Turning 21 soon ...

21 months old that is ...

V has crossed some milestones of sort ... she will actually dance to Barney when they are dancing, and once the song "I love you, you love me ..." comes on, she will dash around hugging us.

She can imitate some words when we are trying to teach her.

In addition to her previous list of words, she can say
1. walk walk (sounds like wok wok :P)
2. egg egg
3. blue
4. yellow

She can doodle pretty well, she draws quite a fair bit of circles and wavy lines. I've just bought some paint brushes, and probably will go to diaso to get some of the canvas (they sell pretty decent ones for $2) so she can doodle her art and then we can frame it up.

I'm trying to teach her to sign "please open for me" so that she can start linking up words. I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do, since there's this debate that kids who sign will start to talk much later. But really, is that a bad thing? I admit I am worried about her not talking yet (compared to the long list of words my gf listed for her gal) but each child starts on their own pace, and even if she doesn't really want to talk, it doesn't mean I should stop teaching her things. That reminds me to print out the cards that I did some months back :P The Zoophonics pack still haven't arrived after a few months so i made my own version. Time to start putting some effort at the homefront!

hand in hand, just not yours!

V has this funny thing about holding hands.

She can walk hand in hand with mummy, but Daddy cannot hold hands with mummy at the same time! Mostly she will complain and forcefully remove his hand from mine. Sometimes we try to trick her, as in daddy wants to walk hand in hand with her too, so he will make a grab for my hand which is holding hers. She will remove his hand and occasionally allow him to hold her other hand. Sometimes she will try to to chase him away or rather flap him away, sometimes she will hasten her pace and pull me along.

This morning we tried the trick again, but it didn't work. She was happy as long as he was holding my other hand. She even gave him a cheeky smile and wave!

Is she possessive? I think so!

Happy New Year - in advance!

In case I forget again (I just remembered I forgot to give my hubby the christmas card I got last year - again), here's Vanessa wishing everyone a very happy new year.

May the new year bring good news and joy to you!

Have yourself a blessed Christmas!

Tra-lah-lah-lah, lah-lah-lah!

Merry Christmas to all, and may we all have a better 2009, despite all the gloomy forecast.

Take joy in what we have, and faith is what keeps our hopes alive.

Sorry no pics of V doing her reindeer stunt again =)

on the mend

Vanessa seems to be better this morning before I went to work. However, closer to noon, her fever went up to mid 38s to 39. So I applied for urgent half day leave to go home to help look after her, since we couldn't send her to my mum's house today. Her cousins are over at my mum's house and they will be leaving in a few hours for their holidays.

Thankfully she's better now, in the low 37s, but .... then I started nursing a headache. Took my temperature and it's in the low 37s too. Hopefully it will go away by itself, and it won't develop into a full blown flu germs infested Christmas for me.

I am just very exhausted and am looking forward to a nice little break for the Christmas. Hopefully this wish will be granted :P

Fever, cough and cold

Vanessa's running a fever and cough for 4 days, plus a running/ blocked nose for 2 days.

She started on Augmentin (antibiotics) yesterday, and she had a bad case of diarrhoea this morning, her diapers leaked and it stained her clothes and her bedsheet. Her fever was hovering about 38.5 so we started ibuprofen in place of panadol. Her forehead is plastered with koolfever and her bed now has a water cushion to help bring down her body temperature. She's still quite active, but her appetite is gone. She mostly only wants milk, eating only little solids. I've bought some yakult for her to help with her tummy troubles.

She missed my ma jie's 81st birthday celebration lunch today, but I didn't want to risk her passing the virus to the other kids since 2 of them were flying off for a holiday in a day's time, or worse puking her milk/ lunch over the birthday "girl". 

If her fever is still in the mid-38 to 39 range, I'll probably have to "harass" the PD again. I'll probably need to ask if I could give her some expectorant to help get rid of the phelgm. It sounds really, really bad when she coughs.

Seems like a really woefully germs infested Christmas =(

Step 2 USA - 50's Diner

One great thing about staying in USA, you can get great stuff for kids from Step 2 at a price that we will never ever get in Singapore. Sometimes I wonder why is the price discrepancy so great, but then again, we win some, we lose some.

Anyway, for Christmas, I wanted to get a kitchen set for my niece in USA, but the one I wanted was out of stock. So after considering some items, I decided on the 50's Diner. It looks quite fun, with a serving area too. The clincher was ... free shipping :P

This is the link for the 50's Diner: http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1561

I thought it would be a great gift, just by the sheer number of awards it has won:

Awards:

• Toy of the Year Award, Family Fun, 2008
• Platinum Award, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, 2008
• Top Pick, Today's Parent Magazine, 2008
• Three-Star (Highest) Rating, Canadian Toy Testing Council, 2008
• All-Star Holiday Toy, Toy Wishes, 2008
• 'Best Toys' winner, Parents Magazine, 2008
• Best Products of 2008, iParenting Media Awards

Look at the stuff that comes with the toy:

• Kitchen includes oven, grill, fryer, icebox for storage and sink for cooking and cleaning
• Patron side features attached booth-style seating for dining and can also watch the cook
• Electronic service bell lets the server know when kitchen orders are ready for serving
• Silver-metallic divider window gives the diner a classic retro feel
• Retro style tabletop features a jukebox that plays three 50s-style tunes
• Special griddle pan and coffee pot activate electronic sizzling and bubbling sounds on the stove's front burner
• Accessories include: coffee pot, griddle pan, dishes, silverware, cups, spatula, ice cream scoop, sundae dishes, deep fryer, and ketchup & mustard bottles
• Play food includes: burgers, fries, hot dogs, ice cream, cones, sundae fixings and pie

And it comes with a jukebox!

