Little Jae

We went Orchook for lancing..

2010-12-13T12:10:00.002+08:00

Late night supper with Jae

2010-12-13T12:09:00.002+08:00

2010-08-16T01:12:00.000+08:00

No.2, 3.4kg on 14 August 2010, 1855hr

2010-08-11T22:43:00.000+08:00

After getting scolded by mummy for monkeying around in the backseat...

Jae: I want mummy love me...*sobs*
Mummy: Jae Jae naughty, mummy don't love you!
Jae: Jae Jae not naughty....sobsob
Mummy: Then who's naughty?!
Jae: ......Daddy.......

.....

Elephant grass

2010-08-11T22:40:00.000+08:00

Daddy: I don't like you.
Jae: I don't like you also.
Daddy: I don't want to bring you to the playground tomorrow.
Jae: I like Daddy!

My giant elephant grass.

2010-07-30T00:01:00.001+08:00

Jae to mummy: "Mummy you like me?" Mummy replied yes.
Jae to daddy: "See, mummy like me. Nobody like you daddy."

2010-07-26T00:00:00.001+08:00

We were window shopping after dinner when mummy sat down at a cafe, to rest her feet for a while. The little one came up, looked at mummy and said, "you want to eat AGAIN?!"

2010-07-25T23:59:00.000+08:00

Jae's picking up all the lahs and lehs from school. Maybe that's where they should start the Speak Good English campaign. LAH!

2010-07-11T23:57:00.000+08:00

Little missy peed in the ball pit. Every kid got to get out. Playground closed. Massive cleaning.

2010-07-06T23:54:00.000+08:00

From cot to baby bed to now single size bed. :)

2010-06-21T23:53:00.000+08:00

Just after daddy bought her a new toy, Jae smiled and said, "I ike mummy, I don ike daddy." Happy Father's Day.

2010-06-11T23:51:00.001+08:00

The little one held my face, look into my eyes and said, "daddy close your eyes okie, everyone sleeping already okie." Ahh..she's definitely back to her kaypoh self again.

Time Did Not Fly.

2010-05-07T06:52:00.000+08:00

No it didn't. The last three years were some of the most difficult years of my life. They were also some of my most rewarding years, seeing Jae grow from a little pea to a running jumping kid. I'm glad we passed the stage when Jae needs constant milk feeding and attention. She's a big girl now, able to poo and pee in the toilet without much fuss.

In another 3 months or so, we'll be expecting Number 2. It'll be all hell break loose once again. It'll be easier but not easy for another 3 years. I hope there's a way to fast forward but then again, we would have missed the precious 3 years of watching Number 2 grow up.

Then there is always the problem of Jae adjusting to her new role as the big sista and come to terms to having less attention from daddy and mummy.

To me, Jae will always be the special one. The one who changed my life for the better. The one who truly given me a purpose. Right now, I can only hope Jae learns to share her toys in time.

2010-02-08T10:00:00.002+08:00

Back to Kampong Day!

2010-01-04T17:10:00.002+08:00

Her new found shoe!

Night Terrors

2009-12-12T02:27:00.002+08:00

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.

One Year

2009-12-05T11:25:00.002+08:00

So much difference in just one year...

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

I'm Two!

2009-09-29T04:24:00.001+08:00

Happy Birthday Little Jae!

One little Monkey and One little Tiger

2009-09-28T23:55:00.002+08:00

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

Slurp Slurp!

2009-09-28T23:52:00.000+08:00

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

Turning 2!

2009-09-28T17:56:00.004+08:00

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

2009-09-28T12:37:00.002+08:00

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

2009-09-28T12:28:00.002+08:00

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?

2009-09-28T10:10:00.002+08:00

to be reveal soon......

Ben & Jerry Chunk Festival

2009-09-17T10:05:00.003+08:00

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

New SLR Camera

2009-09-03T01:41:00.000+08:00

New set of photos with the new SLR

More photos here

1 Before 2

2009-08-30T17:00:00.002+08:00

More photos here

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

2009-08-24T22:22:00.002+08:00

Bottle song! Sing and written by Jae Lim

Central

2009-08-19T00:46:00.001+08:00

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!

Didi-down

2009-08-17T23:08:00.004+08:00

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!

2009-08-17T21:37:00.004+08:00

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.

