It's been 2 wks since my last post and I have so much to blog about. DN's milk allergy, DN's love for heavy vehicles (I'll explain), DN's sleeping pattern, DN's love for swimming and DN's day @ Gymboree.

Let's start with something fun!

DN's Day @ Gymboree

B organised a trial lesson at Gymboree for a few of us Sept moms. DN got to meet Cayden, Jovann, Arianne, Gabriel, Reubern and Sophie. Golly, his social circle is bigger than mine. -_-

Learnt 3 things from the class.

1. I'm no spring chicken.

It's official, I'm an old goat. I could literally hear all my 32-year-old bones creaking and protesting as I rolled, jumped, bounced, slid and crawled. Dust was coming out of my joints. Golly, was I tired. Thank goodness Gymboree allowed both parents in coz after 5 mins, I deftly handed the baby over to PF and told him I'll take care of taking the pictures.

*bleat*bleat*

2. I don't learn my lesson.

I signed DN up for 4 more sessions at Gymboree!

It's $30 a pop, goodness. So after our 4 sessions are over, and after I've learnt how to use all the equipment, PF and I are just going to bring DN over for Gymboree's "Playgroup" sessions. It's one hour of free play for $8. Who needs a trained instructor specialised in baby development when you've got 2 over-the-hill-and-far-far-away old goats??

*bleat*bleat*bleat!!!!!*

3. DN is a Teacher's Pet in the making.

One of the activities required all the babies to sit in a circle as the parents sang and helped them with simple hand movements. As the teacher was talking and explaining, DN decided to show the teacher what an attentive little baby he was. He crawled into the centre of the circle and plonked his bottom down, facing the teacher, and he couldn't be coaxed back. It was hilarious!



His name tag!



During one of the activities, the teacher blew bubbles into the air for the babies to reach out for. Good for eye tracking.


That's DN & Cayden.


With Cayden's camo-outfit and GI haircut, they look like they're conspiring to overthrow the government or something.


This is supposed to help build their sense of balance. It's an upside down dome that rocks.



And this is DN, looking a bit lonely in the middle of the circle.


Sophie, DN & Jovann

I love the weekend :D

When PF asks me what I'd like to do when the weekend rolls around, I usually say, "Let's hang out at home." Egad! I'm a hermit! I was never like this before. In fact, we used to joke that our home was like a hotel (minus room service & housekeeping, shucks) coz we only went back there to sleep.

Now, I love staying at home with DN. He's so much more fun to be with now, compared to when he was just a wee baby. Okay, it's not like we're having intellectual conversations about capital punishment or baking cookies together, but I just enjoy being with him. Granted when it's nap time his Mr Hyde persona blossoms, but when he's not cranky, he's quite a funny chap.

Today I did all the things that I miss out on on weekdays when he's at my MIL's place, like...

• Giving him a bath (he likes slapping the water)
• Preparing his lunch of rice cereal
• Feeding him
• Playing with him & his toys

Simple stuff really, nothing to write home about, but it's the only time when I'm really a MOM. And, bless the little guy, although he's with my MIL from 830am to 630pm from Mondays to Fridays, I'm still the one he looks for and crawls to when he wants a cuddle, and at night, he goes to sleep the quickest when I'm the one cuddling him. :D

Nothing beats an adoring baby when it's time for an ego boost eh?

Some photos I took today. Thanks to WP & B for the montage idea!

And of course, the icing on the cake is this photo I took with THE PHONE. A gem! A gem I say!

Before THE PHONE



After THE PHONE

(look closely, the new eyebrows are the same as his original ones! LOL!)

How can you not LOVE this phone?



PF was trying to catch a mosquito in the room and DN just kept laughing every time PF clapped his hands. When was the last time you laughed like that??

Sabo!

On Saturday, PF and I went on a mini-getaway. We left DN with PF's parents and checked into Royal Plaza on Scotts for 1 night. Finally! My first time sleeping through the night since DN was born. I was very excited.

As usual, I had grand plans and many tasks to accomplish during this "relaxing weekend". I wanted to shop for new tops, collect my phone from Motorola, laze by the pool, get a tan, read a book, cut my hair, get my eyebrows done, watch a movie, go for a romantic dinner and (haha) REST.

I'm a high achiever okay?!


We had dinner at Sushi Kikuzawa @ International Building, a nice little cubby hole of a restaurant / sushi bar. Ahhh... it was nice to eat SLOWLY and with BOTH hands, without a baby on the lap and drool on my skirt.


Shake Sushi

My favourite! It was cooked with a blow torch (is that what the chefs call it???) and had a little swipe of wasabi underneath. I hate wasabi, but this was so good. I don't know why!


Ebi, dunno-what-fish, Unagi

It was a buffet, so the chef just put on your plate what he thought you should be eating. When he wasn't looking, I quickly transferred the prawn sushi to PF's plate. :D



Spinach Salad

Wow. This was good. It was cold and the bonito flakes were delish!




Unagi Sushi

I've never tasted better Unagi. It was sliced so thin, it melted in my mouth! *phwoargh*!





