Saturday, December 12, 2009

Night Terrors

The old folks always tell us not to let the kids play too much during the day. Their theory is if the kid is over-excited during the day she'll have nightmares at night.

Loads of bull I thought.

Not anymore.

We had a few bad nights of night terror with Jae. At first we couldn't understand why she was screaming for mummy in the middle of the night when she's just beside her. She'd be crying non-stop for an hour, unable to calm down before she became too tired or too hungry to continue. Some night we had to walk her out of the room and see what exactly she need. Still no clue what she wanted.

Then I recall reading something about night terrors, which is different from nightmares. Most of the symptoms matches, the crying, shouting for mummy when mummy is right in front of her, totally unable to express herself or calm herself down. And the remedy; don't over-tire the kid during the day.

Perhaps there's a change in the sleeping time in school. Now we make sure she get to bed by 10pm everyday.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

One Year

So much difference in just one year...




...When she just learned how to walk..

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

I'm Two!

Happy Birthday Little Jae!

Monday, September 28, 2009

One little Monkey and One little Tiger



Check out these two little rascals, showing off their jumping skill!

Slurp Slurp!



What's on her face? Check it out......

Turning 2!

Jae is turning 2 tomorrow and we are throwing her a mini party at her child care center. I have bought lots of goodies to pack into the little bento box as party gift for her classmates. I almost took all the bento boxes at Daiso... hahaha
Did you see the small little "beetle", "bee" & "fish" chocolate. It's soooo cute that I bought all the design on the self.
I'm a Happy Mother! I'm sure the kids will be happy too!

Nicest pack with healthy drink and some unhealthy snacks!

Other than this small box which has a side lock, the rest of the boxes are all loose (I pack too much stuff). So I think I will need to get some nice ribbon and tied it up :P

The final Product!

Cut Cut Cut



Nope nope... we are not training her to be a chef, instead we are refining her cutting skill to be the best surgeon with a nice music background

Shape



We got her a couple of puzzle set a few months back but she never likes to play with it until recently her favourite star shape encourage her to do so... Well done Jae!

Guess what's on her face?

to be reveal soon......

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Ben & Jerry Chunk Festival

Lucky girl! Daddy got her one cone all by herself!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

New SLR Camera

New set of photos with the new SLR

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Monday, August 24, 2009

Wow.. haaa, Woh.. ho.. hoo



Bottle song! Sing and written by Jae Lim

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Central


This is probably the first time we venture to central for breakfast. Usually we'll go across our place or East Coast McDonalds'. This is also the first time we took a bus there. Jae loves riding on public transport. Probably because it's something new and lots of things to see. She almost didn't want to get off the bus when we reach the terminal!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Didi-down


Didi-down means "playground". We'll never know why the word playground becomes didi-down but it's a word I fear at 4am when she wakes up in the middle of the night.

Mummy decided to bring the little one from school early today. She found a new indoor playground at East Coast. I thought it's good idea since the little one was having bad dreams and screaming for the whole night. This could be good to bring her spirits up.

Turns out, she love that ball pool so much she didn't even bother about the rest of the slides and tunnels. I guess for a kid who's favorite toy is a ball, the ball pool is like a dream come true. I bet she must be having sweet dreams about her time in the pool.





Boo Boo and Chio Chio say Hi!

Introducing Jae's guardian angels... Ms. Chio Chio the blanky
and Mr. Boo Boo the pacificer!

Chio Chio and Boo Boo were married ever since Jae was borned. They always come and go in a pair and they cannot do without each other.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Singing



Singing in her own version.

Chop Chop


Somehow I just love watching her play this game!

Dinner

Eversince the new rice cooker arrived, I have been searching for simple one dish recipes which Jae can eat too. So far these are the food that I have tried...
"Claypot" Chicken Rice

1st time trying this, and I really put in the effort to make it nutrtious. On top of chicken, there's long bean, chinese sausage, chinese mushroom and garnish with spring onion.

Taste: 8.5 /10


Japanese Curry Don

I bought the instant Jap Curry Cube. So simple, just add water, carrot, potatos and beef. Dinner less than 15minutes (plus preparation).

Taste: 7 /10
I think I put in too much water and it can be tastier if onion is added. Plus it could be even better if it is more spicy, I guess next time I will put in extra curry powder.


GyoDon (aka Jap Beef Rice)

Simple Dish too! Dashi (Jap stock), soy sauce, mirin, sugar, onion, carrot & beef. It turns out great, the whole family likes it. Next time I will use slice beef instead.

Taste : 9 /10


Jap Port Cutlet

Made a side dish together with the Gyodon. It's so simple that I think I will teach Jae to make it next time. You only need salt, pepper & garlic powder to marinate the meat. Then tap into flour, then egg mixture, then breadcrumb and finally deep fry it.

Taste : 9 /10
Jae's favourite, she finished one whole piece herself.

