Wordless Wednesday : Josiah loves anything with wheels

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Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Hello from my new home!

Three weeks of chaos and madness. Chaos around the house from all that packing and madness from having to pack whilst Josiah is sick. This runny nose and cough germ seems to be some super strong type. Doesn't help that UK doctors will NEVER prescribe medicine for common cold to children. Antibiotics, cough syrup and cold medicines are a big no-no here. Everyone is supposed to let it run it's course but look at how long and tedious it can be.

The move went well, movers came at about 9am and were gone by 2pm. Josiah was brilliant that day - played with his new garage toy (my secret weapon) whilst the movers unpacked everything from the boxes. He couldn't nap in his new surroundings and stayed up until 6pm! Then we thought we'd put him to bed early but he got up 30 minutes later full of energy and was up until 10pm. Man, we were so tired but Daddy continued with unpacking ...etc which was strange until I found out that our family friend from America is coming over the following day! Gasp. Nevertheless, Daddy did a fantastic job and the house looked pretty presentable by next day.

I survived 8 days without internet but would not like to live through that again if possible. First day in our new home, it was raining all day. The apartment was cold and Josiah and I had a cough. I was so, so homesick and wished all day that I could be back in Malaysia. Now that everything is getting back to normal, I am still looking forward to my trip back to Malaysia. I am guilty of daydreaming about eating yong tau foo. Drinking soya bean. Walking around One Utama. Sitting in a car to get to anywhere. Showing Josiah his old bedroom. Watching Josiah play with his cousins. Oh, here I go again. Dreaming away my afternoon.....

Vocabulary Log

Black - from Baa, baa black sheep. He can't say the sheep tho..

Sun - he says this like, "Suuuunnnn"

Mole - he was trying to stratch out my mole on my arm (a bit of an OCD problem of his!) and I had to explain that it is a mole and cannot be stratched out.

Don't touch - from watching Pocoyo - he thinks he IS Pocoyo. Cute!

Wet - mainly used when he purposely tips his cup over to make a water puddle

Elmo - favourite furry friend recently

Kick - he always says this after he sees a ball

Chest, arm, toe, knee

Not winter yet - but this Mummy is too lazy to layer him up so just a short t-shirt underneath the big jacket

Pee-ka-boo, I see you

The movers were going to deflate Josiah's frog but decided to take it as is when I mentioned that Daddy blew it manually!

Here he is with his furry playmate - Elmo

Snowing in autumn?

Typical. I finally managed to arrange a night out with another mom for a musical, Wicked. Then weather reports says, possible snow....what? in autumn? Yep. So my one night out turns out to be an early winter celebration! Sigh. Was thinking of dressing up a bit for the show but what is the point when I'd be engulfed by my huge winter parka, wool sweater, thermals, beanie, gloves, scarf, boots...get the picture = michelin man.

Apparently, it has not snowed this early since 1934. Nice to be part of history. The show was great and it was good to be out for a couple of hours on my own.

Monday is here again....sigh...

Can you tell from the title that this is going to be a ranting post? Nothing but complaints coming ahead so if you are wanting a happy post....errr...check back in another week or so.

I may have gained an hour from daylight saving today but what is the point when the dreaded cold virus has come for a visit. S caught it first (as usual!) and he was happy to be held hostage by Josiah every night since he would conk out before Josiah anyway. As he got better, my throat got worse, then the body ache, then the fever all passed on to me. This was last weekend....and of course, Josiah has gotten it now. Although I would have to say, he has been a good sport about it in the day time. But when night falls, man, we are miserable together. Yesterday, his nose was so blocked, he could only sleep whilst being carried by one of us. But due to lots of wind in his tummy, he vomited 3 times over a period of a few hours. Besides having to change him in the dark and change sheets...etc, also, big laundry damage. Total laundry damage done last night alone - 1 bedsheet, 3 t-shirts for S, 2 pyjama sets, 2 pillow cases, 4 "chow-chow" / blankies and 1 sleeping bag. My washing machine was already full before this and I had to remove items to wash all above hence creating a laundry backlog. Nice start to the week...

