Monday Videos

Before a new day begins, here are videos of the children, taken today! Hehehe!


Nakayla was chatting away while I was working. The longest and loudest she has ever gone! But as usual, the moment the camera is out, things slowed down and became softer. Haha.



Blake came home with party favors, and he was so fascinated by this particular one! He found it so hilarious when I showed him how to play with it, but it was difficult for him to blow the strip out and make the sound. So he imitated the sound! Haha!

It's Saturday!

After our new IKEA furniture (my new work station!) was all done, Nakayla was sat in her rocker while Blake took his toys out to play. Nakayla loves watching Blake play and enjoys being near him, while Blake happily includes her in his play cos he loves to make her laugh! But this boy is very shy (so the opposite! Haha!). The moment he realizes he's being photographed, he will move away. Must maintain his "macho boy" image, I reckon. Haha!



Linking up with:

Chinese New Year 2013

It's been a week since the start of Chinese New Year, and so far, things have been going great. It has also been raining a lot since! Year of the Water Snake indeed. Haha.

This year's Chinese New Year is like any other, with the exception to having one more in the family! :D

Let's start with reunion dinner on 9 February.

Before leaving home, we got the children to dress in traditional-looking clothes. Blake wore the same outfit as the one he wore to school on Racial Harmony Day, while Nakayla wore a one-piece romper my mom had bought specially for her.



We then headed over to my in-laws place for our annual reunion dinner first. It's getting tougher and tougher to sit down and eat as a family. Blake kept wanting to get up and play with whatever he could find in the house. He seems more excited about the place than eating. And next year, Nakayla will be most likely join in too. Haha. Just as well, we would need that workout with all the feasting we were having!


Family photo from reunion dinner

After dinner at my in-laws, we headed over to my mom's place. Sean, Blake and Nakayla all fell asleep upon reaching, while I helped around the house, to get the place ready for the next few days of celebration. After Nakayla woke up for milk, we went home.

Day 1, 10 February: Woke up and immediately started buzzing around the house getting ready. I remember it was raining that morning, and I was wondering if we should only head out after the rain stop, but it stopped before we were even close to making it to the door. Haha.

First of the two stops that day was my mom's place. We would usually take family photos, and a big one with all in, but with one after another going overseas for work or study, it was getting difficult. So this year, the family photo-taking session took a backseat. I couldn't help but think back to Nakayla's full month. Everyone was present! Everyone came back to see her! We should've taken family photos then! Oh well, that time is over. I'm still very touched that everyone made time in their schedule to celebrate Nakayla's first month :) I'm pretty sure there will be plenty of photo-ops to come!

Here are some photos from the first day:


Don't need to guess who was the star of the day! Hehe.




Steamboat, an integral part of Chinese New Year. The pot just keeps cooking. Haha.




And those who weren't eating at the table with the steamboat, were feasting on Chinese New Year goodies, all packed in transparent and red containers.


My boys tucked themselves away in my mom's room to play games




Nakayla was drinking her milk when I thought, "great for a family photo here!"
Didn't turn out to be that ideal. Haha.








Gave up trying to capture all four of us on my own


Decided to get my cousin to help with the photo-taking. Haha!






Have absolutely no idea how to get Blake to look into the camera...



About an hour or so later, some of them left for more visiting. Those who stayed behind either went to take a nap, or played mahjong. I played with my two cousins and aunt. We don't play with money, it was really more of having fun and passing time. And yes, we're not very good players too. Haha. It was pretty hilarious. I remember my younger cousin winning most of the time, and I commented that it was because she was sitting in front of the window, and it was raining outside. Some people believe that water means fortune. And when the rain stopped, she stopped winning. My aunt, when she has yet to win a single game, said that she will go to the toilet to change her luck, also a thing that some believe will aid in a change of luck. She returned and won. Coincidences for both cases, I guess. Haha.

When dinner time came, we made our way to my grandma's place. It was raining again, so we drove my dad's car over. Everyone else had walked over, and my dad told us to take the car with the two children. So sweet :)


Only one photo was taken that evening, cos we were all busy eating and chit-chatting. Haha!
Days two and three were spent at home, playing with the children. It was a good time to catch up on every hour of lost sleep. Haha.