Up until now, you should have realise that I have been making alot of Japanese recipe.
Reason! We bought a pack of Japanese short grain rice @ Mediya.
I like the shiny and abit sticky texture. It's really delicious and fragrant. I guess I will not cook any other rice from now.

Next up in my recipe book? I'm still thinking and googling.. maybe something raisin rice??
Leave a comment if you have any suggestions or recipe for me to try.


Ms. Sum Sing



Jae always manage to surprise us with her motor skills. Right after birth, she was able to follow movements and turn her head. Fast forward to 2 years old, she can now mimic older kids' movement with little effort. Sometimes we'll even find old kids mimicking her.

Normally I would let her be but mindful of where she might fall and be ready at that spot. I think kids of her age should be allowed to do anything she wants. As a parent, our job is just to grab her when she falls.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Portrait

Go away! Piss off look..

Class Photo

I'm wondering how many click did the photographer make to get all 13 kiddos to look at the camera. Maybe there's a clown behind him?? That could be the reason for Jae having the widest smile among all of them.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Ben Ben

Jae picked up a little cute bolster when she went shopping with mummy at Kiddy "hole in the pocket" Palace. Normally she would just give it a nice snug and throw it aside. Not this time. She was holding on the bolster everywhere she went, just the that time when she didn't want anyone to touch the barney bag. So mummy decided to buy it for her.

What I didn't realize is how quickly she got a name for the little white bolster with little prints of whales, trees and other animals. She's calling it "ben ben". Don't ask me why or where she got that name from. I thought she got names like 臭臭 (blankie) and booboo (pacifier) from us, kind of like her own interpretation of the sounds we say to her. I told her it's called bolster but it ended up becoming "benben"

Whatever that makes my princess happy is good...

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Jae is a Rice Monster


Jae love rice and soup, she can finish half a bowl. Her ability to feed herself is getting better and better each day, and with lesser mess. Now we can have our dinner together (means eating at the same time). She's reluntant to let you feed her or even help her scoop up the rice.
At this rate, we no longer able to share our food, one bowl of soup and rice is just not enough for both of us.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Stocking Up


Stocking up for the weekend!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Rice Cooker

I have been wanting to buy a new rice cooker for ages but I just can't convince the man to change one since ours is still in good condition and we rarely cook at home. Well... when did woman buy things give a reason, if I want to change it, then, change it. Anyway, I have been eyeing those digital rice cookers with multi function abilities. I like the fact that it can cook plain rice, sushi rice, mixed rice, congee, steam, soup and even cake, and it's idiot-proof.

Finally after months.... may I present to you....

I'm so going to cook something tonight... maybe "claypot chicken rice" cooked in a rice cooker?




Sunday, July 19, 2009

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Eees Dis?

Jae pointed Grandma's watch in the car and asked, "eees dis?". What's this she meant.

"This is a watch," mummy said.

"watch!"

Jae has been parroting what we say more and more. Another funny situation in the car. Mummy remembered she left something back at the house:

"Shit!" mummy slapped the wheel.

"Sit!" the little one echo immediately.

Both of us laughed.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Magic by Geraldine








Kawaii Jae















I love this picture very much. The messy and mischevious look but still looks cute.
She looks like some Japanese cartoon charactor.
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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

今天我们学华语。


"眼睛, 鼻子,耳朵,嘴巴...."

"No!....no!...shtop...shtop!" Jae was trying to stop mommy from speaking with one hand in mommy's face.

"Shtop!"

It was a funny sight. We were very surprised by her reaction because we learned she has chinese lessons everyday.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The world through Jae's eyes


The world must be a really fun place to Jae. Every obstacle ahead is a potential jumping board. There's always a hand nearby to grab on when she loses her footing. Insects, no matter how big or black they are, seems like toys that are worth chasing. Slides are for climbing. Couches are for jumping off. Beyond chairs there are always tables. On tables there are always some kind of food yet to be tasted.

No worries. Just start screaming and someone will come give her what she wants.

To Jae, life is a bliss.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The Snackinator


Another quality that is beginning to manifest itself is Jae's ability to stomach a whole box of cookies or sweet junk food right after her meals. It's like she knows dessert is part of the menu. And she knows where to get them; the grey cabinet in the kitchen that has limitless amount of cold things inside.

And she knows which of her parent has a softer heart and will have a higher chance of helping her open the fridge door. I kept a tray of jellos and cookies just at her height so that she can pick anything she likes. Normally one isn't enough and she would pull me to the fridge again when she stuff everything into her mouth.

I've started to introduce her to ice creams and boy she loves them so much. We just don't really know which flavors she prefers. It seems like anything, as long as it's sweet and tasty, is good with her.

Her useful vocabs to get her snacks? "Prezz", "Ahh skimz", "Yes", "cold", "yay" and "more".

