Much Ado About Nothing

Keeping up

2010-07-27T23:09:00.003+08:00

It's really difficult to keep up with blogging these days. As they get older, and hitting less milestones, there're less things to blog about. But I think the main reason is due to the iphone. Ever since I got the iphone last dec, I've no need to use a camera anymore. I just use the one on the phone because it's so easy to edit and it takes only an instant to upload the pictures onto facebook which I feel was unneccesary to blog about it again. Of course, you can always say it's because of my laziness. Ooops.

But I will continue to try because I do this for Aidan. I just think it'll be so cool to one day be able to read all about himself haha.

Life will come full circle

2010-07-27T22:53:00.004+08:00

Today, as I was trying to pick out pieces of fried beehoon off Aidan as he was feeding himself and clearing the huge mess on the table and on the floor, it suddenly reminded me of how it was like with my dear granny during her last days at the hospice.

Babies and toddlers were really not any different from an ageing elderly. Apart from their obvious cuteness and size, they and the elderly who are no longer mobile, are dependent on us in about the same ways. They all need to be fed, bathe and clothes, diapers need to be changed. Then it hit me.

That this role of me taking care of Aidan could very well be reversed in the future. Well...that is if I'm lucky enough. We all know that these days, we can't and shouldn't expect our kids these days to take care of us when we're old. Those who do are only setting themselves up for a huge disappointment. Of course that doesn't mean they shouldn't be grateful and appreciative of what we've done for them as parents, that's to be expected of all human beings isn't it? That we should be nice to people who are nice to us.

But of course we can all hope, that we'll be fortunate enough to be one of those who have good children whom we can depend on in the future to take care of us, just like how we are taking care of them now.

Aidan as Robot

2010-05-26T23:31:00.001+08:00

As he walked around, he said " Robot, robot.." haha, quite innovative!

Hello cat, hello goat

2010-05-11T21:24:00.004+08:00

I never knew Aidan could say the word Hello. Till I heard him say "hello" to a cat when I visited my grand-aunt. Yes, he would not say that to any person but to animals, he would.

Today, we went to the zoo. He said: "Hello monkey", "Hello goat"....

Aidan, making conversation with the kid goat.

These days, he would surprise us with suddenly saying a word that we never thought he knew, much less could say. He has made progress with his speech. Now the "k", "g" sound is quite obvious. The "s" sound still needs some work but he's beginning to say it. He's also starting to string words together. His longest sentence to date is "I want more milk" :)

When will he start to make me feel irritated with his constant talk? I can't wait.

Vacation in WA- Day 13

2010-04-22T15:30:00.000+08:00

Last day! Had to catch an early flight home. End of holiday, back to reality, which really isn't too bad ;P

Really misses all the nice houses and cottages, so big with gardens and back yards.

Bye bye Perth, hello Singapore!

Finally, I finished it.

Vacation in WA- Day12

2010-04-22T15:00:00.000+08:00

Long day ahead! It's time for the Swan Valley! This was taken at some shop that sells nougat. Not my favourite thing but bought some back for friends.

Aidan trying to open the car door but it's shut close. It's not a real car, or maybe it was real but not functioning anymore.

Ok, this has to be the best wildlife park! Caversham Wildlife Park! Finally, after so many days, we could get up close to Kangeroos and Koalas! They roam freely and you're allowed to pet them.

Funny donkey! Even Aidan's amused by it. The big mouth's opened because it's trying to catch the peanuts that someone was throwing at it :)

Buffalos. Aidan's not interested. Actually nothing really amuses him or catches his attention.

Showtime! Some animals were taken out for people to get to know better and to take pictures with. First up, eagle!

Next, a blue tongue skink whose tongue is really a shade of brilliant blue! It's not dangerous and if you dare to put a finger near it's mouth, it will stick it's tongue out. Aidan's afraid. I noticed that young children are born to dislike/fear reptiles. He didn't like a toy lizard that was shown to him during a class. And no, he has never seen reptiles or lizards before this and none of us has demonstrated signs of fear in front of him. So it must be innate.

Oh dear, I can't remember the name for this. Looks cute!

Next up is this fat, wrinkled and lazy looking wombat. Hehe...Finally someone to take a family pic for us!

I love this! It's pink! No idea if it's a parrot or a parakeet. But the color is sooo pretty!

The Three Stoogers :P

More pink parrots.

Koalas! They're so cute. Over here, you're able to gently pat them. Aidan's still looking very

sianz'.

Tasmania Devils! They're fierce creatures. Can hear them snarling at each other and fighting.

Aidan came to life at the Devils' den. He immediately perked up and chuckled loudly everytime the devils snarled or hit out at each other and made noises like he's cheering them on. Hmmm...violent kid or what?

Vacation in WA- Day11

2010-04-21T23:53:00.000+08:00

I am so sick of myself! 4 months later and I've not completed the vacation blog! Grrr....I VOW to complete it today.

Random shots of Aidan at The Urban Owl.

Didn't do much but we had a nice dinner planned at the Old Swan Brewery.

Fantastic Pork Belly for starters. So tender and melts in your mouth. Aidan doesn't usually eat meat but to our surprise, he gobbled this one down and asked for more!

Haha...love his cheeks here.

Cheers!

I think this is seafood marinara. It's not great.

Steak. Price goes by the weight in ounces.

Ordered extra sides, macaroni n cheese and stir fry vege.

Vacation in Wa- Day 10

2010-03-26T23:53:00.001+08:00

Day 10 and we were up early for our drive back to Perth. Family shot outside our cottage. Say bye bye to the flies. YAY!

Our last accomodation. A lovely newly revamped cottage in East Victoria Park called The Urban Owl. I love it so much. You can say that our new place is loosely inspired by The Urban Owl :D

Nothing much to do today. Was already quite late by the time we had our rest. So we went to the botanic gardens. Superb view! Too bad the tree-top walk was already closed.

I love it here! I could come here everyday. Very grassy and looks so inviting to sit and have a picnic or do nothing at all.

Vacation in WA- Day09

2010-03-25T23:53:00.001+08:00

I always forget how bad the flies were and was again looking forward to the animal feedings. This morning, we went next door to Wonky Windmill Farm & Eco Park. We went into the reception, had some jam tasting, bought 2 bottles of jam, got our bag of feed and went outside into the hot sun. Yes, and be swarmed by the flies. Please remind me never to go in the summer again.

The piece of land where the animals are kept is quite a big one. They are nicely separated and there's a path where you can walk follow and it will lead you back to the house. As you go along, you can see the different types of animals and they are separated from the other species. There's not many of each species, more of the common ones and sometimes just one or two for the less common ones. I was very pleasantly surprised to see 2 lovely deers!

There's not many shots of Aidan cos mostly, he's trying to beat or run away from the flies.

Then we were off to a much more pleasant place. The Margaret River Chocolate Factory! Rows upon rows of chocolate! Needless to say, Aidan was delighted. There were free samples and I think it was Aidan's first chocolate treat. He couldn't get enough of it. Have you met any kids who doesn't like choc?

"woah! I want more!" He's thinking.

To my surprise, their chocolate are really good! We bought lots to give away but I'm regretting we didn't buy enough for ourselves.

Lunch at Duckstein Brewery!

More Yummy food!

Here was when I found out about Aidan's love of pigs. Could it be due to that he was born in the year of pigs? He kept asking me to draw pigs.

Very nice and huge estate at Duckstein. We had a walk after lunch.

Took this pic when we were travelling on the road. The cows are always huddled together and not moving and looks like they are deep in discussion. Conferencing perhaps?

Aidan loves taking family pictues. When you point a camera at him, he usually looks away. But when I say, take a picture together, he'll smile so sweetly and ask for more! :)

Vacation in WA- Day 08

2010-03-08T23:54:00.000+08:00

On the morning of Day 08, we woke up in a cottage on a 'farm'. I booked all the accomodation online in Singapore and had wanted to stay on a farm to experience the farm life. However, when we arrived the day before, we quickly realised that it's not a real farm, as in, it wasn't a working farm. It's more of a tourist farm, a piece of land with several cottages and some animals for feeding. There're many such establishments around where you can just pay to do animal feedings therefore you don't have to stay on a farm like this. Luckily, the cottage was pretty decent and clean so we didn't really minded much.

So this morning, we went for our animal feeding. We had looked forward to this for a long time and again, the flies really spoilt the experience for us. All Aidan could handle was to swat away flies on his face. It was most irritating.

Feeding the ponies.

The goats

An alpaca. This one was sweet and shy and not like the one on Country Life farm, which was snorting and spitting mucous at everyone.

In the shed with the guinea pigs. It's so much better in the shed as I quickly learnt that flies like it hot.

After feeding, we were off to the Shearing Shed to see some sheeps being sheared!

Shearing in progress. At first, Aidan was quite terrified by the way the man was (man)handling the sheep in a really rough way and seeing the fur being shaved off. If I remember right, another small girl in the group cried.

Almost done.

Nice and naked. Hehe...I wonder if they feel relieved of all that fur. It must have felt nice and cooling as the weather was so hot!

All that fur! You see the fur at the back that looks grey in color? That's how dirty it is on the outside. But inside, as you can see from the front of the picture, the true color is creamy white!

Picture with black sheeps in the background.

Then we went outside and there was a demo of sheep herding. Most exciting to see the whole herd of sheeps thundering towards us.

Sheep dog pouncing on the sheeps. I don't know why it does that.

A border-collie

Then we came back in to feed baby lambs! Aren't they cute?

I was feeding the biggest lamb of all! It's so big and strong that no one else wanted to feed it. It sucked really ferociously on the bottle.

Then it's lunch. Another beautiful vineyard for yummy food. We got clever and decided that instead of sharing miserable portions of food and ended up dissatisfied, we would have our fill at lunch, then cook our own dinner back at the cottage.

This is the starter tasting plate. Every dish was delicous. Even the cous-cous that I don't usually fancy is fantastic.

Risotto done to perfection!

My memory is failing me but I think this was my Veal. Extremely tender and juicy. *slurps*

Saw this at the deli outside the supermarket and I couldn't resist. Anyway, we cooked eggs for breakfast every morning so that's not a problem.

I think all eggs should be this way. Coming from free range, happy chickens and not from the factory style, unhappy and immobile chickens where most of our eggs come from.

Lovely eggs and most delicious too!

A shot of the back of our cottage. Do you see the electric bbq?

