our friends (who happened to know the Wong-Tams by chance, this is how small Hong Kong is!) in Clearwater Bay. One very long seafood lunch and a rushed shower later, I was dropped off in Jardine’s Lookout at Raymond and Jennifer Kan’s place.

Just a bit of background information: Jennifer (née Mok) is the older sister of a very close friend of mine, who graciously bought this family photo shoot for her to celebrate the birth of her second child, a baby girl.

Fresh from a midday nap, little Meghan was the most cooperative mini-model a family photographer could ever hope for; silent, alert, and nary a cry! Managed to get a few smiles out of the sweet thing too. Her older brother, Joshua, did not sit still for more than half a second at a time, which made it difficult to capture a nice family shot, but we managed to bribe him with peach-flavoured snacks and a bit of panda television.

Raymond and Jennifer are avid toy collectors and two of the sweetest, most well-natured people I have ever met; truly patient, loving, and incredibly kind-hearted parents.

Here are a couple of candids that turned out (whew!) from each shoot:

(1) Barry, Jayden, and Sandy Wong-Tam
(2) Joshua, Raymond, Jennifer, and Meghan (yawning!) Kan