If we have already moved to our new place, no problems since the new apartment has a standalone dryer. Talking about moving, yes, we are moving first week of November. Mainly for a few practical reasons. The new apartment has 2 lifts so no more lugging groceries plus a toddler up three flight of stairs again. Also comes with porter service so no more having to walk down the road lugging smelly garbage before going to work for S. No more having to line dry all of our clothes....how exciting. Hopefully, no more missing parcels as the porter can sign for deliveries. Best of all - no more steps coming into the apartment so less strain on my wrist.

Aahh, my wrist...who conveniently decides to stage a protest after 1.5 years of labour intensive work. I totally understand him (my wrist is a man!) - he has led a comfy life back in Malaysia. Only thing that he lugs around is my handbag (duh!). Since I had a desk job, carpel tunnel syndrome would be his worst nightmare but little did he know what he was about to be faced with. Manual labour in London.

Horror...

Let's see - carrying a 10kg toddler around, pushing a 6kg stroller & 2kg baby bag & 10kg baby on a daily basis, uphill and rough surfaces, doing all above AND then unloading 5 kg of groceries from Tesco off the stroller....get the picture....

He had to work everyday since then, no breaks, no holiday and still be happy about it. Well, he ain't happy no more.

I have tried to make him less angry by doing less groceries manually and more online, not going to playgroups too far away so less pushing of stroller, lots of TLC massages at night with pain gel, lovingly wrapping him in wrist guard to prevent further injury...he is still not satisfied.

I have warned him that I am going back to Malaysia soon and he will face the wrath of those scary Chinese massagers/acupunturist/heat therapist but he refuses to listen. So Mum or Dad, if you are reading this, please book me in for torture sessions as soon as I set foot in Malaysia. Because I cannot survive another 2 years here with an injured (man) wrist.

Josiah's new buddy - Tickle Me Elmo. Incidentally, Elmo is sick too, he does not laugh as much as before. Probably depressed about the weather too.

Josiah is practising his alphabets, shouting loudly at the TV. His beloved "chow chow" is in his mouth in between alphabets. For some unknown reason, he is calling his "chow chow" as "flower" lately. Stumped? So am I...does his white cloth look anything like a flower??

Terrible Two's already??

Josiah is already 21 months old now. So to make life more interesting for Mummy, he has decided to start the terrible two earlier.

He will only go to bed if one of us stays in the room with him. No trying to sneak out because he has hearing of a cat and would cry and prolong the whole sleeping routine. Daddy now goes in with his iPod, Bible, book, after going for a pee.....cos we both know it will be a long time before he can get out again. Most days, Daddy just falls asleep - probably before Josiah!

He want to choose his socks and shoes before going out. I have no problems with this except depending on his mood, the shoes he chooses may not be suitable. It is cold and wet now but he still wants to go out with his sandals. Although I let him go with socks on - he still slips and falls and gets his socks all wet. Grrrr.....irritating. He even chooses what shoes Mummy should wear.

He wants to take a toy out with him - if it is a car, no problem, just take it. But sometimes, he wants to take him wagon or stroller out. Imagine, we had to take his girly pink stroller to church one Sunday because he was making a huge fuss and we just did not want to deal with a meltdown before going to church.

A few times now, when he is upset, he will just lie on the floor crying. Hrrmph. I do not tolerate such bad behaviour and will carry him up, put him back on stroller and ignore him. So far, been working cos he realise he is not going to get what he wants just by crying.

Vocabulary log

"yucks" - he says this when there are leaves/crumbs/dirt on his stroller

"cute" - dont think he knows the real meaning of the word but he would repeat it especially when he hears others saying it. For example, I told him to look at the cute dog, he would say "cute dog"

"see you" - dont think he knows why we always ask him to say this but he does say it quite well

"nite-nite" - as above

"shoes" - he loves choosing his own shoes. Current favourites are his blue sandals, Bear shoes from Malaysia and Bubble Gummer pair from my parents.

"feet", "hands", "eyes", "nose", "hair" - he points the face parts of his teddy bears and on our faces, he would poke you in the eye and nose just to show you he knows what he is talking about.

