Happy 1st Birthday to Josiah

One year, 12 months, 365 days - that's the amount of time I have had with my little man.

Yes folks, my Josiah turned one on 2nd January 2008. Amazing, how much of a milestone we have both covered. Let's see...

Josiah can now walk holding on to my fingers.

I can now walk with Josiah in the stroller for 4 hours without a sweat (ok, maybe a little sweat). But this is the woman who would rather eat at the same mamak shop downstairs rather than walk a block away for yummier or variety of food.

Josiah can say a few words - 'Amen', 'duck', 'kai-kai', 'dada', 'mama', 'nai-nai', 'owww'

My vocabulary has also been reduced to a few words like 'Amen', 'duck', 'kai-kai', 'dada', 'mama', 'nai-nai', 'owww'

Josiah can pull himself up and stand from his crib

I pull myself up from my bed every night when Josiah pulls himself up and stand from his crib crying!!

Josiah can point to things that he knows like flower, car, laptop, teddy, Carbus the cow, duck, balloon, phone, picture, map, shoes, nose, Daddy, Mummy

I spend the whole day repeating the words that he points out.....if I get a penny for every time he points to the flowers I'd be able to afford a nanny!

Josiah can wave bye-bye, do a high five, high ten and occasionally do a cute dance move.

I have waved bye-bye to ever sleeping through the night. And may now wave bye-bye to his afternoon nap as well. Sigh.

Josiah will clap on demand especially when you sing 'Old McDonald' or 'If you are Happy and you know it' to him

I can sing 'Old McDonald' and 'If you are Happy and you know it' very well with all that practise day in and day out

Josiah is really ticklish and will laugh loudly when tickle

I laugh loudly every day just to keep sane

What a list of achievements (for Josiah!) and am so looking forward to his first steps. He can stand unsupported for a few seconds now so am hoping to see him walk by the end of the month.

We had a lovely party for his birthday. Did the whole birthday banner, party gift bags, streamers and of course a cute cake with the number one candle. I know it is so unoriginal but honestly that is one of the perks of having a baby. I had so much fun planning it and had some lovely pictures to keep after that.

Happy New Year to all

Our first holiday

Since we came to London in May, this would be the first time S would be on a one week leave. We decided on Ireland to visit my cousin and family because they have a beautiful little girl turning one and being our first real holiday with Josiah we took the easy way out! I have been nervous and excited about the holiday since we booked our air tickets.

Woke up at 6.30am and immediately went into autopilot to pack up the last few things into the bag, took a shower and woke Josiah when the taxi was outside. He was not impressed but was quite good about it. I got him changed and off we go. How exciting!

The taxi took us to the Victoria station where we would be taking the Gatwick Express to the airport, this is of course not the quickest way to the airport but it is cheaper than taking taxi. Josiah took in the crisp cold morning air and all the sights along the way. When we got to the airport, it was super packed - had to literally breath down an old couple just so we can get a seat in a cafe to feed Josiah his breakfast. That's where the adventure began with Josiah refusing to eat breakfast (remember his hunger strike). This was too much seeing that he did not want milk earlier that morning too. S was saying that we have to get to the boarding gate but I would prefer to wait in the cafe and since the boarding gate was not announced yet, I told him to relax. When we next checked the gate was announced and we went to look for it. Boy, was it far away. On the way there, I suddenly realised that Josiah might have had a poo and went to check (very bad move!) as by then, our names were being called out over the PA system. S was furious and shooting daggers at me whilst I tried to play it cool telling him that I liked to hear his name being called out correctly for once! Okie dokie, lesson learnt. Just follow the big man when it comes to timing :p