Maybe it just reminded me of "Happy Days" ... *sigh* who can forget Fonzie?

I just hope the recipient enjoys the gift!

Christmas Madness

It's a mad rush to buy the presents, so I didn't really put much thought into the gift selection this year. It's more of generic gifts, so just ran into the stores, grab some items and ran home again.

Just finished wrapping all the presents and were doing a count, and I realised to my horror *sigh* I forgot to get a present for Vanessa. What kind of mummy am I? Think tomorrow will be a mad dash to the shops to get something for her, but at this point of time, my brains are not functioning very well!

*help*

*stressed*

Halloween pictures

The place where we stayed had a Halloween party, so I thought we could be creative and save some $$ and make our own costumes for the kids.

1. Asher's costume were bought, it's probably the best thing we did.

2. Anjanette and Vanessa had similar costume, which were made by a FEW people. My sister, my brother, my mum and my aunt all chipped in. I just bought the materials :P Next time, I'm just buying the costumes. not going to make it - just not within my abilities. I'll just stick to hairclips :P

Miss Pumpkin Fairy sitting pretty next to a handsome magenta bear

The 2 sword fanatics (including one baby pumpkin fairy which isn't technically supposed to like swords?)

The 3 muskeeters


The handsome pirate and 2 pretty pumpkin fairies

D-I-Y facial accessory

All you need to do ...

1. dip it

2. eat it

3. easy right?

4. now you can have a chocolate moustache too!

Updated specifications

I took V to see the PD since she's not feeling too well (she's now down with fever, cough and a slight running nose).

She's only gained 5 cm in height since the last record at 7 months ago - the PD said he would expect 1 cm per month, so she's 2 cm short of his expectations, but it's OK.

I think she inherited her mummy's shortie genes =(

Anyway, her current specs at 20 months and 2 weeks:

Weight: 12.2kg (27 lbs)

Height: 82.5cm (32.5 inch/ 2.7feet)

My Cardbox House

Allo! Do you want to join me for some yummy baby rusks?

Sitting pretty in my cardbox house that mummy made for me! But I spoilt the table twice already =( mummy hasn't fixed it back for me. I think she's too busy with her work.

This is how the interior looks like without the accessories. Mummy used masking tape to tape all the cut edges so that I won't accidentally cut myself. She says paper cuts can be lethal too (you can guess which line she works in).

Costs:
Box: $10
Foam flowers/ bugs: $2
Masking Tape: $2

Pics Pics Pics

1. Taken at the Botanica Gardens - went for a walk after a yummy breakfast!

O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?

Why is Romeo taking so long?

2. Taken at Tanglin Mall - for the "show"

They are my favourite cousins!

Bunny ears for you?



Papa! Papa! Can we get a tree like this for our home?




*brrrrrrr* It's freezing ... FOAM!!

When there's no snow, make do with foam

In a way, I think Singapore's famous (or infamous) for the foam parties (I still remember the scene at Sentosa many year ago!) and now ... I think they starting younger.

We rushed back to my mum's place to pick up Vanessa, hustled my nephew Asher and niece Anjanette through a change of clothes, and then we rushed down to Tanglin Mall. We wanted to be early so we could get some dinner (my favourite Kimchi cabbage soup) before the "show". Just as we were finishing, my sister reached on time with her hubby (I doubt I could handle all 3 without shouting myself hoarse) so we proceed to the outdoor area for the show.

Well, first, there would be a gush of snow (yes, foam). We saw kids dressed in bathing suits, ponchos, wellington boots, etc, and we realised a little late that we were very unprepared. Once the foam starting gushing out of the machines, kids and parents alike rushed for it and well, it looked like a 'bubble bath' party. Vanessa was scared, and didn't even want to touch the foam. Only Asher went to played with it at the edge, but he didn't dare to immerse himself in the foam like the rest. I guess he knew we didn't have towels or spare change of clothes for him. If they want to go again, the parents will have to be armed more than a camera! It will have to include towel, extra clothes plus shoes. Perhaps, like other kids, ponchos and wellington boots too!

Then after some 15 to 20 minutes, it started to snow foam. They had blowers to blow it up into the air, it was really very nice, but I think Vanessa's skin is very sensitive, and she had red patches on her face soon after.

Photos? Well, to my dismay, I realise I do not have the data transfer cable for my handphone, so I'll have to wait for the hubby to help download all the pictures. We do have some very nice ones, or maybe soon, I will just get the mobile blogging thingy he has too, so it's easier to just shoot and post.

