Princess Joey

2006-10-23T11:02:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-23T10:31:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-23T10:19:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-22T22:16:00.000+08:00

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!

2006-10-21T13:31:00.000+08:00

Papa, wake up!

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

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

Her New Things

2006-10-21T12:46:00.000+08:00

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?

2006-10-21T12:29:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-21T12:26:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-20T10:34:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-20T09:35:00.000+08:00

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!

2006-10-15T19:50:00.000+08:00

Joey at service on Saturday this week..

Friday

2006-10-14T10:22:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-12T18:09:00.000+08:00

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?

2006-10-12T00:43:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-12T00:19:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-11T22:25:00.000+08:00

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??!

2006-10-10T10:16:00.000+08:00

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!

2006-10-09T23:49:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-09T18:15:00.000+08:00

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. :)

2006-10-08T11:36:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-08T01:03:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-06T17:36:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-06T13:44:00.000+08:00

The more she sits, the steadier she gets..

2006-10-06T13:34:00.000+08:00

The Future Opera Singer

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

My Last Friday

2006-10-06T12:53:00.000+08:00

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??

2006-10-05T23:26:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-05T23:14:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-04T23:35:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-02T14:54:00.000+08:00

Veggies Goodness

2006-10-02T14:21:00.000+08:00

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?

2006-10-02T12:33:00.000+08:00

"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!

2006-10-02T12:25:00.000+08:00

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

2006-10-01T21:56:00.000+08:00

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!

2006-09-30T19:03:00.000+08:00

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. =)

2006-09-30T13:19:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-30T13:12:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-29T15:41:00.000+08:00

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"

2006-09-29T11:15:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-25T13:24:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-24T23:51:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-24T19:27:00.000+08:00

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...

2006-09-23T10:53:00.000+08:00

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?

2006-09-23T10:43:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-21T21:59:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-21T21:42:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-20T14:44:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-20T13:36:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-20T13:26:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-20T12:52:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-18T19:46:00.000+08:00

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..

2006-09-18T12:01:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-18T11:51:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-15T11:32:00.000+08:00

With Papa in the Lift

2006-09-13T21:05:00.000+08:00

I want to hold my own bottle...

2006-09-13T20:58:00.000+08:00

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!

2006-09-13T19:04:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-13T19:01:00.000+08:00

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

1st Rice Cereal!

2006-09-13T18:42:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-11T13:41:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-10T22:42:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-10T01:37:00.000+08:00

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!!

2006-09-10T01:25:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-09T12:08:00.000+08:00

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!

2006-09-08T22:48:00.000+08:00

Patience is a rare commodity.

It's A Flipping Success!

2006-09-07T23:54:00.000+08:00

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!

2006-09-07T18:47:00.000+08:00

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!

2006-09-04T16:39:00.000+08:00

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..

2006-09-04T13:27:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-04T13:17:00.000+08:00

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?

2006-09-04T13:02:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-01T11:07:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-31T10:00:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-28T19:13:00.000+08:00

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?!

2006-08-28T14:08:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-28T13:42:00.000+08:00

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)

2006-08-28T13:36:00.000+08:00

I thought she just trimmed her hair?

I thought so too..

Joey in the Bedroom

2006-08-25T17:55:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-25T14:51:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-25T14:40:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-25T14:29:00.000+08:00

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!

2006-08-21T14:50:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-20T20:49:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-20T20:11:00.000+08:00

Do you know whose hand is this???

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

The Love of Grandma

2006-08-19T11:31:00.000+08:00

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!

2006-08-19T10:32:00.000+08:00

In nursery yesterday.. haha.. classic!

Don't Give Birth Too Late!

2006-08-18T12:53:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-17T21:27:00.000+08:00

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...

2006-08-16T10:35:00.000+08:00

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....

2006-08-16T10:22:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-14T23:36:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-14T23:15:00.000+08:00

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

Motherhood makes Women Smarter

2006-08-14T22:51:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-13T22:42:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-13T22:22:00.000+08:00

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....

2006-08-13T22:19:00.000+08:00

In the train home from Orchard today...

Went Shopping

2006-08-13T21:53:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-12T22:32:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-12T10:12:00.000+08:00

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?

2006-08-11T20:02:00.000+08:00

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

2006-08-09T23:50:00.000+08:00

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!