The plane was only half filled so we had a good choice of seats. I made a bottle again for Josiah and he went straight to sleep, waking up in beautiful Ireland. Even in the plane to Belfast, the people were friendlier, smilier and so much nicer than Londoners. Such a refreshing change. Refreshing is definately the word to describe Ireland with all the greens, small cottages, sheeps and cows grazing peacefully. My cousin's wife who is 7 months pregnant greeted us at the arrival gate with the most beautiful baby girl in her arms. It was love at first sight for Josiah too. Those two would be inseparable for the rest of the week. Honestly, the holiday was made so much more meaningful knowing that Josiah is thoroughly enjoying himself everyday. I have never seen him so alive, so happy... Even with his hunger strike going on, I felt more relaxed and just let him be. Maybe all that thought of relaxing got my body to finally give in to illness, normally, S would be the one falling sick on the first day of holidays but this time I was down. Sneezing non-stop I looked like a wreck by evening and retired to a dose of "miracle cure". It worked but then S got sick and remained sick until we got back to London!

My cousin also took the opportunity to take a few days leave whilst we were there. So the women left the men in charge of the babies and went shopping! Not for clothes but for yummy food. Did not know that there is a large community of Chinese in Belfast, the oriental supermarkets there are unrivalled, with entire warehouse lot stocked with everything Asian. We went crazy with the food selection - even bought some durian! Grass jelly, 'tau pok', coconut milk and noodles piled into our trolley (impressive, it is bigger than my local Tesco). Then we went to Chinese bakery to get egg tarts. Once I stepped in - I was mesmerised by the familiar smell. Nothing like fresh egg tarts and buns fresh in the oven. Despite paying for them in pounds, I knew that I cannot leave without loading up on it as it is not easily available especially the egg tarts. Mmmm....I am quite the egg tart expert and this definately quite close to the best egg tarts in Malaysia. After all that shopping, we went for lunch and met up with the men and the babies.

This holiday has taught me a number of things:

- nothing like a holiday with family (thanks to my cousin and wife for having us!)

- babies can survive on almost nothing

- Josiah does not do well in a car

- Josiah does not do well in an aeroplane which is delayed

- always get to the boarding gate early unless you like to hear your name over the airport PA system

- bring medicines for unexpected illness during holiday

- "Lem-sips" are wonderful for flu; wonder why they don't sell them in Malaysia

- always add more chocolate than required into chocolate cake! *wink*

- i love chicken mango casserole and home-made curry laksa

- bring more clothes for myself and less for Josiah!

- i miss the piano very much and wonder when i can duet with the great violinist again

- i love baby girls....especially my cousin's baby girl *hugs and kisses*

Here are some lovely shots

Hunger Strike!

My little man has been on a hunger strike for a month now and I am at my wits end. I have tried everything but he just would not have anything much. I mean he is still having milk and maybe about 3 to 4 spoons of whatever I am offering him but gone were the days of him eating the whole portion (half a cup size). Even then, I used to think that he ate quite little for a boy. I have seen baby girls gobble up adult portion in each meal. Was so upset that I even stopped cooking for him to see if all he wanted was commercially bought jars....but not even his favourite 'pork casserole' jar could tempt his fussy palate. Everyone tells you that babies would not starve themselves but that would not stop a mom from worrying.

Meal times has lengthen from 20 minutes including dessert to 1 hour without dessert. He just would not open his mouth and when I manage to trick him into opening it - he would keep the food there until he looks like a chipmunk collecting nuts for winter. I have tried every trick in the book from playing games, letting him watch DVD whilst eating, making him laugh, singing to him....man, I am now unable to really take him out and have lunch because I would look like an idiot in the restaurant. So the very few times we have gone out, he just went without lunch.
We are going to Ireland soon and I don't know what would happen then.

Advise from my mom included, cleaning his tongue - done, boiling barley - done, changing menu - done. Advise from my friend C who even cooked for him, cook his food like adult ie stir fry and simmer instead of boiling - done, reduce milk feeds - done....

S just says that he is like me - fussy, fussy, fussy about food. Rats, hate it when he is right!

Anyhow, here's some pictures of him refusing food.