Maybe new pics over the weekend, but I suggest to check out his blog for pics first. I'm very _sure_ he would do that first before downloading my pics for me :P

a "new" song

I think I used to sing this song to Vanessa when she was younger, but it was somehow "erased" from my memory.

Anyway my repertoire of kiddie songs is super limited. You can't beat me. It's consist mainly of  1) twinkle twinkle little star 2) itsy wincy spider and 3) ring-a-round of roses (which was added only very recently).

Recently, during the GUG class, I saw this lyrics stuck on the wall, to be sung to I have no idea what tune. The lyrics reminded me though, of the song that I used to sing. It is that song I used to sing, but I can only remember 50% of the lyrics, so I made up some of it plus the actions :P

Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around (hand drawing circles)

Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground (pat the seat or the floor)

Teddy bear, teddy bear, say 'hello' (I made this up) (wave hello)

Teddy bear, teddy bear, love you so (I made this up too!) (place hand on heart)

Teddy bear, teddy bear, run upstairs (make running motions)

Teddy bear, teddy bear, say your prayers (clasp hands together)

Teddy bear, teddy bear, switch off the lights (flick the air)

Teddy bear, teddy bear, say 'good night' (head lean on hands to sleep)

I'm quite sure the 2nd half of the song is correct, but erm, you know what, my hearing is so bad I am not surprised if I heard it wrongly ... It doesn't really matter because she enjoys the song and the actions (she seems to like songs with actions) so I guess this should be the new favourite until I can learn some new songs :P

Teething problems

Yup, her second molars are causing us pain!

She has been really, really cranky for the past few days, and in one
of her slight better mood period when she was having her diaper
changed, I asked her if she's teething. She NODDED! I asked her if she
knew what teething meant, she nodded yet again. I asked again, "So....
you are really teething?" She nodded once again.

I'm still not sure if she knew what I was asking, but she sure was in
a nodding mood, compare to her "shake head first then decide later"
policy.

She let us checked her mouth for a mere 3 seconds before she clamped
it shut again. We spotted the telltale signs of the swollen red patch
behind her bottom first molar. In fact, I thought I saw a whitish
round thing under the gums.

Needless to say, her appetite and naps are all over the place, plus
the fact she's ultra cranky and whiny. I think we are in a rough ride
for a month or so :P

yes we are still here!

Work has been really really busy and I don't really have the energy to sit down and post after work. Even the weekends are spent catching up on sleep.

V is good. I was looking at some old pics and videos on my HP and tears came to my eyes. She has changed so much, from that chubby little baby to this slightly not too chubby girl. She is of course as adorable as ever, but hmmm, I think we need to work on  her temper/ stubbornness a little. She looks more like a little japanese girl these days, I guess, partly because of her eyes. Plus that wonderful wig we got her, and that sailormoon dress, i think we got the cute jap babe look down pat!

If you want some latest pictures of her and cannot wait for me to post, you can check it out on my hubby's bloggy at www.zitseng.com. He has this bloggy thing on his mobile ... sorry I'm kinda technologically challenged these days.

Road to recovery

Everyone seems to be mending, despite the bout of bad weather again. We are still holding up against the latest assault for flu now, but V is still not eating very much. her weight has been constant at 12.0kg for the past 2 months, and it's a little worrying. She's a little more "cranky/ whiny" lately and I wonder if she has fully recovered.

We still have not gotten info from the PD - my fault. I missed ALL his calls - I did call back to the clinic but he would be busy by then *sigh*

She can sign a few more things, eg "I love you" "open" "carry me" ... the last one is a bit of a hoot really. We (including all the family members) usually would clap our hands and open our arms wide to ask if she wants to be carried by us. Now she would clap her hands a few times, open her arms wide and wait to be carried. She does understand what we are talking about too. If she ask for something, I would ask "what must you say?" and she would sign "please", followed by "thank you".

She's really not into talking, but she can call daddy and mama much clearer now. She can say some words like "wet" but that really depends on her mood if she wants to "entertain" us.

Her latest favourite song is "Ring a round of roses" and she loves the part where we cover our mouths with hands and then falling down. She can also imitate some of the zoo-phonics song actions.

Right now, we are contemplating if we want to send her to playgroups during the weekdays too, but the cost can be quite prohibitive.  3 day weekly sessions (1.5 hours each) at one particular centre can set me back $1100 for 10 weeks, which makes it ... $110 for 1 week and each session at 36 each? It doesn't seem all that bad until you compare with 1/2 day child care. It would cost me $700 per month, for 22 days and 4 hours each day. And I could still claim some subsidies too. I'm a little hesitant but I figure she would learn so much more by playing with the other kids. I don't need her to be super intelligent but rather, to learn some social skills and life skills, which I think are a lot more important. What that animal is in a picture can wait a little more...

Unwelcome visitor to the household

Not relatives or salesmen, but rather the flu bug.

