Dear Uncles & Aunties:

I am moving over to Multiply to continue with documenting my life from 6 months onwards. See You There! :)

www.babyjoeybaby.multiply.com

Her First Tooth

Did I tell you that Joey's first tooth is finally coming out??! Indeed, it is!

Yesterday in church I checked her gums and found that there's a white tooth on the surface of her lower gum! I touched it and found that it's indeed a tooth! I've always tried to guess which tooth will come out first. And so, it's the one of the bottom left! :) When it's totally out, i'll take a photo to show U!

The Joy of Sitting

Joey is getting more & more steady in sitting. It's a joy to see her sit and smile happily because she knows she is getting better at her sitting skills. =)

She is now learning to crawl. So far, she's only succeeded in shaking her butt and crawling backwards. haha.. but it's a good sign. All these are mini milestones that will lead to the actual crawling. Now, at best, she can lurch forward using her sheer strength. But before long, she would discover that if she bends her knees, she would find the strength to move forward!

Dear Dear & I would likely be making a trip to Ikea soon because we need to get some baskets to store her toys (because they're growing!) and also things to child-proof my house. Just one glance at my living room and you would see all the potential dangers - all the sharp edges of my tables, cabinets, doors etc. So, better prepare ourselves before Joey can crawl around freely. It is getting more & more interesting now.. :)

Her New Ferrari

God is truly good. Just yesterday afternoon, Isaiah was telling me that the back wheels of Joey's stroller seemed to be bending sideways due to the heavy weight. Besides Joey, it usually needs to support my ton-heavy bag with my laptop and Joey's neccessities bag. Then yesterday night, I received a phone call from Sis Ting asking me if Joey has outgrown her stroller and if she needs a new one, since my usage of the stroller is super high. This is so timely! The best part is the stroller is Dayan's, and he has only used it twice or thrice, so it's almost a brand new one. And it's red! Joey's favorite colour!

So, excitedly, this morning when I reached church, I went to retrieve the stroller. Oh man, it's a super good stroller, can?! American brand and probably can't be found in Singapore. Everything about it is huge - from the sunshield to the seat to the wheels! It's a real steady stroller and one that can last Joey till at least 2 years old. God is so so good! What a great blessing! Thank you Pastor Kong & Sun! =)

In stroller category, this must be a Ferrari.

Look how comfortable Joey is in her new Ferrari. :)

When we took her out in her new stroller after service today, we got quite alot of stares. Most likely because the stroller is very stylo and sturdy and one look will tell you it's quite hard to buy it in singapore.

We were also in the photo taking mood today!

With Uncle Nick a.k.a Uncle Teddy

With Auntie Xia

With Uncle Hoe & Auntie Xia! Nice photo!

Papa, Wake Up!

Papa, wake up!

PAPA!!!!! WAKE UP!!!!!

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.

.

.

.

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She failed. Papa turned to the other side to continue sleeping.

Her New Things

I just bought 2 new pyjamas for Joey! One is a yellow duckie PJ, the other one a blue striped PJ. Look at how comfortable she is in the yellow duckie PJ last night. :)

Look at it closer. I love the prints!

Estee bought some cute gifts for Joey from Australia! Look, new colourful hair clips!!

Red Nike socks! So cool..

And this book which is so very meaningful for a baby! A baby's 1st year Chronicles!

This is a book that allows you to keep record of your baby's first year's life.

There're also lots of pages for me to paste her very first photo, photos of outings, photos with family & friends etc. So interesting! =) Thanks Estee!

A 2nd One?

You know how it is. Before you got attached, your parents ask you when you will find a boyfriend. When you find a boyfriend, your relatives ask you when you are finally settling down & getting married. When you are finally married, people bombard you with the same question every time they see you, ‘So, when are you going to have kids?’ Even after your first kid is born, they ask you, ‘When is the 2nd one coming?’

Barely one month after Joey was borned, I had people asking me when will the 2nd one come. HELLO? You try asking someone who has just gone through 10 months with a big balloon infront of them and probably over 10 hours of giving birth, you get a big, ‘NOT SO SOON!’ right in your face.

That day I was chatting with Pastor Audrey and I told her before I had Joey, I used to think that I would want to have 3 kids. But after giving birth to Joey, I think 1 is enough. Haha.. Not because Joey is a difficult kid or anything like that. But I've come to realise what it means to have a kid. The load of responsibility, money & time commitment is great. Emotionally, mentally and physically, one must be very prepared for it.

Then Pastor shared with me that it's only normal for me to think that way now, especially when Joey is only 6 months old. But there will come a time when I will feel like having a 2nd child and that you are ready to go through it all over again. I asked Pastor if the intention to have a second kid is for the sake of her first kid, to let her have a companion? She said, "No, it's because I really want it myself."

Coming from a mother of 2, I think her words are highly believable. Otherwise, why would people give birth to so many children? There will come a point when you feel like you want to have more children. No matter how tough or tiring it was taking care of the previous one. Well, my time will come, I guess. But I know for now, one Joey is enough. haha..

Passion Rediscovered

Ever since I’ve had Joey, I rediscovered my passion for kids. I knew since young that I like children, and even when I was 7 or 8 years old, I would hold ‘mini classroom sessions’ for my neighbours’ kids, teaching them how to spell, how to draw and even how to sing. In the midst of growing up, however, I seemed to have forgotten this part of me.

Taking care of babies is definitely not easy. You can ask any one who has given birth before. It’s VERY HARD WORK. Apart from not having enough sleep & rest, you sacrifice a whole lot of freedom, personal time and private space. It requires crucifying your flesh when the need calls for it, like waking up at 3am just to feed the baby, or bathing the kid upon reaching home late and you feel like you could fall asleep walking.

Yet, in the midst of all the tiredness and the ‘I-feel-like-dying’ emotions, there is a deep satisfaction & happiness in taking care of my own baby. Not only my own baby, but now when I see other babies & kids, a smile will spring up on my face immediately. They’re just so cute & adorable!

Maybe I might consider becoming a nanny when I retire. Haha.. definitely not now though, cos I don’t believe anyone will have confidence in such a young babysitter. Won’t want parents to freak out! But it’s indeed a happy thought if I could be surrounded by cute kids everyday. =)

Joey & People

Joey has been taking photos with different people recently. :)

~ With Auntie Na-Na ~

~ With Denise Jie-Jie ~

~ With Auntie Sharon ~

~ With Auntie Esther ~

~ With Auntie Cynthia ~

~ And of course, with Papa ~

The Fall

It’s funny how the same things can happen to different people all at the same time.

Those of you who read Isaiah’s blog knows that Joey fell down from our bed the other day. It was the first time it happened, so you can guess how nerve-wreaking it was for us. At the same time, I read from 2 other friends’ blogs that their babies also fell. I can really understand how it feels. Especially when my baby fell because I left her unattended.
But of course, we all know that almost every baby has her fair share of falls. I like what Rachel says - Falling down just makes us grow up. The fall may be painful, but it also teaches us something and makes us stronger.

When the fall happened, my heart nearly stopped beating. I left Joey right in the middle of my king-size bed.to go to the toilet to wet her towel. She was whining when I left her. The next thing I knew, I heard a loud wailing from Joey and I even thought that she was just very angry that I left her all alone. Isaiah walked in slowly to pacify her (I think he also thought she was just very angry) and then all of a sudden, he shouted very loudly, “DEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

He must have gotten a rude shock when he went in and saw Joey lying on the floor face-up!

My poor gal. I don’t know how it happened because she has yet to learn how to crawl yet and even if she did flip over & started to crawl, she should be crawling forward and not backwards. Anyhow, she should have crawled backwards and slipped down the bed.

She is such a poor thing because on the same day earlier on in the afternoon, she hit her forehead against a rounded but pointed toy in the office nursery when she was learning how to crawl. Apparently, she lurched forward and the toy flew a great distance away after hitting her. Imagine the impact. I was working in the office when I heard her sudden loud & fierce cries. Not only I, but almost everyone around me turned & asked, “Oh man, what happened? Whose baby is crying like that??”

2 hits in 1 day.

Anyway, she recovered fast from all the hit & fall. She still eats normally with a good appetite and is as playful as ever. So, at least we can put our hearts at ease. I pray that there’ll not be any bad after effects..

Happy Saturday!

Joey at service on Saturday this week..

Friday

Fridays was my favourite day of the week ever since I gave birth to Joey, because I get to claim my 3rd month maternity off on every Friday and stay at home to work instead of having to travel all the way to suntec. Officially, I used up all my maternity leave last week, so this week's Friday, I was back in office.

In the morning, Francis walked past me, purposely 'gostan' and asked me, "Today is Friday right? Then what are u doing here?" And I had to say, 'Used up all le'. with a silent sigh

Then i got a missed call from Sis Lillian and i called her back using my office phone. She went, 'Eh Kless, u are in office??' And I had to reply, 'Yes.. used my last Friday last week..' with another sigh

Then Careen walked by and asked, 'You're not on maternity leave today?' You can guess my answer. And yes, with a sigh again.

The last one came from Pst Audrey, "Eh Klessis, you're here today?" Yep! Sigh!

Ok lah, actually it's not as bad lah. I was able to accomplish more work in the office cos if i am at home, i got to take care of joey myself. So it's still quite good. Furthermore, i've already enjoyed so many months of a 3-day week in the office. More than enough. Thank you Jesus!

I decided to give Joey a sporty look yesterday when we went to the office. :)

Compared to this one I took a few days earlier.. what a big difference right?!

If you don't know Joey, you might think the 2 photos are a pair of boy & girl twins! wahaha.. so you see how important dressing up is. Even for a baby.

This was taken yesterday. Auntie Lee Eng is Joey's favorite person in the office nursery!

Chubby Is the Word

My baby has grown even chubbier recently, it seems. Even my mother in law who saw her through the webcam commented so, so I think it's true. When I carry her now, i can really feel her chunky 'meat'. Very nice to carry & hug.

Check this out, man!

I did wonder for 1 second whether my Joey will be angry with me for putting up such a distasteful photo of her on her blog. But it was just a fleeting thought! I still uploaded it anyways! Afterall, for women, this may seem like a devastating photo, but for a baby girl, ok lah hor?? In any case, in my eyes, she is always beautiful. With or without fats. :)

When I tried to take a photo of her with the towel wrapping her hair, she was so angry with me! hahaha.. aiyo, all girls do that after shower, dun we?? Oh well...

I cooked a new porridge for her today. First time trying pumpkin. It turned out really good because of the rich orange colour and it softens so well that Joey could eat all the pumpkin flesh. Along with it, I put in some veggies and cooked it with pork for sweetness. She ate a real big bowl of it! I also tried feeding her apple sauce again, and it turned out that she liked it now! As compared to the previous time when she frowned and turned her face away, this time round, if i didn't stop her, she would finish the whole bottle! I decided to keep half a bottle for tomorrow or Saturday though. :) Good appetite. Grow chubbier!

Wig?

Today Sis Ting made a comment which made me laugh. She said that Joey has got so much hair that it looks like a wig!!

Haha... no, I am not offended in any way.. Infact i found it really amusing. When I went over to see her in the nursery later, I realised that her hair looks really weird today! Really looks like a wig! Hahaha..

Aiya.. if it's really a wig, you can be sure I will choose one with plaits so that she looks even more girly. hehe..

Her 1st Win

It is Joey's 1st win... err.. sort of..

Remember the online baby contest that I asked you guys to go help me vote for joey? Well, today I received an email from the organiser that JOEY WON THE THIRD PRIZE for the 'Most Cheeky Baby' category!!!



The email stated that I have to furnish important details of Joey and even send them photocopy of Joey's birth cert etc, and to send them more photos and a writeup to thank the supporters. They will be putting Joey in the Hall of Fame with one webpage dedicated to her!

Just when I was so excited about the part that says that the win comes with a prize voucher, I suddenly realised that ONLY 1ST & 2ND GOT PRIZES!! 3rd? Nothing. (!!!) And 3rd position winners are allowed to participate again, whereas the 1st & 2nd are barred for 1 year from the competition. Frankly speaking, when I went to see the 1st & 2nd prize winners, I was thinking to myself, "aiyah! Not that cute wat! So-so only.. My joey cuter.. these people don't know how to see..." wahahaha

Oh well, so it's just the fame, I guess.. :) In any case, BIG THANKS to all who casted your votes! =0)

Gleeful

I like Joey's smiles nowadays. They are always so gleeful. :) And makes me want to smile too.

This morning when we were about to leave the house to the office, I snapped a shot of her looking really gleeful in her stroller. Do you think she looks like an ah-go-go girl? :)

This is what greets me every morning when I reach the office nursery. I simply love to see the cute little shoes on the shoe racks! Especially the baby Crocs! I must admit that while Crocs shoes are possibly the ugliest and hardest-to-understand-why-it-became-popular item in the world, baby Crocs are really cute! I wanna get a bright pink pair for Joey when she can walk! If it is still selling then, that is. :)

My dad came to fetch me & Joey from office because my mum bought some ingredients for me to cook porridge for Joey. Guess who Joey saw that made her smile so gleefully?? :) Daddy & Mummy!

Baby Joey = Kangaroo??!

Today I got a revelation from Auntie Shirley in the office nursery.

Joey is the name of a baby kangaroo.

No wonder she likes to jump so much.

Haha! Didn't dawn upon me until auntie mentions it! Bet U didn't realise too, right? Daddy isaiah?? wahaha...

New Bop Bag!

Dear Dear bought a Winnie the Pooh bop bag for Joey to play! It's a real cute 91cm 'unfallible' which joey can kick & box and it will still bounce back to stand upright! For such a big toy, I thought it was really cheap.. only $6.90! We can even use it as a destresser after a hard day's work! wahaha

A Busy Day

Brought Joey out to Causeway in the afternoon today. I suddenly had this craving for Ya Kun, so decided to go there just to eat the kaya toast. haha.. Oh yes, before I forgot, Joey & I wore mother-daughter outfit today! We both wore shocking pink jeans!

Look at Joey's..

If you had been following this blog since the beginning, you would remember that this was the first pair of jeans that I bought for Joey. When I saw it at Fox Baby, I immediately wanted to get it although it's for 6 - 9 months, cos I have a similar pair of jeans too! And I told myself that I would wear it together with her one day. :)

Look at us.. can tell which thigh is whose? :) Hee. so easy..

Joey was behaving well MOST of the time, except when I was halfway eating my Ya Kun toast. At first she was pretty captured by the bak kuah shop's bright yellow lights.

Then she got impatient and I had to put her in the highchair... Then, she was happy. :)

After my delicious kopi-O and kaya toast, I decided that tonight I shall do one of my long lost hobby & so that dear dear would have a nice warm dinner waiting for him when he comes home! I decided to whip up a feast! So, off we went to the Cold Storage.

I must say, it was really hard to go marketing with a stroller because I could only take the basket and in the end, could not really buy that much food. Besides buying some broccoli and pork for Joey's porridge, I only bought ingredients for 3 dishes. But, already the basket was full and I almost died carrying it and pushing the stroller at the same time.

It turned out that Isaiah's brother, David, also thought of whipping up a nice dinner tonight, so we decided that I cook some, and he cooks some. I would procrastinate my deep fried tofu balls to another day cos really too many dishes. The ending result was fascinating. :)

Presenting....... *drum roll* ......... DINNER!

I made watercress soup with pork ribs. My first attempt, and it turned out alright except alittle bitter. =P. Soups are almost the simplest dish anyone can cook. Just dump in all the ingredients & cook for a long time. hehe. I only used red dates, soup pork ribs, watercress.. and a nice & healthy soup emerged!

David made curry chicken! He used some ready mixture package, but the result really smelled very good! Yum Yum!

David also cooked eggs with ham and dou miao with mushrooms, while I stir-fried prawns with celery! My first time using celery in my cooking too, but it smelled good, and is cancer-fighting! =)

Finally, dinner ended with my self-made mango salad! Dear Dear has been telling me he wants to eat mango salad and asked me if I knew how to make. Based on my own imagination, I came out with the following Thai-style recipe. Hehe.. Eat-able lah, don't worry.

Thai-style Mango Salad

3 large Thai mangoes (best are those with green skins)

10 small limes

3 small chilies

5 slices of Pomelo

3 stalks of mint leaves

Small portion of sugar syrup

* * * * * *

1. Slice mangoes into small strips. Put into mixture bowl.

2. Squeeze the limes into the mixture bowl. Use a sifter to remove seeds.

3. Finely chop the chilies, remove the seeds & put into bowl.

4. Pour in sugar syrup. (just a little will do)

5. Shred the pomelo and put into bowl.

6. Shred the mint leaves & put into bowl.

7. Mix well and put into fridge.

8. Serve chilled.

This salad is very spicy & sour. A sure perk-up if you are having a bad appetite. :)

* * * * * *

Busy but fulfilling day. :)

Happy 6-Month Birthday, Baby!

Today is Joey's 6-month-old birthday!!!

When she was a mere one-month-old, I asked myself when she will open her eyes to look at me. When she was two months old, I wondered when she will laugh at my jokes. When she was three months old, I imagined the day that she will flip all by herself. When she was four months old, it really felt that it was neither here nor there, and I was waiting to feed her porridge. When she was five months old, I was excited to find that she could finally sit with some assistance.

Now she is 6 months old. :)
That's half a year old, mind you! hehe

I decided to document her 6-month-old birthday with lots of photos. Here we were in a cab to church..

She must be wondering how come mummy can't stop taking her photos.. :)

Of course, she soon lost interest and fell asleep...

With Auntie Careen in Artiste Room when service started..

Mummy is taking a DIY photo again..

After service I've got to do BS duty and Isaiah got to bring his new but faulty webcam to Sim Lim Square, so Joey stayed with me while I did my duty. See what she did to keep herself entertained. :) She decided to eat her cloth.

While waiting for my dad to come & fetch me, I was extremely hungry so I brought Joey to Macau Express to have a mini pig-out. Joey was a good girl, she waited in the highchair for me. :)

Then my dad came to pick us up.