Chicken Broth with Gingko

Nice and light. But only ONE gingko nut. Hmmph. -_-





Dinner was good, slow and relaxing. But I can't say the same about breakfast. We ate breakfast in 15 minutes because at 8am on Sunday morning, PF's parents called to ask us to come back and bring DN to the PD. He was covered in rashes, from head to toe!

Gone was the slow breakfast at the hotel restaurant, gone was the 3 helpings of scrambled eggs and waffles, gone was the nap after breakfast... *sighhh*

When we picked DN up, he was quite red and blotchy. His face had red patches all over, his back was red and so were his elbows, armpits and thighs. But he didn't seem uncomfortable and was happy to see us. Apparently, the redness had already gone down. It was worse at 4am. He had blisters on his body!

But wait, get this, on the way to the PD, it totally cleared up! He was as right as rain by the time we reached TMC. It was probably a weird case of heat rash. So we kept the air-conditioner on the whole day and all 3 of us just camped out in his room. DN had us all to himself for the whole day, the manipulative little thing.

DN sabo us big time!

All hail the Sony Ericsson k800i

I've been trying to 'psycho' PF to buy a videocam. We do have one, but there are so many things wrong with it.

1. It's about 10 years old.
2. It records on DV tapes. (which means I have to convert it to digital form otherwise I can't upload squat)
3. The battery's all wonky and shuts down whenever it pleases.
4. The battery is the size of a brick, so can you imagine the size of the videocam itself???

and most importantly,

5. It doesn't look cool. It looks like a shoebox!

So I went scouting around Best Denki, looking at videocams. Canon, JVC, Toshiba? DV tape, DVD, Hard disk? Small, smaller, smallest? $800, $900, $1900? Goodness.

Then it hit me. Holy shitake! I could get one of those new fancy-shmancy phones that do everything except wash your dog!

So, allow me to present the amazing prowess of my new Sony Ericsson k800i.


Before
Boring picture of me and bak kwa.



After
Ta-dah! Me, bak kwa & beanie propeller cap! It definitely jazzes up one's outfit, doesn't it?




Before
Picture of me and weird grin (don't ask)



After
Voila! Nothing like a handlebar moustache to hide one's flaring nostrils.



Before
Picture of shell-shocked baby


After
Picture of shell-shocked baby and his thought bubble!





Before
Picture of DN in car seat



After
Picture of DN in car seat, and we now know what he's thinking!

"Bomb, skull and knife! I hate this car seat!"




... and the moment we've all been waiting for, DN's first video on the blog!

I cropped the video clips, mixed them together and added titles, all with the phone! Please forgive the 1st half of the video, besides not being able to bathe the dog, this phone can't rotate videos either. -_-


er... this is probably old news and old technology to all of you... just goes to show what a 'mountain tortoise' I am. I have finally emerged from under a rock!

Birthday Lunch

We went to Greenwood Fish Market & Bistro for my mom's birthday lunch. Mmm! Mmm! Mmm! The set lunch is a really good deal - $19.95 for a salad or soup, a main fish dish (I had grilled snapper and my mom had pan-seared salmon) and a coffee or tea. If you order a set lunch, you get a dessert at 50% off.

Josh had the Soft Shell Crab Pasta with Chili Crab Sauce (which was too hot for him so I ended up eating half of it -_-) and PF had the house Fish & Chips (the crumbled fish version was much better than the battered one, and the fries were *phwoarh!*).

DN had ... some boiled water!

Anyway, it was his first time in a high chair in a restaurant and he was quite a good baby. He entertained himself through starters (in high chair), fussed a bit during the mains (in my/PF's/my mom's/Josh's arms) and slept during dessert.

I think I will start him on Baby Bites soon (a rice biscuit). Hopefully, the biscuit will keep him entertained through mains the next time.

Wah. Check out the fatty arm. Like a mini-ham. LOL!

He was entertaining himself with the serviette. And he was served a wedge of foccacia! Hahaha.

DN under a light bulb. (Alamak, he looks like the light bulb.)



My Daddy & Me!

See the poster of fish behind PF?

We found this on the poster! ARGH... the eye is as big as the fin.

My Mummy & Me! (part I)

My Mummy & Me! (part II)

My Mummy & Me! (part III)

Anyone with a baby will understand what's going on here...

The Sashimi Starter

(not really my cup of tea... bleah...)

The grumpy looking fish. :(

Brioche Pudding with Chocolate Ice Cream and Raspberry Coulis

*phwoarh!*

Pistachio Creme Brulee

*phwoarh!* *phwoarh!*

I'm responsible for those mop-up marks.

To the best mother in the world!
It's my mom's birthday today. (Happy Birthday Mom!)

During pregnancy, I truly believed my maternity leave days would be filled with leisurely afternoons at Marmalade Pantry/Toast/PS Cafe/Book Cafe (the plan was to go to a new place every day). I would be reading Wuthering Heights whilst sipping Earl Grey and nibbling on a scone, and the baby would be cooing gently and playing with his toes in the pram. Of course, I would have lost all pregnancy weight and have arms that don't vibrate long after you have stopped waving.