Singing

2009-08-13T11:24:00.001+08:00

Singing in her own version.

Chop Chop

2009-08-13T11:21:00.001+08:00

Somehow I just love watching her play this game!

Dinner

2009-08-13T01:42:00.004+08:00

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

2009-08-13T01:08:00.003+08:00

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.

Portrait

2009-08-06T12:42:00.003+08:00

Go away! Piss off look..

Class Photo

2009-08-06T12:34:00.004+08:00

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.

Ben Ben

2009-08-03T13:37:00.002+08:00

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...

Jae is a Rice Monster

2009-08-01T00:18:00.003+08:00

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.

Stocking Up

2009-07-30T02:53:00.003+08:00

Stocking up for the weekend!

2009-07-29T14:38:00.001+08:00

Rice Cooker

2009-07-29T11:28:00.004+08:00

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?

Mid-Year School Review

2009-07-19T01:53:00.003+08:00

HFMD

2009-07-19T01:45:00.006+08:00

Jae the Spoominator

2009-07-19T01:43:00.000+08:00

Eees Dis?

2009-07-04T05:10:00.003+08:00

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.

Magic by Geraldine

2009-07-03T00:24:00.001+08:00

Kawaii Jae

2009-07-03T00:20:00.003+08:00

I love this picture very much. The messy and mischevious look but still looks cute.

She looks like some Japanese cartoon charactor.

Nobody but you - Jae & Geraldine

2009-06-24T12:13:00.001+08:00

今天我们学华语。

2009-06-23T23:06:00.003+08:00

"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.

The world through Jae's eyes

2009-06-09T00:51:00.003+08:00

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.

The Snackinator

2009-05-19T00:19:00.004+08:00

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".

The Dah-Dah-Lah-Lah Song

2009-05-08T04:04:00.002+08:00

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

2009-05-08T03:56:00.002+08:00

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.

2009-05-05T01:57:00.001+08:00

The parrot

2009-05-05T01:37:00.004+08:00

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.

Her First Bag

2009-04-30T12:27:00.001+08:00

A Little Growing Person

2009-04-01T03:04:00.003+08:00

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.

The Curious Case Of The Infection.

2009-03-21T09:44:00.004+08:00

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.

2009-03-18T00:13:00.001+08:00

There goes the chicken

2009-03-17T03:55:00.000+08:00

大头

2009-03-09T11:35:00.000+08:00

Competition

2009-03-09T02:20:00.000+08:00

Valentine's Dinner

2009-03-04T02:25:00.003+08:00

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

Our World With Jae

2009-02-05T09:08:00.000+08:00

New Single - We R Baseks!

2009-02-03T22:37:00.007+08:00

Written and performed by Geraldine. MTV directed and cheorographed by Jae.

Lyrics:

oOOOOOO

hOOOO

Basek ya basek

we the basek

ah children ah children

basek basek

we are basek

a...errrr...

......

basek

ah basek ah basek

we the basek

....

***************************************************************************

Review:

Through this song, the young talented songwriter invites us to take a philosophical look at our existence in this world; that we are in fact nothing more than just empty baskets. Geraldine also mentioned in her song that Mother Earth wants her children to learn the true value of themselves. The ending was masterstroke by Director Jae that clearly illustrates to us that we can indeed have a choice to be bags instead of empty "baseks"; bags that are worthed fighting and crying over. Geraldine's clever use of local slang will appeal to the mass and send this great single tearing through the charts! Brilliant! Five stars! I strongly recommend getting the album!

- Producer of Ya-da Ya-da Ball studio

How to fill the huge warehouse of Ikea?

2009-02-03T01:08:00.002+08:00

The whole place was filled with Jae's laughter and babblings. Luckily it was 9pm and there weren't much people around the store. Jae was going crazy with the toys and push carts.

Three Syllabus

2009-01-28T23:53:00.002+08:00

Jae's grown a lot this week. Throughout the whole week of spending time with her at home and relatives' places, I noticed she's picking up things at an amazing pace. First she started calling me "Daddy". Then she amused us with "no more" along with the gesture whenever something finished or someone's gone. She's also starting to pick up the difference in meaning when different nouns are placed at the start of the sentence. For example, she knows "Daddy give...wait," is different from "Jae...give Daddy".