Yes we all are down with the flu bug again. I conked out 2 days last week with the flu bug, and now my gal is running a fever, my hubby is having a nasty sore throat and the helper is sniffing away.

This year is particularly bad, especially for me. I've lost count the number of medical leave I've taken for the past few months because of the flu bug.

I remembered the last time I was so prone to the flu bug was some 10 years ago. Even then, this takes the cake, for I was continuously down with flu for 3 months in a row then.

My gal has also been very healthy, and then this fever comes. I am worried that it may be UTI or the fake measles again. The PD did ask us to look out for rashes or ulcers in case of HFMD, so I am quite strung out. The initial results for the urine test came back with some blood in it, so now it's sent for culture test. I won't know if my gal is down with UTI until a few days later.

The last time she was warded in hospital was about 1 year ago =(

you are my sunshine ....

Sometimes I think my relationship with my girl is a little strange. She doesn't want me at all when we are at my mum's place. Yet when we are home, she will follow me and head straight for my bathroom. She will then wait for me to catch up and then she would sign "bath time" to me.

On most occasions when she signs "bath time" I would oblige. I'll ask her to go to daddy to get help to get the clothes and diaper off, and she would zoom off to look for him, while I lay out the non slip mat and the gel paints in the shower cubicle. I actually enjoy showering with her. I would shampoo my hair, then pass her the foam to use it over the splat of paint she has happily smeared on the wall. Then I would quickly rinse off before she realises that I have the showerhead in my hand. Once she discovers I using the showerhead, she will have this tugging war with me over the it. Most of the times I'll off the water supply and she loses interest almost immediately. Next, I'll give her a little shampoo foam and get her to shampoo her hair. She can only do the front and top portion, she don't seem to be able to maneuver her hands to wash the back of the head. Then comes the fun part of soaping. She gets a little soap on her hands and she tries to copy me where I soap myself. When it's done, it's bubble blowing time. Sometimes I'll let her use the bubble wand to blow some bubbles and she does it. Mostly I'll just rub the index finger and my thumb for it to act like a bubble wand. She loves bubbles, in fact, so much so she can say "bubbles". Ya, I'm the proud mama.

I don't begrudge her that she prefers my family members when we are at my mum's place. In fact, she will decide whose company she will want. She's lucky, she's the youngest, so almost everyone dotes on her. My cousin would come to my mum's house on his off days to play with her - he will call ahead and book her first. When my nephew comes home from school, he immediately heads straight for her and hands over his favourite toy car to her. My aunt would urge my mum to bring her out when they go shopping. As long as she's happy, who am I to deny her such joy, and the joy she brings to them?

I'll just wait for us to reach home, have our special bath time, and a little time to play with the box of buttons and the pooh bear before bedtime. Then, that's our time together.

The Castle

=)

One month later ...

I didn't realise that it has been almost a month since I last blogged, until someone commented to me the other day.

Vanessa is good, I have lots to post about her, but it's not something that it's really on my mind these days.

I'm having little difficulty with "me", the individual, not as a mummy or as a wife. I think we all hit this particular "milestone" once in a while, struggling to know who we know, what we are, and etc ... It was somewhat compounded by some other factors, so I was very stressed out and very frustrated with myself.

Today was a much needed improvement (partly helped by retail therapy), it's a monday, but I actually went to work with a faint smile on my face. Yup, I actually felt a little happy. It's weird, but I think the orange blouse (brand new) helped to cheer me up (I'm saving the pink for a rainy day). I have quite a lot of my plate now, a lot more than I can chew. Some of which I don't really have a control over, some, which my boss kindly has offered help if I needed to offload some of it. I'm happy that my boss knows I'm little under (almost drowning) but I think I can cope with it, just need to manage my time and my tasks a little more effectively and efficiently (hopefully better in time to come once I master the new information).

Part of the stress relieving therapy was working on a cardboard box castle for Vanessa over the weekend. It's not very big, it's a box for a LCD panel TV we picked up from the basement (near to the dump). It's the perfect size for Vanessa since she's the only one playing with it at home. Being a newbie at this, I tackled with gusto, chopping and slicing and cutting with MY KITCHEN KNIFE. Then I went to do research on how to make a cardbox castle. A bit the duh right? Ah well, I manage to cover most of my bases and improved on it. I removed the doors completely since I needed to make it a bit bigger since the edges were rather sharp (note to self - buy masking tape to cover the edge). So I replaced with a felt curtain. So far so good. For the windows, I just painted over with poster paint, not quite sure if the paint will run if my sweetheart decides to smear it with her wet hands (saliva that is). I tried taping it with some black wire tape, but the paint makes it awfully hard to remain stuck on. I decorated with some tinsel (total $4), some fake flowers I had $3, the tape $2, the "brick blocks" which is actually construction paper $5, felt material was probably $4 too, so maybe about $20?

Anyway here's a sneak preview for you =)

Dancing in the moonlight ...

Well, almost .... V was dancing in her car seat on the drive home tonight!

She was very cute, she was kicking happily away to the music when my helper asked, how about your hands? She obliged and then started waving her hands around.