"milk" - FINALLY, after like one year effort to sign to him 'milk' and repeatedly asking him to say milk. He can now ask for it and mean it too. Life is getting better, folks!

he can recognise a couple of alphabets too, namely "O", "A", "R", "C"

As I mentioned time and time again that he is quite slow when it comes to physical things. He has finally learnt to sit on his "ride on" and actually push using his legs! Most of these were his one year old presents and now he uses them :)

Also, I caught him trying to climb up my dining chair. Am not complaining that he is slow in this area as I have always been able to leave him alone in the room knowing that he does not try to climb things. But looks like he is catching up.

Welcome to Terrible Two's Album collection!

He does enjoy sitting in the rocking chair complete with vibration - a toddler Osim chair.

Better remember to buy Mummy one when you grow up!

Trying to stack as many crayons into his monster truck.

Mooncake festival may be over but 'Kung Fu panda' lantern is always a hit!

Josiah's first attempt at climbing our dining chair. He hasn't done it since this pic was taken. :p

Alone again....

My parents left over 2 weeks ago, and life has been quiet since. Josiah's best friend Emma has also gone back to Singapore for good. It would explain why he is super clingy till today, I mean, I would hold on to Mummy and Daddy, seeing that everyone seems to disappear suddenly. Poor fella, I have not had much luck finding him another proper playmate. I mean, he has friends but they are a little too young for him so he is not as excited playing with them.

A more expensive alternative to this problem is to send him to nursery for a couple of hours, maybe once a week (that would cost Daddy a whooping $45 per day!!!!). Daddy's company would pay 100% only when Josiah turns 3 and only 50% if he starts early. Hmm.....tough one!

On home ground, more domestic disasters to mark the beginning of autumn.

Unknown to me, apparently one is not supposed to put ceramic plates into the oven. Well, I've been doing it since long ago especially when I just want to heat up a sandwich...etc

Anyway, was having some guest over to dinner and since the duck was cold, I decided to pop the whole plate (a Wedgewood one, no less) into the oven to heat it up. Imagine my surprise when it broke into two piece inside the oven. Yikes, luckily it was bought on offer by mum-in-law for $1 otherwise, it would have been a double disaster.

Then I burnt up Josiah's lovely chicken stew when I forgot to switch off the heat before I took him for Gymboree class. Poor guy, he had to eat whatever I could salvage from there. Then our bank card got spoilt but in a funny way. We can use it to pay at some shops but then totally unable to withdraw money from the ATM. This is a serious case of the credit crunch - we are running low on cash and on one occasion had to pay card for $2.99 purchase. Alamak, how are we gonna survive for another 10 days like this. Answer: Cashout at Tesco and Mark&Spencer. So when I shop then I ask them for money. Weird but there is no other way at this point.

I think Josiah looks so cute here in Ethan's outfit (thanks Ethan!)

Hug

My parents arrived on Saturday and although all of us are having a great time, Josiah is again up to his naughty tricks at night causing havoc to Mummy and Daddy's normal routine. He refuses to be put down on his own cot to sleep and insists on sleeping ON me or Daddy ALL NIGHT long!! We are both so tired from the lack of sleep that we have given up on even trying to put him back. Yesterday night was the first time he slept in our bed, even as a baby, he prefers his own cot to our bed - so I am stunned and worried too....

On the bright side, yea....lots of fun with Kong Kong and Poh Poh every day. Josiah loves running around the flat being "chased" by Kong Kong. Whilst Poh Poh indulges him in carrying him around and trying to fatten him up. She has lovingly prepared a Chinese soup which claims to improve appetites of kids who drink it. I made sure I did not have a sip - last thing I want is for me to improve my appetite (patting my love handles *hehehe*)

Today, Josiah says "Hug" and comes over for a hug. He did this a few times and is so sincere about it that I drop everything just to give him a hug. Sigh. Wished I can have these hugs for the rest of my life but I know it is only for a period so am gonna enjoy it.

Hugs away, my little boy!

p/s: I finally bought Josiah a baby stroller - it is pink and he loves it!

Month 20: I know....I know....

Josiah turns 20 months a couple of days ago. And he is quite the chatterbox these days. He copies everything that you would prefer him not to copy and refuses to say the alphabets or proper words! Typical toddler attitude if you ask me. Testing their limits and boundaries and especially Mummy's patience.

Vocabulary log

"I know, I know".... irritating but no one to blame but myself as he must have heard me say that frequently enough to learn it. He says it with the correct attitude too - sigh, a show off at hand who cannot even recite his ABCs yet.

