Babylegs

I bought this pair of babylegs for Joshie when I was still pregnant. Was really attracted to the different designs that they have and finally settled for the red&white stripes (pictured above) and blue diamond shapes. The babylegs are really useful when he is wearing onesies. Before outings, I do not need to change him to t-shirt and shorts. Just let him wear babylegs so that his exposed legs won't be cold. By the way, they can also be worn on his arms too.

Previously, he used to resist wearing them. However, he has taken a liking towards them in the recent month. He would co-operate by lifting up one leg so that I can wear the babylegs for him.

Keeping Joshie still on the high chair

Lynette mentioned in her blog a week ago that her two boys always make a big "hu ha" while eating. I am so relieved that I am not the only mother struggling to keep her child still on the high chair during meal times. At home, I'd scold and even beat his little hand when he misbehaves. Of course he'd bawl, but I don't care, since there's no onlookers! =P Better to discipline at home instead of in public.

To me, behaving during meal times is very imperative. I do not tolerate nonsense from him, mainly because I want to make sure he finishes his main meal. Also, I do not have a maid and most of the time, I am the only one handling him during feeding time. When he eats, I eat too, so he must be in the high chair and not wandering around the house. When we dine out, it's also just hubby & I with the cheeky; we all eat together so we make sure he sits in the high chair from the time we order our food till we finish eating. It's definitely not easy to keep him still, especially if he has finished his food, so usually I'd shove "toys" to him...........his toys brought from home and anything else I can find in the restaurant...........the plastic cutleries, plates, wet tissue, packets of salt/sugar etc etc..........

These pictures were taken last Saturday at an eatery at the Pan Pacific services apartments.

Just like an aunty

Recently, he has been very interested in my bags.........he likes to sling them across his arm (which is more aunty-like) or on his shoulders (as pictured above).

Each time i carry that bag (picture above), I would get a lot of questions from strangers. They want to know if the baby on the bag is mine, how much is the bag etc etc. In case you are interested, hubby ordered this Anya Hindmarch bag for me from Pavilion about 2 weeks after Joshie was born. We were frantically trying to choose a suitable picture to submit before the deadline. After the deadline, the price would be higher and it would take a longer time for the bag to be ready too; approx 4 months, whereas I got mine within 2 months plus. =)

Raisin wheat muffins

I made these muffins for Joshie the day before we went to Hong Kong. I know, they don't look very nice, with the cracked surface but it tastes really good. Very healthy too. Just look at the ingredients and you tell me whether the muffins are healthy.

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1/3 cup natural yoghurt
2/3 cup warm milk
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup plumped raisins (i combined raisins and dried apricots)

I packed 2 muffins for day 1 and he only ate one as he was more interested in the airplane food. The other one went into my tummy =) I dumped the rest into a container and freezed them.

Easy, healthy and delicious!

Joshua @ 16 months

" My dear boy, why must you sit on the floor when you have a comfortable sofa to sit on??"

Our little cheeky turned 16 months today. I know I have not been doing a monthly update on him. That's because I record his milestones as and when he achieves them. But anyway, here's a little summary on Joshie who currently weighs 12.6kg and is 86.5cm tall:

a) Able to pull open the fridge door. Mummy would be screaming like a mad woman coz he almost always reaches for breakable things like the jam bottle or the bowl of marinated meat.

b) Able to pull open all the drawers at home. And he happily takes out everything and throws them onto the floor!!!!!!! What a mess! I only have safety locks on 2 drawers at home; plan to lock all drawers when we move to our new place in March.

c) Can open doors. So now we have to lock doors if we want to keep him in or away from a certain room.

d) Added new words to his speech; shake, good, shit, oh no, bye bye, bread, eat......ok, i can't remember already but there's more.

e) Can take some instructions pretty well, for eg when I ask him to bring me a certain item or to drop his toys into the box.

f) Started seating in his stroller again.....we are really happy!!!! It's no joke carrying a heavy toddler in our Ergo. Although he won't sit for long (60 mins max), we are really thankful for that little break! Haha....

g) Started getting bored of his usual baby food. Looks like I have to start experimenting with new recipes again!!!!!

h) Becoming very "manja" now, not only to mummy but also to daddy. He would come to us and lay his head or whole body on us. Sometimes, he would also pat us, as though want to "sayang" us.

i) Addicted to the tv. What to do, daddy is a tv addict! But I try to limit his tv and only turn it on for him when he is really cranky or when I need to do something urgently. He is able to "tell" me when he wants to watch tv too. Would come up to me, grab my hand and pull me towards the tv. Following that he would sit down on the sofa and get ready to watch tv!