Back at my parents' house, we found out about Joey's new interest..

READING! (not bad huh?)

But we soon realised she was just choosing the right page to EAT.

Of course, Joey still needs to drink her milk no matter how tasty those magazine pages were. my mum would jump at every opportunity to feed her grand daughter..

Then she went back to her fav pastime - watching TV..

Our beautiful Sunday ended with a fabulous dinner of chilli crabs, black pepper crabs, stir-fried veggies, hotplate toufu, seafood yam ring and hotplate beef! And you know what's the best part?? Joey slept through the dinner so that daddy & mummy could eat in peace.

To reward her for her good behaviour and to celebrate her half-year birthday, I bought her a new spaghetti top!

Girls Power!

(It's supposed to be in baby pink, but I dunno why the photo turned out to be white. )

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DARLING!

A Hazy Saturday

Yes, I know it's pretty hazy outside. I know the PSI has hit 150 today. But.... we still brought Joey out!

It's afterall a Saturday and I can't bear the thought of staying home the whole day. So, inspite of the haze, we went to town. We went to many places today and stayed outdoors most of the time, but thank God Joey seemed unfazed by the haze (wah! rhymes!). Even I felt that somehow the air was thicker and harder to breathe. Maybe the quantity of air she needs is much lesser. haha..

We started our expedition at Dhoby Gaut Link. It's quite a small MRT mall, but the shops are pretty cool. There's even a kids shop inside selling really cute baby & kids clothes which I've never seen anywhere else. Mummies, worth to take a look there!

From Dhoby Gaut, we walked all the way to Takashimaya and rested our feet at the 'Central' Hong Kong teahouse. Then we decided that we should make a trip to Sim Lim Square to get our webcam. My MIL in Australia is missing Joey lots and lots and we thought that letting her see Joey through the webcam can help ease part of the longing and Joey would also not forget what she looks like too!

After getting our webcam, we went to Selegie to have our 'tau huay' fix. Haha.. The tau huay is really very good, especially when we ate it with fried doughsticks! Yum Yum.. At the stall, there was a little girl, around 5 years old who started to play with Joey. She's really good, I must say, because Joey was captivated by her! She was making funny faces & playing with Joey and guess what? Joey started to laugh really loudly! And she kept laughing and laughing and laughing that the people around us all started to look at her with amusement. There was even a car full of people who refused to drive away because they were just enjoying Joey's laughter! Oh man.. I tell you, we got to quickly leave to stop all the stares and all the murmurs of 'so cute... so cute'.. I think maybe not many people have seen babies laugh so hard before..

That kind of ended our expedition on a very funny and happy note. :)

Hairstyle

While wiping Joey's face and hair with a wet towel just now, I got an inspiration...

Miss Honesty

Miss Modern

Miss Bombastic

Practice Makes Perfect

The more she sits, the steadier she gets..

The Future Opera Singer

She was screaming for me to take her out of her Bambo chair

My Last Friday

Today is a significant day in my life. It's my LAST MATERNITY LEAVE DAY! Well, at least for my firstborn. :)

I thought about it long & hard - How should I spend my last Friday off, courtesy of the Singapore Government and kindness of my company to let me claim it bit by bit. But it didn't get off to a good start. From last night, a bad migraine hit me real bad. It lasted throughout the night till this morning. Infact, it only just subsided just 15 minutes ago. I am a happy gal again! Been cranky all morning.

So, now that it's already afternoon and I have got CG tonight, I wonder if I should still go out. I had initially thought of going shopping at Junction 8, cos I saw a pushcart that sells super good & affordable kids' clothes. There's this cute swimsuit i wanna buy for Joey. Only $10! Then I'd be able to bring her swimming tomorrow! So, should I go out??

Before I decide, just some cute photos of my darling. I took some photos of her sleeping last night. haha.. super cute in my opinion!

Think she is half-awake, but too tired to open her eyes. When I call her name, she would smile and open her eyes for half a second and close back again.. hee.. look at her smiling in her sleep!

This is the back of her head. I snapped the shot when I was burping her after her night feed. So adorable right?!

This morning when she woke up, she was so full of energy & all smiles!

She's concentrating hard on...... watching sesame street! =) Some things, kids will always like.

Biased Cuteness??

Nowadays, updating Joey's blog has an added meaning - to keep my mum-in-law who's in Australia now posted on Joey's growth & progress. HELLO MUMMY! Joey: HELLO GRANDMA! :)

This morning Auntie Lee Eng made a comment which made both of us laugh. She said she still feels that Joey is much cuter than so-and-so (better not say who..).. but she may be biased because she personally takes care of Joey, so of course she thinks Joey is cuter! Haha.. funny, but there is absolutely some truth in it.

As her mama, I am so biased that till date, I don't think I have found anyone as cute as her. Oh, by the way, *ahem.. turns into proud mummy* Joey is in the Top 10 in 2 out of the 3 contests that I sent in her photos for! *clap clap clap* Wahaha... remember I once asked you guys to go there & cast your votes? Although I know many of you didn't (quick repent!), Joey still made it into the Hall of Fame for 'Most Curious Kid' and 'Most Cheeky Kid'. No prizes lah, but at least something mah... :)

Oh no, there's nothing in the fridge for me to add into Joey's porridge tomorrow. Think I might need to go do some maketing tomorrow morning.

Joey's Angel Friend

Joey has a friend called Angel in the office nursery. She is Serina & Kenny's baby daughter. That's the 2 of them saying 'Good morning' this morning. ;)

Angel is quite a chubby baby too ya?? =)

Rubber Yummy

Auntie Dawn bought a new teether for Joey! Been wanting to buy a new teether for her cos her gums seem to be itching real bad nowadays. The new teether is cute! With a chicken head, pullable elastic 'hair' of the chicken, 2 handles for joey to hold on to, and a rubber tail for her to chew on. It's even a rattle! :)

Look at Joey chewing really hard on it in the nursery!

She was still chewing on it when we went for dinner with my parents at night!! hahaa

Veggies Goodness

I must admit, today's porridge doesn't look that appetitizing. Nevertheless, my good daughter did finish one bowl of it. Thank God for a daughter with a hearty appeitite. As her mother, I was thinking of something else while I was feeding her - Would her poo turn out to look the same as this porridge too? =)

You get what I mean.

Today's porridge is easier than saying ABC. Just toss spinanch and green peas into the pot with half a cup of rice & a chicken thigh, and viola!

I think spinach has a funny smell. I'm not sure if it's just me, but when I opened the pot to check on the porridge, I didn't think I feel like eating it myself. It's just got this really raw smell, like grass on the plains. No kidding.

Maybe I shall forsake spinach and cook cauliflower & pumpkin next.

What Are Those Weird Things?

"Hmm.. What are these 5 fat fat tiny things? How come I can't pull them off? I would really like to taste them for myself.... "

Don't laugh! Do you know that chewing on own toes is one milestone in the development of babies? Babies generally do not know that their hands and feet belong to them until they try to tug at it and chew on it and realise they can feel something.

Ever since she was born, different friends have been asking me if she has started to eat her toes. And I was waiting for her to do so too. Yeh, it's a sadist thought, but it would require some effort on her part too, cos she needs to pull them all the way up into her mouth. Heh heh..

Call for Help!

I am thinking of making puree for Joey... fruits puree, carrots puree, pumpkin puree...

can any papa or mama reading this teach me, please??

Leave me a comment.. thanks a mil! :)

Leisure Sunday

Went back to my parents after service today, just like any other sundays. Good to see that Joey is already very familiar with my parents, nigel & kat. She would not fuss anymore when she is being carried by them, even when I am not around. The only thing is they still cannot master the art of putting her to sleep yet, so that's when I come in. :) In any case, I think real soon, I'd be able to leave Joey in their hands and go pak tor with isaiah! Wahahaha!

Look how comfortable Joey is sitting on my parents' bed..

She even tried to snatch my handphone away!

Life is getting routine on sundays. But just like almost every sunday, we had dinner at this super good Thai restaurant in Sembawang Shopping Centre. I tell you, we have tried to order different kinds of dishes each time, but until now, I have not really found a dish that is just so-so. Every single dish they have is very delicious. And that is an understatement, I tell you.

The queues on weekends are quite atrocious. There would be many many people crowding outside the restaurant because they are waiting for their turn. The waiters would take down our names & our orders, then tell us to go walk walk for 45 minutes. The restaurant is very popular not only because of its good food, but also because of its good service (I salute the friendliness & courtesy of all the staff), speed of delivering the dishes and the reasonable prices. The funny thing is, without fail, they will always come with the bill at the end of the dinner and tell us they've given us a $2 discount. "Oh, the total bill is $40, but we are only charging you $38." My dad calls it the 'make-you-feel-good' strategy.

Go try this Thai restaurant at Sembawang Shopping Centre Level 4. :)

Gone Fishing!

Today's porridge is fish porridge! Other than its nutritional value, I can find no other reason to cook fish porridge because the smell is really strong! I didn't know that there's no more ginger at home, so couldn't put in any to mask the smell. Thank God Joey wasn't turned off by the smell, and actually finished one whole bowl of it! *phew* Daddy Isaiah wasn't half as enthusiastic of course, since he hates fish, and complains the entire house including Joey's hands smell of fish. *sigh*

Please let me indulge in myself for a while. I am so proud of these photos because they look like they came right out of a cookbook! wahaha!

Ingredients
Half a cup of rice 1 piece of fish
Small portion of silk toufu
Carrots finely chopped

Cooking instructions
1. Boil the rice in warm water
2. Put in fish when water boils
3. Put in carrots after 15 minutes
4. Add in toufu towards the end
5. Boil on low fire

Verdict: Joey obviously enjoyed the porridge because this is the largest portion she had eaten even since we started her on semi solids. And finally she had her first taste of meat. Previously when I cooked chicken, I dare not let her eat the chicken even though they were very very soft. Fish is still alright, I guess. =)

Joey is learning to sit. I try to let her practise by letting her sit on the floor, but always getting ready to hold her should she fall sideways. Her spine is not fully developed yet, so can't really strain it too much, otherwise it might grow to be slanted or loopsided. The way she sits now is she would lean slightly forward & support herself using her hands.

I always thought that babies would learn to sit first, then start to crawl. But i just heard from another mother the other day that they learn to crawl first, then sit, then stand, then walk. Apparently, the most difficult one to learn for them is to go from a standing position to a sitting position. It requires the muscles of the knees & thighs to be very strong before they can do that. So how? It seems that Joey is learning to sit first before crawling. In any case, as long as they are developing & picking up skills, that's all it matters. The order is not important lah..

Like most kids, joey is very curious. She is always staring and looking at things around her. She is intrigued by cameras, handphones & remote controls. She loves colours & lights. She is interested in food & drinks. She wants to touch them & grab them all the time. Because I have been taking so many photos of her using my handphone, she kind of knows she needs to smile when I take her photo. So now, if I want to get a candid shot of her, i need to take the photo discreetly so that she doesn't notice. Haha!

High Metabolism

Joey evidently has a very high metabolism rate. She sweats almost all the time - when she's drinking milk, when she's hopping, when she's in her stroller chair, even when she's just sitting down. Her thick hair contributes to the heat too, I guess. But still, I believe she burns fats real easier. This is good news, because it means she can stay slim easily! Look how much she's sweating just watching TV at home. Mind you, it's even raining outside!

I love the way she grabs her toes when she is sitting down. haha.. so super adorable!

Hyper Joey

Joey is quite hyperactive. Auntie just realised yesterday how much she likes to jump & hop. Yes, if you hold her up to a standing position, she will literally hop up & down, with feet at least lifted 5cm above ground. She is so strong that you need more than a popeye to hold on to her. Our arms are usually so tired after 5minutes of hopping, but she would still be gleefully hopping, hopping, hopping.

See Joey with Nigel jiu-jiu this afternoon when we went out for lunch together. Why does Joey look so blur? Because she is in the midst of hopping when I snapped the shot. hehe!

Joey's signature smile is when her eyes become one straight line till you can't see them anymore. But I am thankful that she is a very happy child & smiles & laughs alot. I think it must be because I was a very happy & cheerful pregnant mama!

Joey's playing with David shu-shu and ye-ye at home... She loves it when they clap their hands!

Joey's in the car resting and about to fall asleep with the cool aircon and gong-gong patting her lightly... Oh man, Joey looks so fat in this photo!! I promise it's the angle!!

"Oriental Delight"

Ingredients
1/2 cup of rice
1 chicken thigh
A small portion of silk tofu
A small portion of spinach

Cooking Instructions
1. Boil rice in warm water
2. When rice is half-cooked, add in skin-off chicken thigh
3. Chop spinach very finely & add in
4. Cut tofu into small pieces & add in when rice is almost cooked
5. Low fire till porridge thickens

Testimony from customer:

"grrrbbb...... mmmhh....... finger-licking good..."

--- joey, chirpy 5-month-old

Menu For Monday

Joey's menu for today is a combination of milk, cereals, porridge & fruit sauces.

She started off the morning with milk as usual. After she woke up from her morning nap, I gave her porridge.

Porridge of the Day: A Day In the Garden

Half a cup of rice
1 piece of dried scallop
1 small portion of chopped carrots
4 mini potatos chopped into bite sizes
About 20 green peas

No chicken because I haven't had the chance to go to the market. I am planning to go get some chicken bones & breastmeat as well as fish to cook some good porridge for Joey. In the meantime, she would have to make do with veggie goodness.

Looks OK la hor, you think? =)

Can't believe how much porridge I can produce with just half a cup of rice. I managed to feed Joey and myself. The scallop & the potato made the porridge quite sweet. Still got a little left in the slow cooker for Joey's evening meal.

Joey's playing with her uncle now. After that, shall give her 3 ounces of milk and let her nap. When she wakes up, I will feed her fruit sauce. It's gonna be banana sauce today! Hope she likes it better than the apple one.

Her night snack before she goes to sleep will be rice cereals with milk. That's all I planned for today. Hope she likes it. =)

Snack Time

Gave Joey some more apple sauce during snack time this evening. The first few spoonfuls made her squirm alittle again. haha.. But as she ate more & more, she started to really swallow them and even open her mouth for the spoon to go in when she sees the spoon approaching. Good progress!

I think it's like what my friend told me.. it's the first time she has tasted something that's sour, so should take some time to get used to it. I guess that must be it.

Heee.. I love this pic~! She's looking at daddy who's sitting on the floor..

Although Joey is still not able to sit very steadily on highchairs, at least she can lean on one side or to the front for support. It's so much easier now when we go out to eat in restaurants, cos we can always put her in a highchair and we can eat freely. Used to be that we have to carry her on our laps all the time. Because sitting is still quite a new & fresh thing for her, she enjoys sitting very much and most of the time, would not fuss.

Joey In Church

Had a busy weekend. Didn't spend time resting at home but was in church to attend the last 2 sessions of the Marriage series. Joey spent her weekend in church with me too. :) Here's Joey all dressed up, waiting for Mummy to get ready. (She's wearing a mini skirt!)

My MIL left the house together with me. So, with her help, we could take the shuttle buss because she could carry Joey while I folded & carried the stroller. Her style on Sat was sexy cheerleader girl!

Nowadays, I'd choose to let Joey sit with me in the artiste room during service because the nursery is usually very crowded and there's not enough mattresses to go around. The artiste room is for staff's use, so it's quite quiet there, and I can get to watch the service and yet not feel too embarrassed when Joey decides to be naughty & keeps fidgeting.

There's this full length standing mirror in the artiste room which amuses Joey alot. of course, it's not the mirror that amuses her, but her own reflection, and the reflection of her mummy smiling at her. It probably didn't dawn upon her that the cute little baby in the mirror is her and how come mummy is carrying her & yet in the mirror at the same time.

No prizes for guessing who took this picture. :) If you really cannot tell, you can go bang your head against the wall.

Then I decided to bring Joey over to Nursery 1 to visit jayden cos we haven't seen him for quite some time. He's grown so much! =)

This is Joey during today's Sunday service.. in a white sweater today instead. We went to the nursery instead today cos I wanted to join Isaiah for the renewal of vows, so I had to ask Auntie Shirley to help me take care of her for a while..

Today, Reagan made a comment, 'Joey.. you attend services more than some people do..' haha..

Your hand, please...

Joey is very cute. Whenever you stretch out your hand to her, she will know she has to put her hand on yours. haha.. i guess it's all part of curiosity, and her need to grab something. It's good too. At least it's rewarding to know that she knows that she needs to reciprocate by stretching out her hand too. :)

Does She Like to Eat?

It does appear to me that Joey does not really enjoy eating very much now. She kind of still prefers her milk to semi solids. Yesterday was an adventurous day. I fed Joey many different kinds of food. haha.. Was a little worried if her stomach could take it, but she did not have diarrhoea or anything like that, so i guess it's quite alright. Anyway, I only gave her a taste of each kind of food, so it's not exactly a full meal.

She'd frown whenever I try to stuff something into her mouth. The elmo cartoon on the spoon captures her attention, so she won't resist the spoon. But the moment the food gets into her spoon, she would frown & knit her mouth together, giving me a 'what's that?' look.

I gave her porridge with carrots & green peas, mashed potato and also the apple sauce. The porridge is the one with least resistance from her. When the apple sauce went into her mouth, she really frowned badly. Far from my imagination that she would probably fall madly in love with it and would try to grab it from my hands, she didn't look too excited about it at all. Maybe becos it's the first time she's tasted something sweet & alittle sour (actually I dun really know what's the taste.. haha). But I will persist on to give her the apple sauce, a little a day. Maybe she'd like the banana one better?

The moment I showed her her milk bottle, she was SO EXCITED. sigh... maybe she still prefers milk to anything else now?

Next week, I shall cook her fish porridge. At least it's gonna be sweeter than carrots porridge. :)

Food For Thought * Thought For Food

Did I mention I cooked porridge for the first time for Joey the other day?