"Oh, no" - this phrase is copied from his favourite Little Einstein show.

"Runaway" - funny word to learn, but it is part of a song from Barney.

"No more" - used when he finishes his yogurt since he never finishes anything else. Also constantly used when I try to read to him. He just flips to the last page and says no more. Naughty boy!

"Door", "key", "open" - he will now bring you something and asks for it to be opened.

"Thank you" - at least he learnt this concept fairly well. He will say thank you quite willingly

"Please" - bad pronounciation on this one, sounds more like 'piss'

"Flower" - another bad pronounciation, sounds more like "wah-wah"

"Pig", "Dog", "Bear" - yea!!! finally some animal words. I have been trying to get him to say the usual animal name for ages. Previously, he only says duck. Still no progress on cow, horse, monkey - he would just make the noises for these animals!

"Wow", "Oops" - it is so cute when he says these type of exclamation-type words.

"Hello", "Bye" - his favourite being the latter, would say it often when Mummy has been on Skype for some time. He would just come over and say bye without being asked signalling you to end the conversation and get on with play time!

"Where" - does it with both hands open in a questioning manner. Drama king.

"Up", "there", "go" - great that he can tell us where he wants to go now. Not so great when he wants to get 'up' the moment we put him in the highchair at the restaurant.

"Mini" - he loves the Mini Cooper so much.

Still a long way more to proper communication with poor Mummy who have to scratch her head all day trying to figure out what Josiah wants.

One of his latest thing is to sit on any small stool/ledge/corner/step he can find. He would position himself to sit down and then asks me to join him. It is quite sweet when we are out at the park and he does that. I would join him and he would be grinning happily for no other reason than just to sit with me. Sigh. Motherhood's precious moments. Other not so convenient occasions like when I am late to meet up with friends and he decides to sit on the steps before going into the lift. Hurrying him would only make him upset but sometimes, no choice so I just grab him and go. Boo hoo.

He can now slowly go up and down the stairs holding on to the rails. He is a bit late in this development and I am happy that he can even do that. The amount of practice needed - phew! All his other friends (some even younger) goes up and down like a pro. He can manage on his own a small, small step - about 1 inch high. Hahahahaa......what can I say, he's a scardy cat just like his Mummy and Daddy.

He still loves to push things and loves his wagon and any girl-type baby stroller. He can push his wagon for one hour at the park. Great workout for both of us.

Finally, more teeth are popping out. About time too, he must be the only 20 month old with only 6 teeth. I think he is getting another 4 more at the bottom - cannot get a better view of those molars as he will bite if you stick your finger in. Having more teeth also helped his eating. He can somewhat eat some small chicken pieces and loves fish fingers. Pasta is also on his menu now, but stll has to be quite soft before he would have some.

Still loving his bath, he knows to go to the toilet when I mention "bath". Would insist on all his toys inside the tub and then indicate he wants to go in. He'd sit there all day if I let him.

Josiah enjoying his bouncy chair which can convert to toddler rocking chair with massage function too.

Look at me, Mummy....I can read....or maybe not!

Let's Go To The Zoo

The weather predictions were good, it was a Saturday with no other plans. We decided to take Josiah to the London ZSL Zoo in Regent's Park. We asked Emma and family to join us too. We met up at the zoo in the longest queue I'd ever seen to enter a zoo??!! It was a good 1km long but it was a moving queue so we decided to stick it out. Good move as we had so much fun seeing all the animals in such close proximity.

Josiah was not as interested with the animals as Emma but he had loads of fun running around. I used my "baby leash" for the first time to see if he minded - which he didn't. Problem with the leash is that you would have to keep up with him and is probably more tiring than letting him run around on his own!

We saw a whole range of animals like gorillas (eating), monkeys (scratching each other's backside), donkeys (hee hawing loudly whilst eating), zebra, giraffe, reptiles, fishes, lion (sleeping!), tiger (also sleeping!), vultures (devouring smelly chicken carcass - really nasty!), flamingos (standing around), otters (sunbathing - super cute), meerkats, camels (sitting around), penguins (waddling around looking cute), wild dingo (barking fiercely)...etc

I would say it is a good range of animals but a bit pricey - 17 pounds per person.