Funny thing though, she didn't do the hands and legs movement together. Maybe it's time to let her start watching the Hi5 videos.

Little things like this makes me feel so happy as a mummy ...

4 months?????

No, not 4 months pregnant, but that Maternity Leave will be extended from the current 12 weeks to 16 weeks. At least that's what I heard on the grapevine.

For all the debate going on about maternity leave, especially when some equate ML to unproductivity, it is very hard to see how the 16 week ML is going to work out. There was this big hoohaa over the 12 weeks then, and now 16?

I'm worried for my rice bowl though ... would that make us, those who want children or more children disadvantaged? unemployable even?

Being a responsible dog owner

Recently quite a lot of movement in terms of the residents staying in our estate. We have suddenly, it seems, an increased numbers of dog owners too.

So ... the problem is, not all of these dog owners are responsible in picking up their dog poos. I see a lot lying around and I feel v angry, because most of the times, they target the maids, thinking the maids are the ones who don't pick up the poo. Unfortunately, it's not so, it's usually the dog owners themselves, the residents, who don't do it! I've seen them before, just walking off without so much as a glance at the poo.

I have 2 dogs, and I'm glad we are responsible dog owners. I know it because V, being at such an impressionable age, is learning to be one too. The other day, when we were walking the dogs, she wanted to rummage in the bag containing the plastic bags. She picked one out, and immediately glove her hand with it (very expertly I must say). Then she went "eh?" like "so where's the poo to pick?" She pretended to pick some stuff from the floor and was happily pretending away when my dog pooed. She immediately remove the plastic bag from her hand and handed it over to the hubby, and then gestured at the poo "eh!!!".

Smart move!

Now, let's bob your head along with me ...

Recently, my girl has taken to bobbing her head to music on the radio, when she's in the car.

The first song I really noticed it this morning was "Let me blow your mind" by Eve and Gwen Stefani. Good choice I must say! She was smiling when she was doing it, and I joined her. She laughed at me, and I laughed at her. It was quite fun.

Then later in the evening, we were driving home, she was bobbing her head again, and I laughed and bobbed my head too. She got offended! She leaned back against her car seat and turned her face away!

*Sigh*

tick tick tick tick ... time passes by me again

I should be ashamed, I forgot that my girl turns 16 months old today.

She's fast asleep now. I didn't make any special food for her today, but I hope she remembers the "fun" time we had yesterday, shopping at borders (or rather i shop and she tries to dive into the piles of books), sharing the quiche from coffeebean, and doing the actions to incy wincy spider together with me on the home.

Sweet 16th monthday, my love. Don't grow up too fast ok?

My sweet sweet princess/ The notti notti girl

My sweet, sweet princess,

how much I love thee.

Thy soft, soft hair,

thy gentle smile

makes my heart warmeth.

My notti, notti girl,

how you make me despair.

Thy cheeky, cheeky grin,

thy mischevious laugh,

makes my heart warmeth.

- your loving mummy who is wringing her hanky in despair

Fist of the Cat Mountain Durian

I've been craving for durians lately, and since it's the peak season for durians, wherever I go, I SMELL it - stale or fresh, my nose can pick up its scent, no matter how faint it is.

For this week alone, I ate durians 3 times.

1) The durian stall at Dempsey Road carpark - FAIL FAIL FAIL. I paid like $10 per KG and i spent in total $32 for 2 durians which were not fully riped (parts of it wee hard). The second replacement durian was the same (we had to pay for the other half since they replace by weight of the durian seeds returned). I was so disappointed.

2) I spent $20 on durians from the Giant supermarket at IMM. FAIL. *haiz*

The quest goes on ...

3) At the recommendation of my hubby's friend, we hunt down this stall at Queen's Street. Apparently it was featured in the local newspaper recently but I didn't really pay attention to it.

The 4 of us had a total of 5 durians, and the cost as follows:

1 X Butter Durian $8

1 X D24 Durian $8

1 X D24 Durian $5

I paid $20 for them. The $8 D24 durian was not spectacular but the $5 D24 and the $8 Butter was GOOODDDDD. I was raring for more and so we got the following:

1 X Butter $8 - 1/2 of the durian was slightly unripe, they exchange 1 whole durian for us without any questions!

1 X Mao Shan $8 per kg, our durian was $13 - this was SO GOOD. It's the best $13 I ever spent on a durian and I know why it's the king of durians. After eating this, I cannot taste the flavours of the other durians!

I ate to my heart's content and I was so pleased ... I am thinking of going another round this saturday!

Dominos effect

My nephew sick -> my niece sick -> my mum sick -> I sick -> my helper sick

*haiz* today took time off in the morning to do some housework and then rushed off to work. Then I time off after lunch to come back to look after my girl as the hubby has to go back to camp.