It was not pre-planned. Just something I felt like doing on a spur of the moment. Many people told me that it's time to start Joey on porridge and since she seemed fine swallowing her cereals, I thought maybe it's not a bad idea to start giving her porridge. Adds some colours to her diet, isn't it?

The only ingredient I could find in the fridge was dried scallops, so I used that to cook half a cup of porridge. I thought the porridge would be sweet with the scallops, but turned out that the scallops had no taste at all, and I felt that Joey's porridge was quite tasteless. I didn't dare to add any seasoning at all since she's still so young. So I also had no heart to let her eat too much, just about 8 teaspoonfuls and I finished the rest of the porridge myself. After adding in some soya sauce, that is. Wahaha.

So, tonight, Isaiah and I went to get her a small-size slow cooker, solely for Joey's use. Since I need to work and bring her to work with me, I'd have to put in all the rice and ingredients the night before and let it cook so that I can bring the porridge with me the next day to work. Look at the mini slow cooker. Really cute..

Then I also bought 2 bottles of fruit sauces for Joey to try tomorrow. One apple & one banana - highly recommended by Kristie & David. Funny how come adults come tell me how nice they are and how much they enjoyed eating it. Hello? It's baby food ok?! I'll see what's the expression on Joey's face tomorrow when she eats it. Hee..

Joey Back in Office

Joey is back in church office nursery today, after about 2 weeks' break! I was really worried that she would forget what Auntie Shirley & Auntie Lee Eng looks like. Thank God when we reached in the morning, she seemed to remember Auntie Lee Eng! :)

Auntie commented that Joey has grown so much since 2 weeks ago. haha.. I can't really tell lah, since I see her everyday. But I'm happy to hear that. Later in the afternoon, another nursery worker from church came to the office and commented that Joey is really growing very well. Hehe.. double happiness! This should be the best comment any mother wants to hear.

It's a stripey day for Joey today.. I dressed her in her new stripes tee, and even purposely put on striped socks for her! Haha.. I wanted to let her wear her colourful stripped headband too, but decided not to torture her early in the morning. But it'd be such a great combi!

This One's About Mummy

I am happy to announce that after 5 months & 1 week, I've finally shed off every pound from my pregnancy and got back to my original pre-preggie weight. wahaha...

I was very happy that day when I managed to squeeze into my red Von Dutch jeans. I may sound overly excited here, but hear me out. Even before getting pregnant, that jeans was pretty tight fitting for me. But I love it not only because it's Von Dutch and the cutting was fantastic, but also because it's a vintage piece worn by SUN once for a photo shoot! Simply because she wore it once, the price was slashed half! So, you see, I was pretty sad when I just bought the jeans for about a month and found that I was pregnant and that jeans had to stay in the cold palace for more than a year. Anyway, yey now!

Immediately after giving birth, I lost all but 7 kg (I gained a total of 20kg during my pregnancy). It's funny how come Joey only weighed 3.4kg when I lost 13kg. Maybe it's the water or the air, whatever. Since then, I have been losing weight but came to a stagnant standstill when I had another 2 kg to go. I was beginning to wonder if the 2 kg was Joey's souvenir for me and it's going to stay. But thank God, it did decided to go.

Not that I am back to my pre-preggie figure though, cos some things are here to stay. For one, my butt has become bigger. Can't do anything about this, I was told because giving birth does make our pelvic bone bigger. What happens to a mother who has given birth to 5, 7 or 11? Their butts look alright to me anyhow. But mine grew bigger, that's for sure. And it's the bone, not the fats, so unless I go polish my bones, otherwise.. yap, it's here to stay forever.

Another happy fact I was told was that women grow taller after giving birth. It's got to do with the pulling and pushing action of giving birth. I had a C-section, so I am not sure if it applies to me. Having been a 157cm girl most of my life, I'd love to be 160cm now after giving birth. Let me confirm or burst that myth once I have a chance to measure my height.

So, giving birth makes one taller, smarter and more confident. Plus a cute baby to show off to people. What a good deal! =P

TV Junkie

Joey loves to watch TV. And I mean, LOVES with a capital L.

Her attention span for doing the same thing is about 5 minutes. But when she is watching TV, she can be captured for more than 20 minutes. Of course, children psychologists would advise against kids watching TV, but I feel that TV is also a way of stimulating kids because of the colours, sounds and movements. Of course, everything should be done in moderation.

Look at her happily watching TV in her rocker. I love the way she criss crosses her legs when she is relaxed! hehe..

One Last Day

Received a 'depressing' email from my HR personnel, Sandra. In the email, she said that according to the Labour Law, my 3rd month maternity leave entitlement is a total of 22 days, and so far, I've already utilised ........ 21 DAYS! so sad right?? No more fridays off from now onwards. NO MORE?!

Well, maybe it's not as depressing as it sounds. The 21 days already included the fridays I've applied for this Friday and next. So, after I apply for 1 last friday on 6 Oct, my 3rd month maternity leave is officially over.

I ought to be thankful already. How many people are still enjoying their free maternity leave 5 months after giving birth?

A Feast for the Eyes

Nigel jiu-jiu was snapping away when we were at Selegie Tau Huay stall on Sunday night. Some of the photos are really quite blur, especially those taken by me. haha!

"Err? How come this thing looks so much like my neng neng?"

Sidenote: Neng neng (pron: n-eng n-eng) - joey's milk

"Mmm... the tau huay drink looks really delicious..... my saliva is coming out liao.. when can I try it???!"

"In the meantime, I would have to make do with my drumstick...."

Sidenote: drumstick- joey's thumb

"Aiyoh.. what's with Nigel jiu-jiu?? It's no longer fashionable to show the victory sign lo..."

"hmm... who's the pretty ah-yee carrying me? oh.. Jiu-jiu's baobao! akeke.."

Is Joey looking for Mummy?? "Mummy chatting with Gong Gong lah..."

Finally back into mummy's arms... =)

Shopping Day with Mummy

Today Joey & I went shopping all by ourselves when Daddy Isaiah is at work. :)

We didn't go far, only went to Causeway Point. I had alot of necessities that I needed to buy, so I thought I better buy them on my rest day today. By the way, Joey wore her new clothes today!

Check out this cool bottoms that Joey was wearing. It's a two-piece stuck-together mini skirt & pants (lycra!)

I bought all the things I needed and also things that I do not need. I bought 2 new eyeshadow palettes, mascara & eyelash curler (believe it or not, I don't have one and I haven't been using one for years!). Almost bought some nail polish too. Wahaha.. I am so happy!

When Joey fell asleep in her stroller, I decided it was time for me to eat something since i hadn't eaten the whole day! So I bought a takeaway from Long John Silver's and sat next to the fountain and ate happily. I hadn't eaten Long John in such a long time...

When Joey woke up shortly after, she was entertained by the water fountain as well.. :)

Am I successful in pretending I was not the one who took the photo?? Haha..

I have decided. No matter how busy I am, I will take one day to really relax and do something i like. It could be bringing Joey out for gai-gai, or going pak-tor with isaiah, or go for a stroll all by myself. It's really therapeutic and destressing.

I've been really busy for the past few weeks with work and with the Marriage series going on in church, I've been attending service every Sat & Sun. Mondays are usually burnt too because I'd be trying to tally some figures or put together a report, which usually took up my whole Monday. In between, I got to juggle with taking care of Joey & playing with her. Working non-stop during the whole week without a break can make even the most motivated person unmotivated. Even though I may like what I do, I still need to get a breather now & then, so that I can be at my best when it's time to do serious work.

Frankly speaking, tearing myself away from my laptop especially when I know if I don't do my work bit by bit, I'd be super busy at night before I sleep, is really diffcult. But it's essential for my emotional & mental well-being.

Great decision, Mummy Klessis. =)

Baby Baby..

My baby just woke up... wee hours this morning.....

This was what Joey looked like yesterday for service. Image for yesterday: DEMURE. A total babe! hehe.. The hairband was supposed to be wore as a headband, as in across your forehead, u know what i mean. But i don't like it lah.. so, made her wear it like a hairband. The result: Less obiang.. haha..

Little Fox Baby

This is one of the new tops we bought for Joey. I simply love it! There are so many colours available, very comfortable and best of all, if you buy 2 or more, it's only $9 per piece! Grab it, all you mummies!!

In the end, I bought one purple and one brown one for Joey. hee.. I am thinking of getting one for myself too if it's available in adult sizes! =0)

Her Different Looks

With Papa in the Lift

I want to hold my own bottle...

Joey is at the stage where she is learning how to hold the bottle on her own. But poor thing, the one she uses for drinking milk is way too big for her to hold. No choice, she's drinking 6 ounces now, so she needs to use the big bottle. And because of that, she can't be bothered to hold the bottle by herself cos she will surely fail. So, she can only practise her skills when she's drinking water. I keep letting her practise today and although her grip is still not that tight, she can at least hold it by herself and pull it out & put it into her mouth again.. Hee... so cute!!

They're Coming Out!

Joey's teeth are really coming out soon. You can see from the photo below that the 2 front teeth are already rooted inside the gums and will break forth soon!

All I want for Christmas are my two front teeth.....

Her Karate Kick

Demonstrating her karate kick at the giraffe who has small eyes like her. Hee hee..

1st Rice Cereal!

On Monday, we fed Joey her first rice cereal meal. It was not easy and she's grappling with how to open her mouth, scoop the cereal into her mouth and then swallow it. But it was really a fulfilling feeling seeing Joey taking her first 'bite'! Can't believe that my daughter is growing so fast! =) She took 5 mouthfuls in all.

Although her back's not that strong yet, she can still sit in the highchair for a while. Leaving her in it with a small toy infront can allow us at least 10 minutes to grab a bite!

I wonder what caught her attention??!

The whole day today, Joey was laughing & playing... Boy, I need more energy to keep up with her!!! =)

Zutano

I found a baby brand online which sells really pretty clothes especially for girls - Zutano! But what a pity, they're based in the United States & do not do online sales to outside of USA. If you happen to know where this brand is being sold in Singapore, please tell me! Of course if you are going on a holiday to USA, please buy Joey some of these clothes!!! =P

Look, they got all the nice designs I like - ladybugs, flowers, polka dots, animals - in all kinds of beautiful & bright colours!

Sunday With Grandpa

My dad was away in Indonesia on a business trip over the weekend, and we went to fetch him today after service. I am so happy to see that Joey has already recognised his face, so she is quite OK with him carrying her. Apart from the people who live in the same house as me, my dad should be the first person that Joey has begun to recognise.

You can tell that Joey has started to recognise a particular face when she is willing to reach out to touch that person's face. If she doesn't recognise you, she would stare & stare into your face and most likely she won't dare to touch you at all.

We spent a leisurely afternoon watching TV at my parents' place. There is this rocker armchair that Joey is comfortable sitting in. She even fell asleep in it while watching TV!

Strange Sounds

I have been wondering how come Joey has been making weird sounds nowadays. She enjoys screaming, that's one. And she likes to squeeze her whole face till it turns red & make a sound that goes 'errrhhhhhhhhhhhh'. She uses SO MUCH energy in making that sound & clenching her fists tightly together and criss-crossing her legs that it's really funny. She does it to tell us she is getting impatient. Which is every 5 minutes.

After reading the online parenting website, I realised that this is a very common action for babies of her age. They have just discovered that they can make sounds & so they're trying all different ways of making sounds. They are also slowly discovering how to show their emotions so the clenching of fists and squeezing together of her face are all part & parcel of this growing-up process. So amazing.

SOLID ah!!

I am happy to announce that tonight is the first time I am starting Joey on semi-solid food!

Ever since she started to show much interest in the food that we eat & attempted to grab our chopsticks, spoons & plates, we decided that it's time to introduce new things into her diet apart from milk. So we bought a tin each of wheat & rice cereals. Tonight, I added in a teaspoon of wheat cereal into her milk.

There were 3 nights in the past week when Joey woke up in the middle of the night crying because she was hungry, and my MIL said it's because the milk cannot make her full now. Adding wheat will fill her stomach more & she can last till morning for her next feed.

As for the rice cereal, we will make it into a thick substance by adding hot water & substitute one of her evening meals with it. This is fed to babies to train them in swallowing so that we can introduce porridge next month. It's also more gentle on the baby's stomach so that it can slowly get used to digesting semi-solid foods.

I am really looking forward to the day when she can sit all by herself in the high-chair. When we go restaurants, she would be able to sit by herself while Isaiah & I enjoy our food. We've got a real nice & big highchair given to us by a friend. It's all assembled for Joey's use soon! :)

Getting Tighter

Joey's thighs are really getting bigger by the day. Nowadays, sitting in the Bambo chair requires some squeezing to get her thighs in to the right place. Taking out requires another pulling effort. Haha.. I think before long, I can wrap this Bambo chair up & keep in my storeroom until my next baby comes. Sigh

This is so weird because Pst Aries' boy - Christian, still sits in the Bambo chair when he's eating his rice or porridge! Joey, a mere 5-month old, can't squeeze into the Bambo chair anymore, while a 3-year-old can put his butt in without any difficulties. Double sigh.

Something funny happened yesterday. Isaiah and I were in a departmental store yesterday with Isaiah's brother & cousin and we were arguing what size of a spaghetti top we should get for Joey. I think size 4 will be just nice but isaiah wanted to get size 6 so that she can still wear when she outgrows size 4 in a month's time.

Then came along the salegirl who asked how old my kid was. When I said '5 months old', her eyes opened really widely and said, "But what you're holding is for 4 years old & above." and proceeded on to pick out some really mini clothes to show me instead. Please lah! My Joey can't even fit into those when she was born! (that was what went on in my mind at that moment...)

I tell you, we just couldn't believe it because it sure looked like Joey could fit into that spaghetti top! After some argument, we finally got our way & bought the spaghetti top size 4. The salesgirl looked pretty amused when we left the shop. She must either be thinking that we are nuts, or trying to imagine a 5-month-old baby the size of a 4-year-old.

But please loh! When I tried the spaghetti top on Joey today, it's only slightly bigger lo! She could jolly wear fit nicely into it in a month's time! Which 4-year-old is so small, you tell me??! I am adamant that my baby is not gigantically big. She is just .... big. So you see, we cannot fully trust the words of a salesgirl. Not even one who works in a kids' store! Hmmph!

Patience is a rare commodity.

It's A Flipping Success!

Yes yes yes!

Joey has finally flipped all by herself! Tonight, I even asked her to perform for Kristie to see! Haha..

But of course, the 'flip' side of this ability (pardon the pun) is that she won't stay still when I change her clothes now. And she'd always flip over when she is left lying somewhere. Gone are the days when she would lie down & stare at the ceiling. I bet she can't wait to start crawling!! :)

Happy Joey!

Joey's smiles & laughs are contagious. Whenever I see her smile or laugh, I will automatically laugh along with her. Of course, I'd much prefer her to laugh than to whine, though her whines are actually very cute & funny too. Once, there was a taxi driver who was very entertained by the different sounds she made that he kept laughing and laughing. And mind you, she was not even laughing, only making sounds here & there. Joey is irresistably cute lah!

Smiling to herself in the sarong..

Staring curiously into my camera phone...

Snapped by Dawn using her HP. She even proudly told me that my Joey smiled at her.. keke.. hey dawn, $50 for taking photos of my property k! =P

She's in this supersized sweater bought for her by Auntie Lee Eng!

Joey playing with her toy in the office nursery...

Tolong.. Tolong.. Pls VOTE!

I found this website where I can post pictures of Joey and enter into some cute baby contests. I uploaded her photos in the 'September Cutest Baby', 'September Most Cheeky Kid' and 'September Most Curious Kid' categories.

Tolong, tolong, please take a detour now and go there to cast your votes for Joey!!

http://www.singaporemoms.com/community/

When you reach the webpage, you need to sign up for a free account, then you can click on 'Vote for your friend's baby!'. In the respective categories, you can search for Joey and vote for her!!! (I assume you know what joey looks like, right? Please don't vote for the wrong baby!)

Frankly speaking, I don't even know what are the prizes, but it's all in the name of vanity that I want to win! =P

How True..

This morning, my MIL made a statement:

"When she was 1 month old, she kept sleeping & sleeping all day long, even when she's drinking milk. And we keep wishing she would open her eyes and play with us. Now, she kept playing and playing all day long, even when she's drinking milk. And we keep wishing she would just sleep a little more."

Haha.. how true...

Look how peaceful she is sleeping in the sarong.... shhhh...

Screams like Nobody's Business

My daughter has got quite a nasty temper. Even at close to 5 months, she already exhibits the kind of attitude that says 'Don't mess with me.' I wish she can understand what I am talking about now so that I can educate her. But it seems she still cannot differentiate when I am praising her and when I am scolding her. So, I just got to bear with her attitude problem just a little bit more.

Now that she has discovered the beauty of high-pitch screaming, she uses it to her best ability all the time. Not just when she wants attention or something to be done for her, but as and when she feels like making some noise.

And it's obvious she's just screaming for the sake of screaming because she would scream and screech, then observe your facial expression, then smile. As if to tell you, 'See.. I am powerful enough to make you run towards me.' *faintz*

It's kinda funny to see how she demonstrates her screaming power though. Cos she will squeeze her two feet together and muster up all her energy and contour her face until it's all red and full. Then the 5-second-long scream. Hmm.. Does every kid go through this phase?? Apparently, she thinks it's very fun. Sigh.

A Swim, Perhaps?

I have been wanting to bring joey swimming ever since she was born. Cos I like to swim myself and I think for a baby who cannot move around by herself yet, floating on the water may be the next best alternative. But because of some old fashioned kiasuism, we have put off the plans to bring her swimming till at least after her 3rd injection, which theoretically puts her on immunity against most diseases. Yes, I know, you can't catch any diseases from the swimming pool, but who can 100% guarantee it??

So, now that she's had her 3rd injection, I am seriously thinking of bringing her swimming soon. But of course, I need to get her a swimsuit & float first. Maybe I'll go check out the departmental stores this week. Hee hee.