On the 7th day of Chinese New Year, my mom held another reunion dinner with my dad's side of the family. My sister had invited some of the ASEAN scholars in her class to join us. We usually have Yu Sheng, which my dad calls 'Chinese Salad', on the following weekend of Day 1. Haha. We arrived pretty late that day cos I was busy preparing things for the next day. We were going to celebrate my grandma's birthday! Hardly took any photos that night cos the place was packed.

8th day of Chinese New Year was also probably the last day of celebrations for us. We gathered at my grandma's place for lunch/tea.


Baked a cake for my grandma's birthday






And another for my aunt, who's birthday was a few days before


The feast we had

That is just about all the things we did, during the past week of Chinese New Year. Haha. Happy Year of Water Snake, everyone! :)

iBaby App

About a week after my confinement lady left, I realized I had trouble remembering when the last time Nakayla had her milk, or when she last had her diaper change, or when she last pooped. I had told Sean about it, and how awesome it will be if there was something I could use to chart all these down without me having to do much! We had used the old school method of paper and pen previously with Blake.

A couple of hours later, he sent me a message and told me to try out iBaby on my mobile phone. He had gone to search in the world of Android for a suitable app for me! :D

After checking the app out, I thought I should go do more research myself, and find the most suitable baby tracking app for me to use. I downloaded a couple more free baby tracking apps and tested all of them out that afternoon.

I have to say, each app has their own pros and cons, and the one that suits me the most was iBaby. This is EXACTLY like how I shop for anything! I always end up with the very first item that I see, after going round and round looking at other similar items. I guess knowing that I have the very one thing that suits me the best will set my mind at ease using it.

Here's a basic look through of how the app works.


Just look at that cute little sleeping baby icon! Hehe.


How it normally looks like when I open the app


I love the fact that I can customize the tabs on the top to suit my requirements.
Removing those that I don't need.


They also have a section where they will tell you what to expect, based on the age of your child!


If you have more than one child, like me, this app will also allow you to add children and swop between their individual profiles!


Blake's profile is specifically added to track his growth. Hehe.




They even have charts!

I personally enjoy using this app to keep up with both my children. If you're having trouble keeping track of your baby's daily activities and growth progress like me, you might want to give this app a try! The best part is, this app is free! So there is absolutely no harm trying it at all :D

Pacifier VS Thumb Sucking

The age old question beckons an answer,

TO GIVE OR NOT TO GIVE?

When it comes to giving a child a pacifier to use, many parents are hesitant. Worries such as reliance, an unsightly set of teeth and possible speech delay are just some of the reasons why parents often contemplate about the use of pacifier on their children.

For us, Blake was a constant crier when he just arrived. Within the first week of his birth, my grandma had asked me for a pacifier to sooth him. We had not even given it much thought when we gave it to him. All we wanted then was peace for all.


Since then, Blake and his pacifier are almost inseparable. I have to hand it to the little thing. It got Blake through some of the most nerve wrecking situations - first dip in the pool, first day of school, going to new places for the very first time, every single vaccination at the pediatrician, and when he had surgery. It is what calms him down, and helps him sleep through the nights.


Needless to say, I haven't had the heart to wean him off it completely. Some have suggested going cold turkey - probably the only way it will work for Blake - but I really just cannot bring myself to do it. I actually secretly enjoy buying him new designs of pacifiers! Haha. But slowly, he is using the pacifier less and less, I think. He used to have it in his mouth 24/7, and will kick up a big fuss if we remove it from him and not return it. Recently, however, I could exchange it away with a candy! That's some improvement, right?

Now, when Nakayla arrived, I thought that maybe this baby will not require a pacifier! I could have one baby free of pacifier, and I would only have to deal with the weaning once! Boy, was I wrong or what?

I had taken Nakayla's mittens off, and I noticed that she has been putting her hands into her mouth. That is something pretty normal, I guess. But about a week of mittens-off, I noticed that her left thumb looked really red and sore! This girl was starting to suck on her thumb!


I mentioned it to Sean, told him that I was a thumb-sucker till I was about 10 years old, and that I don't think it would be a good idea for Nakayla to be sucking on her thumb. Not only will it be more difficult to wean off (you can throw the pacifier away, but you cannot throw the thumb away!), but there are other thumb-sucking woes to consider like hygiene (their thumbs are not going to be forever clean), and calluses on the thumb being sucked on.

