Self Feeding Lesson 2 (Mashed Banana)

Regret... Regret... Regret... Don't wanna talk about it... no time... got a lot of cleaning up to do....

Self Feeding Lesson 1 (Mashed Banana)

Sophie's Laughter (Papa's Laughter)

Just before Sophie drank her milk, we put her in her cot and somehow she started laughing... Papa joined in soon after and that triggered her round of "machine-gun" laughter.

Teaching Moments...

Papa was encouraging Sophie to stand without support. Although it seemed a little too soon, like Auntie Annie mentioned, she managed to support herself for a few seconds (slightly longer than before). I think it should be okay so long as she does not do it for too long or injure her knee... must remember to remind Papa...

Papa was trying to teach Sophie how to "pluck' the strings... she learnt very well... actually a little too well...

King Kong & Naomi What... Really Happened...

Wan Zai (Bishan Junction 8)

We went to our latest favourite eating place "Wan Zai" tonight with Naenae. 'Tis great to have someone (other than me and papa) to engage with Sophie once in a while... although she already made friends with the waitresses there...

Stand Alone

Poor Papa came back with a budding flu... even then he still attempted to train Sophie to stand. Little Sophie seemed to be able to stand for a second or two without support, but she lacked confidence and needed much encouragement. Keep it up!

Reading Elmo...

Wow... my Sophie was finally reading... She picked up the book all by herself... look at the serious expression on her face... such concentration... such determination... wait... er... oh... she was just playing peekaboo with Elmo... Aiyah... Sigh!

Stacker Toys Revisited

Yesterday I let Sophie try to perform her stacker task without any assistance. Not bad, she remembered how to do it and she was fast.

Eager to transfer her new skills to the "giraffe" stacker toy, I let her try it on her own. So disappointed that she was more interested in the "giraffe" than the "rings".

Maybe if I put the "rings" on the other stacker... nope! It did not work.

Cruising

We have been encouraging Sophie to walk or "cruise" along the panels of her play yard. Although she was able to stand quite well with minimal support, she still seems hesitant about moving. That will be my training target for her for the rest of the month.

Gimme Mama a Bite

Sophie has recently learnt to eat a cookie with her fingers voluntarily. She used to wait for me to feed her or seek my approval before she put it in her mouth. To encourage her, I tried to show her how to do it by putting the cookie in my mouth or pretending to eat the cookie in her fingers. Somehow, she ended up "feeding" me instead... quite cute!

The General In Black

I was sleeping rather soundly last night but Papa and Mama were somehow restless in bed. After much turning and tossing, Papa got out of bed to the bathroom and when he came back to bed, he heard some rustling noises near him. It sounded like tiny wings flapping... Concerned, he looked around and found himself staring at the enormous black creature right in its face. It must have seen Papa too as it immediately tried to escape by flying across the room, straight into the wardrobe.

By then, Mama had woken up and she instinctively gathered me into her arms even before she knew what was happening. Papa, who was on full alert, just stared at the wardrobe and uttered, "cockroach".... nothing else was necessary it seemed. Mama quickly took me out of the room and returned with our "Weapon of Mass Destruction".

I was fully awake and curious so I watched as Papa wrestled with the "evil monster". I could not see it but I was sure it must be huge and very deadly. Papa was yelling angrily and jumping over the bed to counter its attack. At one point, Papa lost sight of it... so he asked Mama to help him look for it. Mama could not really see well in the dark but she seemed to understand the enemy well. She told Papa to close the wardrobe door and look around the stools near the dressing table.

And it was there!!! Trying to crawl and fly away... but its attempt was futile because it hit the closed wardrobe, fell on the floor and Papa took the opportunity to whack the life out of it. I missed all that action actually. Papa told Mama to take me out of the room. It must have looked really awful and messy with such a horribly huge creature dead on the floor...

The whole episode took an hour and we went back to bed around 3 am. Papa was all sweaty and panting when Mama put me on the bed. But I did not mind at all because Papa was so brave to fight the "Black General". When I grow up, I want to be like Papa too. Wonder when I can start practising our "Weapon of Mass Destruction"

"Weapon of Mass Destruction - a weapon (baton and insecticide) used by Papa and Mama to kill countless of insects and lizards"

Stacker Toy

Baby Sophie was playing with her stacker toy when I realised she could finally remove each one continuously. She even clapped after each successful attempt... She was much better before I rushed to get my camera... after that she became distracted by my camera and learnt to remove all at once... also she grew sleepy and cranky... Sigh!