Another big problem with bringing joey swimming is of course the fact that I HAVE to put on a swimsuit as well. Sigh.. with the after-birth cellulite still hanging there like it's gotten its PR status, I dare not think how I will look in my swimsuit. For sure I am not going to wear my bikini, so it's definitely back to my traditional one-piece. And probably suck in my tummy for the entire duration of the swimming. Oh Well.

I wonder if Joey will be as excited as me about going swimming...

The 3rd Needle

I brought Joey to the clinic for her 3rd jab this morning. She is getting better with each injection. Today, she didn't even make a single sound when the needle went in. She was just too busy trying to grab my handphone. My MIL commented that she is such a gungho baby, yet gu-niang at other times because she would 'teh' for attention. Haha..

As at 4 months 4th week, she weighs 8.1kg and measures 66cm long. Which means she has grown taller by 15cm since birth. That's a lot, right?? I mean, I used to jump up & down in joy when I knew I grew by 1cm! But of course lah, babies grow exceptionally fast. Old people like me has already stopped growing for dunno-how-long. =O)

Her Sarong Experience

I remember when I was young, my mum would let me sleep in a sarong. The feeling is very good & comfy because the sarong wraps all around my body, making me feel very secured. So, since our friend gave us a sarong set, we let joey sleep in it during the day so that it's cooler for her.

The first time we put her down in the sarong, she was grinning all the way because I think she finds the hole-y sarong very amusing. But we don't even have to pat her, and she fell asleep within 5 minutes. Really good ah!

Look how comfortable she is!

Baby Dedication

Xia saw this photo when she was browsing through our online gallery. It's Pst Kong praying for joey during baby dedication!!!! =D

Blur Face?!

Many people have commented before that Joey has a blur look all the time. I sure pray that it's only her looks and not her personality. A blur sotong is not good at all! I think it's the fact that her mouth is always slightly open.. giving people the durh look all the time. I am so concerned about it that I even went as far as asking my MIL the other day, why is it that joey can't close her mouth?? Is it because she has been sucking on the pacifier too much??! Or is it because she's just too lazy to close it?!

Tickled

I am so tickled by this series of photos my MIL took of joey this morning.. Don't know what's wrong with her today but she kept laughing and laughing at anything & everything. Especially when my MIL put on the hairband on her, she kept pulling it and laughing at the same time.

Don't you think the two bottom ones on the left are so funny??! She looks so gu-niang!

You know, actually I have something against such hairbands. I think they make babies look so weird! Especially when the baby is still very botak. But I guess at least this hairband is not the lacy and very girly one, so I can still accept. For photographs only though. I probably still won't let her go out in that. Heehee..

Then all her attention was captured by the sun ray that came into the house. She really likes bright things! :)

Her Hair (Again)

I thought she just trimmed her hair?

I thought so too..

Joey in the Bedroom

Took these snapshots of joey just now when she was playing on my bed. :) She really likes to smile into my handphone!

Klessis-Lookalike-Feet

This morning I got a revelation from my MIL. She said:

"Do you know that Joey's feet really look like yours?"

"Huh.. what do you mean..?"

"Her toes are all flat flat one, and her 2nd toe is longer than the big toe."

"Oh.......I thought everyone's feet are like that too??"

"No la.... only yours special..."

"..........."

Now I get it. No wonder everyone commented that joey doesn't resemble me that much. It's because the features she most resembles me are her feet! Ha! And we let her wear socks all the time, so OF COURSE all of you can't see properly.

How my MIL can tell her feet look like mine, i can never figure out... =P

Fun @ Home

Joey's back is getting stronger by the day. She seems much more at ease sitting in her Bambo Chair nowadays. I really pray that her buttocks won't expand so fast, so that I can feed her cereals and porridge while she sits in her Bambo.

But frankly speaking, I seriously don't remember seeing babies who cannot yet sit by themselves start to eat semi solid foods leh. So weird right?? Will joey be able to sit in 2 weeks' time? I doubt it leh.

I tried to put joey on the sofa and let her sit, but she will always fall forward or sideways, unless I happen to place her at a real nice angle. The funnier thing is that she loves to sit.
In fact, she prefers to sit than to lie down. Whenever she let her sit (with our support of course), she will look very happy and gleeful. Well, come to think of it, if I were a baby, I'll be so sick of lying down all the time. Why wouldn't I want to sit, walk or be carried instead??

I Fell Down

Haha.. writing this entry reminded me of the last 2 times when I wrote about how I fell down when I was still pregnant. So, in total, I've fallen down 3 times while carrying joey - twice with her in my tummy, once with her in my arms.

It happened last Tue. I was on my way to office and I met Evangeline at the lift lobby at Suntec tower 3. Of course, I didn't notice a small puddle of water on the shiny granite floor, and I slipped and fell on my both knees. During then, there were 3 other ladies walking behind me, and all of them, including Evan got a big shock when they saw me fall! Haha.. because I was carrying Joey in my arms lah..

I got a shock of course, but was really glad that joey did not drop out of my arms or come to any harm. My right knee hurts badly though. Mind you, I was carrying joey and my laptop. I am not surprised if the weight came up to approximately 60kg (klessis+joey+laptop+bag). The blue black still has not gone down today. Sigh.

As for Joey? I don't think she knew what happened at all. *ignorance is bliss*

Carry me, Mama!

You know how kids will know you want to carry them when they see you clap your hands? I always wonder when my Joey will be able to understand that. And it seems that Joey has reached the stage! When my MIL is carrying her, and I clap my hands at her, she will know I want to carry her and she will open wide her hands and kick her legs and lean her body over to me. Seeing my daughter grow in her understanding of things is really fun! :)

Twin

I've always wanted to have twins because I think they are so adorable. And this is not as difficult as it sounds because in Isaiah's lineage, there were several pairs of twins. Imagine, having 2 Joeys lying side by side! :)

But today I witnessed something in the nursery which totally wiped that thinking off my mind. A father brought her twin daughters to service today, so he came in with his daughters and a woman in tow behind. Of course the first impression was that the woman was the mother, but I soon found out that the real mother was actually overseas and the woman who came was there to help take care of the babies. The babies were at most one month old, really small and fragile-looking.

Poor dad. He must had a real torturous night the night before, having to take care of 2 babies at the same time. He was practically dozing off every other second! And it didn't make things any easier that his twins started to cry one after another. One will cry, then the dad got to pacify and feed her milk. Then when she fell asleep finally after a long long while, the other one started to cry. So you see, having twins means double the work and an endless one!

And remember I mentioned the dad was super tired?? He was dozing off while making milk (He woke up only when he spilt the hot water over his own jeans). He was dozing off while feeding one of the twins milk (Until his friend hit him on his leg because the milk was kind of running down the poor bewildered baby's face). He was dozing off while trying to retrieve a pacifier from his bag (And ended up passing the pacifier cap to the baby instead...)

Frankly speaking, it was quite funny watching the dad taking care of his twin daughter while struggling hard to stay awake. Almost every mother in the nursery was watching him. Haha.. man, it's really not easy taking care of twins! And for a super tired father to do that?! I must say it was really hard on him.....

No twins for me!! =P

The Ring

Do you know whose hand is this???

It's Joey's hand with my wedding band! haha..

The Love of Grandma

My mother is obsessed with doting on Joey. Well, maybe not so serious, but she does go to extents to make sure she is well taken care of. I guess all grandparents are like that. They really see their grandchildren as the apple of their eye.

Just this morning, my mama called me to tell me that she bought more pearl powder for Joey, and also bought some nerve-soothing chinese medicine mixed with, yes, more pearl powder. Both are supposed to calm her down so that she doesn't get frightened so easily.

On top of that, she also bought something for Joey to eat. I don't know what that's called in english, but it's supposed to be something we can cook for Joey to eat to transition her into eating porridge & cereals. I can't believe Joey will be starting to eat cereals & porridge soon! Fast nei!

Anyway, books tell me that once my kid shows some interest in the food that we eat, that means she is getting ready to start on semi-solid food such as porridge. It appears that Joey's interest in my food is not small. She will stare and stare and move her lips alittle when she sees me eat. When we try to tease her with the food then take it away & put it into our mouths, she looked somehow annoyed. Haha.. I can almost predict that my daughter will be one with a big appetite.

My MIL said this morning that she saw some whitish thing on Joey's lower gums. Yes, that means her tooth is coming out soon. No wonder she's been so fidgety and drinking less milk than usual the past few days. It must be really uncomfortable for her, with all the itchy gums and all.. Rest assured I will take photo of her 1st tooth! It will be a memorable moment!!Before that though, let's enjoy some photos of her enjoying sucking her thumb to relieve the itchiness! :P

J-Babies!

In nursery yesterday.. haha.. classic!

Don't Give Birth Too Late!

I have been thinking about this the past few weeks. If I were 10 years older than what I am now, I wouldn't have enough energy to keep up with my daughter. Anyone who has carried Joey before can testify of this. She is bursting with energy! Always moving, fidgeting and 'hopping' out of your arms. When she sees things she likes or excites her, she will wave her hands up & down and she will kick & kick her legs.

The moral of the story is not to give birth too late! Because by then, it would be very tedious to take care of your kids. You really do need alot of energy & stamina. And I know, it's only going to get even more tiring when she starts to crawl and walk. *fingers crossed*

Today is Friday, so it's stay-home day with Joey. I enjoy it because I get to spend time playing with Joey. And Joey is a happy girl because she gets to be carried by mama all the time. :)

Here's Joey trying to snatch my handphone away when I tried to take a photo of her. She grabs anything now!

She seems more & more comfortable sitting in her Bambo chair now because I think her back is getting stronger. I tried to let her sit on the sofa just now, which she managed to sit for a whole of 2 seconds before falling face down onto the sofa. Well.. some things cannot be rushed. She can't even flip yet, how to sit?? Heee..

That's her whining in her cot wanting me to carry her. hehe..

Her Nice Sideview

I am biased. I think my joey has the loveliest side profile in the whole wide world. I simply love to take photos of her sideview when she's sleeping. It's got such a nice perfect shape! And I always feel tempted to go pinch her cheeks because they look so chubby & bouncy! Don't you think so??? :D

No scared, darling...

Dear friends, please pray for my Joey that she will get out of the stranger phobia quickly. My worst fears came to pass yesterday when I left joey in the office nursery. I was thinking over the weekend that if she can forget what my parents look like, she might forget what Auntie Lee Eng looks like (Auntie Lee Eng looks after joey while I work on Tues, Weds & Thurs).

So the moment I left the nursery to go back to my cubicle yesterday morning, joey started to cry really loudly! Even Dawn commented how come she was crying so fiercely. Sigh, no choice.. in the first place, my daughter has got a chili padi character, so the moment she cries, she can be louder than thunder. But I guess Auntie Lee Eng's experience paid off because she did manage to get joey to calm down after like 20 mins of crying. But throughout the day, she would burst out into tears periodically & keep crying for 20 mins each time.

And the fact that the nursery is next to the office, the whole office could practically hear joey's cries, even for me who sits the furthest away from the nursery. Imagine how life was like for those colleagues seated at the other end, right next to the nursery. I can only feel sorry.

I had to curb myself from going into the nursery to cuddle my darling, because I had to get her used to Auntie, otherwise I can forget about working anymore. It was so heart pain! Sigh.. But I do know it's only a matter of time before she will get out of this phase.

We have been feeding her pearl powder (yes, pearls grounded into powder & dissolved in water). It's supposed to calm her nerves, and my mum specially bought it for her because she said joey looks like she was frightened by something recently. In any case, she did seem to sleep better after taking the pearl powder. Expensive stuff nei. Even I don't drink such things for my complexion!

So, please do keep my joey in prayers. I hope she can be a real friendly baby rather than one who is so sticky to mummy & daddy.

U Know U're Too Stressed When....

Yesterday night something hilarious happened. As I was giving Isaiah a goodnight hug before we sleep, I subconsciously started to pat his back. Pat Pat Pat.. for all of 3 seconds, before I suddenly realised the horrors of it! My hands had automatically started to pat no matter whether it's joey's body or somebody else's!! Horrors of horrors!! Am I getting too stressed or what?!

Anyway, I do not really think it's stress, and even if it was, it would all be gone by the time I fell asleep becos Isaiah and I had a big laugh about my 'automatic' action.

As for joey? She just continued sleeping in her cot next to our bed, totally undisturbed and unaware of the little joke. Talking about changing lives ~ She already changed my life before she knows how to spell C-H-A-N-G-E.

My Fair Princess

Joey's born with a natural tan skin tone. Which means she takes after me, because I've never had a fair day in my entire life thus far. The good thing is that although her limbs are all quite tanned (and my mum in law calls her a 'black pearl' because of her tanned skin...), her face is rather fair. So thank God. Cos it's always easier for a fair person to get tanned skin, but for a tanned person to become fair, a considerable amount of whitening products are often required.

Recently, it seems that joey has become fairer and fairer. Only her face though. Her hands and legs are still rather tanned, but her facial skin tone has turned even fairer than when she was born. Then again, I keep thinking this is only logical since I did not bring her for any sunbathing, so she spends most of her time indoors.

Oh yes, by the way, I did notice that Joey's preferred hand is her right hand because she usually extends out her right hand to grab things. So she is likely to be a right-hander. Like Isaiah & I. :)

Wrist Rattles

Joey's new toys.. I find them so cute too!

Motherhood makes Women Smarter

I am so thrilled by this article I wrote that I have decided to blog about it. So many times I have heard comments like 'after giving birth, your memory seemed to have failed..', "Becoming a mother makes you do things slower hor??" However, research has shown that motherhood does make women smarter. Haha!

The research studies broke down the word 'smart' into five attributes: perception, efficiency, resiliency, motivation, and emotional intelligence. Each category is supported by many animal studies as well as some human studies showing ways in which mothers have an edge.

The first category, perception, deals primarily with the five senses. One of the most interesting studies showed pregnant women had sharper "visual acuity" than women who weren't expecting. By that I don't mean they suddenly had 20/20 vision but they do notice a lot more. Studies show that pregnant women also have an enhanced sense of smell, which theoretically serves to protect the unborn baby from foods that are potentially harmful. Wow. This is what I call 'amazing'.

Other findings show that mothers can experience a boost in motivation, fearlessness, and the ability to multi-task and cope with stress. There's also exciting new research suggesting that oxytocin — a hormone important to labor and breastfeeding — improves moms' capacity for learning and memory.

Emotional intelligence is probably the clearest category in which mothers benefit, though. One of the biggest brain boosts for moms is the ability to see the world through someone else's eyes. In so many relationships, if you don't agree with a person you can just walk away. But you can't walk away from your child. At least, not if you want to be a good parent. Instead, you've got to stretch your mind to understand his or her point of view.

People's expectation that mothers are "less smart" after we had children can make us feel as though we're going to accomplish less in life as a mother than I otherwise might as a childless woman. So I refuse to be bathed in this kind of low-level demoralising theory. The truth is I am SMARTER because I've given birth!

And all the mothers say.... AMEN! hahaha..

Pst Kong Prayed for my Joey

Today Pst Kong asked for all the babies who were dedicated last week to go stagefront again so that he can lay hands on every baby and pray for them. So blessed!

This is Joey waiting in the nursery before service. See her nametag!

In Grandpa's Car

Took some photos in joey's grandpa's car when we gave a lift to huiling & lilian the other day when they came over... (I think the resolution's too high so I had difficulty uploading them big.. so got to make do with small versions instead....)

Joey always gets sleepy when travelling in a car....

In the train home from Orchard today...

Went Shopping

We went shopping after service today at Tangs, cos we have a $60 voucher that we need to use. So we went to the kids level in Tangs and can I say, I am so amazed by the really awesome baby and kids clothes they have there. In the end, we didn't get any clothes though, cos they're all designer wear and really not worth the price to pay for. Instead....

WE GOT JOEY HER 1ST PAIR OF SHOES!

Aren't they nice?? Take a closer look...

So sweeeetttttt! I love it!

Got her another bib. A green one! And look what it says on the bib...... The daddy is so proud of his little baby girl..

And of course we bought a teether for joey because her gums are itching bad recently. This will ease the itchiness a little rather than putting anything her hands can grab into her mouth..

Stranger Phobia

It is really true. Joey is scared of strangers.

Today my parents very kindly offered to babysit Joey so that I can attend service. So my dad came over to sembawang to pick us up and headed for home at Pasir Ris. After dropping my dad & joey, Isaiah and I took the car and drove to expo for service. I was really excited! It's been a while since I got to attend service in the main hall!

But horrors of horrors, the moment I stepped out of the car and started walking to expo hall 8, I got a call from my mum who frantically told me that joey refused to stop crying and she had been crying from the moment she stepped into the house! In the background, I could really hear her loud wailing & uncontrollable crying. Oh man.. I had no choice but to rush back home again.

Throughout my 15-minute drive, my mummy called me 3 times! And she kept saying, "Come home quick.. quick.. !!!" I almost went mad. What else could I do??? Isaiah was already speeding up..

When we reached, we literally ran all the way from the carpark to the lift and quickly dashed to the house. Indeed, Joey stopped crying when I carried her. She's so poor thing.. cried until her eyes were puffy red and she even vomited out her milk earlier on! Then, knowing that her daddy & mummy are back, she started to smile again. sigh.. *heart pain*

My poor parents were so traumatised by the whole incident! And very bruised of course, because their grand daughter was scared of them. Sigh... Stricly speaking, she was not scared of them, but the fact that she was in a strange environment and no familiar faces.

This stranger phobia is really getting out of hand. It means I could not leave her with my parents anymore by herself (and mind you, she sees my parents at least once every week so they hardly qualify as strangers!!!) or leave her in the church nursery and go attend service. Oh man... will she ever grow out of this phase???!

It's a Flattering Thought

Yesterday I brought Joey out with my parents because my dad needed my help to renew his business licence. The funny thing was the moment my parents carried joey, she would be very cranky and immediately pout her lips to cry. Then she would open her arms wide and looked at me with teary eyes, as if pleading me to carry her. Indeed she would immediately stop whining when I carry her. Maybe it's the smell on me???