Today she was refining her "flower" when we were at Sentosa's flower exhibition. She even attempted to pronounce "fly away" I told her the birds were flying away. That's three syllabus!

I'm so proud of my little girl!

Bits & Pieces

2009-01-22T01:00:00.000+08:00

Teaching the kid to burp like a man...woman also can!

2009-01-22T00:20:00.002+08:00

The Most Accurate Thermometer In The Whole Universe

2009-01-21T22:40:00.005+08:00

It's my turn to take care of the kid while mummy's away for two full days of company retreat. I was actually looking forward to some quality time with the kid. I was even thinking of going shopping with her. Maybe she can give me some advice of some new year clothes to buy.

The first night was rather pleasant. I brought her back from the center and gave her some cookies. She was visibly tired. God knows why but she was cuddling up my lap and quietly watching the TV. No tantrums. No unnecessary crying. That was a bliss. Dinnertime came and I cooked the "instant" rice Mummy bought for her. I thought it was quite interesting because it came out of the bag powdery but after 3 minutes of boiling it became porridge! Like magic! Sadly the taste was nowhere near magical. No choice. There was nothing else in the house I can feed her. Thank god she ate everything without much complaint.

Today morning Jae woke up feeling feverish all over. It was then I realize why she looked so tired yesterday. The cough bug she caught from the center few days ago must have caught up with her. I didn't think much about the fever because my digital thermometer was showing a slight 0.1 increase. She felt more than 0.1 to me but I thought I could be wrong. So I went about the usual routine of packing her school bag, change her and then bring her to the center. I thought I could go to work after that. But surprise surprise my digital thermometer clamped under Jae's armpit didn't work as good as the Braun Thermoscan ear infra-red thermometer. 38 degrees was the verdict. The result: I have to bring her home.

I thought the fever will go away by itself. So I gave her some milk and pack her back to sleep. She woke up in the afternoon feeling even more feverish. My not-very-accurate thermometer said she's only 37.5. Grrr. So after I gave her some paracetamol I decided to pack the bags and bring her back to my in-law's place. At least grandma can cook something decent for her.

The first thing I did after Jae settled down at grandma's place was to go to the mall and buy a Braun thermoscan. I told mummy to get one months ago. It never happened. Now I've got the most expensive thermometer I ever lay my hands on.

Perhaps also the most expensive one in the whole universe

Dad Mee Shoo Dah

2009-01-19T23:23:00.004+08:00

Since the last time I talked about Jae's vocab, she has improved by a lot. Now she's much more capable of expressing herself. Words like dad, mee (mummy), dat (cat), there, woah, dah (car), shoo (shoes) and bee (baby doll) are part of her daily speech. She even attempts to mimic our speech and try to pronounce two syllabus words like diaper and apple.

Maybe, just maybe, the zoo-phonics from GUG is working. But I'm still skeptical about it.

Hopefully the little girl will grow up to be more linguistically talented than her parents.

New Uniform

2009-01-17T02:25:00.002+08:00

Unfortunately it's a case of one-size-fits-all and only god will know which baby gorrilla's size they used as the standard.

But the real problem I have is the red and blue combination. Tak match lah!

CHOMPS

2009-01-16T17:03:00.004+08:00

We are progressively allowing Jae to self feed. To a point where she now demands for her own spoon and bowl with some food in it whenever we try to feed her.

Most of the time she would make a mess. Especially when she starts flinging food she don't like onto the floor.

At the same time we are also extra careful about the type and size of food she's feeding herself. Anything that doesn't breakup easily has to be in nibble size.

Last night was the first night she pretty much fed herself the whole dinner portion. Mummy prepared some diced potatoes, baby carrots and a drum stick which eventually we took out the bones and cut into little bits.

I think she enjoyed it a lot.

T3 = Toddlers Under 3

2009-01-16T16:31:00.005+08:00

My daughter. Sitting in the huge T3 lobby, watching lives goes by in a seemingly philosophical way...

Not.

But looking at how she was so at home at T3 and how she pulled our lunch bag like a pro, I reckon she might be a potential air stewardess...