Ok, that's all I remember for now. Will update later as and when I remember!

Hong Kong 3D2N - Day 3

My dear son woke up at 5am and refused to sleep. But thank God he lazed on the bed with me so at least I got to lie down. Guess he was too excited to go back to sleep anymore. So hubby and I got out of bed at about 7am and got ready to go for breakfast with Mickey & Friends at Disneyland Hotel which is just a 10 minute walk away from our hotel.

Joshie enjoying his Mickey shaped pancakes.

Saying "hi" to Mickey.

He gave Goofy a kiss a few times! Hubby tried to get his attention too and asked for a kiss but he ignored his daddy.

He slept in the stroller on the way back to the hotel. Hubby and I walked around the hotel grounds while he slept.

A family picture at Disneyland!

With our ex-uni mate, Wendy just before The Lion King show. Joshie was tired again during the show but he was fighting to stay awake. He rested his head a few times on Daddy's shoulder and finally slept after the show.

A picture with Pluto before we left Disneyland. Overall, it was a very fun but tiring trip. Hubby and I had to entertain our precious son throughout our journey back to Singapore. He only napped for 40 minutes and woke up wanting to play again!!!

Hong Kong 3D2N - Day 2

This is the beautiful view from our hotel room.

Cheeky on the chair again. He likes the chair a lot. Was busy running around as well and kept on lifting up the phone receiver to speak to his imaginary friend =P

After breakfast at the hotel, we went for a walk. Here's Joshie with Daddy at the water fountains. Joshie loves water fountains and would always point to them.

Went back to the hotel for Joshie's morning nap and later checked out about noon. Headed to the station to board the MTR to Sunny Bay and thereafter switched trains to Disneyland!! Upon arriving, we first took the shuttle bus to Disney Hollywood Hotel to check in before heading out to have fun with Joshie.

This picture was taken at the entrance. Joshie was already very excited......it's as though he knows there's more fun waiting for him inside.

Onboard the flying saucer. Joshie enjoyed the ride and was upset when it ended.

Daddy and Joshie before the parade on the Main Street. Took a while for Joshie to "digest" what was happening and he soon started waving at the disney characters dancing down the street.

By the time the parade ended, it was 4pm, which is way past his afternoon nap. He usually naps at 3pm. Gave him his bottle and I was getting ready to sling him to sleep but to my surprise, he settled happily in his stroller and dozed off very quickly. (My boy doesn't like strollers and has never napped in them after he turned 2 mths old. )

After he woke up, we went on the giant tea cups and he had a good time too.

Took a picture with Alice after the tea cups ride.

" It's a small world" behind us. I was pretty disappointed that it was under refurbishment.

After that, we went on the Winnie the Pooh ride and thereafter hurried through dinner so that we could catch the closing fireworks at 7pm. Headed back to the hotel after that and all 3 of us slept early. Was a tiring but fun day.

Hong Kong 3D2N - Day 1

The hubs and I had our 2nd family holiday with the little cheeky last week. Our first was to Pulau Bintan when Joshie was 3 weeks shy of turning 1 year old. We travelled separately as hubby had to go to Hong Kong earlier in the week for work matters and I knew I couldn't do much shopping with Joshie tagging alone. So cheeky and I only left on Friday.

We were really blessed to have the opportunity to travel onboard the A380 on business class. The seat was really spacious and comfortable. In this picture, Joshie was busy watching cartoons and you can see a bread roll in each hand. He immediately grabbed them off my food tray and I didn't stop him either. I was thankful that he did not snatch my egg fritata, sausages or baked beans and quickly gobbled up my food.


Joshie chilling with the SIA bear =) After our meal, the air stewardess helped us convert our seat into a day bed.

Overall, Joshie was ok throughout the entire flight although he did fuss when he had to sit still during take-off and landing. But I was well prepared and kept on shoving either raisins into his mouth or new toys into his hands.

We landed in Hong Kong at about a quarter past one and took the Airport Express to the city.

Joshie's cot at our hotel, Four Seasons. So prettily dolled up!

A picture of cheeky on the chair.

And he went exploring as usual.........

After he woke up from his afternoon nap, we went out to "jalan-jalan" before we met hubby for dinner.