16 Days 17 Nights

Papa was on block leave for the past 2 weeks... which was partly why I went on the "semi-hibernating" mode in my blog... and today he has gone back to work. I thought it was such an enriching period of our lives that it deserves a blog entry specially dedicated to it.

"Where's my remote control?"

It all started when Ah Gong Ah Mah needed a 10-day vacation from us (Hokkaido). I was a little concerned that I was not able to cope alone at home. Fortunately, Papa needed to take his block leave so I quickly got him to coincide his leave with the dates that Ah Gong Ah Mah would be away. Great idea... I would get some help at home and he could do some fixing around (revival of the anti-procrastination campaign).

At first it was really tough, papa and I found it almost impossible to function in sync. Papa just wanted to relax, play with Sophie and maybe help out here and there a bit. I, on the other hand, hoped that the things around the house could finally be fixed with Papa's help... on top of the daily chores (and maybe take a break somehow). So you could picture a naggy wife telling the irritated hubby to do this and that while he was sitting on the couch watching TV... Fortunately, Papa soon caught the rhythm of the daily functioning and began to play the same tune with me.

The first thing he learnt was the importance of "routine" to Sophie. Prior to that, he did not quite appreciate what I tried to establish for Sophie daily. Whenever I asked him to look after her, he would put her in the play yard until I took over. It was frustrating because I had to be always around to tell him what to do next or do it myself. I mean... I had to tell him it was time for her bath, her breakfast, and her nap... etc. Sometimes, he could not understand why I got angry at him for "no reason" on weekends when he was around. Well, now he knows.

He is a different man now... he knows Sophie's schedule well and he is able to take care of Sophie when I am not around. He can appreciate that if certain tasks have not been done promptly, others would be delayed and Sophie would be cranky as a result. For instance, she had to bathe before breakfast and take a nap after. If we delay the bath, she would be too tired to eat and refuse her food. In the end, we would have to clean up the mess. Not to mention her nap time would have passed and she would have difficulty falling asleep then.

Another lesson Papa learnt was the "poo" test. It is a series of 3 tests to ascertain if Sophie has poo-ed. The first test is the audio test... Sophie would strain and "ern... ern..." very subtly. If he misses that, there is the smell test that he can perform. Finally, if he suspects that Sophie has already done the inevitable... he can do the sight test and check through the side of her diapers. Usually, I only perform the audio test because I watch her closely... but Papa did not even bother until I told him Sophie had poo-ed. But, for the past few days he could tell me straight away to change her.... very pro now. I think Papa has become more sensitive and observant towards Sophie... Way to go, Papa!!!

Another accomplishment worth mentioning is that Papa has gained a new understanding of what goes on domestically. He realised that Mama is not idling at home and there is endless chores to be done everyday. Usually on weekdays, he comes back at night, does a bit of chores and plays with Sophie before he sleeps. And on weekends, we go out. He never got the chance to really notice the leaking heater or the already washed clothes to be kept. Now, he recognises all the hard work needed... and he takes initiative in doing some of the chores. So proud of Papa!

In a nutshell, we are finally in sync at home. I love it because I do not have to nag at him and lose my temper. He seems happy too that he is more involved in Sophie's schedule. Honestly, I think we need to be in sync to exist as a family... at least at home anyway... This morning, after a teary goodbye at the door... Papa said, "Sophie, Papa miss you already (muack muack muack)... and of course Mama too (muack)... Darn! I'm going to miss those cartoons on Disney Channel..." Well, Papa... Mama miss your presence at home too!

"Sesame Street... as we remember it..."

First Passport

Sophie would be going to Hong Kong in November this year so we got her passort done online. We had to take Sophie along for collection between 8 to 11 am today. We thought we could just collect because we did it online but we were dead wrong. We still had to take a queue number and wait like everyone else. It was horrible... we were 200 numbers behind!!! When would it be our turn??? And we thought we could go back in time for Sophie's lunch! Papa was clearly upset because we did not know it would be like that. He stormed to the staff at the automatic queue machine and kicked a fuss. So... we waited 10 minutes and got Sophie's passport. Yeah! Good job papa!

By The Pool

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6 April 08

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1 May 08

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7 June 08

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20 August 08

Fruity Treat @ Naenae's Place

Naenae has the habit of eating fruit (mainly oranges) after dinner. So far, we had steered clear from citrus fruit for Sophie... but tonight, feeling "gangho", we let her try some orange and pear. We thought she would find the orange sour but she actually liked it.