...or airport auntie/cleaner :P

*Notice that critical 40 degree angle

I can imagine T3 being at the top of the list of favorite playground among the children. Boy such huge empty spaces for these kids to run and roll. Jae was absolutely out of control when we were there for dinner. In the end she was so tired she refused to stand up after we took a photo of her infront of the Disney lanterns. The group of men who was waiting for their turn, sat down and took photos with her instead. That was before she realized what was happening, stood up and ran for daddy and mummy. That was so funny.

Judo Master

2009-01-09T00:01:00.002+08:00

Marina Barrage

2009-01-08T00:41:00.003+08:00

We were dead bored not sure where to go for the new year's eve. Mummy suggested Marina Barrage so off we went.

Firstly, I think the name blows. Barrage? Seriously.

Secondly, I think the architect did something naughty. The design of the building said to base on the number "9" which sounds like longevity. So the structure plays with the shape of a "9" and an invert "9", which is "6".

Surely they know what "69" means????

Anyway the carnival was okay. We walked with a guided tour group in the visitor gallery. Spent an hour there before we head off to the supermarket then home for some home-cooked New Year's Eve dinner

more photos here

Ipoh and KL

2009-01-02T01:00:00.007+08:00

When the agenda of the trip is eat, what you have to do is quite simple; digest as fast as possible.

It's like we were trying to get a taste of as much food as possible during our one week vacation to Ipoh and KL. Mealtime is pretty much out of the window. The opening time of the coffeeshops and stores dictates when and what we eat.

But I have to admit the food in Malaysia is gorgeous. The TV is always saying about the great tasting and variety of Singapore food. That's because they haven't gone to Malaysia yet. Maybe more specifically they didn't have a local to bring them around where all the good food are.

I still can't forget the rojak, the "po piah", the bean sprout chicken and prawn noodles. Taste me, nothing in Singapore even come close to those I had in Ipoh.

The only thing I don't miss are the mosqitoes. They were giant size and everywhere. I don't mind getting bitten but the little one has allergy to mosqitoe bites. So I have to smoke out the rooms every night with insecticide before going to bed. I didn't do that the first night and Jae woke up with 9 bites on her face! (She was wearing long sleeves so not much skin exposed) Her whole face was swollen by the second day.

Back to the food, I think I'm suffering from MFWS now. (Malaysia food withdrawal syndrome)

More photos here

A Funny Conversation

2008-12-17T07:03:00.002+08:00

Daddy was giving a cheese cracker to the little one...

Mummy: I don't know why you bought that bag of crackers. They're too hard for her to chew.

Daddy: You should ask yourself. You bought it.

Mummy: No you bought it.

Daddy: You bought it!

Mummy: You were the one who put it into the trolley.

Daddy: Now think about it, why would I deny if I really bought it.

At this time both of them realized what was going on and turned to look at the little one, sitting on the couch innocently watching TV while munching her cracker.

Mystery solved.

*Munch munch*

F1 driver in making!

2008-12-15T23:32:00.002+08:00

1st class photo

2008-12-15T23:03:00.008+08:00

Jae's 1st class photo @ GUG. It's also her last lesson for the term, she enjoyed the most today. It could be because she has been practising all the action songs for the past 7 lessons and finally she can do all of it by herself without much assistance from mummy. She will stretch out her hand when teacher draw a picture on her hand. She knows how to close her eyes for 3seconds and count down for the zoo puppet to come out from the magic bag.

Well Done Jae!

Happiest moment!

Teacher Eerie and Teacher Reana

Last class @ GUG!

2008-12-15T22:56:00.002+08:00

It's her 1st time and she seems to enjoy crawling thru it.

2nd Last Swimming Lesson

2008-12-14T07:01:00.001+08:00

Jae and her swimming buddy, Hannah

KL

2008-12-11T06:04:00.003+08:00

Watching Jae grow up each day, a little taller, a little smarter and well, a little more mischievous makes me feel more alive than any other time in my life. I have my high in my career. But that kind of high always go away after a few days and everything's back to normal. Not this one. Everyday's a new discovery for me and the kid. I wish I can do more for her. Find time to bring her to the museums and exhibits instead of shopping malls and food courts everyday. Have the energy to read her a story before bedtime or something.

We are planning for a trip to KL and Ipoh on Christmas. It'll be her first trip out of this little island. Everything is planned around her, from the time of departure to the mode of transport, to minimize our little princess' fussiness.