Talk about being delusional!

The arms are still floppy, the only literature I read now is while I'm in the toilet and DN? Coo? *prrrthhhfffttt!!!*

Motherhood is filled with sleepless nights, eye(luggage)bags, sour-smelling babies (and sour-smelling mothers), crying babies, leaky diapers, puke everywhere except on the bib, crazy $$$ spent on paediatrician bills ($32 for 2 creams, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?) and on and on...

So that's why I love my mother so much. She did this THREE TIMES! I am humbled. I am so ashamed to say that I never fully appreciated all that she's done for us until I gave birth. Sad, but true.

I was in JC when my mom was pregnant with my brother and NOT ONCE did I hear her complain about anything. We didn't have a car then, so we were "bus-ing" it everywhere too. She was also working full-time and still taking care of the household. Me? I was like a broken record.

"Aiyoh, the weight is killing me! My back is aching! Why is it so hot! PF, can you massage my feet? I look like a baby elephant! PF, do I look like a baby elephant? Be honest, I look like a baby elephant right! When will all this be overrrrr???"

On hindsight, I was worse than an Ace of Base CD, on repeat.

After giving birth, I spent the first month at home with my mom and grandmother. Oh, the first month was bad. I was sweaty from all the ginger I was eating, grumpy coz I still looked like I had another baby in there, exhausted coz DN was waking up 3 times a night and in pain from the breastfeeding.

If it weren't for my mom, I wouldn't be breastfeeding now. She was the one who told me not to give up and kept me focussed on the merits of breastmilk. She even contacted an ex-colleague (who's still breastfeeding her 1.5 yr old girl) and asked her to speak to me and encourage me not to give up.

My mom is amazing! Mummy, thank you for bearing with all 3 of us and our nonsense for the past 32 years. Happy Birthday!

... and that's MY mom!

Chocolate Fudge Cake from Lana Cake House (yums)

We all ate the sides, and left the middle untouched!

DN : "Yippee, a cake for me! A cake for me!"

DN : "Mmm... my cake looks good!"

DN : "And you're all singing me a song? I'm touched!"

DN : "To the best mot... wait... a... minute...!"

Baby Friends

I helped to organise a trial session for a Baby Class for some of the mommies I met on the forum. The class was conducted at Babies N Cream @ Great World City and there were 6 mommies & babies altogether - Jasmine & Jadelle, Eileen & Dylan, Megan & Clarice, E-ling & Amabel and Emma & Enzo.

Aiyoh, I love these things. Some weird, warped part of me gets a great kick out of seeing all these little babies together. They are so innocent and "honest" with their actions. If they want to touch, lick, squeeze, climb on top of another baby, they just do it! (or at least, that's what DN was doing -_-)


Here he is, trying to pat Clarice on the back.




Now he's reaching out for Dylan's... ear???


Horrors! Touch not enough, must also crawl on other babies!








During the class, we did some baby yoga with our babies, including the Tree Pose, amongst others. hmm... a bit tricky that one, seeing as DN still has wobbly-jelly-legs. There was singing, some stretches (for their vestibular system, to build their sense of balance) and ... THE FUNNY CULT CHANTING THING AGAIN! (see my post on 26 December 2006)

Imagine 6 mommies walking around in a circle, chanting good things about their babies and swinging their babies into the middle with a "wheeeee!!!" (I s*** you not) at the end of every verse. It felt like "Witches and Babies Convention 2007". The only thing that was missing was the smoking cauldron and some bats.

But $13.10 only. Cannot complain.

One of the fun bits in the class was when the teacher blew bubbles into the air. DN kept looking at the bubbles as they floated around him and reaching out to touch them. Aiyoh, very cute. Another activity which I liked was when we rolled these big rubber balls to each other as we sat in a circle. DN actually STOPPED wriggling like worm to stare at the balls. I tried doing that at home today, but because it was just me and DN, I had to roll-throw the ball at the wall so it'd bounce back. Of course, my inferior ball skills almost killed my baby because I rolled-threw the ball so hard that it came flying back and almost hit DN. :(


Touch! Touch! Touch!






The Organising Committee of the "Witches and Babies Convention 2007"

(touching each other again!)


Amabel, wisely refusing to be part of the touchy-feely gang

Clockwise : Enzo, Jadelle (hidden), Clarice, Dylan, DN

The Organising Committee discussing how to convince Amabel to join in

Jadelle, already headhunted by Cirque du Soleil

Jadelle, DN, Clarice, Red Ball, Purple Ball


DN : "Mom, this looks vaguely familiar... like the thing you almost hit me with."


DN : "My mommy almost killed me with one of these at home."

Clarice : "You don't say!"



DN : "Well, I love animals and am very easy-going. My idea of a good date is a warm bottle of milk, some tummy time and maybe sharing some pureed pear."


DN : "Hey Dad! I think she likes me!"

Clarice (thinking) : "I'm not going out with someone who has less hair than me."