Some other happier news, after five months of doing laundry almost daily, I have just discovered that I have been using fabric conditioner to wash my clothes instead of the proper washing liquid! Sheesh....minus 100 points. To make up for that, I made my very own salmon avocado sushi with the seaweed from my mom. Even made the rice with the Japanese vinegar to make it taste better! Add 500 points!! Hahaha....

Yummy....

S and his giant handroll - Josiah looks quite interested! Maybe we should feed him sushi...

A lazy Sunday...

For every stay-at-home mom, weekends are heralded with glee. An extra pair of hands to help out makes a world of difference. During weekends, when dads are around, mummies get to laze in bed a litlle longer, eat breakfast like a normal adult but more exciting - to be able to poo in peace.



Normally, S and I would plan our weekends to include some nice meals and to explore London. But every now and again, we would agree to a nice lazy Sunday. Here is how our recent lazy Sunday turned out.



Josiah started the day at 5am, after just two nights of letting mummy and daddy sleep till 8am. I stumbled out of bed to feed him as S was snoring like a pig. Thankfully, Josiah went back to sleep. So the morning started again properly at 8am with a nice Skype call from my mum-in-law. She showed us her latest achievement making cinnamon and 'char siew' buns. Our mouths were salivating whilst we ate our expired toast with peanut butter. I am inspired to start baking now. Inspired being the keyword though :p



I dressed Josiah in his Sunday best to go to church, with a nice vest as it is autumn now. He was a handful at church showing off all his antics for all to see. He talked loudly, complained about sitting in his pushchair, farted loudly a FEW times, attacked my handbag and flashed his million dollar smiles at everyone hoping for some attention. All that activity emptied his battery and he was out the moment we put him back to the pushchair. We then headed to Westbourne Grove for lunch deciding to be adventurous this week. Normally, going to Westbourne Grove would mean either my favourite curry laksa or S favourite giant burgers from Gourmet Burger Kitchen.



We decided to go to this nice italian cafe. The restaurant has a nice setting, food was super yummy and the service was top class. What a find! So near home too....we'd definately be taking all our guest there from now on. S had a nice toasted ciabatta with italian burger with truffle...mmm....and I went for the avocado,aubergine,courgette, mozerella with grill chicken. Delicious. Even Josiah managed to eat some of it :)



He was so cute that the ladies in the cafe gave him some italian biscotti. Man, the fella devoured the whole thing and when a little piece fell out and S took it away, he got angry! So we bought him a box of his own biscotti for 2 pounds. Next stop, haircuts for both S and I. The hairdresser is from Egpyt and is super fast in cutting hair and is cheap too! He finished S hair in less than 15 minutes and mine too another 20 plus minutes. Amazing. All hair dressers should learn from him, I tolerate 2 hours sitting in a chair - normally the result is about the same. Total cost is 16 pounds, 7 pounds for S and 9 pounds for me. Super.



Then headed home and voila....the Chinese supermarket is finally open. Yay, can now buy tofu and fish cakes! Since the sun was out, it would be a waste to stay indoors, so we took Josiah to the playground. Did I mention that he loves the swings now. He even does it without holding on sometimes.



So I guess the lazy Sunday turns out to be not quite lazy after all.













Here's the little man in his Sunday best...

...and having fun at the playground

Nine months old

To my little man,

Mummy cannot believe that you have now spent as much time with me outside my tummy as you have inside me. What warm memorable times we have spent together especially since we got to this cold country. Let mummy recall some of the fun times we had so far.

Remember when...

...we conquered 13 hours in the airplane getting here - you were so young then that you were not even interested in the lovely air stewardess. Now, you would be giving them your most charming smile and laugh loudly so they would come over to play with you. Of course, only pretty lassies interest you - no old ladies or men. Sigh, you can be too obvious sometimes. Just last weekend we were out for 'yum cha' at a nice poshy restaurant where all the waitresses were dressed in white cheong sam type uniform. Mummy could see you eyeing them the whole time there.