My girl was pretty restless and only napped for a short while before she woke up again. She didn't take her morning nap so we were hoping she would be knocked out and sleep longer in the afternoon. Fat hope. So in the end, I brought her out, BY MYSELF. To be honest, I was very worried and scared, but she cooperated. Anyway, she was JUST WAITING TO GO OUT. I changed and as soon as she saw me, she went to the corner and dragged out her diaper/ going out bag! Then I was busy packing my stuff, since I was trying to minimise the bags I had to carry, she was complaining! She would walk to the lobby, walk to my room and make some noise. She was going to and fro until I finished packing and went to wear my shoes in the lobby. Then, I remembered my wallet and walked out again, she actually went "NNNNGGGGGG" loudly to show her impatience.

In the end, we arrived safely with all my wits intact and just zoomed her around in her stroller. Met up with a friend for tea and V put on her best behaviour. She also manga-ed my friend by taking a piece of waffle and giving it to her. She wanted my friend to feed her!

We went shopping by ourselves after that - It was relatively smooth, and she didn't do a poop job on me.

I guess I could start venturing out on my own with her =) The cab fares cost me a bit though ...

Jab + Jab

Thankfully my girl didn't catch the flu bug from me - she seems quite immune to the bug that's been passing among some family members.

She's due for her jab today but I forgot what jab anyway :P Turns out she's due for her pneumococcal (whatever!), chickenpox plus MMR.

I asked if I could postpone the MMR, and the PD (Dr Lee - Dr Tan is again unavail due to his scheduling and we wanted to move the appointment forward to the morning) did some basic checks. She is choosing to ignore when spoken to, and she is willing only to acknowledge her daddy. Then oops, realise she's supposed to know the basic shapes by now (never really got around to "teaching" her) so she's not really responding very well. The PD advised to push MMR to 2 years old and to continue monitoring her progress. No more TV for her!

Vanessa's not too happy with the jabs this morning - she cried when she got the first jab. The second jab, her mouth was open, but no sound, until like 5 seconds later with the tears rolling down. Thankfully I'm the mummy to the rescue and her bad daddy was the one who tricked her to get jabbed :P

A distraction of her favourite cheerios was all it took to quieten her down.

Oh. her weight today? 11.6kg @ 15 months and 12 days old.

My first ever ...

Rambutan picking at 婆婆's house ...

Hey! My bucket's empty!

What's Vanessa doing?

She's choosing her rambutans!

Zoom buggy zoom!

Vanessa: Bye Daddy and Mummy! I'm zooming off in my Cookie Monster buggy!

Vanessa: Hey! There's something wrong with my steering wheel!

Keira: I'm the Motoring Babe, I can help you!

Keira: Ok, it's fixed! You're good to go!

Vanessa: WOW!!! You are really one Motoring Babe! Thank you!

Vanessa: OK Cookie Mon, are we ready to rock'n zoom? Here we goooooooooo!

Vanessa: Oops, I think we got wheel clamped for parking illegally!

Kawaii Vanessa

Today I brought Vanessa to the airport and decided to dress her up (she picked the yellow dress herself!)

This is her, all ready to go!

At the airport restuarant, waiting for her fried rice to be served.

A quick change of the hairdo (sounds like a bride at her wedding banquet), my favourite picture of her today. Pity's it blurred =(

4 new clips and 1 burnt thumb

I decided to do my gal's headband finally, with an orange daisy that I had actually bought like ... 6 MONTHS AGO!

Yah, I was procrastinating for a really long time, but since it is literally gathering dust, I decided to "JUST DO IT!"

It took me over 30 minutes to complete it though, because what I tried to do initially didn't quite worked out and I ripped it out. The second attempt was better but it was so hard to push the needle through the material so I had to sew with the help of the floor. I would position the needle and then place the eye of the needle against the floor and push it through. Not the best way, but it works for me.

Since I had to use the hot glue gun to fix the "diamond" onto the daisy, I decided to make some hair clips as well. It wasn't really quite my day, I forgot how to fix the ribbons unto the alligator clip, and this attempt was so messy. As I was fixing a seemingly easy clip, a white silk rose, I burnt my finger. I squeeze more glue than I had intended and I was pressing some beads against it and it got stuck unto my thumb - I yelled out so loud that my hubby got a scare. I ran cold water over the thumb and peeled off the glue. It was sore for a little while, but it's better now. Thankfully the remaining 3 went without much problem.

No pic of the hairband or my burnt thumb though ...

The 2 at the bottom was made when I first got hold of the ribbons, clips and the hot glue gun.

What fun to have a girl!

Gladys and Vanessa @ IMM

 

One of the mummies took the photo yesterday - and I love it!

 

She's wearing her new sailormoon dress from Jshoppers and *ahem* do you notice something about her hair?

 

Hehe, she looks so cute, like a little japanese girl (no doubt she has an advantage by inheriting her dad's eyes).

 

Baby Hair Clips

I've never made the teeny ones before, but after meeting one of the mummies and since I had gotten some of the baby clips by mistake (I didn't know they were this small!), I decided to experiment with my goods.

It took me about 1 hour to do this 2 - I decided I wasn't going to glue it and to sew every bit of it.

I'm quite pleased with it - hope C will like it, even though it's not a girly colour!