Although she looked so pitifully cute, it was really quite flattering to know that my daughter prefers me to anyone else.

I always thought it is not possible that Joey would have the fear-of-stranger syndrome so soon. But it appears so. For my parents, although they're no strangers to her, she always needs some time to warm up to them when she sees them once a week. Kids forget very quickly, so even just within a span of one week, she would forget what her grandparents look like!

But of course, her level of crankiness differs depending on her mood and whether she's had her milk and sleep. After a nap, she is usually all smiley infront of no matter who. Someone commented that day that Joey has got to be one of the most smiley babies she has ever met. Haha.. what a compliment. To a certain extent, I sometimes think she has a very sam seng woman character because everything is funny, everything is hilarious.

Did I ever mention before in this blog that there was 1 afternoon when I was working on my laptop at home and I put joey in her rocker chair infront of me so that she was facing me. All of a sudden, she started to giggle and laugh all by herself. Which of course caught my attention and I looked at her. She laughed somemore, really amused. Then I went back to my laptop and she immediately made a 'errrrhhhh!!!' sound trying to catch my attention. So I looked at her again and she giggled again. And this went on and on for at least 15 mins! So funny, ok.. don't know what was so amusing.. Maybe she just likes to laugh and smile. I would like to think of it as the joy of the Lord. :)

Look at this photo that Lilian sent me the other day. She probably took it with her hp when she met Joey the other time. What a weird thing to do to my Joey! Trying to enlarge her nostrils???!! My poor joey, so defenceless.....

Time to Flip?

On National Day, we brought Joey to Hoe & Xia's housewarming. At their house, we met Keng Hoe's mother who casually mentioned that Keng Hoe's cousin or sister learnt how to flip when she was 2 months plus and for Keng Hoe, it was slower - he flipped at only 3 months. And I looked at Joey and thought to myself.. Joey is 4 months already and she hasn't flipped!

Actually I am not so concerned about it. According to the growth & development milestone chart, Joey is far ahead of the schedule. Except for the flipping part. The truth is she is just too lazy!

Not that her mama, yours truly, hasn't been making any effort to encourage her to flip. Infact at every possible chance, I've tried to swing her leg over so that she can flip easier. But even when she's halfway through her flip, she refuses to make any effort whatsoever and just hung in that awkward position. Then proceed to cry of course.

Sigh.. if she doesn't want to make any effort, what else can I do? I shall just leave it to nature then. :)

Soft Hair No More

I am so sad... ever since Joey had her hair cut, her hair has become so coarse and hard. It's no longer the feathery soft hair which accompanied her inside my womb. I don't think there're baby hair conditioners on sale right?? I've never seen before lah.. cos babies' hair are supposed to be nice & soft wat! boo hoo~

Anyway, it appears that joey may have natural curls because they are now appearing in wavy form. If so, she takes after Isaiah who also has a little bit of natural curls. Hmm... People with natural curls usually have coarser hair, it seems. Maybe that's the reason why joey's hair is so hard.

No wonder her hair keeps standing up... It's too hard to be tamed!

My 1st Keyboard

She's My Gal..

Dear took a nice black & white photo of Joey & I last night.. We love the shot! It's now the wallpaper on our handphones. :)

The 1st Cut

I've not been sleeping enough the past 3 to 4 days, so I took a nap this afternoon. It's been so so long since I had a nap! But it sure felt good that I had some rest..

When I woke up, I was greeted by a surprise:

JOEY CUT HER HAIR!

Well, of course joey didn't cut her own hair. My mum in law cut for her. It's grown way too long & messy and we have chosen today to be the fateful day for her haircut. But I didn't know she would do it in the day, thought maybe at night.. Haha...

It seems that Isaiah's brother had a hard time holding joey while my mum in law cuts her hair. My mum in law's skills are really superb. Joey looks good inspite of her constant fidgeting! And I dare say her hair got style.. the top part retains the longish flow, but the sides and back have been trimmed. :)

I still think my gal looks very cute now.. and her cheeks look even chubbier now that the hair is shorter!

The Gal with A Bib

Sigh.. I always thought that babies with bib are so uncool. But too bad, due to joey's oversupply of saliva that will always find their way to people's shoulders, I have no choice but to make Joey wear her bib everywhere she goes now. To minimise her uncool-ness, her daddy bought her 2 nice looking bibs so that people won't notice it's a bib. Hee hee... Introducing the 1st bib.. Quite nice ah?

Dedicated To God

Yesterday was the annual baby dedication ceremony in our church. Joey was one of the 200-over babies dedicated to God. There are significant spiritual principles in dedicating babies to God. Please read Isaiah's blog for more info..

Here's Joey in the overflow area waiting for the baby dedication...

Joey is wearing a new pink velvet romper bought for her by my mother in law, specially for her baby dedication ceremony. It's a really expensive romper, I must say... *heart pain when I heard the price*, but it is really really very nice. When Auntie Shirley came over to see Joey, she also commented that it's such a sweet romper. hee..Blessed Joey!

Mummy with joey!

Nigel jiu-jiu posing with niece joey!

Here comes Uncle ziwei, who came over to take a photo with Joey!

Ziwei: See, I so good to you. I purposely didn't edit the photo or add any border so that you can download it onto your computer and see my joey everyday. Hehe.. Good ah?? Pity she didn't look straight into the camera. We can take another one another day ok!

My favorite photo of the day - Me & my 2 darlings!

This year, Pst Chris Pringle (Pst Phil's wife) was the one who proclaimed and prayed blessings over our babies. I could really sense the presence of God when she was explaining about the importance of dedicating our kids to the Lord. Frankly speaking, whenever our church has a baby dedication ceremony, never had I thought that I will be one of those dedicating my kid to the Lord. The thought just never came into my mind although I knew I would have a kid and I would want to dedicate him or her to the Lord. All of a sudden, it just reminded me that it is in God's best timing that Joey was given to Isaiah and I, and it is the best reminder of God's goodness in our lives.

After the service, we also took a family photo (me, isaiah, joey, mum in law, david, nigel & kat) using the services provided by our church because it's our 17th anniversary! I wonder why there were no long queues because the photos were taken with studio standards! I think many people really missed it. I am so looking forward to seeing the final product next week!! I will sure blog it & show the world! :D

Grab Grab!

Joey's learning her motor skills now. At near 4 months, she is starting to have a better grip of things. Look at her grabbing her ball tightly that it doesn't fall from her hand anymore.

She especially has a liking for things that 'float'. On her cot, we installed a mosquito net over it to keep out insects when she is sleeping. And when the fan blows on the net, the net will kind of 'float' around. Whenever Joey sees it, she will giggle non stop. So Isaiah & I have tried to understand it by bending down to Joey's eye level and looking up at the net to see her perspective and what's so funny. We're still trying to figure out. I can only conclude she probably likes things that float and move.

So that day, I did an experiment by waving a white handkerchief above her. She giggled again and kicked her legs in excitement. It works as well. She might think it's her favorite mosquito net. We were all laughing at Joey that she's so easily deceived by us. Haha..

Looking Different

Many people commented to me recently that Joey's looks have changed. That's natural of course, since babies change & look different everyday. Especially at this age, they really go through alot of transformation. Even as her mummy, I can still tell that she indeed looks different this week compared to last week.

Here's joey in the office nursery in a yellow Bambo chair. The one she has at home is green and this is yellow. Sorry ah, the sweater romper is way too huge for her. Hint: Look at her left sleeve.

I remember Jessie (Joshua's mama) once blogged about how Joshua loves to watch TV and there was a sideview photo of Joshua watching TV. I also took such a photo for Joey that day. Oh man.. she really loves watching TV. I can put her in a rocking chair infront of the TV and she will be staring at the box for the next 15 mins at least. No noise guaranteed! Even if you try to play with her, she won't bother with you! (Ziwei can vouch for that.. he tried to distract joey from the TV yesterday night and failed terribly.. hee... Uncle ziwei, i hope your ego's not bruised.. heee..)

This is Joey at the bus stop at my house. We're waiting for the feeder bus to come on our way to office. :) How come Joey always got the blur blur look on her face.. ?

Joey loves sucking her fingers nowadays. Horrible because her hands are always full of saliva. I am so worried her mouth will become so big because she keeps stuffing her whole hand into her mouth!

Sleepy Mummy

This morning was a bad start to a long day. You know what's the worst thing that can happen on a morning? To be woken up 30mins before the alarm clock is set to ring.

Cos joey woke up at 6.30am crying for milk. No matter how I pat her, she refuses to go back to sleep. And I literally pulled myself up from my bed to go make milk and feed her. I felt so sad the entire time because I know I can't go back to sleep after that. sigh..

So this morning I was so sleepy. Joey as well, obviously. Cos she fell asleep immediately the moment I got onto the MRT. So I closed my eyes to rest as well. It was hard! Cos I kept wanting to fall asleep with joey on my lap! So dangerous, cos I may loosen my grip on her and she may fall to the ground. After 5 futile attempts, I gave up & just concentrated on keeping my eyes wide open till City Hall.

Yawwwwnnn.. i nearly died of shock when I saw my dark undereye rings in the toilet just now.. yawwnnn...

Habits Die Hard

Babies pick up habits really fast. But it's hard to get them to quit one. My Joey has picked up a bad habit recently. She wants to be carried ALL THE TIME!

I thought I have trained her well in this area. In fact, she has been very obedient in the first 3 months. We can let her lie in her cot and she'll entertain herself by staring and smiling at the ceiling. But I think there were 2 days last week when she was at home and all of us (me, my mum in law and joey's uncle david) took turns to carry her and play with her, so she learnt that lying down on the cot is no longer fun. She will now cry and fuss immediately when we lay her down anywhere, and she will whine and whine until we pick her up again. The moment we carry her, she'll smile and hop.. Oh man, headache ah!!!

I wonder why does God make babies so smart? They know they can get their way by whining. sigh... naughty joey.

Sunday . Baby Fats

Today is Sunday so we went to church. Joey is wearing a new yellow romper, a gift from Godmother Meiting, all the way from Hongkong Disney! It's very cute nei..

Here's joey doing a heads-up act:

As usual, every Sunday is usually Grandpa-Grandma Day. So after service, my dad picked us up from Expo and we headed to Pasir Ris. Joey has changed to her sporty sleeveless pong-pong cheerleader dress! Hmm... Joey looks really excited to see the camera.. :)

Aiyo, how ah.. my daddy says that joey is too fat and I should cut down on her diet. But, babies are supposed to be chubby mah... Joey's not exactly fat yet, I hope?! Yes, very chubby, but should be ok right??

Actually whether a baby's chubby or not is determined during the pregnancy, I think. Cos I have friends around me with chubby babies whether they are breast-fed or formula-fed, so I should think Joey's not chubby because of her formula diet. Maybe I ate too much during my pregnancy??? Hmmm..

In any case, I shall make it a goal not to let Joey enter the TAF club when she enters primary school. If she still doesn't shed her baby fats by kindergarten time, I shall put her on a dieting programme. *determined*

Bright Orange Tee

Joey in her orange smiley face tee given to her by Auntie Sabie from Taiwan!

It's a Juggling Game

Juggling between motherhood and work is really not easy. Taking care of babies requires alot of time and babies need constant attention.

In my 3 and half months of motherhood, I have found myself torn between different tasks at many points. Joey may be fussing and wanting someone to carry her, but I need to rush some work that is already way past the deadline, and at the same time try to finish what I promised Pst to do. Of course, babies do not have much patience (if any at all), so most of the time, I attend to joey first. Then mad rush through what I need to do.

It's great of course when there's someone else who can take care of joey while I am busy doing work at home. Sometimes my mother in law, sometimes Isaiah. At least I can focus on the work at hand and be more efficient. Otherwise, it's alot of multi-tasking and concentrating on many things at the same time, and moving back and forth between my laptop and Joey's cot. The nature of my work is pretty adhoc and alot of times, require me to work when I am home. So, it's really a challenge of juggling between many tasks at one go.

Sometimes I feel frustrated that I have to literally tear myself away from my work when I am focusing hard on it, so that I can attend to joey. But I also thank God that it has made me stronger. My stress tolerance level has definitely increased because of that.

Joey is still small now and feeds only on milk. When the time comes for her to start on soft food and other solids, it's a whole new ball game altogether. I would have to set aside some time in the morning to prepare her porridge and cereals. It's no longer just packing the milk powder into the container and ensuring I brought my bottles and hot water along. But I am sure I would be able to do it.

I have a role model that I always take encouragement from. She's my colleague, Dawn. She has a coming-to-3-year-old daughter named Denise and like me, she brought Denise to work everyday in her front carrier until she was old enough to go to school recently. I always tell myself that if Dawn can handle everything without a maid and a car, I can too. :) There is some motivation that someone else has also done it, so it's not impossible.

Motherhood is really not easy. When I am tired, I cannot just plop down onto my bed and sleep. When I am exhausted, I cannot take my own sweet time and bathe for 30 minutes. When I am moody and don't feel like talking, I cannot just ignore my crying baby. But so far, the sweetness in motherhood has pushed me along and helped me to overlook all the sacrifices I have to make.

I think God is a good God. He puts in the right balance of sweetness and bitterness into our lives so that we can continue to run. :)

Injection Day!

It's the day for Joey's 2nd injection. I have been praying and hoping that Joey will recover from her slight cold cos I have delayed her injection for half a month now because she was sick earlier on. So when she caught a small chill 2 days ago, I dare not bring her to office yesterday for fear of aggravating it and have to delay the injection yet again. This morning she woke up fine cos last night didn't sleep in aircon room, but towards 10am, she slightly to have flowy mucus again. But still, I brought her to Dr Jane, hoping that she would give the go ahead for the injection. Thank God Dr Jane said her condition is quite ok, and can be injected!

And I tell you! My daughter is so brave today! She did not cry like the previous time when the needle went into her thigh. But I think she was caught by surprise again when the sharp sensation happened that she went 'err...' then made some grumbling sounds that vaguely conveyed the message, 'aiya.. why like that..?' That was all. Good brave Joey.

Joey's latest weight now is 7.5kg, which is approximately 16 pounds. Oh man, she is heavy. And Dr Jane commented that her reflexes are good. When she held an elmo toy infront of her just now, her eyes were able to follow the movement of Elmo very swiftly from right to left and to the top. Very good.

I took a funny photo of Joey just now in the clinic while waiting to make payment. hee hee

Teething Already???

I also don't want to believe it, but it seems that Joey is starting to teeth! That's really fast considering she is only 3 months old. And my mother in law says it's always better to teeth as late as possible so that we don't have to worry about taking care of her teeth so early.

But sigh.... nowadays, she's always chewing on her hand. Yes, I really mean hand, and not finger or thumb, because she stuffs the ENTIRE hand into her mouth. With much force. So it's obvious that her gums are really very itchy and uncomfortable. And during feeding time now, she will drink for 5 seconds then rub her gums on the pacifier for the next 5 secs then resume drinking again. Sometimes in the midst of feeding, she would even want to stuff her hand in. Imagine how itchy are her gums??

And my friends who have met Joey recently would testify too that her saliva has increased. She's drooling so much that everyone who carries her would genna some without fail. I would like to think of it as joey's gift to you. Haha.. though I am sure many of my friends do not think the same way as me and would regret wanting to carry her in the first place.

But of course, the teeth won't come out just yet. This process usually takes a few months starting from the time the gum itches. I wonder when will I see that first ivory appearing?? Maybe I should start shopping for nice Hello Kitty toothbrushes for babies... hmm..

The Great BabySitter

This is Auntie Lee Eng, who takes care of Joey in the office nursery. Auntie has been a babysitter for over 10 years before she went for SOT. Then she joined the church as a nursery staff. It's great to have someone with lots of experience taking care of Joey! Joey likes Auntie very much! :)

My Independent Gal

I know it's weird to say that my gal is independent when she is obviously still very dependent & sticky for attention now. But I really feel so because she is developing skills to the road of independence.

You know what?? She's learning how to hold her own milk bottle while feeding! Haha.. I tink I will be so happy when the day comes for her to hold her own bottle. Then I can just throw her on a mattress (err... i don't really mean throw lah.. U get what I mean..) and she can feed herself while i watch TV! Wahaha..

But of course, that day has not arrived yet. She is still in the process of learning how to control her fingers. She can clench tightly but she cannot hold on yet. But she has been practising every feeding time so I am sure she will be able to do it in no time at all. It's funny, but she'd automatically bring her hands to hold the bottle whenever I stick the bottle into her mouth.

Auntie Estee!

Wahaha... joey managed to take a photo with Auntie Estee when she is in singapore before she flies back to melbourne again!

We're waiting for you to come back, estee! :)

Stroke my hair, pls..

Joey loves to have her hair stroked. I think it's a girl thing, because I also like people to stroke my hair. And when I say 'people', I mean my husband, not anybody else. So, please don't attempt to stroke my hair the next time you see me, thinking that I would appreciate it, cos I won't. I might even box you. Pervert.

Back to my point. Sleeping is no longer a natural thing for Joey nowadays. Now that she has a greater awareness of her environment, she will always want to look and play even when she is super tired. She would push her body and lift her head real high to look around and then whine and cry when her arms get too tired of lifting her 7kg body. But she just won't give it up. I got to keep pushing her head down and stuffing her pacifier into her mouth to make her want to sleep. Stroking her hair always help because she feels comfortable and loved that way. And most of the time, I got to multi-task. Keeping the pacifier stuffed inside her mouth, patting her back and stroking her hair, at the same time, mumble things like "joey is a good gal, mummy loves you.. oin oin loh.."

