Sunday, May 30, 2010

A piece of my mind

The other day, I was in the kitchen fixing milk for Kai when I saw a bottle of Woodwards Gripe water gone. Gone, just like that. I remembered my MIL had just bought it almost 2 weeks ago and now it's empty so I questioned her about it.

MIL: "Oh I always add to his water if not you think he wanna drink plain water?"
Me: "But that's not the way. You have to train him to drink plain water if not it will become bad habit"
MIL: "Aiyah, last time Andy & Tony also every morning drank 1 spoonful."
Me: "Yah, that's your son, nevermind. Kai is my son, and I dont want him to be like that"

There. I did it. I gave my MIL a piece of my mind.

She's a nice lady, God bless her. But she seems to have a problem differentiating between her grandchild vs her child's child.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Escaping from the heat at Parkway Parade









The heat's been unbearable these days. We decided to escape the heat by staying indoors at malls. Went to Parkway Parade today. Buying stuff at the GSS and enjoying some aircon - killing 2 birds with 1 stone.


There are sales every corner you go for the GSS period, but unfortunately for me, my 2 boys do not share my kinda enthusiasm for shopping.
I'm officially outnumbered. To make the shopping trip more fun for Kai, we put him in this Little Tikes Cozy Coupe shopping trolley.
We couldn't rent it around the mall yet of course, because it is meant for children above 2, but still, Kai was thrilled just sitting and playing in the Coupe. So were we.
Kids will be amused leaving the parents free to concentrate on the task at hand - sourcing out bargains and doing their shopping in peace.
Once again, I'm reminded of the wonders of staying in the East.

When it was time to go, Kai refused and wanted to play a little longer, so we obliged. After that, we had to literally pry him away from the steering wheel!

With this clever innovation, grocery shopping has never been more fun!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Ball of a time

My 2 boys sweating it out on a hot summer evening.
Some photos of my Slam Dunk border collie teaching his disciple a trick or two.

Kai gets on brilliantly with the dogs, so well that I'm afraid he might approach strange animals with the same enthusiasm and end up endangering himself.




Maverick, aged 5 going on 6 this July. Still a puppy at heart.
I've stopped training & trialling him, but this hasn't stopped him from amazing us with his never-say-never antics. You go boy!


Scoring...


And it's a GOAL!



I'm no expert dog trainer, but I managed to train Maverick to do this Slam Dunk trick almost instantly!
I have the smartest dog in the world :)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Ladybird

Last night, Adam was in his playpen when he kept pointing to his sippy cup and said repeatedly "Doo", "do-doo..." Then Andy went closer to inspect the sippy - Adam was actually pointing to a ladybird that had somehow landed on his sippy.
How cute!

I should've taken a photo of the ladybird.. aiyah.. :)

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Dinner with the Floridians

The Griffows came to visit all the way from Florida so we had the honour to bring them for dinner on Saturday evening.

Venue: Seafood International at East Coast





Christopher looking lobster red after seafood and beer. Future lawyer and handsome bachelor *drools*


Uncle Walter, Aunty Mary, Andy's grandma and Chris.


Had a dandy good time with Andy's relatives, they are such a warm and close family.
Lil Adam, though he didn't have much sleep today (because he was busy going from one apt to the next), was generally a good baby.
Except for the times at dinner where he wanted to be carried to walk around, he was overall well-behaved, thank goodness.
He now has this new game - you have to carry him to wherever he's pointing at. For eg. He points to a pond of fishes and says "Doo" and you have to bring him there. (just last week it was 'der', now it's 'doo') At first, it was a novelty to us, then a bit of fun maybe, however after walking round and round, one's arms can get pretty tired! But toddlers being curious busy people, it's hard to fault them :)

Uncle Walter has welcomed us to stay with them when we go visit, and their home is only 2hours drive from Disney World, and 2hours away from Miami beach where they see filming of CSI Miami all the time. So envious! Time to plan another itinerary after our HK trip? Heh heh

Friday, May 21, 2010

Fingerfood: pancakes


pancakes with cheese rolled up

No matter how I make them, these pancakes never seem as nice and smooth as MacDonald's Hotcakes. I give up. Maybe I should just cheat and buy Hotcakes and fill them with my own ingredients :P

Baby Kai's (yet another) busy weekend

When I was pregnant, time used to pass in weeks. Then Baby Kai was born, and time passed in months. Now that my baby is officially a tod, time passes in years.
That only means my blog wont be in a messy list of entries categorised by months, that's all :)

SO glad it's the weekend again - I'm exhausted!
This week, Andy & I had to deal with Little Kai's clingy-ness. He demanded to sleep on our bed every single night, forcing us to sleep in compromising positions and boy were we sleep deprived.
To fix that, I rearranged the furniture in our room and shifted his cot beside our bed. Just nice the height of his bed was level with ours, so in a way, Kai "slept with us". Been working so far. Phew! *touch wood*

Then tomorrow, he has his long-awaited visit to Dr Simon's for his 1 year old 6-in-1 and Pneumococcal jabs, as well as his growth & developmental assessment.
Afterwhich, we are having dinner with Andy's relatives from Florida. They had specified that they wanted to meet Kai.
Remember I mentioned Kai has a problem with sitting through an adult-dinner without fussing?
Well my plan for tomorrow will be to zonk him out after the PD appointment and running of his birthday errands, and leave for dinner just the minute he wakes up from his noon nap.

I sure hope my plan will work tomorrow. If all else fails, I will just have to stuff him silly with blueberries throughout the dinner. *fingers crossed*

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

What then, and what now?

So my son has officially graduated to becoming a Toddler, the questions I often ponder - what then, what now, and what next?