We had lunch of fish and chips and pies before the kids went for a nap. Then we walked over to Regent's Park for a quick look before heading for dinner. We went to Phoenix Palace and feasted over some yummy steam fish, pork belly with buns, fried rice and tofu.

All that walking in the zoo went down the drain with that delicious dinner.

Look at the queue...

Josiah and Emma putting on their hats

Daddy with Josiah - my little puppy :)

Posing for a pic in Regent's Park

Two Toddler & One Baby = Fun!

My cousin, D and family came to visit us last week. It was lovely as I have not seen their 2nd baby, Kirsten who was already 8 months old! Kezia is nearly two and is absolutely lovable! Their short holiday was so we could meet up and Sarah could surprise her family by turning up at her uncle's 40th birthday. Of course, their request was to have as much Chinese/Malaysian food as it is easier to get good Chinese food in London compared to Ireland. We started our eating mission an hour after they arrived - polishing off half a duck, "siew yok" and "char siew". Although everyone was full from lunch, we still managed to finished quite a bit of dinner. Takeaway portions of nasi lemak, satay, nasi goreng pedas, curry mee, fried mee hoon and chicken rice!!!! It was a great holiday for me too. No need to cook and lots of yummy food to eat. The next day, S took a day off so we went for "dim sum" at Pearl Liang where we managed to finish 9 egg tarts. Ooohh.....even the picky Josiah managed to eat one by himself. Then we headed out to Harrods by bus but it proved a bit tricky as we had 3 strollers with us and most buses only accept two or one (if another stroller already inside). We had to take separate busses and met up outside Harrods. More Chinese food for dinner as we met with D's other cousins at Four Season Restaurant! We then decided no more Chinese food for dinner the following day.

Josiah and Kezia played all night and when we tried to put Kezia to bed - all she did was climb out of the cot and came out to play again. So set the pattern of sleeping late every night, 11.30pm every night!! All the parents were tired waiting for these two to be tired... :)

After they went to bed, we had to chat in our toilet as Kezia is sleeping in the living room, Josiah in our room and Kirsten in the guest room. Hahaha. Kicked out of our own home.

Their holiday came to an end so quickly and we certainly missed them.

But we have some lovely pics to remind us of the fun we had

Do come again!

Kezia and Josiah having a chat whilst Sarah is stuck to our front door!

One happy family

Malaysian goodies from Kiasu Restaurant

Wind the Bobbin' Up

I started bringing Josiah to playgroups more often after he started walking. Normally, playgroups here are organised by churches or council people. We normally go to 2 different ones depending on my mood. The one that is walkable only holds under 3s sessions once a week. The other one in St Peter's Nottinghill is a bus ride away but holds it 4 times a week. Josiah loves the singing sessions at the playgroups and I am trying to be more hardworking in bringing him there. One of his favourite is this 'Wind The Bobbin' Up' - which I learnt from attending various playgroups here. Everyone always sing the same few favourites which includes:

• Wheels on the Bus
• Old MacDonald
• If You're Happy and You Know It
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat
• Incy Wincy Spider

So now, he will ask for some songs by doing the action for each song. But his all time favourite is Wind The Bobbin Up which is a song about winding a bobbin (some spinning thread thingy). Here are the lyrics;

Wind the bobbin up, wind the bobbin up

Pull, pull, clap, clap, clap

Wind it back again, wind it back again

Pull, pull, clap, clap, clap

Point to the ceiling, point to the floor

Point to the window, point to the door

Clap your hands together now, one two three

Put your hands upon your knees.

I think he only likes it because it involves a lot of clapping. Here's a video of him at the St Peter's playgroup.

10 Baby Essentials

After hearing some good new of my friends joining the Mummy Club. Was kinda inspired to give my top 10 baby essentials and 10 baby money-waster (oh, my England is so bad these days)

1. Baby wipes - dunno how my mum did without it. I use it for everything from cleaning baby to cleaning his highchair, clothes, floor, stroller....cannot emphasise how useful it is. I use Pamper Sensitive as the wipes are as soft as tissue but strong enough to serve it's purpose




2. Baby changing bag - this is a no brainer cos as a parent, this is one item you cannot leave home without. Since Josiah is still drinking milk, our bag still contains the usual hot water flask, milk container, bottle, and cool water. In addition, his bag also has snack container, wipes (told you I cannot live without it), nappies, change of clothes, extra bibs, spoon, cars, trucks, moisturiser (winter time) and sunscreen (summer time)




3. Baby Bumbo chair - he loved being able to see what was happening. Wherever I went, I took the Bumbo and propped him up so I could get on with showering, cooking, pooping, ironing....etc. A real live saver. Note that some babies just hate it and struggle to get out of it in which case, never put it up on high places. I used to put him on top of the table and kitchen counter but once he started struggling, then only on the floor.