Vacation in WA- Day 07

2010-02-17T23:54:00.000+08:00

Wow...so many things happened and I totally lost the momentum to blog. Just to summarize, the most major of all was probably our moving house. Yes, we have moved and are now nicely settled at our new place. Then it was CNY and so many things to prepare. Had to ready our house for CNY so that we can host and have guests over. I was craving for my own made pineapple tarts and so I was busy baking. Aidan is now attending half-day childcare so I have some time in the morning to go marketing, bake and do some housework. I have been cooking dinner everyday. Life's great but I better get on with blogging or I won't be able to remember Perth soon.

So on the morning of this day, we went to Candy Cow, the candy factory. There's a honeycomb making demonstration in the morning and when we got there, it had just started.

See the golden slabs on the table behind the glass? They're honeycomb. Aidan was quite intriqued to see the honeycomb rising and growing in a huge tub. Then when it was done and cut in to slabs, they gave us some to try....it was nice and warm and it melted in the mouth.

Aidan riding on a wooden cow rocker

I think Aidan must have missed the presence of kids very much after being with just mommy n daddy for so many days. He was quite excited to see children and tried to 'mingle' lol.

Lunch Time! Olives! I never knew they look like this fresh. I've only seen the black rings on pizza and the pickled green ones in Martinis. Hehe...sounds like the story of kids nowadays who didn't know eggs had shells? I didn't really like eating this but DH seemed to enjoy it.

We had lunch at a winery estate, Lamont's and the prices on the menu were just exhorbitant! And also the menu was quite confusing to read. It doesn't say which are appetisers, starters or mains. I later realised that some people would order a full 3-course meal and most at least a 2-course. In Singapore, we would usually order just a main course each and maybe an appetiser to share if there are more people around. So we ended up with a tuna on skewers and some fried squid thingy (both starters!) haha....both were so delicious and we were all hungry for more!

A still hungry daddy.

In the end, we went to the supermarket and bought food back to our cottage to cook! Meat was cheap and we had BBQ beef and lamb. All our accomdation so far came equipped with a gas grill outside for our use. No pictures cos I refused to go outside to be irritated by the flies.

Aidan chilling on the couch in his PJs.

Vacation in WA- Day 06

2010-01-12T23:55:00.001+08:00

Didn't take any pictures of our accomodation in Busselton because it's erm...a rickety old house and not very nice.

Anyway, we are in the South! So it's animals time! Our first stop, Country Life Farm. It's one of the many establishments in South WA that has animals kept so that we tourist can pay them a fee to feed their own animals! Isn't that a most clever idea?!

In the smelly barn with enormous number of rabbits and guinea pigs. I heard someone commented that the rabbits are breeding like rabbits in there. Hmm...but of course.

There's a carousel and I didn't expect Aidan to go on it but he did and enjoyed himself alot. This one doesn't go up and down though, it just goes round.

It went on for really long time! Till the parents were tired of taking pictures and the kids wanted to come down. haha...

Back to feeding more rabbits. We had a whole tub of carrots which we never finished using. I don't know why I didn't take pictures of the other animals but there was 1 kangaroo, which was very lazy and wasn't interested in food at all, many birds, Alpacas or Lamas and I don't remember what else.

It wasn't very enjoyable so we didn't spend much time with those animals because firstly, the place kinda stinks. Secondly, the weather was really really HOT and the HUGE FLIES were darn irritating. It's your normal houseflies but like triple in size. And there were MANY! They wouldn't leave you alone and attack you whenever you're outside. It got worse when it's near the animals because that is where most of the flies are. Someone told us that those flies were carried in by the wind from the dessert. Well, just because of this reason, it was a wrong time to visit WA. Never ever go in the Summer! As I would no doubt mention again later on, hot weather, we can tolerate, pestering giant flies, we could not.

We learnt that flies like the sun. So in the shady areas, there were less. So we would try to find shade whenever possible. But it's not easy when we want to go to the beach, park, feed animals, playground etc. Ok, I've just devoted a long paragraph to the flies issue so you can see, it was a really big problem for us. Aidan was very irriated as well and he would let out yell now and then out of frustration with flies on his face that wouldn't go away.

Ok so you know, shady area. Haha...the best thing on this Country Life Farm was this NEW indoor playground/gym!!! It's really fantastic. Sg has got so many of these places, Pollywogs, Fidgets, Go Go Bambini and this one beats them all hands down. The place itself isn't as big as Pollywogs but the equipments are so much more exciting! It's compact and yet so many things to explore and play. They even segregated out the areas according to age group. This is one of the main gripe I have about local ones because I get very worried when the very big kids would play together with the small kiddos and big kids are rough so I never leave Aidan out of my sight.

Regretted didnt have many pictures here to show you what I meant. Partly because I was so happy to finally have the opportunity to rest outside the play area while Aidan played inside.

Ok, this has got to be Aidan's haven. He loves these cars and over here, there are sooo many!

It's funny how he decided to push all the car to one side and park them in a neat row.

Look at how neatly the cars are parked. Well done.

So it's off to lunch! Just look at the yummy lamb chops! One of the best I've ever had! Food is really expensive in WA and I couldn't bear to spend so much in one seating so we ordered just this and a pizza to share. What a big mistake. I could gobble this one down all by myself and have seconds. Instead, we shared this one and I really wanted more very badly. Sigh...If it was in Sg, I would have ordered another. But in WA, food takes really really long to get served. It's usually a 30min wait each time.

The pizza was ok. I ordered it more for Aidan but I ate some because I was still very hungry having my tastebuds tickled by the lamb chops.

After a great but unfulfilled lunch, we decided we ought to go for ice cream at Simmons. A famous ice-creamery in WA. Many variety of ice-cream and Aidan being in his purple phase had to choose a colour like this. He said purple but it's actually pink.

It didn't last long because Daddy tried to have a bite and Aidan wouldn't let go and the entire cone dropped onto the floor.

Vacation in WA- Day05

2010-01-12T23:55:00.000+08:00

It's goodbye to Perth for abit while we go down South to the Margaret River region. Not looking forward to the long 4 hours drive but excited and looking forward to our farmstay.

Aidan just woke up and eating grapes (I think)

Very pleased with his grapes

No pictures in between cos we were cooped up in our car! We had several pitstops so it took almost 6 hours to reach at Busselton.

This is the Busselton Jetty. Too bad we could only walk part of it as it's under construction till March 10. There's supposed to be an underwater observatory at the end of the jetty, I think it would've been marvelous. What a pity.

We love the beach at Busselton. I feel quite upset that I didn't take any pictures of the beach. Very gentle lapping waves, crystal clear water and pristine sand. I wish we have beach like that here. I think it's the ideal beach chill and relax beach. We had a great time picking seashells there the next day.

After walking the jetty, we spotted a HUGE playgroud. It's really huge, like a park! I really liked it and of course so did Aidan.

Vacation in WA- Day04

2010-01-11T23:55:00.004+08:00

On this day, we thought that we'd hit the beach again seeing that Aidan enjoyed it so much the last time. A friend had recommended breakfast at Blue Duck at cottlesloe beach, so it's breakfast then beach.

Aidan digging into his muffin, literally.

Eggs benedict for Him. This one isn't as nice as the last.

Big Breakfast for ME! The bacon is YUMZ!

Erm, no beach pictures because it was a disaster. It was very windy and current was quite strong at Cottlesloe. I think it's more of a surfer's beach. So Aidan was terrified and refused to go in. Doesn't help that Daddy was complaining it's too cold and refused to touch the water...hmm...

So went back to shower then headed to Yanchep National Park. It's very far North and the furthest North we'd go for this entire trip. Thought it would be a good idea to bring some food and set the mat for a picnic. But it was not easy looking for a nice spot. Everywhere was Kangaroo droppings. Eeewww.... Was difficult to find a big enough spot with no droppings to place the mat! In the end, I just closed my eye and laid the mat. LOL

Biting into my lamb kebab.

I like this profile. Looks like the boy in 'Precious Moment'.

Yanchep is said to house the largest colony of Koalas. Erm, we only saw 3 in this Koala enclosure.

Managed to catch this Koala climbing down the tree. Aidan lauged out loud when he saw it.

We spotted a few wild kangaroos quite some distance away. They hopped off when they saw us approaching. Anyway, felt that it wasn't worth the long drive there. I expected to pet some kangaroos but most of them were wild and avoided people. There're plently of other nicer parks near Perth itself if we'd just wanted a picnic.

Vacation in WA- Day03

2010-01-10T23:55:00.000+08:00

It's Perth Zoo day! I was very excited because it's the first time we'd be seeing animals since we arrived. I mean that's one of the reason we went to Australia in the first place.

However, Perth zoo was erm... not worth your time at all. As you'll see in the pictures, it was so boring I almost feel asleep walking about. Now I know why the Singapore Zoo is one of the best in the world.

We thought it'd be a good idea to let Aidan ride in this so he won't be too tired walking about. Alas, seemed like we didn't know our son at all! He only sat in it for about 3 mins.

The rest of the time, he was pulling it. No kidding, I don't know where this kid get his strength. It is a very heavy cart. See the size of that thing compared to Aidan?

And so he continued pulling it. He didn't want any help at all. If we were to help, he'd pushed us away or yell or stopped at his tracks.

And he pulled for the rest of the way. I think for more than 1hr. Might as well because there was no interesting animals to see at all. Most of them were out of sight and even the kangaroos in the Singapore zoo looked happier.

The final stretch before returing the cart. I don't think Aidan looked at any animals at all.

This huge GIANT tortoise (not turtle) was perhaps the most exciting thing in the zoo.

And this midget of a monkey. Really there's nothing else worth looking at.

So don't go to Perth Zoo if you're there. Really a waste of time. Go to the Caversham Wildlife Park instead. It's a million times better. Will blog about that later.

I wanted to eat fish and chips again so it's back to Fremantle. Here's a first family pic of us against the setting sun. Funny enough, the only time Aidan would stay still and smile at the camera is when we're all taking the picture together. I would say: "Aidan, Daddy and Mummy and Aidan take a picture" and he would co-operate. After which, he would say: "more, more". So cute :)

Vacation in WA- Day02

2010-01-09T23:56:00.002+08:00

Day 2 in WA and we're going to Fremantle!

This is the house we stayed for the first 4 nights in Hilarys. How much does a house this big cost in Sg? During vacation is probably the only time we get to live in a landed bungalow. It feels very shiok!

Our first stop! Brekkie at a very nice cafe.