...we first put you inside your pushchair. Oh, how you hated it. Crying almost every time you had to sit in it. Made me hate going out because I did not want to see you miserable. Now, you are sitting up and checking out the scenery when we go out. Even giving some passerby a smile when they smile at you. You look so cute when you hang out your hand on the side of the pushchair just like the taxi drivers in KL.

...we took you shopping how you hated it. Mummy and Daddy always give you about 5 minutes before you scream. We still give you 5 minutes... darn, some things never change.

...your Po Po and Yee Yee were here. Oh, you had so much fun everyday. Po Po carried you everywhere and I mean everywhere! She'd be so proud to see what a good boy you are now.

...you used to sit in the bouncy chair all the time. You hated to lie down and always wanted to sit up even when you could not. You also loved the Bumbo, I mean loved to escape from the Bumbo until one day you finally managed to fall off it and we had to buy you a highchair. Then you hated the highchair and wanted to escape it too. No change there, you are still hating it when we put you there except when we let you watch your DVDs, then you clap your hands and shout in delight.

...you used to only occupy a quarter of your huge RM1000 cot. Now, we have to lower the cot and you sleep all over the cot in various positions. The other night you slept with your face in your story book.

...you loved to sleep on your tummy even when all the child experts / books/ magazines warned against it. Thank God for preserving you. Every night, mummy still has to check to see that you are sleeping on your tummy otherwise if you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night, you'll cry because you are on your back. The worse period was when you had yet to learn how to turn back onto your tummy and would cry a few times a night when you turned turtle.

...you loved to eat fruit puree. You still love to eat that although mummy has been trying to get you to eat lumpier food. I wonder if you are the only 9 month old baby who still eats like a 4 month old? All mummy's attempt to introduce you with a LITTLE lump would be met with gagging episodes and a firm refusal to open your mouth. Daddy blames mummy for your pickiness when it comes to food. Hey, I eat lumpy foods :p

...you only take your milk when it is hot. We still have a 100% failure in getting you to take your milk lukewarm, which means throwing out a LOT of milk just so we can make a brand new hot milk. Such a bad habit and no improvement there. And I have to throw away a lot of baby food too! Naughty boy.

...you drank so little milk that mummy was going crazy trying all sorts to get you to take more milk. Also because mummy knew that you were still waking up every 3 hours at night because you only can manage 3 oz even at five months old. Now you can manage 6 oz and mummy is so happy to be able to use the bigger bottle :p

But then why are you still waking up at night??

...you used to love it when mummy changed your dirty diaper. Now, you even give a clap when mummy is wiping your cute bum!

...you used to love having a bath but hate putting on clothes. Now, you own mummy's tub and still hate putting on clothes. Even getting you out of the tub is a tug-of-war literally when you grip onto the tub with your strong little hands and mummy has to pry them open.

...hearing words like, "Ta-da" and "Bring back" makes you laugh. Now you like "Whoops" and "Thank you". Now you can blabber on quite a bit - saying things like, "Hey, hey", "Ma Ma", "Nai nai". You always make mummy blush when you shout out, "hey, hey" in church, people will think you have bad manners.

...you were drooling all the time and everyone said," He must be teething". Well, still drooling and still no teeth.

So to my little cheeky, no teeth, bath-loving baby - Have a Happy 9 Month birthday!

Here he is preparing for winter:

Bath or shower?

Back home, having a bath tub is a luxury. A bath tub takes up lots of space and is just not as practical as the good old shower. After all, most people still take a shower after soaking in the bath. Being the sort of person who loves a bath, I used to look forward to staying in hotels during holidays just so I can use the bath tub. On such holidays, the whole "soaking in a bubble bath and relaxing whilst reading a book" type of fantasy can become reality. When we first went house hunting in London, I noticed that most of the bathrooms here comes with a bath and thought to myself, "How nice...bubble bath everyday!"