4. Baby rocker - when he was younger, you could rock him to sleep in it. Or use it like the Bumbo so he can see what you were up to and entertain himself with those silly toys hanging on it. He has the Fisher Price one with the built in buzzing/massaging thingy which he hates. I only bought it because it will convert to a toddler rocking chair for when he is older.




5. Highchair. I only got him a basic Ikea one but it is well worth every penny because as baby gets older, it is easier to put him in a highchair whilst you go about daily chores. Also it is good habit to feed baby on it. Good for baby to learn to sit and eat. Good for Mummy because baby is at eye level to you so you can sit beside baby to feed and to eat too.




6. Push-along toy. Great at helping baby start walking and saves your back from having to bend over to support baby to "walk". Josiah uses his even until today - kids loves pushing things all over. We got ours as a gift but I would not hesitate to buy one otherwise




7. Baby monitor. These expensive gadgets are your key to freedom. We used ours everyday, even on holidays. It allows you to do whatever you want whilst baby is sleeping without worrying about waking baby up with noise or not hearing baby wake up. On holidays, we do the same so we can watch a movie in another room whilst Josiah is sleeping.




8. Changing mat. I got one of those plastic foam ones. Great to use because you can change baby anywhere in the house without dirtying the floor/bed.




9. Plastic bib - once you start weaning baby, oh, the mess.... Invest in a nice, easy to clean plastic bib and you never have to worry about stains on clothes.




10. Hand soap dispenser. I may not be the cleanest mum around but I always make sure to wash my hands before making milk/changing baby/after changing baby/before feeding him...etc. S thinks I am OCD but this nothing compared to most other mothers I know.

Top 10 money wasters!

1. Baby hats. Well, I guess this is open for debate but Josiah hated hats of any sort from day one. He will only tolerate hats during winter when it is zero degrees! I had tons of baby hats for him (following advice to make sure his head is not exposed to wind) but he just won't leave it on.



2. Cloth nappies. Tried it. Suffered for it. Ditched it. Newborns, especially those who are breastfed pee and poo almost instantly after every feed. On some bad days, I had to change his nappy 5 times and it was not even 10am yet! Runny poo and cloth....ooh, la, la....no thanks, I will stick with my cheap Drypers for day use and longer lasting Pampers/Mamy Poko for night. Baby is happy and so am I. Sorry Mother Nature, but I don't see you around to do my laundry for me.



3. Small baby bottles. Just buy the big ones from start. Most babies I know can drink more than 4 oz of milk by the time they are 3 months old. Josiah is the exception and I am still using my small Avent bottles on a daily basis.



4. Steriliser. Mainly put off by the cost to purchase one - it is super expensive and in my experience, highly over-rated. My confinement lady started with soaking his bottles in hot boiling water daily. Once a day only. I continued with this regime until he was 6 months old, then I started sterilising every other day - and he is fine. By his first birthday, I completely stopped sterilising, of course, continue washing it with soap and warm water after every use (I am not THAT dirty!) Babies are really adaptable so the earlier you start to introduce some dirt into their lives the better for all. They get stronger. You have less to do and less to pack/ worry when travelling.



5. Pacifiers. Unless you want to start something that might be tough to undo. Do not bother with the pacifiers.



6. Baby talcum powder. Once a must after a bath but I have read that the powder goes into baby's delicate nostrils and later causes problems. Anyway, I think babies smell great on their own - no need to make them smell like Johnson&Johnson powder!



7. Hair brush. I kinda like the natural look - after all, they have years of styling/perming/gelling...etc For now, just dry with towel and use fingers to smoothen out.