Ok, we didn't know at that time that the portions are so huge and being the very greedy family that we are, we ordered 3 brekkie mains! When they came, I was thinking oh no...how to have fish and chips for lunch later? This is Aidan's pancake! Looks yummy?

DH's usual brekkie...his favourite toast, eggs and sausages.

Look at my eggs benedict! I am not even a fan of eggs but this is the yummiest egg benny ever!

Aidan forgoing the cutleries and just biting into his pancake. Smart kid.

After breakfast, we went to the Fremantle market. This is quite disappointing. It's really small. I love the Victoria market in Melbourne and this in comparison is a peanut.

While packing for our trip, I found this never used before hat and thought it's a good idea to bring it. But alas, it's too small for Aidan! I think it's meant to be for babies.

This is a cute picture of Aidan, however, I think it doesn't look like him at all. haha...

Oooh...this is my favourite beer ever! It tastes like honeyed caramel! Does anyone know where to get this in Sg?

The famous Kallis fish and chips? Not very nice. Oysters weren't nice either. Sydney's fisherman's wharf still has the better oysters. I realised after that there are a few fish and chips restaurants there and all claimed to be the award winning one. hmm...

Aidan's first time eating a squid. He likes it.

He ate alot in WA. More than he does in Sg...I think he prefers western food. hmm...

Or maybe he just like the chips...hmm...

Playground time. One of my favourite thing about WA is that there are playgrounds like this everywhere! You don't have to go too far or look hard to find one. It's so kids friendly over there.

After doing so many things, it's still early. So off we go to the Aquarium that we didn't have time to go the day before.

Aidan loves playing on the travelator more than looking at the sea creatures.

And that's it! We finished touring the Acquarium in just 1 hour! We could've gone the day before l.a.h! Then I realised it's called the Aquarium of WA, which means they have mostly only sea creatures found in WA. Chey..... I've been to the one in Melbourne and compared to that one, this is peanut ;P

And so.....it's STILL early! It's fantastic how one can do so many things and yet time seemed to past so slowly there.... is that why they say the pace of life is much slower in Oz?

So we decided to go to the Whitford beach very near to the house. We like to go to the beach during the late evening when the sun is setting and so it's not too hot. I love this beach. Quiet with nice beach and there are no rip in the current.

Look at what Aidan is doing. Clinging on tightly to me like a Koala.

We stayed in this position for some time much to the amusement of the family next to us.

After some time, I decided to just place him on the sand and walk away....he stood there not daring to move. haha...

still at the same spot...does he look distressed?

At last! We had to entice him by putting sea water into the can, pouring water on the sand and going back for more till he's no longer afraid hehe...

He enjoyed it so much, he didnt want to leave. But it was too cold, he was shivering as the sun was setting.

That's about all for day 2 :)

Vacation in WA- Day01

2010-01-08T23:56:00.002+08:00

Wanted to finish writing all the entries of our recent vacation in Western Australia before posting but I realise I might never get it done. We're in the midst of moving out and there are like a million things to do. So I decide that I shall just write and post whenever I get the time.

Checking-in!

Our flight is about 1am so it's way past Aidan's bedtime. He fell asleep in his stroller when we were in the transit lounge waiting to board. So when we boarded the plane, he was half asleep, dead tired and really irritable. He'd never slept in another position other than lying down, so when I had to put him in a hugging position, sitting down when the plane was taking off, he was crying alot. But when the plane was in the air and he could finally sleep lying down in his seat, he slept through the flight.

We touched down in Perth really early as it was only a 4.5hr flight. Luckily, the owner of the house in Hilarys said we could check in early as no one was checking out that day. Neither myself nor DH slept on the plane so we were extremely groggy. I think on the way to Hilarys, DH actually dozed off for a bit while driving. I was fighting hard not to doze off myself so I could make sure that he stayed awake! Fortunately, we arrived safely.

Luckily Aidan was still tired despite sleeping on the plane and in the car and I could therefore catch a little nap. So all three of us had a nap before finally getting out of the house and seeing Perth!

Our first meal. The Whitford Shopping center was just a 5min drive from our house. We were famished and so quickly decided on Nandos! (I heard they're coming to SG soon! YAY!)

After our meal, we wanted to go to the Aquarium but realised that it was already quite late and they were about to close. So we went to Hilarys Harbour and Sorento Boardwalk instead.

In WA, there is practically sand everywhere you go. But Aidan doesn't like sand much as you can see here, probably because we don't bring him to any sandy places much in SG. Well, sand in SG just isn't very nice :P

So basically, it's a very chill first day in Perth.

Mad about ABCs

2010-01-01T22:46:00.004+08:00

Still trying to upload pics and get the blog done on our recent vacation to Western Australia. More than 600++ pictures in 13days! The resizing of pics alone for easier uploading onto blogspot itself is a nightmare.

Anyway, this is me wanting to put a small note about how obsessed Aidan is about the Alphabet. Since like 3 months or maybe more ago, he's taken a huge interest in the Alphabet. He can't recite the ABCs in order which was what I thought most kids do in the beginning. But this has to do with the fact that he has got speech delay and doesn't recite or repeat words. He still can't sing and many of his peers have already started singing, which means he can't sing the ABC song. But yah, whether he's at home or out, when he see words, he will start saying the letters. He can recognise all of them and pronounce most of them accurately.

I am constantly amazed by this hobby of his. For e.g. when I am reading a mag, he will come up to me, look at the cover and start to say whatever letters or numbers he sees on it. When we're out and he's in his stroller and terribly bored, he will see and say letters. They can be anywhere, billboards, signposts, paperbags or anything like STARBUCKS, ION ORCHARD, PRADA hahaha...

As I am writing this, at 11pm, Aidan is still up, sitting next to his daddy and doing his alphabet puzzle. AMAZING. I have to teach him phonics soooooon.

Aidan through 3 X'mas

2009-12-25T23:40:00.002+08:00

It has become some sort of a tradition. To pose for pictures at the huge Christmas tree at Takashimaya.

Can't remember that Aidan was ever this tiny!

And a year later, he's become this big!

This is Aidan now :)

And I just just only realised, while writing this entry, that although the huge tree is the same every year, the decor is different every year! hohoho...

Aidan, an update

2009-12-02T00:28:00.003+08:00

Thank you to many of you who have expressed their support when I was so worried about Aidan. I think it's time to give you all an update.

About a month ago, I brought Aidan to see a child psychologist for a consultation to see if intervention was necessary. We did a checklist meant to detect autism in children. It's called an M-chat. The result was thankfully a negative. He saw no red flags that could determine autism although somethings were borderline negative, such as the lack of communication, eye contact and affection. However he said that he is very obviously behind in the terms of speech development and because I said Aidan forgets words he had learnt and used previously, he's worried that there might be some kind of cognitive problems. So he recommended going for speech therapy and structured lessons, which we have been attending for a month. I am happy that the therapist did not think that Aidan needs further seesions for structured learning and that he's fine in cognitive development. So he will only be going for speech therapy for now. I would have stopped that too because I think it's kinda kiasu on my part. Afterall, he's only 2 and many people reported that it's normal to have speech delays. But I have already paid for 10 sessions ($135 per hour!) and I do think that it's helping alot. Besides, he enjoys his sessions very much.

I am also very happy to report that Aidan has gotten alot more affectionate these days. He hugs and kisses all the time. He does that not only to me but to all his teachers as well. He can call MaMa and PaPa perfectly now and it's music to my ears. Just last week, he held hands with his friends and walked together. He's blabbering alot which I hope is the beginning of mature speech. Now in his music class, he is also enjoying himself alot. He can now stay in class from beginning to the end without fussing. During story-telling time, he used to demand to go out of the room but now, he will go sit right in front of the teacher and laugh at the teacher when she makes animated sounds. The first time he did that, I almost cried for joy. Today, the teachers commented that Aidan is a very different boy from before. What an amazing transformation! All in all, I am delighted at the progress he has made. I look forward to seeing him grow and develop :)

Role as a parent

2009-12-01T23:38:00.006+08:00

Kahlil Gibran’s famous poem in The Prophet.

Your children are not your children. They are sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls. For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow. Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams!
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

Not trying to seek justification for my relationship or the lack of, with my parents. But as I was reading this article posted on facebook by sgparents, I couldn't help but think how much I agree with this. I do not belong to anyone. My parents were merely the vessel for which I was carried into this world. It does not determine how I should feel towards them. That should be determined by how I was treated after I was born. Why am I indifferent towards them? Perhaps because they were the same way to me when I was growing up.

This is the main reason why I have chosen to be a SAHM. I told myself long ago that if I were to have children, I must not behave indifferently. Some people seemed to think I have to show my kids that I am close to my parents because if not, my kids will learn the same and in future treat me the same way. What hypocrisy! I will not put on a 'show' to tell my kids to treat me nice. I want to teach my kids to be honest with their feelings. I believe if they can feel my love now, I will be loved in return. As such, I will try my best to be present and involved in their growing up years and be as good a parent as I can.

But how can one be a good parent? It is afterall such a fine line between controlling and guiding, being critical and being constructive, doing too much/little and just enough, indulging and loving.
Read this article and hope to become a better parent. http://networkedblogs.com/p19384925

Happy 2nd Birthday!

2009-11-15T23:16:00.007+08:00

Here's what greeted Aidan on the morning of his birthday.

Here's the first thing Aidan did when he woke. Tearing open his presents!

"What's this? I can't wait to find out!"

"Ooooh......I think I saw....."

"Thomas, my favourite steam engine! Thank you Aunty Miki" :)

"Waaaah.....another Thomas present. Thank you Aunty Amanda" :)

Trying to get to the Thomas stationery kit.

A look of fierce concentration and determination. "I must rip this paper off to reveal my next present!"

"Ooooh.....Another Thomas! Thank you Aunty Yuki" :)

Off to Gong Gong's house for lunch. Here's with Seth, his little cousin.

Aidan's very affectionate these days and very fond of kissing. I hope this phase last :) On second thoughts, they will probably hate me for this photo when they grow up haha.

Birthday cake from Emicakes. This is Mango although they are famous for their durian cakes. Has anyone tried their durian cakes?

Three of us.

Our Kiddos are TWO!

2009-11-15T22:12:00.009+08:00

Time flies. They're two. Here is the first birthday celebration of their playdates, Anri and Ranielle, the two girls in the middle. Both of their birthdays fall in September so they hosted the celebration together.

Then last week, Ryo, Grace and Aidan hosted theirs. Ryo's birthday is in late October, whereas Grace and Aidan's are in November.