Sentosa (Underwater World)

Ah Gong and Ah Mah came back from Hokkaido safe and sound. We took the opportunity, before they lost the momentum, to make a trip to Sentosa. Initially, I had imagined our trip to be relaxing and fun filled... frolicking on the sandy beach, playing with the lovely butterflies (Butterfly Park) and admiring the sea creatures (Underwater World)...


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"Sophie in her "throne" waiting eagerly..."

Our adventure began with our drive to Mount Faber to ride the cable car across to Sentosa. Papa parked at a carpark a little further for free after he dropped us off at "The Jewel Box" ticketing office. It cost $13.50 for us each to take the cable car plus entry to Sentosa but $5 for senior citizens. Luckily we asked cos Ah Gong Ah Mah could save some money using their EZlink card.

... waiting for our cable car ride...

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As usual, Sophie tried to make friends and interact with tourists while waiting. The Indian tourist was playing with her for quite a long time before we realised it. And she tried to talk to the European couple... so funny. Sophie scares me sometimes with her candid friendliness and lack of inhibition... she wants everyone to carry her basically.

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It was quite a hot day actually. While they thought of fine dining in the cable car, they seemed to conveniently ignore the heat... when are they going to install air conditioning in the cable car??? When the cable car started moving, we caught a bit of breeze but hey, it was still very hot! And honestly, we would not have done that if not for Sophie...

"Along the way, we saw the IR under construction so I told Sophie not to go there EVER."

Once we reached Sentosa, it was Sophie's milk time. Coffee Bean was strategically located at the entrance so we parked ourselves there for coffee while Sophie had her milk. Sigh... We made our way to the Underwater World only after 3.30pm. Ahh... nothing like a nice cuppa... darn! A flower bud from the trees above dropped into Ah Gong's kopi. Papa had to pretend to lodge a complaint (poor, unsuspecting waiter) and get a new (free) one for him... Good Job, papa!

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The Underwater World must be very soothing and relaxing because Sophie fell asleep soon after we entered (before we hit the tunel). So she missed out on our cursing and swearing as we got pushed around by overzealous tourists... and when I say "overzealous", I was trying to be polite.

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Papa had to also negotiate with the staff for special permission to re-enter when Sophie woke up from her nap. Well, they must have thought we were tourists... so they were very nice. Anyway, at least Sophie got to see the fish... and all the tourist left for the Dophin Lagoon by then.

While waiting for Princess Sophie to wake up, we tried to entertain ourselves with the peacock and peahens just outside the Underwater World. The peacock was spreading his feathers in attempt to impress the females, but all he got was attention from a bunch of rowdy and unromantic tourists...


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We did eventually took a bus to the Dophin Lagoon, but we were terribly late and the show ended just when we reached there. Again, we had to endure the tourist frenzy... so we decided to wait for them to clear away before we headed back... making the worst decision ever to feed her at the bus stop. Don't ask.

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We ended our day at VivoCity Kopithiam. Frankly, it was really tough bringing Sophie out like that. Luckily, Ah Gong Ah Mah were there... so tiring... But again, I admire their endurance (yup, it's THEIR endurance I admire... I had none!) because they had never once complained about the entire trip. And of course, papa also did his very best to stay cool and collect under the scotching heat and to brave the crowd without going insane.

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In retrospect, all we really did was to "frolick" the foam on our latte at Coffee Bean, "play" with other tourists while waiting in line for the cable car, and "admire" our own endurance as we braved the heat, mosquitoes and swarm of tourists. We were still looking around for the monorail... only to be told later that it had been replaced by buses. We were also a little disappointed that our Underwater World looked rather rundown at $22.90 per person. Although entry to the Dophin Lagoon came free with the Underworld World, the place was only good when there was a show ongoing. And... with the excellent herding skills of tour guides and elbowing of huge tourists, we could not get much of a view even if we were early... and to get a better view of the creatures, we had to... yes... PAY ($15 if you must know).

A Trial @ JG

Sophie is growing up too fast and furious, not that I am complaining, but she is getting bored and restless staying at home most of the time. After much procrastination, we finally decided to give Julia Gabriel (PlayNest) a try. It is part of their EduPlay programme, for babies 6 to 18 months, twice a week. The trial we attended was a roller coaster ride of music, art, reading, playing and snacking, kind of like a tour package which attempts to cover as many attractions as possible. Both papa and mama felt dizzy after the lesson. And Sophie slept for 2 whole hours after that... probably overstimulated and exhausted.