Reality - I have only used the bath once since I got here. Waiting for the tub to be filled up with water is a pain and the agony of cleaning a bath tub is no joke. Most importantly, the bath tub has now turned into a mini fun-pool for Josiah. Last week, S and I decided to blow up his inflatable tub (gift from my ex-colleagues in StandChart Bank)for babies who are still too small to use the big tub. We also put up stickers, courtesy of my friend, C who bought it all the way from Singapore. S was just saying that the tub does not look romantic anymore...

Well, lets see, romantic tub (not a daily affair!) versus baby pool (everyday fun time!) - baby wins. I guess if I used a LOT of bubbles, it could hide the stickers and the tub could still be somewhat romantic??

Then again, who needs a bath when all you need is a shower,right?

Shower away folks.....

Look at the satisfied customer, of course mummy and daddy will give up the tub for you!

Another pic for all to enjoy.

Multi tasking - God's gift to mummies

I have always wondered how I will cope with a baby and managing myself ie shower, eat, poo...

Well, I have the answer now and it is the ever useful skill of multi-tasking. I thought it is only good for the office but in home life, it is a life saver.

Here are examples of how I survived these past 4 months alone with a 'sticky' baby.

- Brush teeth, wash faces, put on lenses whilst baby is crawling on toilet floor. He is happy because he gets to play with the nappy cream, diapers, face cream...etc

- Use above methods for poo and pee as well.

- Cook baby's lunch & dinner whilst he is still happy in the morning, at the same time, eat breakfast in between chopping carrots, potatoes. On a good day, baby is still happy after all that chopping meaning that I would get to actually sit and eat breakfast and on even better days -read the newspaper!

- When baby is taking morning nap, it is a time bomb to get as much done before he wakes. To do this, requires even more multitasking. Shower whilst boiling water, mop floor whilst lunch is cooking, check emails and blog whilst eating lunch...get the picture.

Of course there are downside to multitasking especially when one has lack of sleep. Namely, something will get burnt on the stove or you'd forget that you have put in the clothes in for washing and only realise when it has that awful "left too long in washing machine smell" and have to rewash it again. I have also been unable to eat slowly anymore - all food goes into my mouth and my tummy in a snap! I have to tell myself to chew, chew, slow down, stop gobbling....

Today is one of those days I feel like the domestic goddess - baby is happy and having a nice nap, baby food has been pureed and ready for eating, floors are clean, toilets are clean, mummy is clean, dinner is halfway done (bak kut teh) and mummy is blogging! Wow...and it is only 12pm. On such days as this, I thank God over and over again, of course, also asking for another one more fantastic day.

Was just telling my sister that I am getting retribution for the lack of housework I have had to do the past 29 years. I couldn't help it, really. I have had a maid up until I left for Uni, thereafter, a maid who does toilets, ironing,mopping come in twice a week. My mum did the cooking and cleaning, washing. Thanks Mum! Then I got married and moved in with my in-laws who at any one time had at least 2 maids sometimes even 3!! So not much to do there :p Thanks Mum-in-Law too! So people, here is how life will get back at you. Am now 29 years old, with a young baby - am a newbie at cleaning, washing, cooking and ironing with absolutely no maid in sight!! I have to manage it all even when I have never done it before especially ironing (which will explain why there is a mountain worth of clothes taunting me everyday!)

S has asked me to take up a course which his company will pay for and looking at my situation, honestly, do they have a course on Home Management Level 1? The main motivation for taking this course would be seeing Josiah crawling happily then pick him up and see that his clothes are black from dust and hair (mostly mine because I am balding. Sniff.)

Such is life, so to all young 'un out there complaining about housework and all - be thankful for the housework when young, maybe, you would never have to do housework when you get older. As for me, am checking for Home Management courses :p

Look at my lovely boy - looking miserable in his nice outfit