It was so difficult to get all 5 of them to look at the camera. Their respective mommies were all screaming their names all at the same time. Can you imagine the din we were causing in the restaurant? haha.

Grace, Ryo and Aidan, the birthday kids standing and leaning in, marveling at the ice cream cake.

This is like the best picture except for Aidan still looking down at the cake.

After that, they all went for water play. They were thrilled and sooo happy. Lovely to see kids playing and laughing with pure joy. You don't see Grace as she was "water-shy".

Aidan kept trying to hold on to the water like it's solid.

Still holding on as the water retreated. Silly boy :P

And I made this (on behalf of the other 2 hosts as well) for everyone to take home. Forgot to take a picture of all the frames together. It's now on my fridge and I hope the others have theirs on their fridge too :)

Aidan and Us at a wedding

2009-11-15T21:18:00.003+08:00

Last month, we attended a wedding of a dear couple friend of ours at the Sentosa Amara Sactuary. It was a lovely wedding and a nice getaway from the main island. We even stayed over for the night, compliments from the wedding couple.

Here are some nice shots of Us and Aidan.

All dressed up and ready to go to the ballroom.

Daddy looking smart in his No.1 uniform as it was going to be a military style march-in. He said it's his last chance wearing it. Good thing there's such a wonderful occasion for us to take nice pictures of him in it.

Nice rare shot of Aidan not having his two fingers in his mouth.

One of my favourite shot with Aidan. Because he's leaning on my shoulders (he usually doesn't do that).

Nice candid shot of Aidan looking cute :)

Aidan, who hardly ever falls asleep anywhere other than in his cot or carseat, is knocked out here. I was very surprised he was pretty ok throughout the whole traditional chinese dinner and that we didn't have to return to the room early and miss dinner.

Look of pure joy

2009-10-24T13:06:00.002+08:00

Want to know what pure joy looks like? Watch this :)

Thank You playmates

2009-10-19T11:51:00.002+08:00

Just want to say thank you to Aidan's playmates. I am really grateful that Aidan has all of you to play with on a regular basis. For any child, especially so if Aidan is on the autistic spectrum, I think there is nothing more important than to have friends or siblings to play with. So I'm glad that Aidan gets to socialise and make friends at this age. So Thank YOU!

I'm an idiot. Literally.

2009-10-12T17:59:00.004+08:00

He's alive, he's laughing, he's happy, he's healthy otherwise. Isn't that all that matters? =)

Worried sick. Literally.

2009-10-09T22:11:00.005+08:00

Something's been weighing heavily on my mind for weeks now and especially the last couple of weeks, I have been worrying so much that I got sick and my digestive system went wacko.
Actually, I have had a nagging feeling about it for a few months based on my observation and a mother's instinct. As I read and found out more on the subject, talked to more people who have the experience, the more I think I could be right about my suspicions. I suspect, with good reason, that Aidan is on the Autistic spectrum.

The austistic spectrum is a WIDE one. Thankfully, if he is, he's definitely on the mild side of the spectrum. Let me state the reasons why I feel that he has mild autism, all of which are signs usually present in autistic children.

1. Aidan has few hand, finger movements/gestures such as pointing or waving his arms wildly. He started pointing more only recently, which is kinda late and when he waves, it seems like alot of effort on his part. In the past, when he was given shakers in gym/music class, he could never shake them much.

2. Even when really young, Aidan never really liked to be carried. He's always struggling to break free. He didn't even like cuddling in bed which is something really unusual for kids. Now, when asked for hugs, he will usually not come to you. But he's more into body contact now as he'll snuggle up to me in bed and likes to flop down right on top of me and just lay there. When watching tv on the sofa, he'll lay his head on my arm which feels really nice. One thing he had done only twice as far as I could remember, was resting his head on my shoulders when I carried him. It felt really good to me during those two times. It might seem insignificant and trivial to you but I'd give alot for my child to rest his head on my shoulders again. Sigh....

3. When he was younger, he could be left alone for long periods of time. He was also really non-fussy. I remembered a friend who has a DD saying that I must have alot of good karma to have such a good kid. I'm wondering so if that was a sign of autism, does it mean that I have bad karma then?

4. He has a high pain threshold.

5. He has little or no stranger anxiety.

6. He does not have strong eye contact.

7. Does not like showing affection. When you want to kiss him, he will turn his head away. If you want to hug him, he'll run away. He behaves like a teen, feeling embarrassed when his mommy tries to kiss him in school but it's really unusual for a young toddler to behave this way.

8. He is really extreme when he dislike something. Will scream and want to be removed immediately. For e.g. when sitting down in a circle for songs or story telling, other kids will enjoy this activity. Even when they don't they just appear bored and walk around the room. Aidan will however, scream, cry and throw a tantrum wanting to get away from it.

9. Late speech development. He doesn't even call me or his daddy. He has about 6 words in his vocab. The most telling sign is that he will forget words learnt before.

10. When asked questions like where is the cow, dog, cat, pig in picture books, he will not point to them. I like to think he knows them but it's a problem when he doesnt want to show you. Or maybe he really doesn't know and that would mean something is wrong with his IQ :(

11. He has never pointed to his nose! Unlike other kids, when you ask him something like where're your ears, he'll not show you.

12. Instead of pointing or telling me what he wants, he'll tug at my hands, wanting me to go with him to what he wants.

If you're familiar with autistic children, you'll recognise that these are symptoms present. I have made an appointment, as recommended by his paediatrician to see the developmental paed at KKH but the earliest appointment I could get is in Jan. The long wait is killing me! I hope that if there's a need for early intervention, I'd like to do so asap. I think I need help too. I'm worried sick. Literally.

DIY Wall Charts

2009-09-26T23:28:00.005+08:00

The very hardly creative or innovative me suddenly had an idea to create my own learning wall charts. Maybe the idea was born out of me being stingy and unwilling to spend $60 on something that I don't know how long Aidan will use it for. (Yes, kids' learning tools are expensive! It's a very lucrative market as parents are really willing to spend.)

Here is an Alphabet chart from Growing Fun http://www.growingfun.com/

Here are materials that I found in Daiso, the store that has everything for $2.

Hanging Pockets. There are many sizes and different number of pockets on each piece. I chose this and hence I need 4 pieces for the 26 alphabets. Cost: 4 x $2 = $8

Then I found this alphabet puzzle. Perfect! Cost: $2

Staple or glue all the 4 pieces of the pockets to form a long wall chart. Then stick the alphabets on each pocket and there you have it! Total cost: $10 :)

Ok. I know you will think but this wall chart doesn't have the cute little felt objects to represent each alphabet. Well, I think right now, Aidan is still too young to know that those objects represent the first letter of their names. Right now, my goal is to let him get to know the alphabets first. When he knows his alphabets, then I will find cards (recycle those flash cards!) with pictures of those objects. E.g Apple for A, Ball for B.... for him to match and slot into those pockets :)

Another of my creation.

Number Chart from Growing Fun.

My own number chart :)

Heehee...I'm feeling very proud of myself.

At the Botanic

2009-09-26T22:16:00.004+08:00

Another update from June. We had just bought Aidan the tricycle with a push handle. In futre it can be taken out and converted in to a tricycle. He was the envy of kids at the Botanic Gardens!

Does this look like some lost and forgotten garden? Very romantic and mysterious at the same time.

I love to take back view shots. Just look at the banner of this blog.

Daddy and Son

BANANAS!

Then we saw this Enormous St Benard? Pls correct me if I'm wrong. Aidan's there for comparison.

He's afraid to go near haha. Had to drag him there so I could snap a picture.

Drinking water out of a bag. Gosh, it drools ALOT too.

3 playmates outing

2009-09-26T22:00:00.004+08:00

This very terrible mama has been uploading pictures from many months back. Trying to recall when this was. I think Shunske, Ryoske's brother was only perhaps 2 months old? Now he's almost 6 months! Ok, which means this was in June. Yikes....terrible mama I am.

I had the car and brought them all to Changi Airport. As you might already know is one of my favourite place to bring Aidan.

So cute right? Aidan and Anri on their first date. You can't see it but the 'real' wheel is in front of Aidan. hee.

Hmm...where should we go for dinner?

Let's go!

Ryo and Aidan

Was just a split second too late in getting a shot of them all sitting down.

Children...*shakes head* When one does something, the rest will follow.

Sadly, Anri has left Aidan for Ryoske. Anri used to only allow Aidan to share a seat with her or touch her. But at the last playdate, Anri and Ryoske were very happy holding hands and walking all over Vivocity! Just look at these two! Hehehe...so sweeeeet and cuteeeee!

A Staycation

2009-08-21T18:02:00.000+08:00

Wow...these pics are old too. Taken in May. I remembered we stayed at the Fairmont on our anniversary. SIXTH year anniversary to be exact! Time flies.

Don't you just love room service and in-room dining? This is my favourite part of a hotel stay. All tucking in after the swim.

Aidan loves only the fries. Do you know anyone who doesn't?

Just realise that we have no family pic on our anniversary! :(

Aidan with Honey

2009-08-17T18:38:00.000+08:00

These pics were from around April. Too long! Introducing Aidan and Honey. She's a real sweet dog just like her name.

Aidan playing a game of tag with Honey.

Aidan trying to feed Honey some cracker but the wrapper is still on.

Trying to make Aidan embrace Honey

Honey, I'm bored. Let's play!

You're not playing? I'll pull your ears then.

Aidan is terrified of this dog, Cookie because she pounced on him the moment they met and he fell over backwards.

It pays to be cute!

2009-08-05T00:01:00.002+08:00

Aidan did it again! This time it was at Coffee Club, Paragon. All he did was smile, flirt and covered his eyes to play peekaboo with the restaurant manager and there came a plate of strawberry ice-cream with whip cream and a banana on the house! Very clever boy, he knows to pick the right person to put his charms on, hehehe...Daddy and Mommy get to enjoy the free dessert too =)

What's up with Blogspot?

2009-08-02T22:24:00.000+08:00

Had been wanting to post somethings but it doesn't allow me to load pictures. The option to add image isn't there. What's the problem?

Aidan misses his Daddy

2009-07-01T22:17:00.004+08:00

In my books, there are two types of Daddies. The Present ones and the Absent ones. The Present ones are those who are involved in their child's life on a daily basis. So when they're not around, their absence are truly felt and they are sorely missed.