Friday, May 8, 2009

The Dah-Dah-Lah-Lah Song


It's just amusing to see your little kid invent a song on her own and jiggle to the beat. Right now I'm not sure if it's inspired by one of the Barney songs or it's actually one of the songs she's trying to sing. But whenever the little one gets into the singing mood we'll keep quiet and listen, exchanging smiles and looks between ourselves.


Strange Bruises

Jae's been getting strange bruises and scratches all round her legs recently. I have to assume they are the direct result of our daughter's fun-loving, never-say-quit-until-I-climb-to-the-top-of-this-strange-structure attitude. But if it's some odd corners at the center that is giving her the boo boos they should be doing something about it.

It looks like she's got a bad twist at her left ankle today. The back of her ankle is swollen and she wouldn't let me touch it. She seems to be walking just fine so it's either she has a very high pain tolerance or I'm just looking too hard. But I'm quite sure there's something there. A huge mozzie bite or a swollen ankle.

I think I'll talk to the teachers when I send her down tomorrow.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The parrot

Jae's progressing very well in her linguistic and motor skills. She's starting to pick up words from us and sometimes even remembering them and the usage of those words. Earlier this morning when we were on the way to school, she was babbling about either Barney or biscuits when she said "finished" while doing the palm rotating movement. I was a little surprised by that. Usually she would say "no more" which is a combination of her basic words "no" and "more". I still can't remember where she pick up that word.

Her swimming skills are getting better despite of stopping Aquaduck for a few months now. We have been religiously bring her to the pool every week and practicing her swimming and diving. Now she's able to hold her breath for a good 2 sec and kick herself forward. The good thing is she's not afraid to try again even if she choked, which makes a lot a difference when we are trying to teach her a skill.

Right now, her life pretty much revolves around Barney, biscuits, school and sleep. She's loving Barney so much it's the first thing she demands every morning. And she doesn't care if she has watch that CD for the twenth time.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

A Little Growing Person


Jae's officially 18 months now. 1 and a half years old in other words. Suddenly I realize she's no longer just a cute little thing that smells nice and cuddles up our chest for a sleep. She's now a little person, with distinct personality and preferences.

Unfortunately Jae got my temperament - which I got from my dad - and her mum's stubbornness - which she got from her dad too. That makes her a very nasty stubborn kid whenever she wants something. Fortunately she also got the mischieve gene from both of us so although it's tiring looking after her, she never fails to give us a laugh with one of her many tricks.

I'm still thinking of a way to make her learn to channel her temperament into something useful. My dad didn't teach me that so I'll have to figure it out. In the meantime we just have to manage her.


Saturday, March 21, 2009

The Curious Case Of The Infection.


Jae developed a mild chicken pox early last week. At first even the GP we saw wasn't sure if it's chicken pox since her symptoms are suppressed by her vaccination. But after asking around we are quite sure it was chicken pox. The fever only lasted two nights and she only had little rash-like bumps on her tummy and knees. Other than that she was still hopping and climbing around.

Then came the second infection 3 days ago. She developed a 40 degree fever that doesn't go down even with paracetamol. For the first time, we saw her really tired from her fever. She would ask me to put her down on the bed and fall asleep on her own. On the third we decided to bring her to KK before the fever go any higher. The doc wasn't sure what infection she got since she didn't have any visible symptoms other than the fever. They even run a test on her urine to see if there's an infection there. Nothing. So we got a few more bottles of stronger painkillers and wait for the infection to run its own course. Luckily it only took another night before Jae get back to normal temperature.

I'm not sure why but eversince she's become very very clingy. Like a Koala. Didn't want to us to get more than a step away from her. It's quite tiring especially we have been trying to take care of her at home for the past two weeks.

Hopefully she'll get back to normal soon.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Monday, March 9, 2009

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Valentine's Dinner



It has became sort of a tradition for us to cook Valentine's day dinner back at home. Partly because we got our share of rip-off set dinners from our younger days but also because wifey's parents don't really plan for Valentine's Day. 

This year wifey took the effort to find out an "atas" butchery at Bukit Timah for our supply of steaks and ribs. All fresh air-flown meat from all over the world. If anyone's interested I can find out what's the shop's name. But I can tell you, after the succulent steaks I don't think I'll ever pay for another steak in restaurants. Fresh steak are so good you can actually eat it on its own. Yes, no need black pepper sambal mushroom rubbish sauce. Just be brave and get a rare cooked steak. The juices will retained and you'll realise that beef is actually sweet! Plus two pieces of 2in  Wagyu beef is only less than 14 bucks! 

Dessert was Nutella Crazy Cake. Loaded with Nutella chocolate and nuts. We caught Geraldine and Jae quietly nibbing the cake while we were enjoying our steaks. It was so funny. Two of them went quiet suddenly and I wondered where were the two rascals. Lifted up the bind and saw two rats nibbing a corner of the cake at the kitchen!

I wish I got a photo that. Would be classic!

Anyway, happy belated Valentine's Day