We started with "Freeplay" aka "Waiting for Everyone to Arrive". It was not too different from our play yard, with all the toys on the mat. So everyone was helping themselves with the toys and occasionally interacting. Then we had "Circle Time" where everyone sat in a circle and the instructors would sing and greet each baby and their caregiver. After that, things got fuzzy... I could not recall what we did actually. There was some sort of story time with puppets and more singing.

"Sophie's first piece of abstract art"

I like the "Art Time" although it was short. Initially we hesitated when we saw paint... but poor Sophie was staring at the other kids as if longing to give it a try... so we let her do it. Sophie used a golf ball and paint to make prints in a drawer-like container with the help from papa and mama of course. I also like the "Snack Time" because Sophie got to sit in a miniature chair and ate her cookie at a miniature table. I love the furniture... I believe it to be the design of Montessori Education; the baby is encouraged to crawl towards the weaning table and chair, sit up and feed himself.

While we were there, papa pretended to make phone calls... actually he was trying to snap some pictures. I thought papa had taken many pictures... sigh... papa only took ONE... at the playground. He did not take pictures of Sophie crawling up the stairs and going down the slide.

Moving Along

Last Friday, Auntie KK gave us Joshua's walker. We picked it up from his grandmama's place just before our dinner. At first, we were a little skeptical about the walker... after all, there have been numerous negative reports on baby walkers. But I thought we should let Sophie have a go at it... it might give her a little more confidence to start walking with her push cart.

Sophie needed a bit of training to navigate her new "automobile"... she has not obtained her driving licence yet although she seems to enjoy the training lessons. Papa was pretty impressed that Sophie could move towards me when I called for her. And frankly, so was I. But her speed was rather worrying, especially when she was going in all directions. So, I used her red lantern as a bait for her to walk in a straight line.

When Sophie became quite proficient in her mode of transportation, she started to indicate her desire for the go for a spin... outside.

"Baeday"

Okay... so I have married myself to a Hainanese family for almost 3 years. I still have not learnt much of the language. Since Sophie is a half-Hainanese, of course I would like her to speak the dialect. Sophie has to address papa's younger brother as "Baeday" instead of "Uncle Simon"; just as she addresses papa's elder sister as "Ah Boh" and papa's mama "Naenae".

This evening, we decided to have our dinner at Thomson Plaza where Uncle Simon works (YAMAHA). Now, while Uncle Simon loves his little niece and all... he had NEVER carried her. Must be Sophie's lucky day cos he finally did it (after 9 months)! YEAH! So I quickly grabbed my phone camera... Hahaha...

Since Baeday is a musician cum piano/guitar teacher, we have booked him to teach Sophie when she is older. It is never too early, right?

Get Together

Mama's friends have not actually seen Sophie, so today they came for lunch. Mama spent a long time preparing chicken curry, beehoon, spring rolls and sotong balls. Luckily papa was on leave and he could take care of Sophie while mama cooked. Mama's friends found Sophie very active and cute... so they kept taking pictures of her using their handphones.

Litttle Match Girl

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Sophie seems to share papa's passion for watches... and one of those extremely rare moments that papa let anyone touch his "5-matches". He must be really running out of ideas on how to keep her busy.

Memoir Of The Reluctant SAHM

I did not choose to be a SAHM, in fact, I tried very hard to go back to the workforce after Sophie was 3 months old. I put her in a highly reputable infant care (full day) and went ahead to complete my practicum (MSoc in Counselling) in a primary school. I had hoped (almost prayed) that she would get used to the environment and I could once again be a contributing tax payer... Despite the horror stories we heard from everyone I spoke to, and I do mean EVERYONE, I trusted that Sophie would be fine. After all, we did burn a huge hole in our pocket and hey, surely it would be better than angry, deranged maids or overindulgent grandparents... right?

Well, what can I say? We were wrong... Nobody at any infant care could provide Sophie the kind care she needed. She is too sensitive and vulnerable to infection... she also needed a lot of stimulation and interaction. In retrospect, Sophie is far too active and "accident-prone " for infant care. Her doctor recommended one-to-one care for her which meant that I could either get a maid or babysitter... or do the job myself. I thought to myself... for a miserable $3k a month, I had to put Sophie through all that? By the time I pay the infant care, maid or babysitter... and medical bills... I would have not much money left anyway.