Certified

Well, not certified to do anything, but rather, Vanessa received her first certificate today for completing her KinderMusik class. She will be continuing for the next class, and for 2 weeks, she would be having 2 classes per weekend, since her Growing Up Gifted class will start end August. Kiasu? Not really, just that I'm not sure how she would take to GUG, so best is to gauge her responses to both classes and see which one she enjoys more. As much as the norma should say "which one would teach her more", I think at this age, it is important that she enjoys her class, since it is meant to be more of a social and fun time, rather then drilling her how to learn. As long as she's having fun, it's good enough for me. She will have enough pressure to cope with once she goes into Kindergarten!

She's 15 months already, time really passes too quickly. She understands more than she lets on, and although she cannot verbalise, she can carry out a simple request, or just shake/ nod her head (though sometimes i wonder if she knows what she is agreeing to). Yesterday also mark the first time that she walked, instead of sitting in the stroller, which is the usual habit when we bring the dogs down for their walks. Not very stable, but good enough. I do think her crocs are very useful, light and well ventilated, not to mention, slip-proof. I'll get her another pair when she outgrows this one (she already outgrew 3 other pair of shoes!) and perhaps I could get a matching pair too!

My hairclips and ribbons arrived from USA (thanks to the hubby lugging the ribbons back) and I've begun to make a few (bought a new hot glue gun too!) - churned out about 10 yesterday and raring to make more. Only problem is my back is giving me pangs of acute pain, so i have to rest on the bed or sit up straight. Tried taking calcium to reduce the pain, but no to avail. I'll probably need to dig out my painkillers if not I'll pay the doctor a visit. I even had difficulty turning in bed, it's that bad.

Remember the mummy that I said made lots of hairclips for her gal? I visited her on saturday and I marvel at ALL her creations. SHE'S GOOD!!!! VERY VERY GOOD!!!! Now it's my goal to be as good as her! She's also very creative, so I am very very very envious! Will display my new wares in a while - thinking if this should be a sideline I can tap on to grow my gal's education fund!

Some names not to name your child if ...

Anne Chang (Mandarin) - Dirty

Anne Chin (Mandarin) - Keep quiet

Faye Chen (Mandarin) - Dusty

Faye Choo (Mandarin) - Fat Pig

Carl Cheng (Hokkien) - Buttocks

Monica Cheng (Hokkien) - Touching your buttocks

Lucy Leow (Hokkien) - You are dead

Jane Tan (Mandarin) - Frying eggs

Suzie Leow (Hokkien) - Lost till death

Henry Mah (Mandarin) - Hate your mum

Corrine Tai (Hokkien) - Poor fellow

Paul Chan (Mandarin) - Bankrupt

Nelson Tan (Mandarin) - Bird laying eggs

Leslie Tong (Mandarin) - Rubbish bin

Carmen Tng (Hokkien) - Leg hair long

Connie Mah (Cantonese) - Call your mother

Danny See (Hokkien) - Squeeze you to death

Rosie Teng (Hokkien) - Screws and nails

Pete Tsai (Hokkien) - Nose droppings

Macy Koh (Cantonese) - Never die before

Lim Yew Lin (Hokkien) - Drink urine

Lim Teh Peng (Hokkien) - Drink iced tea

When I read the list, I burst out laughing. I can understand most of it since I understand Cantonese and Mandarin, but some of the Hokkien ones, I cannot understand. I have this to add though, because one guy had this name and I was "stunned"

Ho Chee Sin (Cantonese) - Very crazy

My favourite of the lot? Monica Cheng

Signing

If you recalled some time ago, I wrote about my girl being able to sign for her milk. I haven't taught her any other signs after that, but recently on and off, I did sign "bom bom" to her which means bath time.

One evening, as the helper was preparing her bath water and I was playing with her in the bedroom, she was in a hurry to get out from the room. Then I asking her if she wanted to play with the bear (she knows it's called sweetheart!) and she signed "bom bom". I was quite surprised since I didn't consistently signed it to her. So she does know a lot more things than I had expected, so time to watch what I say.

About the signing, I'm not following any standards, I'm vaguely remember watching some online clips about signing and I adopted some of the signs (I'm not sure what they stood for) as I felt it was probably easier for her to sign. You could try with your kids, just make sure it's the same sign each time (do differentiate between water and milk though), and see if they will do it to you!

How I know the bear is called sweetheart? I sat her on the bed and said, "Let's say hello to Sweetheart!" She turned and crawled towards Sweetheart and plucked her from her corner, before passing me the bear.

It's nice to know she's a lot more smarter than I thought, BUT it also means she's growing up really, really fast. And how much am I actually missing out?

Absence makes the heart fonder

Well, not that I grew fonder of my hubby, but I never realise how much I miss him when he's away from me. I didn't miss him that much when I was pregnant, but this feeling of lonliness really hit home this time.

It's just not the same without him in the house.

:(

Teething Issues

If you refer to the chart above (from www.teething-babies.co.uk), my gal has:

for the upper jaw (left and right) - Tooth number 1, 2 and 4. Tooth number 3 is now erupting and is semi through the gums.

for the lower jaw (left and right) - Tooth number 1, 2 and 4. I can't see tooth number 3 yet, but her gums are red.