Today is Monday, which means I get to spend the whole day at home with Joey. And whole day at home with Joey means it's an endless cycle of milk feeding diaper changing, water feeding and then patting to sleep. Approximately 2 hours later, the same cycle happens. In betwee, she refuses to sleep, so I spend some time playing with her. Regardless of whether she sleeps, it's feeding time 2 hours later. It's tiring, I must say. And time flies when you go through cycles like that. But I really enjoy taking care of Joey nowadays because she can respond to me now. And most of the time when she is awake, we spend our time talking to each other, even though she can't understand me and vice versa.

I tried to take photos of her today but she's just fidgeting so much that I can't get many decent shots. Here's some:

Don't you agree that my girl is looking more girly nowadays?? Someone recently told me that she definitely got the face of a girl, and whoever says she looks like a boy really don't know how to see. I am so thrilled by that comment that I was determined to make that person my best friend. Even though I seriously can't remember who said it now. wahaha..

Her Hair

Since Joey has such thick hair, it would be a pity if we don't decorate her hair a little. However it's a pity her hair are still standing up even after 3 months. Many people have asked me whether I've ever cut her hair. Nope, I have never cut her hair, so what you see now is what was with her right inside the womb. My mother in law tells me that at the 3-month point, both mummy and baby will shed hair due to hormonal changes, so I am waiting for her to pass that phase before trimming her hair. Some babies shed so much that they will have bald patches on their heads. I really pray that Joey won't have such a fate.

So we have been buying some hairclips so that we can try to clip her hair down. It's been really tough because her hair is so tiny and soft, that the hairclips can't really capture them. Most of the time, the clip is just hanging on a few strands of hair and acts like a decoration than serve any real purpose.

Here's some clips that Joey owns at the moment. I promise the collection will grow.

And a close-up will show you my favorite pieces.. :)

A Screaming Babe

I wonder who taught her how to scream?? Her screams are so high-pitched and sharp, I think nobody would dare to quarrel with her in future. Hehe.. Screaming is something she does now to catch people's attention. Keep watching and you will see the most classic part of this video. Notice her expression when Mashi Maro comes into the picture (orchestrated by her mummy of course), and see how her little hand pushes it away, only to continue her screaming. Haha... I couldn't stop laughing at her expressions!

The Result of Front-Carrying

Bringing Joey to work in the front carrier is indeed the most convenient way of transporting her to work every morning. However it has also taken a toil on my back. Seriously, I am worried about getting a slip disc because the pain has gotten really bad today that I could feel the sharp pain in my spine.

Joey is about 7kg now. And with my laptop and big bag full of her stuffs and my stuffs, I am not surprised that I am carrying 8-9kg of stuffs on me everyday. My poor back and shoulders. I think I must really expedite my search for a trolley bag. I am looking for a laptop bag on wheels basically, and I am thinking of putting all my stuffs into it so that i only need to carry joey on me and the rest i just need to drag along. I seriously think it will do some service to my back. The truth is, I am short enough. If I get a hunchback somemore, i may just reach up to Isaiah's waist. sigh..


I am so happy that Joey has finally reached the age where she can be distracted by something. How funny is that?? But it's true, because it means I can successfully keep her occupied for at least 5 minutes with something that makes music, moves or is colourful. Better than the stage where she can only be pacified by being carried.

And the sounds she's making nowadays are really funny. She would usually make a 'grumbling' sound when she is impatient. It's no longer all crying now. She would grumble and make the kind of sounds that go 'ehhhhhhhh...' or she would yawn and she will drag her yawning to 'ahhhhhhhhnnn...'. It is quite rude, I know, to yawn so loudly.. but i shall have to educate her only when she can understand what I am scolding her for. And when I chide her for making so much noise, she would smile and look embarrassed. The amount of expressions on her face are just so amazing.

Her Name is Yixuan

Do you know that it's very important what names we give to our children? Because there is tremendous power in every name. God revealed His many names to us in the bible simply because His names reveal who He is. Jehovah Jireh-our Provider. Jehovah Rophe-our Healer.

When we gave Joey her chinese name, we wanted it to represent which direction we hope she can move towards. The 'xuan' in her chinese name means 'music/melody'. We had prayed that God will use her mightily in the area of praise & worship and in the music arena.

So it seems that I am noticing that she indeed demonstrates a love for music and lovely sounds. Some evidences to prove my point:

For a start, we have been playing Hillsongs, classical music, chinese worship songs and even Richard Clayderman the whole day, so she is surrounded by music when she's sleeping, feeding or awake. She would fall asleep really fast when we play the Hillsongs CD to her, even if it's a loud and rowdy praise song.

Not too long ago, after she has learnt how to smile, I would sing into her face during service worship time in the nursery and she would smile and smile. Well, it's definitely not because my voice is nice. It's because she simply loves music.

There is a fav chair in the office nursery that Joey loves to sit on because it plays music. She would gaze in amazement at the hanging toys infront of her eyes, and when the music changes to the next song, she will grin and be really excited that she kicks her legs and swings her hands! There's another chair without music and she would start fussing after 5 mins!

There is also a super cute Barney toy in the nursery which will shake its butt left and right to a really funny music. It never fails to entertain Joey. She would stare and stare at Barney and try to talk to it. Even I am tickled by it! Haha...

So you see, there is great power in the name that you give your kids. Make sure you give them something good & don't be haphazard about it! =P

The Grabber

This morning on the MRT ride to office, joey was in a grabbing mood. Soooooooo embarrassing. sigh..

There is this man who is sitting next to us, and joey's hand kept going over to touch his shoulders! And the man got to turn over and politely smile at joey. (You know right? Even if they don't really like kids, they still do it because they feel it's politically correct to do so.) And I got to grab her hand back and look apologetically to the man. Within 3 secs, her hand will slowly drift to the man's shoulder again! And it happened over & over again!

And you know what's the most embarrassing part? Joey will occassionally put her fist into her mouth to suckle. When she gets sian of that action, she will reach out to touch that man's shoulder......... with a fist wet with saliva!!!! Oh my.. I am so sorry to that man. He probably got to live with saliva-smelling shoulders for the rest of his day.

But she so poor thing lah. Imagine that you are put into this carrier, strapped tightly on both sides and you are hanging in mid air infront of your mummy's body. And your head can't turn to face front. It's got to be left side or right side all the time. She must be so bored with it that she decided to entertain herself by grabbing something.

Well, at least she is getting a realisation that her hands are hers, finally! That is why she is starting to grab things with her own hands. At least that's a consolation? :)

Laughing Finally!

I have to blog this! I have to blog this! I have to blog this!

Joey has finally LAUGHED! wahahahaa..

And I am not trying to be overexcited about it, because frankly speaking, to see my baby smile sweetly and not see her laugh heartily are two different matters altogether.

Ever since joey learnt how to smile genuinely (that will hint to you that there were times when she smiled simply because it's a reflex caused by gas in her stomach. I'm not kidding! That's what books say!), my heart always warms up when she smiles. But I also wonder if she is smiling because she is really happy, or she is just imitating what I am doing to her, or she is returning the favor. So, I have been looking forward to the day when she will finally laugh, because that would mean she's really happy.

So just now after feeding her milk, I brought her into her cot in my bedroom to play. She was in a superb mood. Balancing on her stomach, she was pushing her head real high. Then she started to laugh! The more I call her name, the more she laughed! I got so excited that I immediately went to ask Dear Dear to come in to see. And she laughed and laughed.. hahaha.. really very funny! We were both very amused by her laughs!!!

After saying so much, do you know what is the difference between a smile and a laugh??? Laughing means she will go 'hehehehe..' and not just a grin with no sound. Get it??!

I am happy and excited because it shows that my daughter is happy!~ And nothing beats the joy of knowing that my little one is blessed and happy. :)

Oh God, i pray that joey will be a happy gal all her life. Amen!

wahahahaha....

Milestone Moment!

It's another milestone moment in Joey's life! She has finally succeeded in flipping herself over from a face down position to a back lying position! She's still not too good at it yet, but at least she can push herself so high up that she flips over. heee.. Before long, she'd be able to master the art of flipping the other way. So I got to watch her very carefully now! yey yey.. this calls for a celebration! (Joey's daddy: The celebration can come in the form of a new bag or new pair of shoes for Joey's mummy. :P)

Clarification

OK, due to the misconception of the masses and spurred on by xiaowei's comment on my previous entry, I think it's necessary to do some clarification here. Even though I have done the same explanation many times over to those who simply refused to accept the truth. Remember: The TRUTH shall set you free.

So why do I insist that joey calls every friend of mine 'auntie' or 'uncle'?

You may have many excuses to bail yourself out of this. Like ziwei always tells me, "I am not yet married, so I am gor gor."

Married or not, you will be auntie or uncle. Period.

The reason is very simple. Do you call your mother's friends gor gor or jie jie? Of course not! You call them auntie or uncle RIGHT??

See.. it's really as simple as that.

So who are the jie jie and gor gor?? Denise (Dawn's 2 yr-old daughter).... Ethan (Pst Derek's 3 yrs old son), Dayan (Pst Kong & Sun's son).. Do you fall into the same category as them, excuse me?

I hope I have cleared all misconceptions in your minds. The truth shall set you free. And you shall be free indeed. :)

Love,
Joey's mama

Shopping Day!

Today we had a great time shopping...... for Dear Dear's things! Isaiah needs to buy a new pair of leather shoes and belt, so we decided to take the free Ikea bus from Yishun to.... Queenway Shopping Centre!! Haha.. but to pay back Ikea for their kindness, we did have lunch there. And we spent so much, ok?!

Anyway, joey was such a darling today. She did not fuss or make noise, just accompanied us to go shopping in the front carrier. She even fell asleep while Isaiah was carrying her towards the end!

She wore a new red romper today which is super cheena. The kind you would wear during Chinese New Year. Hee.. And it's got 2 chinese knots on the left shoulder, so she looks really like a china gal in it!

I am very happy with her hair today. As you can see, it's not standing up as usual, but alittle more tame. Got to do with the fact that I made her wear a cap. Haha.. With her hair down, she looks more like a boy though. With her hair all standing up, she can at least pass off as a punky hiphop girl. Hehe..

Oh by the way, Ling & Lian: If you are reading, this cheena red romper was bought with the Kiddy Palace vouchers you all gave me. :)

Stars, Moon, Doggie & Bear

As Joey grows bigger, she is starting to develop liking for colourful motifs and toys. So now whenever she sees her bear bear soft toy or doggie, she will be super alert and will smile sillily at them. Sometimes she will talk to them in a language only she can comprehend. So much so that when we want to put her to sleep, we got to take all the toys away so that she will not be distracted.

I have resorted to calling the toys 'her friends'. So when it's time to play, i will bring her doggie, Mashimaro and bears to her and say, 'joey, your friends are here...' hahaha.. I am amazed at my own childishness.. but i guess our kids bring out the child in us.

It's really funny watching her. She would see the moon and stars on her blanket and start to smile really sweetly at them. Even though they don't move! And I don't even think they are cute at all. And not to mention her favorite mashimaro and doggie She adores them so much that she will smile and smile at them... I don't even think she smiles as much to people, that silly gal..

In the office nursery where she spends most of her time in, there is this 45-degree inclined chair which she always sits when she's not sleeping. There are 3 hanging bears that are hung right infront of her eyes when she's in the chair. Whenever she sees the bears, she will hit them really hard with her fists! Oh man, I was wondering where she got her violent streak from! She seems quite amused that the bears will rock back and forth and turn upside down when she hits them. But when she's in a conversational mood, she would choose to talk to them instead. The auntie in the nursery even told me softly the other day, she has not seen other babies do that before. I mean, the hitting-the-bears part. Sigh..

"Because You're the Mama"

I have always wondered why Joey seems to be fine playing with some people one minute and the next minute when she sees me, she will start to pout and cry. 'Do I look so scary??' I always think to myself. Haha..

Then yesterday in the office nursery when I went in to feed joey her medication, the same thing happened. Joey was fine when auntie was carrying her. But when I carried her and looked at her in the eye, she took one moment to stare at me and upon recognising me, she started to pout and make noise. Auntie then made a comment.. "Because you're the mama lah.."

Suddenly I realised. It's precisely because she recognises me that she behaved in that way. She knows that I am someone who loves and cares for her, and that if she makes some noise, I will let her get her way. Even for someone as young as her, she already knows her exclusive right to her mama and that she has a certain influence over me. Like how I would run over to her cot the moment she starts crying. And how I would carry her and rock her to sleep when she refuses to stay put in the cot. How interesting. :)

Then I started to think about my own mama. The way I treat her is very different from the way I treat my mother in law. Because even though I am close to my mother in law as well, she is afterall not my real mother. With my own mum, I can talk loudly, talk back to her (=P) and tell her to stop it when she nags. Not with my mother in law of course. And I realised it's got to do with the simple fact that SHE IS MY MAMA. I know she will never blame me or remember the bad things I've done. She will always accept me, weaknesses included, and she will always have my best interests at heart. My mother in law loves me very much too of course, but it is just different.

With that, I have a better understanding how Joey knows she can always get her way with me because I have a soft spot for her. It's like that for all mothers, i guess? :)

That is why people always say when mothers whack their kids, the pain is in their hearts. Haha... What was that? Spare the rod and spoil the child?? Hmm.. I shall know in future...

One Sunday At Church

This was a Sunday when Lian joined me for service and we met up with Ling after church. It should be the first time proper that they are meeting Joey so we took many photos together!

Here's Ling with Joey. Aiyah.. joey never looked at the camera..

Lian took more photos with joey... :) Lucky Lian, joey looked straight at the camera every time..

Of course, how can we forget Mummy Kless???

Feeding Joey her milk!

I wonder why Lian looks so miserable... maybe she wants to drink joey's milk?? hmm.. but joey doesn't look too willing....

Close-up pictures of Joey. My darling is simply ADORABLE!

A 3 Month Old

Time really flies by so quickly. Joey is already 3 months old! Yet, if you ask me whether it felt like I gave birth only 3 months ago, definitely not! It felt like ages ago for me now..
It's getting more and more fun playing with joey nowadays because she's been grinning and smiling alot, alot. And she's starting to laugh instead of just smiling, so there's a giggle sound sometimes. Really cute!

And these few days, we've noticed her trying to tilt her body towards the side.. which is a sign that she will flip soon. So got to really watch her carefully now and cannot leave her alone. I still remember there was one day in office when I left joey lying on one of the tables while I pack my bag a few steps away. It created quite an uproar among my colleagues around me that I actually left her lying on a table because she could just roll and fall down from the table! I still remember Dawn's horrified face. Haha.. Now, cannot le. Really must watch her every minute, because one of these days might be the first time she flips. :)

It's really amazing how babies learn things on their own. God has programmed within them the procedures required for them to take before they will finally be able to walk. There's another set of procedures for learning to talk as well. So, it's really fun watching joey do it step by step. God is really a creative God.

Joey's recognising colours and patterns alot more now. She can lie in her cot watching a colourful soft toy dog and grin to herself. She will reach out to touch the dog, but because she can't really control her hands yet, she will hit the dog so hard that it gets knocked out of her sight. Then she will start crying to let me know it's time to put the dog back in its original place.

She has been attempting to touch my face too. When I carry her, she will stare deep into my face and reach out to touch me. She will touch my nose and mouth and then smile to herself and make some uncomprehendable sounds that goes 'ohhh'.

She loves to watch TV too. If I just need 15 minutes to do something, all I need to do is to switch on the TV and she will be quietly watching it without making a single noise. I guess it's all the motions and colours that attracts her. Isaiah was telling me that she was behaving really well watching a variety programme but the moment the news came on, she started to cry! I think it's too boring for her seeing a man or woman sitting in the TV without much expression on their faces. Haha..

Joey on a Friday

Today is Friday and also my off day. We brought Joey back to Dr Yip for her follow up treatment. Thank God for a good report. Dr Yip said that she has improved quite abit, but the nabiliser still got to be continued until Monday and the medication must continue until she is fully recovered.

For those of you who do not know what a nabiliser is, here is the machine used in the process. We need to borrow the machine from Dr Yip and buy our own face mask and tubings.

There are 2 kinds of liquids that needs to be poured into a tube and the tube is connected to a face mask and a tubing linked to the machine. What the machine does is it converts the liquids into vapours so that when Joey sniffs them in, it goes right to the lungs to get rid of the phlehm. It's supposed to work faster than taking oral medication.

Here's joey sitting in the carseat like a model while 3 mad people (namely her mother, father and grandmother) frantically took photos of her. :) She's wearing a pink sleeveless dress over a long sleeved romper because it's just too cold at the hospital and she's still recovering from flu.

My Cute Darling

I haven't been posting new photographs of Joey for quite some time. Here are some of her cute cute shots! I smile everytime I see them.... :)

On the bed, trying to crawl towards the camera.... but of course, she can't crawl yet..

Lying on her bed and posing for the camera..

Here she is, happy in her Bambo chair..

See the pink clip on her head?? Hee... it serves more like a decoration than pinning down the hair, because as you can see, the hair is really having a temperament of its own.

So Poor Thing...

My darling has been sick for a few days. So poor thing, she's still so small and young, and yet she got to take medicines and use the nabiliser every 4 hours.

It's causing such a heart pain when we administer the nabiliser for her because almost immediately, she will look sedated. At the beginning, I thought it could be because the vapours relieved her stuffy nose so she felt very comfortable. But now, I am beginning to think it's because of the medicinal effect, that's why she is sedated and goggy.

But still, thank God so much because we brought her to the doctor after she started coughing for 2 days, therefore her condition is not so serious that she needs to be hospitalised. Because she is alittle chesty, the nabiliser will help to clear the phlepm (can never figure out how to spell this!). Phlepm needs to be cleared because viruses grow & cultivate in them.

Her cough has subsided quite alot these 2 days. Last night she totally didn't cough and I just called home to ask my mother in law who told me that she has not coughed since morning too! Praise the Lord. Now just wait for her cold to subside.

We brought Joey to see this really good doc at Gleneagles called Dr YY Yip. Many of our church staff see him for their kids as well. He is a renowned paediatrist in Singapore and we're comfortable seeing him. Joey seems to like him too because she smiled at him while he was examining her. Anyway, Dr Yip did tell us that infant coughs usually take 14 days to clear and they often peak on the 5th and 6th day. So thank God for His supernatural healing.