Now, if you don't have an itchy finger baby like I was, you will be happy to know that the callus will go away after the thumb sucking stops. But if your child enjoys picking on scabs and dried skin like me, you might want to keep your eyes out for open wounds on the callus. This open wound could risk infection and cause pain and discomfort to your child.

I was definitely not going to take that chance with Nakayla. I would very much rather have her sucking on a pacifier. It is the lesser of two evils, if you ask me.


Still in the process of learning how to keep it in her mouth for long periods of time.
Worries of crooked teeth and speech delay are all out the window for me. After all, with the technology of today, pacifiers are so advanced now that they don't often cause any problems to teeth arrangements! Blake's set of baby teeth are all looking good to me, and there isn't any issue in speech delay - even if there is any, it will be my fault cos I enjoyed baby-talking to him a little too much. Haha.

So to answer the age old question, my own personal answer would be - give, unless you have a super amazing baby that does not require any form of sucking to feel comforted.

Ending this post with a really cute video of Blake baby-talking with his pacifier on!

Mommy's Big Day Out

It's been a while since I went out at night, baby-free. So when the first opportunity presented itself on 11 January 2013, to head out with my sisters, I took it, and we had an awesome time! The only thing that was missing to make it even better was my brother, who's in UK studying. Definitely going to have a siblings' night out when he's back during the holidays!

Anyway, that night was a simple sisters' night out of ice cream at Ice Cream Chef, and later, snacks at a bistro that my brother-in-law was performing at, and home after. We headed out only after 8.30pm, and we stayed out pretty late. I remember only getting home between 1am-2am that day. We managed to catch up on a lot of things, and we decided to do it again - ice cream then snack/dinner at the bistro. But this time, we will have ice cream at Vivocity's Ben & Jerry's, since the bistro was nearby, and I had Ben & Jerry's vouchers which can only be used at that outlet. So it was set. We would have another sisters' night two weeks after, on 25 January!

In the days leading up to the next sisters' night out, I made arrangements to meet up with Wendy for lunch. Wendy and I became friends through a parenthood facebook page, The New Age Parents. She had loaned me her breast pumps when she knew mine had to be sent for servicing, and I wanted to return them after mine was all fixed. She's a major lifesaver! Thank you, Wendy! :D

The day before I was supposed to meet up with Wendy, I was chatting online with Ruby. We, too, became friends on The New Age Parents. I was telling Ruby that I'll be meeting Wendy for lunch, and invited her to join us. The more, the merrier! We then re-scheduled our lunch date to Friday, 25 January!

Boy oh boy! Was I excited for 25 January or what? Hehe.

So the day came, and after my parents picked Blake up for school, I got ready to head out. We had planned to meet at United Square to have lunch at Swensen's, but Wendy's daughter, Ashlyn, was not feeling too well that day so we moved the meeting place to AMK Hub, where it's nearer for her. She had said earlier that she would just pick the breast pumps up, and not stay for lunch! But Ruby and I did not let it happen. Hehe. Ruby was talking to Ashlyn, while I was persuading Wendy to stay for lunch, and it worked! Hehe. We're so sneaky :P

Needless to say, lunch was awesome! And after our meet up, we talked about the things we could do together when all our children are in school! Hehe. I cannot wait! I'm so psyched! Hehe.


Thanks for the photos, Ruby!


From L to R: Me carrying Nakayla, Wendy carrying Ambrose, Ruby, Ashlyn, and Daryl (Ruby's boy! Same age as Blake. Hehe.)

After lunch and walking around NTUC with Wendy, I headed home to rest and get ready for the night out with my sisters!

The moment Sean reached home, I called my younger sister, Sonia, and we were off to Vivocity! My elder sister, Clara, couldn't join us as she was working late that day. So it was just the two of us enjoying yummilicious ice cream!


Mine was Toffee-do (can't remember the full name), and Sonia had Clusterfluff (on the right)



Just when we finished our ice cream and were queuing up to buy some water, my elder sis called to say she was on her way to pick us up. We rushed like mad from one end of Vivocity to the other. Haha. Quite a funny sight actually. Haha. Reached there with seconds to spare before her car pulled up. Phew! Daddy always said, "the person can wait for the car, but the car cannot wait for the person!" Hehe.