On the way back to the hotel. Weather was quite chilly, at about 17C.

I can eat by myself, Mummy

Last week, I placed a bowl filled with some baby biscuits on the table and went into the kitchen to quickly fill up water in the kettle to boil. When I came out, I saw this:


Cheeky had climbed onto the chair and was happily digging into the biscuits. He even gave me a naughty smile.

"Mummy, I am trying to eat by myself. Can't seem to scoop food up with the spoon, so I use my fingers okay???"

Visiting the Lams

After months and months of "failed visits" (was either one of the kids was unwell), we finally visited Gideon, Eve, Isaac and Faith last weekend.

Joshie immediately climbed into this Cozy Coupe car the minute he got out of the car.

Posing for a photo in the car.

I finally dragged him out of the car and brought him into the house to say his "hellos". The baby in the playpen is Faith, who will be turning 1 in a couple of weeks time. Joshie was so fascinated to be surrounded by so many toys.

Inside the Little Tikes playhouse with Faith mei-mei.

Joshie watching as Isaac kor-kor kicks a ball to his mummy.

What he does at home

This is what Joshie does when he is bored of his toys, his books and even the tv.

Climbs up to the top of the sofa. Push all the cushions down.

And whhheeeeeeeeee..........jump down! He would be squealing and giggling away. Pure happiness!

Joshie is so lucky!

Absolutely lucky and blessed. At a tender age of 15 months plus, he had the privellege to travel in business class onboard the A380.

So where did we go? Stay tuned for more updates...........

We are away

Joshie, hubby and I are away on a holiday....hehe! I am so glad I survived the 3 hour plus flight with Joshie ALONE. Hubby had flew in earlier to attend to work matters.

So I won't be updating my blog till Monday.

Have a good weekend everyone.

His new and favourite word

DOG!

When we were back in KL, Joshie would say the word loud and clear each time he sees our 5 year old shih-tzu, whom we named Cutie. And of course he would say it too when he sees other dogs in our neighbourhood. When hubby brought him to the pet shop at Desa Parkcity, he pointed to the dogs and said 'dog'; and even to the guinea pigs and rabbits. Whoops! But he will say 'mao' when he sees cats. I have always been teaching him the sounds animals make so 'mao' is actually 'meow'!

Can also say FISH, but not as clear as dog. Would point to the fishes swimming in our pond and happily call them too. Joshie seems to be more interested in "greeting" the pets rather than his daddy & grandparents. He still continues to call me 'mama' or 'mi mi' or 'mam'; and on very very rare occassions 'ma mee'.

Updated 12 January : I was pleasantly surprised when I showed him a flashcard with the word DOG and he said it loud and clear! =)

This is what happens when Daddy takes care of Joshie

The dustbin lids end up on his head!

See my hubby in the background? He was busy booking tickets for Avatar!

Joshie with his doting grandparents

Joshie never fails to bring joy to his doting grandparents. My PIL, especially FIL showers the little cheeky with abundant love and attention. He is never ever left to play alone , unlike here in Singapore. Mummy and Daddy always encourage him to play/read independently whereas my FIL would always prefer his precious grandson to play with him, rather than his toys! So it goes without saying that Joshie is more "manja" and naughthier when we are back home. It's harder to control him as he knows that he has extra support in KL.

Here's a picture of Joshie with my PIL at the lobby of One World Hotel on New Years Day. We had dinner at the Chinese restaurant there. The food there was pretty good and I wouldn't mind dining there again.

Joshie @ church (part 2)

These pictures were taken in the cry room. We usually bring Joshie in before sermon starts so that he won't disturb those sitting around us.

Playing Peek-a-boo behind the curtains.

Tried to snap a picture of Joshie with Healthfreakmommy's Baby C but this was the best shot I got! Baby C didn't allow me to carry her, sob sob! But she had no problem when hubby carried her.

Playing with older kids. I am glad that Joshie doesn't seem to have trouble mixing with other kids, even the older ones.

Looking on as daddy reads to Sherilyn jie jie.

Joshie @ church

I mentioned before that Joshie is very musically inclined. Well, when we were back in our home church last month, he would keep his eyes glued on the worship team throughout Praise & Worship. He was enjoying the music so much that he wouldn't take his morning nap, which he usually does.

Anyway, after service, when I finally let him run free, he ran down the aisle and went up the stage. Of course hubby quickly followed him so that he would not touch what he's not supposed to. Joshie trying to grab the guitar from his daddy.