Let's hope it'll be fun!

GUG and Swimming

2008-12-10T00:31:00.003+08:00

Back when I was small, there's nothing like pre-kindergarden. There's kindergarden and no kindergarden. Sending your kid to a pre-kindergarden/nursery was somehow unnecessary to the people of those time. Now, there's a playgroup school round every corner. New methods from Europe, Japan and US. Left brain, right brain. All of them promise to make your kid a smart alec before she even go to kindergarden. Such kiasu-ness. Jeez I don't even remember how I spend my days before I went to kindergarden.

We have almost decided to end her swimming lessons by the end of this term. Nothing new taught. All the same old routine everytime. But I know Jae loves swimming. Hopefully we'll be able to find another class that teaches something fresh. We are also contemplating if we need another term at GUG. Somehow I'm not very convinced by it. I don't mind the drawings and toys but I thought the lessons can be better. Jae is happy as long as there's toys and new things for her to break.

Maybe we'll send her somewhere else. Somewhere with a smaller playgroup, more songs and dancing and perhaps muppets too. I know these classes wouldn't be cheap. Oh well we shall see. It's got to be worth it at least.

2008-12-04T01:05:00.003+08:00

Jae now spend more than 8 of her waking hours at the center, much more than the 4 hours we get to spend with her after school. I'm not sure if this is the right proportion or not. None of the people I know from my generation grew up in the childcare center. Back in those days childcare is almost unheard of. Nanny maybe. Childcare no.

She's enjoying herself at school. A little too much now. The teacher told us she's been going around sinking her brand new teeth into other babies. We didn't know if we should laugh or what. At least we know she's not being bullied over there.

2008-12-04T01:03:00.002+08:00

Swarmed

2008-11-25T23:29:00.003+08:00

Both of us have been really busy with our own work lately. Good thing is Jae has generally been a good girl, going to school without much fuss and coming back for her daily shopping trip.

She's still having runny stool. Seems like she didn't really recover from her previous diarrhea two weeks ago. And it's starting to develope into a problem as she's having tummy ache throughout the night. We switched to soymilk for the moment, try to wash her hands with soap as often as we can. The doctor gave us quite a bit of medicine for her. Hopefully she can recover soon.

Other than that, she still has her appetite, energy and smile on her face!

Vast Improvement

2008-11-21T10:15:00.002+08:00

There's a vast improvement in the process of getting into the center today. She didn't fuss as I walked in. She waved at a kindergarden teacher and give a friend kiss, by herself. She didn't even make a sound when she saw Mdm Yip coming out with a thermometer! All she did was let out two whines of discontentment as we were trying to measure her ear temperature. After that she went over to Mdm Yip's open arms herself, and waved ME goodbye! I am a little surprised!

Good job Jae! I'm so proud of you!

2008-11-20T00:02:00.000+08:00

GUG

2008-11-17T00:33:00.002+08:00

Mummy enrolled her to the class at Novena. She used to bring Geraldine there before we have Jae and she thought Jae would love it. True enough Jae enjoys her new Sunday class. According to mummy, she would run around when the singing is on and sit still when the teacher is telling something.

The class isn't cheap, but well, anything for our little princess.

Smiles Smiles Smiles

2008-11-16T23:12:00.004+08:00

There's more smiles on Jae's face this week. Slowly but surely she's getting used to the routine of going to school. The caretakers are also getting the hang of her from the look of the daily reports. They now know she loves singing, looking at animal pictures and having fruits.

Of course, she's still very clingy at the evenings, especially right after we got her back but that's out of the window as soon as we hit the road to the malls for shopping and food. She's enjoying her food, her toys and her trips. Another incentive is she gets to go out with me to get breakfast and papers every morning.

She's starting another week tomorrow. Let's hope she's looking forward to it.

Better

2008-11-11T23:44:00.002+08:00

She did a lot better today! A bit of grumble when she saw me at the gates but other than that she didn't make a big fuss from everything. It makes of both very happy as well. She's finally settling into the new routine. We can finally rest our mind and focus on our work.

Peace.