8. Bottle warmer. It is really nice to have in the early days especially when you want to warm up some breast milk from the fridge. The cheaper version is to use a stainless steel cup (those free mugs comes in handy) filled with boiling water and sit bottle in for a few minutes. Works just as well and cost nothing. Better yet, train your baby to take luke warm milk and you will reap the rewards when you are out with baby. Josiah got used to drinking his milk super hot - half hot water, half cold water and we have trouble getting his milk his desired temperature when we are out. So he would drink less and we still have to lug about his big hot water flask everywhere we go. My 'ang moh' friends here even feed their babies with milk straight from the fridge when they are past 12 months!!



9. Baby mat. To be more specific, those cute ones with hanging rattles...etc. It is good only before baby starts to turn. I went and bought a proper foldable mattress. You can use it as a changing area, nap time, play area, take it travelling or parent's sleep area (when Josiah is still running around at 10pm)! It is probably cheaper than the baby mat but can be used for years to come.



10. Baby lotion. Like I mentioned earlier, I like babies to smell natural and most baby lotions are frangranced. I use olive oil which is natural and frangrance-free. It is easy to apply and can be used as massage oil too. Also, apparently good for the scalp by enhancing hair growth.

Daddy is back! Hooray...

S came back from his trip to Jakarta and Malaysia with 40 kilos of luggage. And mind you, he travelled quite light as he was going back home to stay with his parents for 3 nights so he has his clothes there. Here's a peek at the goodies he brought back.

• 3 packets of diapers - I use these for daily wear as they are sooo much cheaper in Msia


• 3 plastic bags of rambutans - complete with ants and funky bugs from his backyard! Delicious....the rambutans...we drowned the ants and bugs in our sink


• Bak Chang or Chung - lovingly made by my mother-in-law. Delish...


• 3 small containers of home-made kaya from S mom - half gone already


• 2 packets of "yee meen" from our favourite shop. I know it sounds crazy but I have not eaten "yee meen" for over a year so it was worth risking spillage for it.


• chopped garlic - fantastic for cooking.


• zip loc bags


• toys for Josiah from S parents - train set, books, DVDs


• mahjong paper - for Josiah to scribble on and keep my floors safe from his "art"


• clothes & shoes from my sister-in-law's son - thanks! put to use already


• new plate and cup from my parents for Josiah


• a packet of 100 balloons from Grandpa - Josiah loves balloons and says, 'Blow' when he sees the packet. Poor guy, after many failed attempts with saliva spray all over him and no balloon in sight, he finally got it that Mummy suck at blowing balloons.

Was it worth it? Of course. *Rubbing my round belly*

Just look at how alike my two men are. S got new glasses too - groovy.

Putting those mahjong paper to good use. Josiah has just put crayons in his mouth for a taste-looks like it doesn't taste so good

Why I love summer

I cannot believe that this is our second summer here in London already! Last year, my mom and sister were here and Josiah was just a wee baby. We went to the park to take him for walks and now he runs around on his own!

This week temperature has reached about 29C and without air cond in the house. We are melting. Even Josiah who hardly drinks water can now take gulps of water. We sleep in T-shirts without a blanket and fan turned on to the max. Really reminds me of Malaysia! We make the most of summer by going out to the park every day, sometimes even twice a day. Home is hot, so we only come home for food, bath and bed. Aside from that, we are out. Josiah has gotten so used to this that he will whine and act miserable if I am slow in getting ready to go 'kai kai'. I should be buying him a pair of sandals since wearing shoes these days makes his feet sweat but knowing the weather here. This good weather would not last long and soon all the jackets and long-sleeved clothes would be in use again. So here's a few reasons to love summer....

...you can step out of the house in ONE layer of clothings.

...you can forget to bring your jacket and still be okay.

...you can do the laundry twice a week and not every other day! YAY!!!

...you don't have to struggle with your son to put on his thermal, a long sleeved top, two pants and a bulky jacket. Then put on hat, gloves, socks and shoes, by then, Mummy is already tired but have to do the same for myself.

...you can wear a short skirt (Mummy) / short pants (Josiah)!! Hooray for legs to see daylight after so long!

...your laundry dries instantly and no musty-smelling clothes.

...you can play in the park until 9pm if you wished. Josiah's latest time out is 7.45pm. The sun only sets at about 9.30pm.

...you forget how miserable winter is and actually enjoy London!