But Joey is such a great kid. Despite the discomfort, blocked nose and all the coughing, she did not make that much a fuss. Unlike most kids who will whine and cry, she did not cry much, but only wanted to be carried when she is awake. Like what Bro Fei said, she is such a resilient child.

Thank you for all your prayers & concern, guys. :)

God, complete healing in Jesus' Name!

Please Pray..

My little darling is down with cold and cough. Please keep her in your prayers!

Her New Playpen

Today we cleaned up a corner in our living room and transformed it into Joey's little playpen. It's a cosy corner and within our sight, so we're really happy with it!

That's her playing with her gym butterfly!

And we decided to let her try the Bambo chair today. She looks so cute in it! hahaha... My mother in law and I were snapping photos away while she looked really miserable in it. I guess it restricts her movements and she feels trapped in it! haha..

Oh, that blue cap that she's wearing was bought by my mother in law. Though it's quite boyish, it's actually for gals.. I guess got to let her wear really pinkish when she wearing that cap.. otherwise...

A Solution Is Needed!

I've got to find a solution fast for this. Every Thursday night cell group meeting has become a problem now because there's no one who can help me take care of joey while i attend cg meeting. The 1st meeting I attended was OK because at least my mum in law was at home and she took care of Joey in her room. But for the 2 CGMs subsequently, she had to go out and all I could do was feed joey her milk and coax her to sleep in my bedroom before 8pm, and pray hard that she will sleep all the way to 10pm when CG ends.

But that of course is wishful thinking because since when do babies do what we wish for? I had to leave her room door open so that when she cries, I can hear her. So she could hear everyting that was going on and would cry now and then during the meeting. I had to shuffle in and out of the room to check on her and pacify her frequently.

Last night was even worse because she couldn't get to sleep throughout the whole CG meeting! And I kept walking and carrying her in the room, and praying hard she will quickly fall asleep so that I can join the meeting. In the end, I had to listen to the whole meeting sitting by the door inside my bedroom. Sigh..

It's really so disruptive for me and all my CG members. Please forgive me! It's not that I don't think CG meetings are not important. In fact, if some of you have not been that focused on God during worship, you would have seen me sneaking out from my bedroom with Joey in my arms, hoping that she will not cry and I can at least join the meeting carrying her throughout. But no, she started fidgeting the moment i sat down and I had to quickly retreat back into my room in order not to disrupt the meeting. But not without first giving a word during the free worship part. haha... thank God at least I did contribute to the atmosphere for that 5 minutes.

I guess the only way would be to make some arrangements with my mum in law to stay at home every thursday night so that I can join CG meeting in peace.

Is Anything Too Diffcult for Me?

I've had joey for close to 3 months now. Next Sat will mark her 3 months' birth. I was trying to coax her to sleep this morning and suddenly a thought came to my mind: Nothing is too difficult for me now.

It's not just the carrying to full term and giving birth part I am talking about. It's having joey in every single inch of my everyday schedule.

Today is Friday, which is supposed to be my off day. But I'll be going back to office later to settle some important stuffs. Will be leaving Joey in the hands of her father, so I will be able to make a quick trip to office and come back quickly. *baby, pls don't make things difficult for your daddy k.. be a good gal and just eat & sleep..*

It would be the first time I am going back to office without Joey in a long long time, counting in those 10 months she followed me to office in my tummy. And I suddenly felt that it's going to be so easy going to office. Not that it's been super hard with Joey, but the packing of her necessities, carrying that heavy bag and with a 6-kg baby who may decide to cry any time without warning can be quite a stressful daily affair. Today I will probably have a very relaxing MRT ride, reading my July issue of Home & Decor.

It then dawned upon me that God probably thought the same way after He created the heavens and the earth. After a massive creative project is completed in perfection, that was probably his thought: "Is anything too difficult for me now?"

I am not saying I am God. But I have also gone through a creation process and now I can truly understand the essence of that statement.

Towards my baby, I will always feel that there is nothing too difficult for me. At this young age, she probably believes that about me as well. Because at this stage in her life, she only has me in this whole world. To her, I can do anything and everything. I can find milk for her when she is hungry. I can change her diaper when it's wet. I can change her clothes and bathe her and make her comfortable. I can bring her to places. I can bring her a blanket when she is cold. To her, I am everything.

But as she grows older, she will start to question the validity of this statement. Especially when she asks a question that I cannot answer, but pretend that for her own good, insists that she go check out the encyclopedia herself.

Isn't this the same between us and God? Except that God points us to the bible because He spoke those words, and not because He doesn't know the answer Himself.

When we were just spiritual babes, we cling on to God like He is our everything. He is able to provide for us everything we need, materially, emotionally and spiritually. But as we grow older in our spiritual age, we start to rely on ourselves more and sometimes forget that our God is Almighty and He is El Shaddai.

The truth remains though. He created everyone of us and everything we see around us, and there is really nothing that is too difficult for Him.

"For with God, nothing will be impossible." Luke 1:37

Today this became rhema in my life.

Screaming Babies

Ever since I have known joey for 2 weeks, I already realised she is a 大 小 姐. Everyone who knows her can attest to the fact that her screams and cries are super loud. Everytime she wants to make a statement, she will let out a loud scream or shout, depending on the occasion & the purpose. And now, she knows exactly how to tell you she doesn't like or want something. She'll pout and knit her eyebrows and let out a sound that spells 'I-R-R-I-T-A-T-E-D'. Amazed that a 10-week-old baby can do that? I am not joking.

Just today, I finally understood how mothers feel when their kids make noise in the MRT. The moment we got on to the MRT & I sat down, Joey started to whine. And when after 3 seconds, she was still whining, I felt really embarrassed because she was really loud! In my mind, I was wondering if mothers sitting near me were criticising my bad mothering skills. So, I was all the more nervous and even more embarrassed. Thank God I managed to force a pacifier into her mouth and she settled into a deep sleep. *Really Thank God*

On my way home, I was in the MRT again and again, she started to whine. The same embarrassment. The same nervousness. And thank God it did not take more than 30 seconds to calm her down into a slumber.

During my confinement period, I used to wonder how I could handle her & make her calm down in public transport, knowing I would be very embarrassed if she cries non stop. But then, during then, I was still a greenhorn at taking care of babies and pacifying them. Now, I have become an expert, so I have the confidence to calm Joey down in any situation now. And because I have been her mummy for 10 weeks, I now can differentiate what each sound means although it may sound pretty much the same to every outsider. I'll be so proud of myself because I guessed it correct all the time.

Screaming is probably part & parcel of their growing up years.... ; )

Heads Up!

Heads Up, Joey! A milestone in her growing up..

Happy Day!

Today was a happy day for 3 reasons.

The first reason is that Isaiah, Joey and I went jalan jalan today. My dad's overseas, so he lent us his car. It's so convenient to have a car! Without having to pay for it of course.. hahaa.. Here's joey in her carseat as we set off... abit grouchy cos she got woken up from her sleep..

Anyway, we had brunch at Ah Kun at Suntec because I had to go back to office to settle some stuffs. Then, we went shopping at Plaza Singapura and Far East Plaza. I had wanted to buy a new bag to bring to office, but can't find what I wanted. At the same time, I was holding on to my handphone, anxiously waiting for a sms to arrive. Which was the 2nd reason why it's a happy day.

My ex core helper, Meiling had finally given birth to baby Jayden at 1.55pm today!!! After 10 long months, I am so happy for Gary & Meiling! Although I didn't get to see Jayden when I visited Meiling just now, from his photo, he sure looks like a smart-looking and charming guy. And looks alot like Meiling now!! Yey, Joey's going to have another friend to grow up with now.. : ) I shall upload his photos when I finally get to meet him face to face & take his photos.

And the 3rd reason for today to be a happy day is ..... I bought a new soft toy for joey! It's a super cute Mashi Maro.. Look!

I saw it in one of the shops in Plaza Singapura and immediately fell in love with it and bought it within 5 minutes. Reason? Because it reminds me of Joey when she was a newborn!

See the resemblance? =P

Tomboy Transformation?

Will every girl go through the tomboy phase somewhere in their lives? I remembered I did go through that phase myself when I was in Primary school. And it brought much nagging from my mummy and well-meaning relatives. I guess everyone still believes that girls must behave like girls.

It's hilarious how much societies believe in that too. My Secondary School motto was..... listen to this... DEMURE & RESOLUTE. (I shall not mention what school here in order to protect their image, but those of you who were from the same Sec school as me would know for sure.) Who in the right mind would put 'demure' as one of their mottos??? Shouldn't it be things like polite, upright, honest, etc etc? Goes to show that demure-ness has become a virtue instead of a natural trait.

So that day I was having a conversation with Shaun & Bruce in the car when Bruce kindly offered to give us a lift home. I was commenting on how boyish joey looks and how many people have mistaken her for a boy inspite of the pink overalls she's don in. And Shaun told me that babies who look boyish usually grow up to be very pretty ladies. He He.. don't know whether the theory is scientifically proven, but I have decided to believe in it. : ) Of course Shaun used herself as a real life example! hahaha... Then the conversation ended abruptly because Bruce also tried to convince me that he used to look very girly as a baby but look how handsome he is now. I had to tell him the theory only applies to girls. Hahaha..

I guess this is a constant worry in the minds of mothers. For boys, I still think it's not so bad because boys generally will start to display an affection for electronic stuffs, cars etc when they are growing up. For girls, they might like teddy bears & barbie dolls, but they still need to go through the discovery & adventurous stage where they will climb up & down and do many things out of the league of demure ladies.

I shall personally give joey etiquette classes starting from when she is 1 year old. Heee..

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Something really funny happened yesterday night. I brought Joey to see her own reflection in the mirror. Amazingly, she was very intrigued by the cute girl she saw in the mirror! She just stared and stared at herself and then started to 'talk' to herself. After some time, she thought she made a new friend and started to smile really widely at herself over & over again!

I tell you, it was so funny! I tried to stifle my giggles while watching her make conversations & smile at herself. And she probably was wondering how come the little girl also was carried by someone who looks like mummy. Haha..

Then she tried to reach out to touch the girl in the mirror and when she saw that the litte girl also reached out to touch her, she smiled again. Hahaha... There's something between mirrors and girls inborn within us, isn't it? We somehow know it would be our good friend all our lives. :)

Mummy Talk

Had an interesting MRT ride today. Seated next to me was a mother of 2: a seven-year-old & a five-year-old. She struck up a conversation with me by asking how old joey is. Then we started to chat about our kids and it was pretty entertaining hearing her share about what to expect when your kids hit 3 months, 2 years old, 5 years old and 7 years old.

I made a casual remark that girls tend to be more obedient & well-behaved. She exclaimed that it's not true all the time because her younger daughter is definitely naughtier than her son. She would climb anything she can mount on and there were many times when she would climb and sit on top of the dining table. There were times she would reach up & grab anything she can touch from the table. So all pots of hot water must be put right in the centre of the dining table to avoid any accidents.

When they start to talk, they would ask you a question back when you instruct them to do something.

"Don't run around the clinic. Sit down properly!"
"Why must I sit down? Why can't I run around?"
"It's late. Time for bed."
"Why must I go to bed? Why can't I watch TV?"
"Don't eat sweets before dinner."
"Why can't I eat sweets?"

And it goes on and on like that...

Kids go through different phases in their lives and they learn as they go along. It's amazing how every kid is unique, yet they all need to go through the same stages. They cannot learn to walk without first learning to crawl. They cannot learn to crawl without first flipping their bodies on the bed.

Went to visit Serene's son who's hospitalised for some viral attacks this afternoon at Gleneagles. I must say it brought back many memories of my check-ups, the day I was admitted for delivery, the day I was discharged. Haha..

And as I was walking towards the taxi stand after the visitation, I passed by a grandmother holding a really small newborn baby. And I thought to myself, my joey has grown up to be a 2-month-old now and is no longer a newborn. Big girl already. : ) *sentimental*

I've Reached A Decision

I've decided. From now onwards, I shall bring joey to office in the front carrier!

I had a good experience today carrying her in that carrier that auntie gave to me. She was snuggled comfortably in it and could look at the sceneries on her left & right. When she's tired, she will rest her head on my chest & fall asleep.

Me, on the other hand, could have both my hands free and practically do anything I want! I could take the bus, MRT, lift, staircases, rocky grounds, etc etc etc. It was good! And today's a good day because the MRT's not crowded, so I got a seat. All else I needed to carry was my own bag which contained my laptop. On days when I do not need to bring my laptop home, it would be a breeze to come to work! Yeh, I am so happy to finally find the best solution!

Frankly speaking, it's not that this idea did not surface earlier. Because of my vanity, I had refused to buy a front carrier because I had the impression that it belonged to the aunties era, which I obviously do not fit in (yet). So, I settled for a sarong sling which my friends bought for me, but if you've been following this blog, I still have not figured out how to put joey comfortably inside.

So, when auntie offered to give me this front carrier, I was like 'errmmm.. ok loh, just take first then see...' How would I know it would be a godsend?!! Oh man, God bless the man who invented front carriers. He or she deserves a Nobel award. And I shall personally thank him or her in heaven someday.

Anyway, so a happy mummy I am today because joey is a happy baby. No more bumpy rides in her stroller. No more unsteady rides up and down escalators. No more dangerous stunts up & down staircases. Goody goody good!

To end off this note, I just wanna say a big HELLOOOO!! to Dawn who professed to be a faithful reader of this blog! hahahaha..

A Resounding Success!

Don't ask me how i did it. I just did.

Today I overcame many obstacles. In total, 1 MRT ride (& I was standing throughout the ride but I can totally understand why because the pictures on the sign that reminds people to give up seats to the more needy DO NOT include a pretty lady with a baby sleeping inside a pram.), 10 escalator rides up & down included & 3 flights of stairs.

I seriously didn't know how I did it. But I guess I am just a very gungho mother. I just dragged the stroller step by step up the stairs and down the next. People stared at me, wondering whether to offer help, but I don't really care.

There is this kind young man in red who actually did help me carry the stroller down a flight of stairs. I am eternally grateful to him. So as he was walking away, I just stared at his backview and told myself I must remember his face. Haha.. having a baby makes one emotional.

And guess what's the greatest thing? I only took 1 hour & 15 minutes in total to reach office from home! And mind you, I walked all the way with the stroller from home to the MRT, which took me 15 mins and another 15 mins from City Hall MRT to Suntec Tower 3. It was amazing. I can only say God is really good & faithful. Throughout the journey, Joey did not cry or make a single sound. She just sat in her stroller, stared at the blue skies and people as she passed by them. It's her first trip through Citylink so I guess it must be quite entertaining for her. It might feel abit weird when her stroller is tilted as we were going up & down the escalators, but on the whole, I believe she enjoyed the ride.

Tomorrow I might try the front carrier that my auntie gave me. See how.

1st Trip to JB

Today we brought Joey over to JB to visit her great grandmother and grandaunts. It's a day of many 1sts for Joey!

1) 1st trip overseas (altho it's just the straits of johor)
2) 1st time she's using her passport
3) 1st time filling in a white card
4) 1st chop in her passport

Her adorable tut-tut photo in her passport..

My 1st time filling up this form for joey. Sure feels weird!

So memorable! First stamp in her passport! :)

It was quite funny because I kept thinking to myself since joey can't sign on her white card, does it mean that the customs officer will insist that she puts her thumbprint instead? Then wouldn't it be a super cute & small thumbprint? In the end, it's Isaiah who signed on her behalf. Haha.. i think too much..

Upon reaching JB, we went for our lunch. Some photos taken in the restaurant while waiting for our food..

Then we went over to auntie's house and they started taking photos with joey. Some of the snap shots..

Look at joey sitting comfortably in the arms of great grandmother:

A leisurely but tiring day. :)

ParentHood = No More Life?

Is there really no more life after one becomes a parent?

While it's true that movies and air travelling have become legends & myths in my life for the time being now, I still firmly believe that life has got to be more colourful and exciting after having a baby.

For one, I've heard so many self-confessions from mothers who said that they no longer bother to dress up or makeup because they have a baby and they spent all their time preparing the diaper bag and dressing up the baby. They will usually be shuttling back & forth in messy hairdo, half-ironed shirts and a hastily-put-on lipgloss. Why must be like that?

On the contrary, I feel very strongly that after becoming a parent, we must dress up even more and look more attractive than before. It does a whole lot of good to our self esteem for one. For C-section cases like mine, I now have a new scar across my used-to-be flat and smooth tummy. And mind you, the scar's huge & long OK? So, in order to ease back into normal life again, I've got to do something to gain back my confidence and inject more excitement and fun into my life other than detecting that my baby has just poo-ed just by the look on her face.

Get a life. Literally. Life is not all gone after parenthood has sunk in. In fact, it should take on a more fulfilling and fun dimension. A new level of confidence should fall into place. Because remember, you now have produced a new life and is totally capable of supporting it and nurturing it. What great accomplishments! And that alone should justify buying that new dress or that new pair of platform shoes from Aldo. :)

And if you have a friend who has just given birth and still looks great now, praise her! It does real good to her in gaining back her life (which by now is not much hers anymore). I thank God for having friends who will encourage me and praise me for getting back in shape quickly. Although I still have a distance to go, I now thrive on their encouragements, which is alot easier. :)

Hey, parenthood is not easy ok? We all deserve some pampering. :)

Awareness & Attention

Ever since I got pregnant and given birth, I have a greater awareness of pregnant ladies and mothers with small babies on the streets. That's expected of course, considering I myself had gone through those days of being stared at by dozens of women because of my swelling tummies, and endless days of wishing that incorrigible young man would get up from his seat to offer his seat to ME on the MRT, instead of pretending to sleep. During my pregnancy, this issue of manhood totally disillusioned me.