Friday is no good day

2008-11-07T22:40:00.003+08:00

Today is my first attempt to bring Jae to the center. Mummy has been bringing her there whole week. So I thought a change might helps. Boy it wasn't easy. Jae started weeping the moment we stepped into the center. She kept pushing for me to turn around and pointed at the door. I gathered enough courage to press the door bell for someone to come open the gate. One of the caretaker came, saw her and begin to take her temperature. Little Jae was so afraid of her she started crying even louder when the caretaker touched her. But the caretaker went about grabbing her head and measured her ear temperature anyway. I swear, seeing her grab my child by the head to stop her from turning around, I almost wanted to slap the caretaker in the face. I've never seen my kid so afraid of another person. What the fuck have they been doing to my kid?

By then I was already half decided to turn around and go home. The shootbird-eyes told me my kid is running a slight temperature. Sweet. So I pick up the bag and carry her back home.

Think she caught the bug from mummy. Silly woman was feeding the kid with her own spoon when she was telling her sister-in-law that she's having diarrhea and cannot share the cups.

Brought the little one to a doc in the evening. She's feeling much better now. Still very clingy. But at least she started eating. The center will be closed on Monday. After that, I don't know how we smoothen out her transition. I wish there's an easier out. I hope our parents will be more ready to help out. But the reality is we got to depend on ourselves now. It'll be tough for this period. I just hope this transition will be short and without unnecessary problems.

Mummy is sick!

2008-11-06T14:37:00.002+08:00

I think I'm going to fall apart. Not feeling very well since last night, and today I have been going to the toilet so many times that I lost count, stool just run like water. My body just don't feel right, I can't describe what is wrong with me. No appetite and feel like puking after drinking some water.

I think I'm diagnose with "WSS" aka Worry-Sick Syndrome.

I miss Jae! :(

3rd

2008-11-06T00:30:00.002+08:00

It hurts to see little Jae suffered quite a bit at the infant care. It's only 3rd day and she's got an abrasion around her left eye and today she was totally out of voice. Mummy said she cried the whole morning that's why. Now she's left with a little coarse squeaky voice. She was also very tired by the time I fetch her back at 7. I tried my best to keep her happy after that. Kind of like a make up for the terrible time she must be going through at the center. So I brought her to the playground, to the petrol kiosk to pick up some drinks, played toys with her and even carry her around the house while chatting to her.

She lost a bit of her cheerfulness. Can tell she's visibly shaken or unhappy. I wish there's an easier way for this. She's always on the top of her voice when she cries and if we let her go on she'll start vomitting her food. So that's why we never let her cry for too long to cause damage. She's a very smart kid. We prefer to talk logic to her.

Unfortunately we don't call the shots at the center. I do however, want to know what happened to her left eye the other day. We got daily reports on paper but nothing was mentioned. Am rather pissed by the fact they arn't being honest about it. I understand kids do fall down and get injured. But at least they should come clean and let us know what happened. I won't blame them. I just want to know what has been done.

It seems like I'll need to speak to someone tomorrow.

1st Day

2008-11-04T13:51:00.004+08:00

Jae survived her 1st day. She was ok when we brought her in and she played by herself for awhile and even disturbed other baby. She succeeded in waking up two of them. By the way, she's the oldest there! She started crying realising that I'm not around and the play area was not fun anymore. Her freedom of 13mths gone! My heartached to see her cry till she fell asleep, she never have to go through this at home. We will make sure she stop crying before we put her back to sleep. I almost cried watching her from outside.

I went home at about 12pm, did some work, tidy up the house, vacuum and mop the floor (it has been weeks since we last mop the floor), change the bedsheet, clean up the kitchen and fridge, throw away all the expired food stuff, cans, sauces, etc. And finally cook her porridge and prepare Claypot chicken rice for dinner. I already cannot remember when was the last time I prepared dinner, I think it was 2yrs back! So much have been done, I'm happy!

I picked her up at about 5:30pm. She was playing by herself, but she cried the moment she saw me. For the 1st day, she did well, at least she is well-behaved and did not fuss as much as we though. For that, I rewarded her with few pieces of chocolate cookies!

"Jae, you are such a brave girl. Mummy and Daddy love you!"

Chemistry 101 - BPA

2008-11-03T22:55:00.008+08:00

I'm sure if you have been watching the news or walking by the baby stores you would have caught glimpes of this acronym on things like BPA-Free milk bottles etc. Not many are trained to recognize the chemical name and since these BPA-free products are usually 2-3 times more expensive than the regular ones you are using, my bet is you would have probably think they are just a marketing gimmick and pass on them.