And after that, he danced on stage, swaying his bum-bum.

And waved his arms! =D

Joshua's mummy & daddy in Bangkok

On the 28th of December 2009, hubby and I left our little precious with the grandparents and happily went on a 4D3N Bangkok holiday. It was the first time Joshua was away from mummy. We really hoped and prayed that he would be fine.

He gladly waved goodbye to mummy & daddy when we got on the taxi to KLIA. Sometimes, he'd cry when he is left at home with the grandparents but this time, he seemed really cheerful and that eased my worries a bit.

Boarded the noon flight and reached Bangkok about 3:30pm local time. Took us nearly an hour to get to our hotel, the Grand Hyatt Erawan. Immediately called home after we had checked in and MIL said Joshie went to my room to look for me when he got up from his afternoon nap. Didn't cry but looked a bit puzzled.

Anyway, here are some snapshots taken in Bangkok.

At the pedestrian bridge heading towards the shopping malls. Bangkok traffic is heavy, even worse than KL's.

The weather was really hot and we were both sweating like crazy. Decided on impulse to visit the Siam ocean world. Costs us THB950 per person which includes admission fee, a glass bottom boat ride, free drinks & popcorn, 4D show and fish spa. I purposely asked hubby to take a picture of the fishes so we can show Joshie when we get back =)

Hubby happily sipping his cold drink while waiting for our turn at the Fish Spa.

The next day, we visited the floating market. Was an hours drive away from the hotel and we had to hire a private car. As it was holiday season, we waited more than half an hour to get a boat.

"Puteri lilin" mummy couldn't stand the hot sun and urged hubby to buy a hat. The price quoted by the seller was ridiculously high, THB600 so we walked away. We refused to buy and left the stall but the seller came chasing after us and in the end, we got it for THB100, which is roughly RM10.

Went pass a lot of "boat stalls" and boy, we ate a lot! Drank coconut juice and ate Thai local food such as the mango sticky rice, their local pancakes, spring rolls etc etc.

We were waiting for our noodles and that's me with our private tour guide.

After that we went straight back to the hotel. The private guide asked if we wanted to visit the crocodile farm and go on elephant rides which were on the way back to the hotel. I declined as I had enough of the sun and moreover, we'd be doing that when we bring Joshie in future. I'd rather shop and go for massages during this trip with hubby.

Our dinner on day 2. Had our meal at the Platinum Mall food court. The food was really good, even better than what we had the night before at a Thai restaurant @ Suan Lum night bazaar. Clockwise from top left : Thai seafood pancakes, stewed duck noodles, Pad thai with seafood, fried quail eggs and lastly, a bowl of bird nest. We had extra money in our card so hubby decided to buy the bird nest. =P

Oh, and we went to watch the Calypso Cabaret at Asia Hotel. We were entertained by beautiful "ladies" who put on a good show. After the show, we were allowed to take pictures with them, without any fee.

That was the end of day 2. We spent the whole of day 3 shopping and going for massages. The massages were really cheap, at only RM20-30 per hour. I'd recommend Suan Lum Night Bazaar for shopping in Bangkok. Clothes there are nice & cheap and furthermore, the quality is really good. The average price I paid for each piece of clothing was between RM15-25.

Ok, so how did Joshie cope without mummy? He woke up twice on night 1 and cried. But he managed to settle back to sleep quite easily. However on day 2, he developed a fever. I was worried sick and called back many times. Thank God it wasn't that high and he was quite co-operative when MIL fed him medicine. He had fever on and off till day 4. He looked for me many times; in my room, in the kitchen, bathroom, everywhere. And night 3 was the worse, he woke up at 3ish am and was clearly very upset. He cried for a while and when MIL went into his room to comfort him, he indicated that he wanted to go out and pointed upstairs where our master bedroom is. Took him quite a while to settle and he woke up at 6ish again and refused to sleep anymore.

So Joshua missed his mummy a lot huh? Funny thing is, each time I called back he refused to take my call. He'd push the phone away whenever my MIL/FIL ask him to talk to me. However he was fine when he heard hubby's voice on the phone.

Looks like I can't go on long holidays without Joshie. Maybe 3-4 days is still ok. He was super clingy when I returned and wanted me to carry most of the time. Poor boy, he must have thought that his mummy doesn't want him anymore. "Mummy loves you, ok? Mummy will always come back, Joshie!"