Tonight, as always when Daddy is on his work trip, Aidan has trouble going to sleep. Every night, it is Daddy who gives him his bath, dries and dresses him and then tucks him to bed. So when I put him to bed, it's not the same. He misses his Daddy.

At first, he didn't want to be put to bed. So I carried him to my bed, sang him songs, patted him and tried to make him sleep. I even pretended to sleep. But Aidan was too restless. So after a futile attempt, I put him back into his cot expecting him to protest but to my surprise, he didn't. I thought he'd finally fallen asleep. However, after 10mins, he started screaming. When I went to him, he was standing up so I carried him back to my bed again. This is when daddy called. I put him on speaker and let him talk to Aidan. Then I told Aidan to say goodbye to Daddy, which he did by opening and closing his fist (he still hasn't started speaking and this is his version of a goodbye wave) and Daddy gave him a kiss through the phone. And guess what? After I hung up, Aidan immediately turned around so that I was spooning him, and let me cuddle him to sleep! He fell asleep soon after.

Now Daddy, if you're reading this, this is evidence that Aidan does miss you!

Cry Mommy

2009-06-15T15:18:00.003+08:00

I am sure all of you know what a cry baby is. Well, I am a cry mommy. Aidan tripped while he was running and bit his lips. I didn't see it happen and rushed out then saw blood all down the front of his tee and more blood oozing out of his lips. I was at a complete loss! I didnt know how to handle situation with blood! So I did the only thing dumb thing I know how, which was to cradle him and cry. Sigh.....useless me.

Anyway, he got over it pretty quickly. Luckily, no stitches was needed even though I thought the cut was pretty deep. It clotted fast, I went to get him juice and he stopped crying to sip his juice. As for me, everytime I see his lips, I wanted to cry. USELESS ME!

Pictures taken a few hours after the accident. You can see how deep the cut is!

But he could still smile and pose for camera, haha....this is how he smiles when asked. LOL.

Another one.

Facts you should know about HFMD

2009-05-20T16:23:00.005+08:00

I think most of you would have heard of HFMD or Hand, foot and mouth disease by now. It regularly makes it to the front page of our local news and daycare centers by the dozens are ordered to close at the height of the spread.

Recently, my boy contracted this virus and was down with high fever for 3 days with ulcers in the throat. Subsequently, hb and I also caught the virus and went down together. Thankfully, our high fever last only 2 days but in those two days, my headache and fever were so severe, I thought my head was going to split and my body combust. It was horrible.

Here are some facts of HMFD that I never knew before now and thought I should share:

1. Yes, sadly adults can get this too. But on the bright side, we'll develop immunity from it. But like flu, it's not from all strains of this virus.

2.Blisters might only be present in the mouth, in our case, the throat. So checking of hands and feet might not work. High fever will be present in all cases.

3. (I'm going to write this in my own words so it's not clinical at all ) The virus spreads through saliva contact, such as sharing of cutleries, food and kissing. It is also present in the fecal matter so washing of hands thoroughly after each toilet visit is essential.

4. This virus is most infectious (i.e present in big amount) when the symptoms are present. However, as symptoms disappear, the virus continue to be present, in small amount, in our saliva and fecal matter for about 3-4 weeks. Now most people think their kids have recovered, no fever no symptoms, and sent them back to daycare but actually, it's not totally safe.

5. It is unlikely to spread between adults because we do not exchange saliva, unless we share food or kiss. It's unlikely you'll touch my fecal matter, I hope not, either. So when adults recover from symptoms, it's safe for them to return to work.

6. As it is a viral disease, antibiotics does not work. You can only boost your immunity and let your body fight it.

Some friends who were with us did not contract HFMD as the gym does check everyone before allowing anybody in. I can only conclude this, someone who had HFMD recently but recovered from symptoms was there in the gym. Only Aidan contracted it because he still has the habit of putting things in his mouth and sucking his fingers. So for our next one, you can be sure I'm gonna force the pacifier on her instead!

Lastly, I want to conclude by saying, virus is everywhere and no one is totally immune. We can't be obsessively paranoid. You decide what is best for you and your kid. You might want to hide them someplace where no virus can get to them but that's not very healthy for their well being either. Anyway, if they aren't exposed to these virus, chances are they'll get them later when they go to school anyway. Just adopt good hygiene, no sharing of food and utensils and wash your hands regularly.

Aidan's first happy meal

2009-05-17T18:53:00.000+08:00

I think we hit a milestone. It's a sure sign that our boy's all grown up. His first Macdonald's Happy Meal! Daddy brought him to the new Sengkang pool and got him hotcakes happy meal after swimming and got the box to show for it.

He doesn't look that happy with his happy box here.

Now, this is much more fun than any happy meal!

Aidan loves to climb stairs, ladders, anything that can exercise his legs muscles. He literally gravitates towards any stairs or escalator.

Aidan in Toy Town

2009-05-08T20:08:00.005+08:00

This is where we go almost every week during Aidan's playdate. When we went there for the first time, even I felt tremendously excited. Their kitchen sets are so fun! The toy toaster, microwave, kettle actually produce sounds, rotate almost like the real thing! So this deprived mommy had loads of fun exploring hehehe....but now mostly it's like a relax and chit chat session for the mommies while our kids go play in the safe, well padded environment =)

A day at Ranielle's

2009-04-08T22:38:00.008+08:00

Had our weekly session at Ranielle's (the girl in the background) place. Don't know why didn't take pictures when they came over to our place the last time but here are our cute babes.

The sleeping beauties from the previous post :)
Aidan the sweeper. His favourite toy/prop/activity

Child slavery! LOL...

Aidan n Ranielle rolling in the balls filled pen.

Aidan n Ranielle in a wrestling match

This is the first time the very clever Ayra joined them. We were all very impressed by the amount of words Ayra knows and can say.

I love little girls!

Sleeping Beauties

2009-04-08T22:33:00.002+08:00

Hehe....tired out by their weekly play session.

Buono Pizza Bar & Italian Restaurant

2009-04-04T00:59:00.004+08:00

Nowadays when we eat out, we'll have to think of places that are not only baby friendly in terms of service and ambience but also if they serve baby friendly food which in my terms translate to non spicy, non fried and easily chewable. You may be surprised that Italian and Japanese cuisine are very baby friendly in those aspects.

On this weekday, we went to Buono Pizza Bar & Italian Restaurant nestled among the private estate of Serangoon Gardens. Their menu has a great selection but unfortunately we had to order with Aidan in mind such is the case whenever I did not bring out home cooked food for him.

Cream of Broccoli. Mainly for Aidan. We dipped the bread in this and he loved it.

Some type of Fish Carpaccio

Penne with lotsa of vegetables in it. I know how it sounds but it's actually quite yummy and Aidan loves it!

I think this was Spicy Peperroni Pizza. Thumbs up!

I cut each penne into two and laid it out for Aidan to feed himself

Enjoying his penne

The kind owner offered Aidan a scoop of ice cream. Being cute and adorable is so useful! :P Of course we couldn't resist and accepted it graciously hahaha.... it was the most yummy vanilla ice cream I ever had!

Aidan at the Airport

2009-03-19T22:56:00.006+08:00

DH was away for the week on a work trip yet again. It was hard work for me. Not sure if Aidan could feel the absence of his daddy but he tended to have sleep irregularities whenever DH's away. This time was no exception. He refused to settle after his bedtime milk and kept crying. On the first night, he slept with me! Yes, for the very first time my baby and me slept together. After the fifth night, I couldn't deal with him not wanting to go to bed anymore, as I had to wait for him to sleep before I could have my dinner, wash up, shower and have my 'me' time before I go to bed. So I consulted some books and had that sorted out today haha. Yes, I am a cruel mom who doesn't believe in getting bullied by my baby.

Anyway, the only great thing about having DH going away is that I get to use his car! Yes, the convenience of having a car at one's disposal. How I am going to miss it next week! I was able to go anywhere and anytime I wanted. On this blazing hot day, I brought Aidan to the airport for a cooling, relaxing and chilled afternoon.

Our new airport terminal 3 is so child-friendly! After lunch, I spotted some rides and sat Aidan down to take pictures. Aidan hasn't had his first ride yet because I don't think he is ready for that so it's just picture taking.

Aidan's afraid of the purple dinosaur and scrambled to get down.

Then, we walked down and saw a small children's playground!

Went up to the arrival hall. Huge and spacious for Aidan to roam about.

Finally, an exhausted Aidan went to sleep.

And Mommy can have a cuppa latte and do some reading.

Oh yes, I will miss having a car sorely.

Aidan on the Flyer

2009-03-08T22:15:00.005+08:00

Went on the SG Flyer for the 1st time last week. We had free tickets and it was the last day of redemption. When we got there, it was raining pretty heavy and so we went to Popeyes (yummy chicken, love the coleslaw!) for a snack hehe.....luckily just when we were about to give up and leave, the rain slowed to a light drizzle and so up we went on the giant wheel :)

Getting a shot before boarding. Does he look nervous to you?

Just stepped onto the capsule.

One more before we let him loose.

raindrops on the glass

Cars lined up for racing? Didn't know there's recreation racing here.

A model of what the IR looks like. It's like those models you see at showflats.

Aidan was a terror as usual. Running up and down the capsule, banging on the glass and basically getting in everyone's way.

Wanted to take more pics with him but trying to catch him was hard, getting him to hold still was nearly impossible.

A half decent shot that could've been better :(

I always take good pictures of them but daddy's eyes would be close in 7/10 pics. Did someone say he should go for media training? Who said that?

Finally, a good pic. Wish Aidan can be this co-operative always.

Family portrait. We got this in one shot and didn't bother trying again because this is probably as good as it gets. haha... Taken by daddy long hands.

I don't think Aidan knew we were up in the air. It was just another good opportunity for him to exercise his legs. It was a nice experience but nothing spectacular. I thought I would feel thrilled to be so high up but I did not even feel a buzz hmmm...

In search of the Perfect Mug

2009-02-12T19:45:00.012+08:00

What is the definition of a good and functional mug for infants/toddlers? When I was buying Aidan's first mug, I thought the most obvious answer would be that it must be non-spill. Indeed, it is. However, I have learnt, from the process of searching for the ONE mug, that there's more to that.