When her first molars initially came out, I thought she had 4 teeth coming out at the same time! Only did I realise later that the 2 "edges" showing did not belong to 2 teeth, but 1!

Given that her milk teeth is coming out really fast and somewhat earlier than norm, now I am worried about how to keep her teeth healthy! Add that to another mummy's fretting and worries :P

updates

My girl has really taken to walking - now she will take our hands and pull us to where she wants to walk to. She can walk unassisted for quite a distance, although slightly unstable. Good thing, it's a tiring workout, so she sleeps pretty well in the evening.

Her first 4 molars (top and bottom) have sprouted - I've lost count of the number of teeth she has! Her appetite has dropped a little, refusing her usual porridge. So today, I made potato patties for her - a change in food presentation since she wants "adult" food and not baby food all the time. I'll post up the recipe in my other blog in a moment.

I'm just thankful she's quite happy brushing her teeth!

Sometimes I wish I could stay at home and watch her grow. I seem to be missing out on a lot. Been thinking about being a SAHM, but I doubt we can survive on my hubby's pay alone. He doesn't pay all that much for income tax, but he earns a decent living, much better than mine anyway. Been toying the idea of having a sideline to supplement the income, so that if I decide to be SAHM, we have some "fundings" in that sense. However, deep down, I'm a hopeless business person, so I guess I should just drop the idea.

Wonder how my boss will react to if I want to go 1/2 time. *sigh*

Project Hairclips (suspended)

Ya, I'm not making any new clips for the time being. For one, I prefer to have smaller clips and I am considering buying that and alligator clips from overseas. Not to mention the ribbons, the variety seems better than what we can get from there. Spotlight's collection doesn't quite fulfil my needs, so ... $$$$$ will be spent again, hopefully not in vain.

I had another mummy, "inspired" by my projects and she made a collection of cute felt clippies. She's not going to show it (I asked if I could showcase her works here) as she feels that her work is "amateurish". Personally speaking, I think her clips look fantastic as she is very creative! Another mummy also thanked me for showing her how to make clips (via my blog) so I am actually very happy. Not only that some mummies now can make clips like me, but also someone actually reads my blog. *heh*

The law of demand and supply

So it goes, when there is a demand, a supply will exist.

Unfortunately, baby making isn't quite so simple. Lately I've been readingin a certain forum - people with the supply (pregnant) and yet considering abortions for various reasons, people with the demand (who wants to get pregnant) and yet unable to. Ironical, isn't it.

If only life was so simple sometimes ...

An old friend, not quite forgotten

We've weaned my girl off her beloved pacificers, for close to a month already. She can sleep without them, but she takes a longer time to fall asleep.

Initially, she would wake up in the middle of the night, and then dig through all the pillows and blankets to search for them. Only once, did she find a rouge pacifier, that was long lost in the pile of pillows on the bed. She promptly plugged her mouth with it, and refused to give it up. So we dug through everything on the bed, and cleared every nook and corner, to make sure there's no more pacificer hiding in the midst.

Recently, she was playing in my room, and I had her pacifier on my bedside table which I had forgotten to clear. She promptly grabbed it and I had to wrestle it from her, since it's probably been there for a month, gathering the dust! I washed it and then showed it to her, by putting it between my mouth. She would normally just lean forward and chomp on it, but no, she grabbed it forcefully from my hands, lovingly fondle it and the promptly stuck into her mouth. This time, she refused to give it up, and I couldn't fight her force of suction! I waited till she was asleep before I removed it and then we hid it all away.

She still misses it, because since then, when she awakes in the middle of the night, she would dig through all the pillows in vain, searching for her long lost friend.

I'm actually inclined to give it back to her, since it's obvious she still misses it. However, the habit has to be broken, so our resolve has to be made from steel.

*haiz* Not easy being a mummy ...

Project Hairclips - ladybird and more

Worked on a few other hairclips today - sketching out the design was the most tedious. I'm not the best artist so my sketches look horrible, but thankfully it turned out OK.

I couldn't sleep much today as I was coughing too much, and with the HOT HOT sun giving its mighty rays, I guessed I could make do with the natural light to do some sewing.

I tried making a flowery clip with some small pearly beads but I was 95% done and I hated it. So I ripped out everything and redid it, closely to what I had in mind previously.

The second hairclip I made today, was for Kaizer. I hope he (or the mummy) or likes it!

I managed to get my girl in a good mood today as well, so she posed some photos with the ladybird clip.

The bouquet hairclip - beads from Diaso

My Valentino TY bear as the model since Vanessa was already asleep when I finished this clip.

The beads are meant to be dew drops or droplets of water - Kaizer, do I pass your quality/ design tests?

Project hairclip - Ladybird

I finally got around to getting the materials and although it's in the wrong size (it's almsot as big as my palm!), I'm quite proud of it!

I just hope the glue will dry into a transparent colour!

Note: the sequins were sewn on.