In retrospect, the year with Baby Kai has been full of ups and downs. More ups than downs, but there were the Downs nonetheless. I'd be lying if I said it was all rosy like in the photos. The downs are what other parents won't admit - he's a fussy eater, I'm struggling with his lack of sleep, he's throwing tantrums and it's hard to get through a decent meal with him, he's demanding to sleep with us at night so whatever happened to that dream designer nursery? Heave a sigh of relief - you are not alone on that.

I used to feel mighty accomplished and competent at work - make sure IV lines are running, medications are administered, appointments are arranged, admissions & discharges done... Everything goes on like clockwork before the end of my shift.
However, on days when I'm home with my Terror Tod, I'd just be glad if I could take a shower and brush my teeth within the same toilet trip.

And to parents with tall orders for bringing up their children - Good luck with your rules.
You must've known or heard at least one such parent in your life - "I'm never gonna let my baby suck the pacifier", "my baby can only sleep on her own bed", "my child will have to sit still and endure our adult dinners if he has to come out with us" ... yadayada.

One day, you're just gonna throw these golden rules out the window and do whatever it takes.
Sure, Andy & I made all those "golden rules" before, but now, they've gone out the windows and we just have to play by ear.
With some common sense and lots of love (and what little I learned in Psychology in school), we just let Baby Kai do what he wants, as long as it doesn't compromise his well-being and safety, there is no malicious intent, and makes him happy. When he is happy, he is cooperative and we are happy. Therefore, this equation works fine in our household.

Now, I don't even bother advising Tall Order Parents & friends anymore. Because my advice is - there is no advice. Just go with the flow and follow your instincts that you want the best for your child.
Whatever it takes, mate.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Meet my Godson!

Ladies, hold your breath - my Godson is here!
Born: 16 May 2010
Weight: 6.6lbs

Isn't he gorgeous? *sigh*



The house is filled with heaps of baby stuff!






The baby room piled to the max with baby changing station, and tons of nappies/clothes/cot bumpers etc


Went to Meena's house today to meet my godson for the first time and teach her how to bathe our little fella. He has a sharp nose and jet black hair, and he's so fair for an Indian baby!

He doesn't have a name yet, so my dear Godson, when you are older, please remember that it's your Godma who gave you your very first bath ok?? *beams proudly*
He's so tiny and precious. Reminds me of my very own Baby Kai when he was teeny, which was a year ago. I don't even remember Kai being so tiny, but of course he was. How reminiscent. *dabs eyes*

I remember Andy & I used to just stare at Baby Kai during the first few weeks of his life, just to make sure he was breathing. So precious. Babies can be lost, and I believe it is every parent's worry to keep their children alive, agree?
As Courteney Cox's character in the television series Cougar Town says: 'That's all that parenting really is: trying to keep your kids from dying. When they're babies, it's swimming pools. When they're 50, it's heart attacks and Russian prostitutes.'

Oh I feel so excited and happy for my dear Aunty Meena and Uncle Ramesh.
Welcome to the parenthood band wagon, where you'll never sleep again for the next 20 years!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Adam's 1st Birthday - Part II

The eve of Adam's birthday is spent having lunch with our immediate family members.
The poor baby got whisked away since early morning, running last minute birthday errands with the parents and going to collect his Birthday cake. Oh, the cake! His very first cake :)

Date: 16 May 2010 Sunday
Venue: Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant
The restaurant's staff are helpful, and service is prompt. The waiting staff cleared our dishes at fast speed and helped us with the cake, the candle, the plates & cutlery. They even played the Happy Birthday song for us, though we didnt have any songs prepared. We've been there several times for our weekend luncheons, and service is still impressive.

"My very first birthday cake!"





The men of my life.








My brother JJ and his gf Liping. By the way, Liping shares the same birthday as Adam! On the day I delivered Adam, they were supposed to be out celebrating Liping's birthday when they came to visit me in hospital. Hehe


My son and his proud Grandma


Family shot everyone, before the song-singing and cake cutting!




Baby Adam points to his cake excitedly and said "Der" (read: there) :D






The Grandmas were more excited than Andy & I were about his first cake-cutting so we just let them. I was too busy playing photographer anyway :)

Blowing Putting out the candle with his fingers! *gasp*



.
.
.
.
The cake: a 2kg 3D with icing, in Lychee Martini flavour. YUMMY~



Dear Munchkin,
we hope you enjoyed the cake. Your very first cake. Daddy & Mommy specially chose this design for you because you are the bestest gift we ever received in our lives. You are our present, and our future.

Love,
Dada & Mama

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Adam's 1st Birthday Celebration - Part I

Here's the 1st Prequel to our precious Prince's first birthday, which is in exactly 2 days' time. How time flies!

Date: 15 May 2010 Saturday
Venue: Rochester House

A tranquil dining place for adults to tempt their tastebuds, a huge playground for children to lose themselves.
This is the place for: yuppy young parents, ang-moh parents and kids of all ages.
We love this place so much that we've decided to book this as Adam's 2nd birthday venue, perfect for all my cousins and friends whose babies by then would be old enough to run around & play.





Our young master choosing from his menu

Baby Adam's American breakfast. He loves hotcakes, and I can never seem to make them so flawless.



The Play House: a huge haven for the little ones in the comfort of air-con while the adults can dine & chill outside. There are 3 ladies manning this play area so parents can have complete peace of mind. It is totally brilliant. Two thumbs up!









Daddy making a silly face haha!







He's smiling at the lady who mans the Play House.


Our son is totally engrossed in the little toy paradise and ignores the parents.




Daddy: "Are we ready??"


"Here we go!"






Here's the narcissistic Mom having the blast of her life.


Having a ball. Literally.


I would give anything to put that smile on his face :)
Happy eve-of-the-eve of your Birthday son!
You are our pride & joy, the greatest surprise gift from God, and we all love you more than words can ever describe.