The first mug I bought, was the Green Pigeon on the extreme left. It is non-spill...BUT only if you fix it right. Look at the Green Pigeon and you see 4 layers, the cup, green handles, orange teat holder and the teat. Every single part has to be aligned perfectly and believe me, it is a struggle everytime. The green handles has to go right onto the groove of the cup but it doesn't click on easily so you don't really know if you got it right. Next, the teat has to go through the orange holder. There're arrows on both and they have to be aligned exactly. Then you screw on the orange part with the teat onto the first 2 parts. The worst part is after putting it all together and you realise that it's dripping (it happened alot) so you have to take them apart and do it over. It's like a science experiment. Now when you are a mom with a kid screaming for his water, you don't have a lot of time to figure things out. You just want to pour in the water, screw it shut and go.

The second mug from the left is the worst aaaaand it's called the Avent Magic cup! I don't know what magic it can perform except that it just cannot keep the water in. The water seeps out from the mouth piece and faster than you can say "Abracadabra", everywhere is wet. The worst is when you bring it out, inevitably the mug gets shaken in the diaper bag and then the water escapes and gets trapped inside the cover, which is good. But when it's time to use it, you'll need to open that cover and yes, a whole lot of water WILL spill out.

By this time, I was obsessed about finding that perfect mug. Everywhere I go, I would go look at mugs and trying to figure out which ones would be good. By now, I had some fair sense of what is just by looking at the parts.

When I got the third mug by Nuby, I thought I had found it. It's pretty attractive, that's one of the criteria when I buy things, and it's really Non-Spill! I don't know how Aidan drank from it but when I tested it, out of curiousity, I couldn't drink water from it. No water passed through the straw into my mouth. But curiously, Aidan could use it just fine. However, after some weeks of using it, we realised that the straw got really really dirty. Because it was soo spill-proof, it was very difficult to clean or even to rinse the straw and eventually dirt accumulated and it got disgusting. If you look carefully, you can see that unlike the other mugs, this straw isn't translucent. You can't see the inside and maybe it's designed this way because the makers know that it will get dirty. You can't replace the straw and when it got dirty, the whole mug gotta go. Now that doesn't make sense, does it?

The best mug and the one that we're still using now is the Tollyjoy on the right. Of all the mugs, this has to be the least 'branded' one. Parents would know that their baby stuffs are on the cheaper side compared to Pigeon or Avent. It's normal looking and a little too big for my liking. Normally, I won't be attracted to it. But I was desperate and most of the mugs in the market I had ruled out. When I came upon this, I knew instantly that it would work. It's the most simply designed and very basic. Funny how sometimes, things work best when it's back to the basics. It passed all the tests. Fairly non-spill unless Aidan bangs it hard on the table. It's fuss free to use, water comes out easily from the straw when drinking and it's easy to clean.

Thus ended the search for the perfect mug :)

HK Dec 2008

2009-01-28T00:13:00.008+08:00

Was sick for a month hence the long absence. Also since Aidan started walking, it's been really difficult finding time to sit in front of the PC. He's everywhere and forever busying himself with something and never give me a moment of rest. Sigh...it's going to be hard keeping a blog going now.

Anyways, here are some long belated pics.

Inside our spanking new Terminal 3.

He slept most of the way there in the bassinet. So lucky for Daddy as he's i/c of him on this leg. I should be so lucky! :(

Ate this yummy dish for breakfast on the second day. Realised that this is the only pic of food we took. I think for the rest, we just couldn't wait for the camera, we were too greedy! As usual, we luuurrve the food in HK!

X'mas decor outside of Times SQ.

In his playpen at our host's apt. So glad we brought this. I don't think we'd be able to make him sleep so easily otherwise. Also, whenever we need, we just dumped him in.

Our baby was asleep and daddy wanted to take a pic with the 3 sheeps (don't ask me why) so we took it w/o him. Inside Harbour City.

Again, taken when baby was asleep. I love to be in winter wear!

At IFC.

Finally let out to walk. One of his few exercise of the day. Poor Aidan.

So happy to be free!

HK is really not a baby friendly place. Look at the high chair in this pretty big chinese restaurant in Times SQ! It's just a normal chair but higher. No belts!

At Lee Gardens. There were very nice X'mas displays

A rare family pic.

A group shot of us and our kind hosts.

This is as near as we got to Disneyland HK. A wall mural in HK station hahaha. This being a shopping and eating trip, no sightseeing planned. We (minus aidan) have been to HK too many times for that. Again, poor Aidan! But seriously, he's too young to enjoy Disneyland.

Bye bye HK. This time, he only slept for a while towards the end. Poor me :(

Overall, food was great and shopping too. HK is truly sales paradise. It was sales GALORE. But not so good for Aidan being confined to his stroller most of the time then his playpen when back in apt. He even lost his precious bear on the 3rd day, couldn't sleep, screamed and shrieked high pitch non-stop for 2hours before he got too tired and slept. We had to google for mothercare shops in HK, rushed down the next day and bought the last 2 bears there. Thank goodness we found it. You know his bear is the most important thing to him when "bear" his first meaningful word like 4 months ago and his only word till now! :( Sigh.

Happy Announcements

2008-12-21T11:55:00.005+08:00

2 announcements to be made. First, I passed my driving test on my 1st try! Woohooo...Now I can use DH's car when he's away on his trips.

Second, we're flying off on our first trip abroad with our little boy. Daddy was so excited he couldn't sleep last night hehe...ok, will be back soon enough with hopefully loads of pics. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Aidan, the dog terror

2008-12-15T23:50:00.011+08:00

Yups, as you'll see, Aidan is chasing after and terrorizing Milo the dog. The poor dog had to run away and hide under the table but not for long as Aidan easily crawled under the chairs and table to get to poor Milo.

Crime Scene no Investigation

2008-12-06T23:08:00.001+08:00

Crime scene 1

Crime scene 2

And the Culprit??? Of course it's the boy in both crime scenes!

It's not funny ok! This is what I do everyday, follow him around and clean up after him. When he's done, he'll look around and move on to the next place.

An Infant no more

2008-12-03T21:03:00.006+08:00

So now Aidan is officially a toddler. He has turned one, he can walk well, he seems to understand what we say to him and certainly has a mind of his own! That last point is the one that I'm most wary of. He is already trying to push the boundaries, trying to see what he can do without Mommy saying 'NO", trying to get his way by manipulating our emotions. I am waiting, expecting him to throw his first major tantrum anytime now.

So the D word looms in my mind all the time. Discipline. It's a fine line. To show we care, love and yet we're no pushovers. I do not want to raise an ill-behaved brat and over-indulgent parenting will guarantee that. But I do not want to be an over-controlling, strict and no-fun parent either. So it's time to hit the bookstore again and get those books. Meanwhile, this site is a good read and guide for now.

http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/0_the-discipline-tool-kit-successful-strategies-for-every-age_1475318.pc?scid=momstodd_20081125:2&pe=2UcMLRM

Aidan's first year (video)

2008-12-02T09:59:00.007+08:00

I have a million reasons for not blogging for so long but decided not to give any. We made this slideshow for Aidan's party but couldn't find a way to upload it on this blog. So when Daddy got his new macbook, I made him redo it on imovie and then onto youtube. That took a pretty long time if you know Daddy (read Mommy had to issue her ultimatum hehe ;P)

So here at last, is the video. Aidan's first year. Hope you enjoy it.

Aidan's first birthday

2008-11-24T23:13:00.007+08:00

Finally had some time to write this post and upload the pictures. First birthday! Kind Aunty Lena offered to host this event at her place. The kids had a great time (I hope!) So did I, albeit it was really tiring! So thank you Aunty Lena and Uncle Ernest!

I wanted it to be more like a children's party so I invited mainly families. There were 28 adults and 14 kids!

Chilling out by the lovely baby pool with some gym matesHaving fun

Cake cutting

Family Portrait

End of event with his loot

Present opening time at home

Didn't know that a child's party on such a small scale could cost so much money! In future years, we'll have to be much more careful or we might just do away with a party altogether!

For parents planning a party soon, this cost breakdown might prove to be helpful.

Catering + Function room =$600

Mini eclairs + cream puffs + Cake= $170

Toy rental/Winnie the pooh slide= $100

14 personalized party packs for kids + some room deco = $100

Balloons = $100

Total damage = MORE THAN $1k!!!! *faints*

A Year on...

2008-11-09T22:28:00.009+08:00

It's the week of Aidan's first birthday. I keep trying to think back on the same time last year and trying to remember how I was feeling then. I remember how very pregnant (read:fat) I was, skin on tummy was so tight that I constantly felt that I was going to burst. I also remember the little jabs that he gave from time to time. He was a good boy in the tummy and didn't gave me any painful punches at all! Either that or I was well-insulated with my fats.

Time really flies and I can't believe that my baby has grown so much. He's a baby no more but a budding toddler now. Sometimes I wish that I could just catch onto moments and hold them that way forever. (If only, I have Hiro's power to freeze time) Well, I'll just have to be satisfied with pictures.

I didn't take many pictures when I was preggers. Mainly those from the Japan trip.

This was taken the very night before my scheduled C-sect. We went for dinner at Streeters the tapas restaurant which I think is now closed.

A year on, see how much Aidan has grown. Pictures of now and then.

About 5 days old.

Pic taken in Jan 08.

Wobbly Walk

2008-11-01T11:10:00.006+08:00

My little aidan is quite good at walking on his own now! Yay!

Bad October

2008-10-23T18:37:00.006+08:00

October's a bad month for us. I fell sick twice. Caught the dreadful cold, took me many days to get well. I wonder if it's due to age that I seemed to recover slower than before. A week later, Aidan got the bug and the next day, I got it from him. Geez, I have zero immunity, I tell you. I always tell DH that if there's some epidemic, I'll definitely be saying "bye bye".

Anyway, it's Aidan's first major cold. He hadn't got a fever but it was still very trying for all of us. That night, we could hear him breathing hard from the next room. Terrible nasal congestion and we couldn't sleep as we kept trying to listen, afraid that he'd not be able to breathe.

Could be due to his meds that caused Aidan to be constipated 2 days later. He was walking by the bed when he suddenly stopped, looked at me and cried inconsolably. One moment he was fine and the next he was howling. He has never cried so hard before with big drops of tears rolling down his eyes nor for so long. At least 30 mins. It certainly broke our hearts. We felt quite useless and everything we did seemed futile. We tried to accelerate the process by bringing up his legs, rubbing oil on his little tummy to lessen the pain. Finally, daddy undid his diapers and helped him squeezed it out bit by bit as our baby strained while I held his little hands and strained with him. Who knew a constipation would render 3 people exhausted.