When we reached the bistro, the first thing all of us wanted (besides drinks) was food! To our dismay, a lot of the bistro's food were out of stock. Each time we placed our order, the waiter will return to tell us it was sold out. Shocking or what? So anyway, somehow my elder sis managed to get us a complimentary plate of Chilli Crab with French loaf! It was not much, but luckily, she was having a mini gathering of her own so she had her friend bring down more food for us later. Hehe.


My elder sis


My Shirley Temple


Chilli Crab with French Loaf
It was definitely different from the last sisters' night out cos we had food that night, the bistro was less crowded, and it was just us sisters. But it was still a good night out, and Sonia and I met new people. Haha. And, I think we got home even later that night! Oops. Hehe. So thankful to have such an understanding husband! :D

Now, if only my brother is back in Singapore, then we can have a siblings' night out! Yay!

Nakayla's Full Month Celebration

Before I start on that day's events, the day before Nakayla's full month celebrations, was the day she turned a month old. Traditionally, we were supposed to cut or shave her hair, trim her finger nails and toe nails. But we did none of that. Very different from when Blake turned a month old. When Blake turned a month old, we trimmed a little of his hair (he had so little to begin with!), one of his finger nails and one of his toe nails as a significance.






On the day of Nakayla's full month celebration, things were a little rush as we were holding a luncheon at Roland Restaurant, instead of dinner at home, which was the case for Blake.

I would just like to say how lucky I had been to have made a couple of new mommy friends in 2012, one of whom was Regina! It actually came as a surprised to me when I discovered later on that her father was none other than Roland of Roland Restaurant! My dad and her father used to play badminton together, and we frequent the restaurant on special occasions. My parents also held their wedding dinner there! Can I just say that it completely slipped my mind to consider the restaurant for the celebrations?

It only dawned onto me after I told Regina what a headache it was for me to find a location to hold the celebration as I needed a bigger place than my home for it, and my two original choices were out because of some circumstances considered - weather being the biggest factor. That was when she suggested Roland Restaurant, and within weeks, everything fell into place nicely. Headache gone!

Ok, back to the day's events, I'm going to let the photos do the talking. Haha.




Arrived a little before 12 noon to pack the red eggs the restaurant
very kindly provided into the gift boxes I put together










Timothy dropped by with gifts and left before eating! He brought me a mad awesome gift!


Booties from my mom



Crazy mommy removing the blanket to show off baby girl's pretty clothes




With my confinement nanny


Salad prawns! Sean and my favourite!


And the feasting begins!


My boy eating on his own




Yum yums!


Uncle Roland (carrying baby Renae) came by a while after Regina arrived and was shocked when he saw my dad (in brighter red polo tee) :)

With my grandma


Nakayla with grandaunt (二姑婆) Lanyang


With Yang Ming and Carol, both of whom are my sister's friends, but have treated me like I'm their little sister! If you're looking for wedding emcees, look for them! They make one awesome husband-wife team on stage! Hehe.


Nakayla with grandaunt (姨婆) Gim Keng


Father and son enjoying private moments together


This little girl is my cousin Olicia, making her Blake and Nakayla's second youngest aunt!
She's only nine months older than Blake! They are born in different years though. Their youngest aunt, Ella, was not born yet. Hehe.






And it was meal time for Nakayla before the whole event wrapped up and everyone headed home.

But first...


Family photos!





Got home after the awesome meal at Roland Restaurant, and I started to unwrap all the gifts. Hehe.

Remember I mentioned earlier that Timothy had one awesome gift for me (among the many others he brought for Blake and Nakayla)? THIS WAS IT!


Ben & Jerry's Vouchers!!!!
But that wasn't the only awesome gift I received. Look what owners of Tree & Bee gave me!


So beautifully wrapped!






And my favourite cupcake flavors from Twelve Cupcakes!
I want to thank all who came down bearing gifts and red packets for the celebration, all who were unable to attend but still sent well wishes and gifts, and all who helped me make this full month celebration an awesome one! :D

And a big thanks to Bryan from BLJH Photography for the beautiful photos!