Thus, I made the painful decision to give up my job, autonomy, and spending power. It is not easy because I have to humble myself and convert all my intellect into "googoo-gaga". Many of my working friends envy my position, but a willing SAHM I am not. Life at home with Sophie can be boring, frustrating and downright painful (especially when she exercise her kicking spree on me). I do admit, however, that I get to witness each and every milestone Sophie reaches and the blunders she makes. So, do not ever get me wrong... I am not angry with Sophie or anything. And I do not have any regrets... well, maybe just the decision to put her in that infant care in the first place...

In short, becoming a SAHM is "BITTERsweet" really - comes first the big, capital amount of bitterness; then slowly, but surely, sweetness arrives.

Hokkaido

Ah Gong Ah Mah are in Hokkaido... not the best news to hear first thing in the morning that there has been a 7.2 magnitude earthquake around Hokkaido island's Tokachi region. Although the tour aagency told us that it does not affect the place they are in... I worry.

Changi Airport (T1 to T3)

Ah Gong Ah Mah are probably in Hokkaido now. We sent them to Changi Airport (Terminal 1) at 6 plus in the morning. Sophie seemed to know that we had to wake up early so she started to wiggle and crawl around at 3 plus in the morning. We woke upo grouchy and seriously upset that we did not get our much needed half an hour of sleep more. After we fed her milk, she went back to sleep... aggrrrr..... papa mama could not go back to sleep!!!

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Sophie slept through the whole journey to the airport. She continued to sleep until 7 plus when we had a quick bite before Ah Gong Ah Mah checked in. Ah Gong told me that we could take Sophie to Terminal 3 for some Nature Trail (wah... got Butterfly Garden, Bamboo Garden, Sunflower Garden etc). We were really looking forward to visiting T3 for the first time...

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Ah Gong also said that we must take the Skytrain from T1 to T2 then from there, take another Skytrain to T3. Okay, we did just that. STUPID STUPID STUPID mama! First of all, the NATURE TRAIL is in the transit mall, which means WE cannot enter unless we are actually flying somewhere from T3. Secondly, there is a Skytrain that connects T1 to T3!!! AIYA... what a disappointment!

Dinner @ Ikea

So they keep telling me that Ikea is a good, children-friendly place I should go once in a while with Sophie... wel, tonight we took Sophie there for our dinner. Indeed, it is good for kids... but it is more like kids, who run around with other kids... not exactly "stroller-bound" kids aka infants. Sophie was very bored as we ate... I meant... gobbled down our food. She was bored when we shopped around for furniture... in fact, she was so bored that she started to make faces at papa's camera! Just to entertain herself!!!

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Okay... so I exaggerated a little. But it was not exactly untrue... seriously, Ikea is convenient for papa and mama in terms of parking, nappy change and space; it is not too fun for infants or toddlers. Actually, we were quite worried that she might grab something or something might fall onto her head... I am a paranoid when it comes to safety...

No....no....no...

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In view that Sophie might be cold (still recovering from her flu), I thought she could put on a windbreaker... while she looked cute and all, she could not keep it on. She would grab and attempt to fling the hood off, move her body round and make it slip off her shoulders... in the end, I gave up!

At Ichiban (Centrepoint) during dinner, Sophie discovered another use for the chopsticks... a good alternative to straws. Notice her reaction when I said "no" to her attempt to chew the chopsticks... so funny! She would pause for a while then ultimately gave in to her instinct in the end...

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I realised that Sophie gets very bored too easily. She has to be preoccupied with something all the time. And when the chopsticks failed to entertain her, she started looking around for new stuff to grab and play (and chew)... nowadays, she is smart enough to "look into" my bag for toys or my handphone pouch. Therefore, I must now behave like a "disruptive child in class" and constantly "disturb" and distract her... or just give her my handphone pouch to chew!

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Shopping is much easier. Sophie has many things around her to keep her interested and quiet... the only problem - my arms ache from carrying her instead of the shopping bags that I should be carrying... bummer...

Sophie's Laughter (Jumping Piggy)

New Stuff...

After Sophie's bath, we tried the Huggies Pull-up pants on her. It fitted her very well although technically she cannot quite stand up yet. Actually, I prefer this to the normal diapers... a lot easier to wear especially when she is so active now...

Okay, after reading more about Montessori, I became a little worried and anxious that I was not really helping Sophie to be independent. Thus, I let her try drinking from a cup this morning. I know, I know... in Montessori, infants are supposed to use a glass pitcher and small glass for drinks... I am not a convert yet so I use a small plastic cup instead. Most of the water ended up on her bib, but that was expected. She would gain mastery over a couple of weeks... or so I have read...