Mugshots

2008-10-15T23:51:00.000+08:00

Haha. We tried to take a picture for Aidan's passport photo with hilarious results. These reminds me of those strips of pictures you get when you take them in those photo booths.

In the end, none of these works. A few that I thought might do, didn't because half of his face was cast in shadow. Bad lighting as mommy knew nuts about photography.

BEWARE: Teething Biscuits

2008-10-11T23:34:00.000+08:00

No, I don't think they contain Melamine. But try at your own risk! This is what you will get at the end of just 1 cookie =)

Hehe.... A mess is guaranteed. I've tried 2 brands so far with the same results. Sure it does last a longer time than normal biscuits because they are tough and takes a long time to melt off. Your baby will quite enjoy it though I must add, in an agonising way because it's so difficult to eat. Aidan looked like he was wrestling and devouring it at the same time.

The tough part for the mums is that it's so difficult to clean off. They are so terribly sticky that it's hard to get it off the face and clothes. You will also have to clean the crumbs off the table, chair and floor.

I don't think I will give him that again. Not unless I am so bored that I have nothing better to do.

No threesome in bed

2008-10-06T13:52:00.001+08:00

The downside to having your baby sleeping by himself, in his cot and in his own room is that you'll miss him terribly at night. Maybe it's because when asleep, he looks so angelic that you forget that bundle of energy that would make us exhausted in the day. Perhaps it's because you just want to share that peace and quiet with him that is never there in his waking hours. Or maybe it's because....well, who can resist those chubby and succulent thighs! hehe...

So being one of the rare mums who could get her baby to sleep on his own without fuss every night, I was surprised to find myself getting envious of mummies who have their babies in bed with them. So we couldn't help but tried to bring him to bed with us. We tried thrice. All three of us ended up not able to sleep. Aidan was confused and kept trying to sit up then fall over as he was half asleep. Used to the space he had in his cot, he would roll, turn and flip around and mostly ended on top of us. We were either too amused or too afraid of crushing him that we couldn't sleep either.

Sigh...so much for getting him to sleep on his own :)

Aidan's first sounds and now

2008-10-02T10:54:00.001+08:00

Here's a clip of Aidan making his first sounds around 5months. I miss his first cooing very much, especially compared to the shrieking sounds he's making now.

Sorry you have to watch it upside down. Please let me know if you know a way to turn it around.

I am kinda worried.

I know it's very likely that I'm overly anxious. After all, children develop and meet milestones at their own pace. The thing is, most babies would have started making consonant sounds like "baa, maa, gaa, goo" around the age of 7 months. By 10 months, they should be uttering sounds like baba, dada indiscriminately. I'm quite positive that I've not heard Aidan producing any consonants. He still coos sometimes, making vowels sounds like "ooh" and "er" and "ah" but even then, it's not too often. When he is feeling chatting, he mostly makes "aaaaah...." and he likes changing the pitch and length. Either that or he shrieks.

I made an effort to speak alot to him from birth. Anyway, most of the time, I'm alone with him so if I don't speak to him, who do I speak to? I have conversations with him and I read too. Could it be that he isn't around people much? I don't really know if I should be concern :(

Aidan and the (faux) Bull dog

2008-09-28T23:14:00.000+08:00

What's this ugly thing you're putting me next to?

Don't bite me
No response? Hee....Pull your ear!

Pardon me please. I wanted to put these pics up but have nothing better to say :P

Pushin' n Walkin'

2008-09-26T22:12:00.008+08:00

Milkshakes, anyone?

2008-09-26T20:51:00.000+08:00

Yes, milkshakes for Aidan. It adds a more interesting flavour to his usual milk. He loves it and will finish up every single drop of it. If you'd like to try it for your baby, remember to press it through a sieve after blending before serving. Not necessary if your baby is drinking from a cup.

There's nothing wrong with fingers sucking

2008-09-19T23:08:00.003+08:00

If I hear another person telling my baby to stop sucking on his fingers, I'm gonna lose it.

Babies are born with almost no control over any bodily functions. The only thing they are born with is the strongest urge to suckle, for their survival. Later on, they learn that sucking gives them extreme comfort and hence they use it to self soothe and regulate their own emotions. Isn't it amazing that at this age, they are able to find the ability to do this by themselves? It's nature. Babies start sucking their thumbs in their mothers' womb, for crying out loud.

We tried to give Aidan the pacifier but he never took to it. He prefers his fingers. I realise Aidan suckles when he feels tired and irritable, when he is in a strange environment, or when he meets someone that he feels uncomfortable with. So if he sees you and he starts sucking on his fingers, you are probably the problem. Hah!

Trying to stop a baby from using a pacifier or his fingers is like telling you not to scratch yourself when you feel the itch. It's cruel, not to mention that you are depriving the child of his basic needs. It's their coping machanism and you can't force them not to use it!

I can't stress enough on the psychological damage of any sort of deprivation. In this case, this oral fixation will surely come back in the form of something else later on. I should know, I studied child psychology.

I can tell, from observation of him and other children, that Aidan has a stronger need than most for this. When he was in my belly, he could be seen constantly moving his mouth everytime we took the scans. The first time I saw him, he was moving his mouth. That's just how he is. I am his parent and if I'm not worried, I don't see why others should. Let him grow out of it at his own pace or until I feel he's ready to be weaned please.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

2008-09-15T20:01:00.003+08:00

Celebrated DH's birthday last weekend at Ristorante Da Valentino. Great Italian cuisine with a bunch of good friends make DH a very happy guy.

Forever 30!!! =P

Noticed my braces free smile? hee...
Realised that we forgot to take a group picture! What a pity!

Thank you Aunty Lena for making the special arrangements :)

baby gourmet

2008-09-12T22:09:00.002+08:00

You might be able to tell that I enjoy cooking. One of the pleasures of being a SAHM is being able to take care of Aidan's nutritional needs. Introducing each food one at a time and slowly to him. Everything I make is NO sodium and little or no fat.

Baked cheesy potato and cod.

Seperated before freezing for later use.
Pasta and beef bolognaise.

Before blending into smaller and more manageable bits.
Chicken and vegetable macaroni
Made with previously prepared stock.

I can't wait for Aidan to be old enough to taste my bakes or when he is ready, to prepare the bakes together =)

First real swimming

2008-09-07T00:26:00.003+08:00

Took the opportunity to go swimming at Fairmont since they have such nice pools. Hotel pools are the best! Took some time before Aidan enjoyed himself but only when he was able to cling on to the wall of the pool. He was the happiest there.

See his first toothy grin captured!

Feeling insecure despite being able to float with the help of floats.

When he started to thrash, sometimes he would flipped over like this and then flipped back up again. It's actually quite funny to watch. Oops...

Aidan on his floating car and looking serious. lol...

I can't wait to bring him swimming again. Will have to look for friends who live in condos. Any volunteers? :)

Aidan at the Fairmont

2008-09-04T22:43:00.000+08:00

We were at the Fairmont last weekend. Aidan loved the room. The moment we went in, he was all smiles and giggly. The bed was large and comfy and the sheets clean and crisp. He was all over the bed when we set him down. It's funny how he seems to be able to appreciate fine living.

Room with a view

Some of you might be familiar with the model/actor Mark Zee also of SG's TV show The Bachelorette fame. Daddy says Aidan looks very much like him here. Do you think so?

Tuesday with Uncle L

2008-09-02T20:58:00.007+08:00

I've always wondered when we would run into Lailee at Vivocity since he works around there and we go there at least once a week. Today, we finally bumped into him just after we had our lunch. He walked us to Harbourfront where we'd have our gym lesson soon.

Aidan has quite a few new classmates. Now the class is rather big and it could get out of control sometimes. As this is a level 3 class, some of the kids were much bigger than Aidan and many of them could already walk. I believe Aidan is the youngest of them all.

Does this boy look like an olympic gymnast wearing a leotard? So cute :P

Aidan: a textbook baby

2008-09-01T23:06:00.002+08:00

One of the first things I did after I learnt that I'd conceived was to get books. No, not the "what to expect when you're expecting" type of books (these info are easily available on the internet and http://www.babycenter.com/ is an excellent resource) but the babycare books.

DH and I knew all along that if we were to start a family, we'd be doing it pretty much on our own. This explains why I'm a SAHM because we have zero help and I definitely do not want to leave my baby alone with a domestic help. So I need to learn how to care for a newborn and how to raise a baby in less than 10 months!

Hence, the term textbook baby. We didn't even hire a confinement nanny. It's just DH, me and the textbooks, no kidding. Of course, it's somewhat like sitting for a practical exam by studying the theory, so you can imagine how inadequate we felt. Aidan, when he was a newborn was as predictable as Melbourne's weather (they say you can experience up to 4 seasons in a single day). So alot of the times, we were frantically flipping through the pages and found no answer. However good these books are, they won't cover every single aspect. Before Aidan came, I was pretty confident and thought I was well-prepared but with every few baby steps I took, I met with an obstacle. (ok I digressed)

The book I found to be the most helpful was Tracy Hogg's "Secrets of The Baby Whisperer". I followed many of her advice/routine plus a few of my own baby mantras (to be elaborated) and so far, I find Aidan to be pretty well-trained in several aspects.

1) He'd managed to sleep and wake up at the right feeding times. So he'd never stayed awake all night.

2) By the 6th month, he could sleep throught the night for 8-9hours a stretch.

3) When he was breastfed, I didn't have to latch him on for comfort sucking because I didn't feed him on demand. That left me some spare time.

4) His meal times are pretty standard and I don't have to guess if he's crying because he is hungry.

5) He always sleeps in his cot, in his own room.

6) He has no problems falling asleep on his own. He doesn't need to be rocked or held to be able to sleep.

7) He doesn't need me to be around all the time. He is quite comfortable playing or entertaining himself. I don't have to bring him with me on my toilet breaks!

8) He could sit in the stroller when we go out and never needed me to carry him.

If you've heard stories from mummies of a newborn, you'll know that they would be so envious. And yes, if you ask me, I think we did a fairly decent job :)

I think it also helps when it's only the two of us. He doesn't have eager grandparents around to spoil him or pick him up the moment he cries. But sometimes I feel sorry for Aidan especially when I brought him for his jabs and I saw that other babies have their set of parents and grandparents to accompany them while Aidan only has poor ole me.

Bath time. Then and Now.

2008-08-30T22:27:00.000+08:00

THEN:

NOW:

My, they grow up so fast. Too fast.