On the downside,

...you get sunburned because you spend so much time outside. Ouch!

...you don't feel like cooking because the whole house feels even hotter after that (or is that just an excuse...)

...you wake up thinking it is 8am when it is only 5am - sun rises at about 4am. So some mornings, Josiah and I struggle to get back to sleep because it is too bright.

...hot, hot hot....without air conditioning, sweating like pigs here.

...you throw out more food as they spoil more easily in the heat. I frequently forget to put the leftover food in the ridge before I go to bed!

...you need ice but your freezer is too small to put the ice box in.

...you put on your old slippers only to have it snap whilst I go for a walk and have to walk back bare foot. Sheesh.

Bye-bye slippers - it is the only one I have and since summer is ending, it will be a year before I buy another one.

Josiah having a ball at the park...

Please help....boy and car down!

I wonder what is on his mind when he does this....sniff....looks all grown up now

Got to go now - have to soak up more of those precious sun.....

See you in the park!

Josiah's Day

Remember when we used to be young and carefree. I don't. Am too busy keeping Josiah happy and carefree. Josiah leads the kind of life many adults would be envious of. Here's a peek at his daily routine.

Let's start the day with a nice yummy bottle of milk followed by full breakfast of cereal, yogurt and fruit (when he is in his eating mode) or just a couple of Cheerios in milk (when he is not)

Next, a little creative art on paper and ends with an original "art" on the floor and crayons thrown everywhere especially under sofa so Mummy cannot find it.

Moving on to balls - this one was on offer and is too girly but he loves it.

Then to his favourite cars!! Check out that happy face.

Help Mummy out with the house chores. Josiah loves Mr Vacuum since young. He used to crawl after it and now he can actually use it. Brilliant!

Before lunch, Josiah get to go to the park or go shopping. He obviously prefers the park except when I take him to drive the 'real' car at the shopping centre.

After all that fun, back home for a nice LONG bath, lunch and long afternoon nap. Mummy meanwhile is busy with a short shower, cooking dinner, cleaning up and definately no naps!

With all that energy after my nap, Mummy needs to take me to the park again to run around or go to the playground or the sand play area

Zoning out after dinner but before bedtime

Sweet dreams, finally at 10pm. I had so much fun, Mummy. Let's do this again tomorrow.

Sigh. Sure, sweetie....now where are my Brand's Essence?

Daddy, where are thou?

It has been four days since S left for Jakarta and KL. It is always tough when S is away because I hate eating alone. Josiah's company during dinner time don't count since he (1) does not really eat and (2) does not really talk. I miss our usual dinner banter and idle talk.

Tonight was particularly difficult because my sister is also leaving to further her studies in Perth. With Skype being quite useless in Australia, I doubt we would be Skype-ing as much as we do now. And seeing that she is taking the house laptop with her also means that I would not be able to talk to my parents until they get a another laptop.

On the upside, Josiah's vocabulary is slowly increasing - he can say, 'No more', 'Bye-bye', 'bear', 'up' and his all time favourite word now - 'NO'

He says it with gusto, shaking his head vigorously and does this even when I am not asking or talking to him. Imagine this, pushing his cars on the floor, suddenly, "NO", no, no, no, no...???

Or walking around the house, then a sudden burst of no, no, no.... ???

Really wish I could read his mind. Talking about his mind, his imagination is also picking up. Have caught him a few times giving "food" to his teddy bear. He also picks up empty cup/bowls and pretends to have a big gulp of water.

His latest trick, throwing anything he can find into the bath tub whilst it is filling up before his bath time. He will then point and say "Uh, oh.." Today's damage include Daddy's umbrella, mineral water and some hangers. Past victim include his teddy, laundry and small stool!!

Here he is trying to show me how strong he is.

I made him some star-shaped pancakes for breakfast

To my dearest hubby, 'Come back soon!!!!'

To my darling sister, 'Take care and keep in touch. Hugs & kisses'

To my parents and brother, 'Hurry up with the new laptop'

To my in-laws, 'Thanks for always being online - it is nice to know someone is just a click away'

To my Josiah, 'Please start talking soon' and 'Please potty-train yourself' and 'Please eat more' and 'Please stop leaving your cars/balls/balloons everywhere in the house' and....... :)