Now that Joey is out, whenever we bring her out, we will attract lots of stares and attention. People rush to open doors for us seeing that I am carrying a baby with no free hands. When I walk into a restaurant, strangers will smile at me and joey from the corner they are sitting at, as if congratulating me for owning such a darling. When I am strolling along Orchard Road, I would hear whispers of 'oh, so cute!' by giggling students walking past us. Even taxi drivers have become more patient with us. It's amazing what a little thing like joey can do to people.

And mothers & fathers with small babies will look us up & down and then probably think to themselves that their babies are way, way cuter. I know that cos at the same time, I was also thinking to myself that my joey's way, way cuter than their babies. Haha..

The common comments that Joey receive when people see her no matter for the first time or for the umpteenth time would be one of the following two:

a) Oh! She got so much hair!

or

b) Oh! She's so tall! Just like her papa!

Trust me, really no other comments. And each time, I would go.. ya ya..haha.. alot of hair.. very tall baby... haha..

Nowadays, due to her ever-flourishing and standing-tall hair, the hair comment has been modified to.. 'Oh.. look at her hair.. all standing up!'.. yeh yeh..

I am looking forward to newer comments... come on people, be creative.. :)

One of the items on my wish list now is for her hair to come down from their standing position so that I can tie some cute ribbon or clip on it. Better start thinking of more ways to dress her so that she can catch on more feminism.

Talking about that, I am full of frustration air inside of me! I know it's hard to tell the gender of a baby especially when they all look alike for the first few months. But come on! Shall we practise some discretion & discerning over here??!

When joey's dressed in pink cap, pink top, pink dress, pink socks and wrapped in pink blanket, why do you want to insist on asking me the same question I've heard 15,000 times, "Girl or boy ah?" Aiyoh! Colour-blind issit?? Or do I look like a sadist mother who will dress her son in pink overalls?? X@#*^&^#@! But of course, each time I would nicely reply, 'Girl.' and give my biggest smile possible.

That was not the worst. Last week I dressed Joey in an yellow Precious Moments overalls and brought her to church. Because there was no more pink on her, someone just asked me outrightly, 'How old is your son?' X@#*^&^#@ again! Please!! In situations like these, you should just ask politely, 'Oh.. is it a son or a daughter?' *faintz* God, send down your spirit of discerning.

So you see, this task of making her more feminine is very crucial. How about this? :)

T.G.I.F

I have finally finalised my 3rd month maternity leave arrangements and Pst Derek has given approval for me to go ahead. I will be taking every Friday off until i clear all of the 24 days. That means 24 Fridays, which is 6 months! Oh man, that's such a long time! This is one way to stretch my maternity leave rather than taking everything at one shot ah? hee...

This means I will only be working on Tue, Wed & Thurs every week, plus 3 more hours on sunday for bible study duty and zone meeting. This is really a good arrangement because I can spend more time with Joey during this crucial period when she is picking up things really fast. Don't want to miss out this golden period when she is starting to recognise faces and most importantly, mummy! hee..

Ice Ice Baby

Joey fell sick last night. I think she caught a chill in the office nursery inspite of wearing 3 layers of clothes and covered in 2 blankets! So she started sniffing last night when we reached home and I was so worried when I woke up in the middle of the night to find that her breathing was so noisy and she was tossing here & there. It's stuck and I think it's hard for her to breathe properly. Plus she must suck on her pacifier so she can't breathe through her mouth either. Sigh, so poor thing..

Then this morning, her nose started to flow alittle. But it seemed to have cleared a little. Thank God. I hope she will recover fully soon. Now, she's lying next to me on the couch, but not asleep yet. At least she's not making a fuss and just lying there quietly. She's finding it hard to fall deep asleep. Maybe because it's too warm compared to the office nursery where she has been sleeping really well cos of the cool aircon. But it gave her a cold. Ironic..

Anyway, Joey has been making progress in her movements. She can now lift up her head while lying head down and can turn to face the person calling her. Good strong neck! Got photos as proof:

Trying hard to keep her head lifted as long as she can..

Oh, succeeded to look at mummy!

oh.. very tired le....

Joey in Office Nursery

Sorry for this super wordy entry. No time to take photos the past 2 days.. will upload them when I am free...

I started work proper yesterday. The most tiring part was not the work, but rather bringing Joey to office. It was 2 days full of adventure.

Yesterday was still quite OK because I took a cab to work, having to bring a big new pack of diapers, her feeding bottles and many miscellaneous items to the office nursery to keep. The only thing was the cab fare was a steep $22~! Oh man.. with the ERP, peak hour surcharge, taxi drivers nowadays are really prospering..

And the very 1st saga that happened right after I alighted from the cab. I forgot how to open the stroller! So there I was trying desperately to find the knob to push to open the stroller and a super kindhearted taxi driver trying to help me. I think we must have looked so lost & desperate that one of the security guards even started walking towards us wanting to lend us a hand. Thank God the stroller suddenly clicked open! 1st miracle of the day.

Upon reaching the nursery, I realised that forgetful mama has forgotten to bring her cardigan! And the nursery was a freezing 17 degrees. (even the bigger kids like denise had to wear 3 layers everyday..) And Joey was wearing a short sleeved shirt! Woo.. Then suddenly Auntie Lee Eng told me she bought 2 bodysuits for joey. And they are made of wool! So so sweet & cute in pink & white.. I tell you, joey looks super adorable in them! But i've got no time to take photo of her yet. She was so cosy & warm in her new bodysuit inspite of my mistake! Miracle number 2.

Then it's a long day at work and then it's off to zone meeting at YMCA with joey. It's her first zone meeting! But she kept fidgeting throughout that dear dear got to carry her while I run through the admin work with my leaders. Still, I hope she enjoyed her first smell of YMCA main audi. No major tantrums from her even though by the time we finished, it was way past her bedtime. As long as daddy carried her. Miracle number 3.

Today was a more tiring day for me because I carried her in my arms all the way from home to office. And the fact that she's nearly 6kg and with a haversack on my back made it really tough. But at least I could take buses and take paths with staircases, so travelling is faster. With the stroller, I can't take bus all by myself or even think about climbing steps! The moment I got on the MRT, a kind lady offered me her seat and Joey fell asleep immediately. So there was peace throughout the journey (Miracle number 4 & 5).

She seems to be enjoying herself in the nursery. With the cool aircon and dark lighting in the babies room, she sleeps well and long hours, waking up for her milk every 3 hours. In the afternoon, there'll be a period when she'll be awake and Auntie Lee Eng will put her on a electric rocking chair and she'll play happily with the 3 hanging bears infront of her. When I popped in to see her today, Auntie told me she was smiling and talking to the 3 bears. haha..

And the big gor gor and jie jie in the nursery like Ethan and Denise would stroke her cheeks and keep saying 'baby, baby'.. hee.. so cute! When I asked Denise, 'do you know what is her name?' she quickly nodded her head and said with a very confident voice, 'Baby.' hahaha.. Ethan had another reaction though. When asked the same question, he only widened his eyes in disbelief and said softly, 'oh oh.. i don't know...' hahahaha.. kids ah kids...

Joey's 1st Invitation!

Joey has received her 1st birthday party invitation! :)

Whose birthday is it??? ............

Ohh... it's Nicole jie jie!!

Look! Nicole jie jie is so so cute! :)

!st BBQ

Joey attended her 1st BBQ last Sat when N252 had our CG BBQ. Many Aunties & Uncles kept offering her bbq chicken drumlets, satay and otah, but I bet she can't appreciate them. To her, milk is the most delicious thing on earth. haha.. sorrie to waste all your efforts, uncles and aunties...

There she is after having her milk before the start of the BBQ..

Maybe she's very bored cos she can't eat any of our delicious food, so she kept yawning the whole evening..

Discovered Incredible Nanny! Whai Lin is so good with kids! My Joey kept smiling at her.. Therefore, mummy kless had some time to eat some BBQ food.. hee..

1st Visit to Mama's Office

Yesterday I brought joey to office because I had some work to do. Oh man, it's really not easy taking care of baby and trying to work at the same time because she demands so much attention.

First of all, it was a big task trying to get her to office. The journey was tougher than I anticipated. With the stroller, her big bag of necessities and my own bag, it was really slow, especially when I had to walk from home to MRT, and from City Hall to Suntec. And I can't walk through City Link because there were steps near to the exit to Suntec and I couldn't possibly carry the whole stroller and baby and the things up the steps. In the end, got to go by the roads but there was so much construction work going on and air super polluted. Looks like I really got to think of a good way of going to work without having to turn up at office looking totally exhausted and drenched in sweat.

The moment I reached office, I made her milk (past her feeding time by half an hour. Thank God for a good baby who kept sleeping throughout the journey and only stirring upon reaching office, phew!), then tried to put her to sleep on the sofa inside one of the facilitation rooms. But the whole day she just slept a bit, woke up hungry just after 2 hours.. think office too cold, so got hungry faster.. so I went to office supposedly to work but spent most of my time feeding her, changing her and rocking her to sleep. haha..

On a separate note, it feels good being back in the office after 2 months. I haven't seen my desk for so long that I almost forgot how messy it was. Haha... and I am telling the truth, the messiness shocked me for a moment. Did I leave so many stacks of paper below my table?? Were there really so many carton boxes there?? haha.. but I do know the answers to those questions in my heart very well..

Even though it was an off week for the staff, many of them were back including many pastors and ZSes. Well, City Harvesters are hardworking people. :)

A New Jacket!

Keng Hoe & Lixia just came back from their honeymoon and they bought joey a very cute orange jacket! How timely, cos we just bought her a white knitted jacket but it's really not enough. When she goes to an aircon room, a jacket is just what she needs! And when she starts going to the office nursery, she will need it even more. Thanks uncle hoe & auntie xia! Hee..

A Gan Cheong Manicure

Yesterday we brought joey out in my dad's car with Isaiah and my brothers, David & Nigel and old friend ah-hao. First went for a good lunch at Sakura restaurant at Far East Plaza (good & spicy beef horfun & tom yam soup!), then went to Ya Kun for coffee before heading to Bugis to shop around. When we reached Bugis, I decided to go & do my manicure since I didn't manage to do it last week. So Isaiah, Nigel and Ah-Hao carried joey and shopped around while waiting for me.

Just before I was waiting to have my nail polish put on, they decided to come back & linger near the manicure shop (supposedly to put pressure on me & y manicurist as they were running out of places to shop). Suddenly, joey decided to cry! And although it's still half an hour away from her feeding time, I told Isaiah to quickly go & make her milk. So he left joey in her pram for Nigel & Ah-hao to take care of her while he went to the toilet to rinse her bottle.

I think I don't have to describe what happened, but obviousy it was a very funny sight to have 2 rather young looking men trying to pacify and make funny faces to a baby. Many of the bypassers all looked at them with weird expressions, especially when joey is crying so super loudly by now!

I was feeling so gan cheong inside the shop hearing her cries but I can't do anything! And my manicurist also got so gan cheong that i swear her hands were shivering. haha.. And I even changed my French manicure to a normal manicure so that I can finish faster! aiyo...

Finally Papa Isaiah came back with the milk and that ends the 2-men-and-a-baby funny episode. I think both of them were zonked out by then. wahaha..

O my poor baby.. and my gan cheong manicure.

The Greatest Joy

What is the greatest joy for a mummy?

For me personally, it's not knowing the technique in feeding my baby, or bathing her, or even calming her down. It's knowing that Joey can recognise that I am her mummy.

It's so heartwarming when joey can be just looking around one moment and the next moment, she caught sight of me and then broke into a grin. Of course she's now at the stage where she will smile at anyone who tries to smile or do funny actions at her. But when she's looking at me, she will make a sound that sounds vaguely like 'urrhh'.. then her eyes will smile and sparkle before she will grin. Don't believe me, you can ask Isaiah. He's pretty jealous of me, you know? haha..

And when she gets her eyes on me, her eyes follow me wherever I go... and you know that sometimes she's just staring at you trying to take in all your features, (maybe I am just a tad too sensitive) her eyes look like she's saying, 'you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.'.. wahahaha... ok, go ahead & puke in disbelief.

Recently, I have been playing this little game with joey. When she wants to be naughty and is fidgeting and about to cry, I will imitate her every expression and sound. She finds it very amusing. When she sees me doing that, she will make one sound and wait to see if I will follow her. Then she does it again. And again. Then she will smile as if she finds it so fun. And it's obvious she's faking her cries because she will make one sound, with her eyes wide open to observe me, then make proceed to make another sound and observe with amusement again. It's so funny, you know!

Sometimes I would pretend to be angry and scold her for not finishing her milk or refusing to sleep. But I think she finds me so amusing that she will smile back at me instead! Or maybe she just knows that mummy would not bear to scold her anymore if she smiles. sigh..

It's really amazing because at only 2 months' old, she already has such a realisation of what's going on around her. And before she even knows how to call mummy, she already knows how to get her way by pouting and crying. God's creation is just so so amazing.

Finally, after 2 months of endless cycles of milk-feeding and diaper-changing, joey now knows I am her mummy. *smiles sillily to myself*

ABC!

Auntie Shirley authored a new children's book on ABCs and Shaun bought it for joey!!! Look, so cute! Auntie Shirley even autographed the book for joey.. hee.. I will start reading it to her when she's 3 months old.. :) Thank you Shaun ah-yee! :P

Nanyen ah-yee just came back from her australia trip and she bought a pair of rabbit booties for joey! I think with her big feet, she can wear them le.. Thank you Nanyen ah-yee! :P

Baby Talk

Before we went out to Sakae Sushi 2 days ago.. baby joey all dressed up & waiting in the stroller that Godmother Meiting ah-yee bought her..

Joey's learning how to lift her head up while lying face-down. She can now lift it up and look up for 5 seconds before she'll be tired and got to put it down again..

The day I had an inspiration about who she resembles with her new headgear...

Crying Baby

Ok, here's the short video clip by popular demand. :)



See if anyone of you still thinks she's a sweet & demure baby after this.. haha..

Crazy Mama

Call me morbid, mad or xiao. Whatever.

But I am the kind of mama who will find my baby's cries so cute that I will let her continue crying while I videocam it down. Then replay it again & again so that I can laugh at how cute her crying was. It's the same with the poo-ing. While joey was trying hard to push her poo out, I will be snapping away with the camera because her facial expression is just so adorable. You would have seen many of my creative works in this blog. Haha! So that day, I was trying to force her to change her sleeping posture to what I feel is more lady-like & resembles her mama more. I did succeed for 5 minutes before she woke up in discomfort & screamed her way till I put her back to her usual posture. : ) I've got proof:


* Incase u are wondering about the green socks: Yes, it did give me headaches for a while because I could find no clothes that can match it. So, final conclusion is that joey will only wear them at home until I buy her something green to wear. :)

I Am A Blessed Mummy

Met many people in church yesterday. Meiting Godmother finally saw Joey with her eyes open! Can you believe it? 7 weeks already leh. And so happy to see Abi and Dawn too! So long no see le!!! :) 1st time they saw joey too, so I am sure joey's very happy to see so many new faces. hey meiting, it's the first time she's seeing you too wor!

Also met Denise & Irene after service. They were my group mates when we went to Medan for mission trip 2 years ago. I only realised how blessed and fortunate I am when Denise told me stories of her night feeding with her 2 kids. She was telling me that for her elder son, he woke up every night at 2am and 4am for his feeds until he was 1 year old and before he hit 2 years old, he still woke up once in the middle of the night for his feed. OMG! I am so thankful that seven-week-old joey now can sleep till at least 5.30am after she is fed at 11pm or 12 midnight. Sometimes, she wakes up only at 6.30am and she goes back to sleep till 10am. Indeed I am blessed! *phew*

The weather is so cold today. Has been pouring since morning. But good for joey, cos it's so cooling for her sleeping in the cot in the living room. Maybe that's why she still has not woken up for her milk.. :)

We have slowly realised that joey might turn out to be a talkative and active gal. Why? Because since she started to make sounds besides crying, she has been making all kinds of funny sounds. And alot of them! All the woos and ahs and ohs and ang-ge-ges. And she has figured out how to stick her tongue out, thanks to her mama. (don't scold me. I read a magazine about how important it is to teach my baby simple actions like that now, so that she'll know what imitation is all about.)

She can also make a sound that sounds like 'chet' by pressing her tongue against her lips. Of course, the pouting of her lips and knitting of her eyebrow into a frown still continues. She learnt those when she was 2 weeks old already. The best thing is her smiles. She has been smiling alot nowadays. Especially her eyes. They really light up everytimes she is preparing to smile or smiling. We call them 'smiling eyes'. heehee.. so fun playing with her nowadays...

Poor gal, we made her wear such a BIG tee.. :)

Joey is a Good Gal

Viola! Finally for the first time last night Joey slept through the night! *clap clap clap*

She last had her milk at 12 midnight and she slept all the way to 6.30am! And after feeding her, she went back to sleep till 9.30am! So Mummy Klessis is very refreshed today. But actually, even though she did not wake up in the middle of the night, I woke up several times just to check that she's OK.

Call me paranoid but ever since the day she was born, i have been worried about this scary thing called Sudden Infant Death. It hits young babies and can happen anytime in their sleep without any apparent reason. And it doesn't help when books say that medically, there's no cure or prevention for it. Just got to make sure that baby can sleep without any obstructions nearby. Even though joey can already flip her head to sleep on her right or her left at her own will when she was 2 weeks old, I still must check on her frequently just to play safe.

So since the sun is shining so brightly today and Mummy Klessis has had enough sleep, i might just bring joey out later to Causeway Point. *No orchard road for the time being because it's too crowded for her and she just had her jab* Got to buy her a sweater or cardigan so that she can wear in the office nursery because it's super duper cold inside! Anyway, Mothercare is having 50% sale on autumn/winter collection, so better get it now! The Great Singapore Sale is good! :)

Day & Night

Thank God Joey survived her first day after her jab with absolutely no fever at all! Her appetite is still good and she still sleeps as much, in fact better than the past 2 days. She has a little bit of diarrhoea