Aidan's daddy is still doing his daily baths :) I couldn't do it at first due to my c-sect and it became their routine. Great for father and son bonding. He's a great dad. I didn't have to bathe Aidan till when he was about 4 months when daddy went for his first overseas work trip. Elaine's mum said I'm very *xin fu*. Hehe...yes indeed I am.

*xin fu*= blessed.

We love books!

2008-08-28T18:09:00.003+08:00

You know I'm a collector when you see these.

When I like something, I tend to buy everything in the series and that doesn't only apply to books =P

A shot of Aidan's book collection. He has more than 50 now.

Our favourite weekend haunt is Border's bargain corner. There's always great buys. This book costs only $3.95 and it comes with a music CD!!!

Furthermore, as a VIP cardholder, we get an additional 10% off the tag. Now THAT'S a bargain!

A moment of negligence, a bleeding forehead

2008-08-27T00:27:00.007+08:00

It's not the first time Aidan fell but it's the hardest he'd fallen. I was just right beside him on the sofa and I'd laid our huge Ikea cushions on the floor below just in case. Unfortunately, he toppled the opposite direction I'd anticipated. Everything went SLOOOW MO...... He hit his head really hard first on the edge of the shelf of the coffee table before landing TUD on our ceramic tiled floor.

My heart dropped with him and I knew his skull would surely get smashed. I actually hesitated picking him up for a very brief moment because of what I might see, a pool of blood. I considered for a split second how to get him to the hospital before I picked him up and examined him. There was a wee drop of blood from a tiny bit of scraped skin on his forehead. That's all. No bump, no bruise.

I thought surely, a bruise would appear later, if not the next day, but nope. I still couldn't rest easy the whole day. What if there's concussion? A blood clot?

Aidan of course howled really loudly. I carried him and soothed him and took him away from the scene. Went to my bed and a few minutes later, he struggled free and started to reach for my bed post, the cheeky grin already on his face. Thank goodness.

So, to the friend who recently wrote me a message on facebook: No, I'm not a good mommy at all.

Aidan, upright.

2008-08-18T12:36:00.003+08:00

This post is long overdue. I say that because Aidan has been trying to pull himself up since when he was 7 months. He could master the art of standing while holding on to a stationary object when he turned 8 months. Now he's already 9 months :)

Daddy's coming home!

2008-08-15T22:36:00.006+08:00

Finally! It's been a long, tiring and lonely two weeks. I really take my hat off to single moms. It's really tough!
Being 24/7 with a child this young is really quite boring. Aidan is at the stage where all he wants to do is to crawl around the whole house, tugging at things, chewing on stuffs, reaching at the impossible places and basically doing everything he mustn't do. He doesn't understand the concept of play or logic or danger. So can't really leave him alone for long and because there's really not much activities to engage him in, you can only follow him around the house making sure he is safe. Try doing this everyday, on your own, for a few weeks, it's mind-numbing I tell you!

The hardest part is that there is no respite. I couldn't hand him over to Daddy in the evening and then space out. It's hard to find time to do my own thing and I get hardly any adult contact on most days. I lined the weekdays with activites like meeting friends for lunch or bringing Aidan for trial classes at various learning centres, so that time could pass quickly. But weekends are the hardest because I don't like to go out then. Too crowded and transportation is a problem. The National Day weekend was especially bad for me. Stayed in with home delivered McDonalds, watching the celebration on TV by myself.
Just so you know, I'm not complaining. I'd rather I get bored looking after Aidan than someone else get bored taking care of him. But sometimes, one does need to rant a little.

Oven-Baked potato and fish with shaved cheddar

2008-08-13T00:44:00.004+08:00

Ok, I know it doesn't look like much. But it smells really yummy and Aidan loves it.
With a side of boiled baby carrots as finger food for Aidan to feed himself.

Being used to pureed food, which is really very tasty and full-flavoured, Aidan doesn't really like to eat porridge. Some mommies told me they use stock to cook porridge so I decided to try it out. It does enhance the taste of porridge but Aidan still won't eat much of it.

I sometimes prepare this as a mid morning snack. I use natural plain yoghurt and then mash in a banana and mix it with my previously pureed fruit to sweeten.

Out in the rain

2008-08-13T00:40:00.003+08:00

This boy really knows how to smile for the camera!

My baby can drive a buggy!

2008-08-13T00:22:00.004+08:00

Actually, I push him around. I'm not sure if he's old enough to know how to enjoy this yet. He's only 8 months! We went downstairs and I pushed him around but he's so blase just sitting on it and sucking on his two fingers, expressionless.

I find this to be really useful when he needs to be around me and yet I have things to do. So I just push him around here and there while I go about my chores.

Check out the long spidery drool again.

Baby Jaccuzi

2008-08-12T23:35:00.012+08:00

Took Aidan for Hydrotherapy today. This is supposed to be good for building of confidence in water and of course like all exercise, good for stimulating coordination and fitness. Babies are born-swimmers, having spent 9 months in their mothers' womb. Not sure if it's true but it's been said that if you throw a newborn into a pool, the baby will be able to float. However, Aidan is already 8 months and hence it's kinda late to introduce him to swimming. He has already developed a phobia of water as you'll see from his face. The lady told me the smaller babies take to the water very fast and will quickly kick their legs and move about.

Aidan was very tensed at first, looked scared and fussed a little. Had to bribed him with some biscuits. Then he started to feel curious and relaxed a little. He did moved round a little and kicked a little. But not for long, as he decided after about 20 mins that he had enough and began to cry haha.

Er...what are you doing to me?

Shaking my bon bon!

Smiling, at last!

Getting bored

ENOUGH!

I intend to go back. I think I probably enjoyed myself more than he did haha... It's very safe and clean because you don't share the pool with other babies. The water is warm too. They also have baby massage which I am thinking of trying too. See their website here: www.babyswimming.com.sg

Fun at the Gym

2008-07-28T22:30:00.007+08:00

Joined Gymboree a couple of months back. Main purpose is to give Aidan a chance to socialise wtih other friends and have some fun. Mommy isn't much fun to play with. Actually, Mommy also gets to socialise with the other Mommies hehe. So far, both are having fun :)

Aidan and his little friends, Anri (left) and Ryo(right).

Little Aidan and Grace in the boat. Check out Mr Drooley's long spidery drool.

Oiishi sushi

2008-07-26T22:42:00.005+08:00

I never thought I would have good sushi in Singapore. Ok, this thought occured after I tasted the good stuff at the world's largest fish market, Tsukiji market in Tokyo last year. We went to Shiraishi, Ritz Carlton Singapore on our anniversary this year but it's only alright. But we finally had some really good quality sushi today at Sushi Yoshida.

Both of us are HUGE fans of raw fish. Had wanted to go there for the longest time. DH had suggested this place but then I went to do my braces and couldn't eat well for some time. Then soon after, I got pregnant and refused to risk my baby by eating raw fish. But I went to tokyo when I was pregnant and thought if there is one safe place in the world to eat raw fish, it has to be Tsukiji market. And there, I went to heaven. But that story is for another time.

So today, we had the set lunch. Very worth it. Only $38, comes with appetizer, soup and fruit.

Our appetizer. Half boiled egg with some sauce and garnish.

Both of us ordered the sushi moraiwase (sushi platter). On it are 8 different kinds of raw seafood, 2 slices of egg omelette and 3 small sushi rolls. I just realised what a bad picture I took because the Chutoro (tuna belly) was partially hidden! :(

Of course we had to order the Otoro (premium fatty tuna belly). This cost $17 per piece! But it's worth it! It comes very close, almost like the ones we had in Tsukiji. Buttery, melts in your mouth goodness...mmm....mmm.

Our sake, which wasn't very good. Not as good as the one we had at Shiraishi.

It's now on the top of our must go again list :)

Au Petit Salut revisited

2008-07-26T22:10:00.009+08:00

Daddy has come back for a week before he takes off again so I finally have some time to catch up on my blogging. Although this isn't a food blog, my next two posts will be on food.

Yes, we went back to Au Petit Salut because the quality of the food is really good and value for money. This time, we brought Aunty Elaine with us. It's my second time and yet I still enjoyed every single item we ordered. Some pictures for you. (Some dishes were repeated so I didn't take pictures of those.)

“Vitello Tonato” thin slices of roasted veal with light tuna sauce, rocket salad

Our special mocktail

Oven baked seabass fillet with ratatouille and tomato coulis (Seabass hidden under the pile of greens. Even tho' I'm not a big fan of cooked fish, I swear this is tasty!)

Pan-seared “Onglet” beef served with confit shallots and French fries (You'll love this if you love steak. I must have this the next time we go.)

Fresh fruit salad infused with mint served with lemon verbena sorbet (this taste as sweet as it looks)

Mini gingerbread filled with apricot jam and served with cinnamon ice cream (ok, the gingerbread is kinda too strong for my liking and too sweet. Couldn't finish the whole thing. It's too rich)

“Petit Pot” dark chocolate ganache 70% with whipped cream and chocolate shavings (I lost count of how many times Elaine said "mmm...this is soo good, mmm" as she slowly polished it off.)

The happy diners :)

Missing Daddy

2008-07-18T22:27:00.003+08:00

Daddy come home soon. We miss you. Mommy is afraid she can't cope without you especially now I'm so active and sometimes very naughty. Without you around, she has to be with me 24/7 so it's very tiring for her. Have a good flight, take care and see you soon!

One sick family

2008-07-15T14:42:00.001+08:00

Daddy, Mommy and Aidan are all sick :(

Creamy goodness

2008-07-07T22:43:00.008+08:00

Imagine thick creamy potato soup but with cod added. What I did was using my previously pureed potato, heated, I added some formula milk, some rice cereal and the newly steamed and pureed cod fish in it. The result is Cream of Potato and Cod with Broccoli puree on the side. Really yummy and Aidan finished it all in no time. With a little creativity, his meal times get more interesting.

This was for our dinner. Ginger and Sesame Chicken with Shitake Mushrooms and a dash of DOM. Typical confinement food but oddly, I don't recall having this during my confinement. Don't think this was on the menu of my confinement catering company and even if it was, it must've tasted yucky. Now, THIS is delicious hehehe...of course it is, since I cooked it.

Tug-O-War

2008-07-07T22:19:00.005+08:00

This is what we do on a daily basis. He's so strong and determined to get his way that I have to grab his body to stop him. I can't put him on my bed anymore. I wonder what's the fascination with edges that he'll instantly pull himself there and try to leap off. So we tug. It doesn't look like it required any effort on my part but the fact is I often have to struggle to hold him in place.