Well, have a good read on what I'm about to tell you. Then go back to the shops and have a closer look.

I'll try to avoid as much chemistry terms as possible. First of all BPA stands for Biphenol A. "Bi" means two, phenol refers to the benzene rings (the 2 hexagons) which are often refer as carcinogen (cancer causing). The problem with BPA is that beside containing the toxic benzene rings, it also disrupt the hormones in the body, possibly leading to development problem of the brain, behavior and prostate glands.

Now, the polymer or plastic widely known as PVC, that is commonly used for pipes, flexible hoses and wire insulations uses BPA as a manufacturing ingredient to make the originally rigid and brittle plastic flexible and easier to manufacture. The problem is BPA that is added will migrate to the surface of the plastic, a process that is called leaching. That is why PVC has been banned decades ago for any uses that comes in contact with our food supply. But till now, PVC is still used for some toys.

Back to the usual milk bottles. The crystal clear glassy looking bottles are actually made of PC, polycarbonate, which looks beautiful and is also very resistance to breakage. Polycarbonate is made using BPA in the polymerization process. It's recently found that the leaching of BPA increases tremedously under heat. The hot water that is used for making the milk formula is enough to cause a substantial release of BPA into the water.

Many countries has expressed concern over this issue especially with the baby milk bottles. Canada has banned all PC bottles late last year. Few days ago, US FDA admited they have erred and underestimated the effects of BPA leaching from polycarbonate under certain usage condition (such as heat) and is currently moving to ban or replace all PC bottles from the shelves. Unfortunately our local media and government agencies have not picked up the tab and help raise awareness. Maybe they are still busy looking for melamine...

So have a closer look at the BPA-free products next time. I think taking health of the babies into consideration, the cost of these BPA-free products is worthed it.

If you are wondering if your bottles are made of PC, a quick visual check should be able to give you a strong clue:

1. Is it a bottle for drinking liquid?

2. Is it almost colorless? (Not always though)

3. Is it hard (can't be squeezed by hand) and unbreakable

4. Is it almost 100% transparent (like looking through a piece of glass)

5. Does it bear the plastic identification of 7? See below

If your answer is "yes" for at least 1, 3 and 4 you can be quite sure it's PC. Meaning you should keep away from it. Point number 5 is a clear give-away.

Another plastic to keep away from is PVC, which bears the number 3. No container for food or water or even toys should be made of PVC.

Btw if you are wondering if your favorite plastic nalgene bottle is made of PC, it is. Color is added to these bottles for aesthetic reasons. Didn't you read the news last year?

1st Day

2008-11-03T01:57:00.003+08:00

In a few hours time, our little queen will be on her way to her first day in school. I prefer to think of the child care as school because I would like to think she's going to be learning stuffs, although I kind of know that wouldn't be true.

She's not sleeping well tonight. Not sure if it's the excitment of school or the excessive chocolate her aunt and grandpa was feeding her earlier. I suspect it's the latter. Mamma's getting her to sleep. Can't afford to be a panda on the first day.

I'm going to be out for appointment the whole day. Can't really check out on her. I hope she'll be okay there. Fingers crossed.

Jae's singing again!

2008-11-02T00:41:00.002+08:00

Just not long ago, Jae sang her 1st song! 10 months later, she sings again! This time with action and expression!

Little Jae

We went Orchook for lancing..

Late night supper with Jae

Elephant grass

Daddy: I don't like you.Jae: I don't like you also.Daddy: I don't want to bring you to the playground tomorrow.Jae: I like Daddy!My giant elephant grass.

Jae to mummy: "Mummy you like me?" Mummy replied yes.Jae to daddy: "See, mummy like me. Nobody like you daddy."

We were window shopping after dinner when mummy sat down at a cafe, to rest her feet for a while. The little one came up, looked at mummy and said, "you want to eat AGAIN?!"

Jae's picking up all the lahs and lehs from school. Maybe that's where they should start the Speak Good English campaign. LAH!

Little missy peed in the ball pit. Every kid got to get out. Playground closed. Massive cleaning.

From cot to baby bed to now single size bed. :)

Just after daddy bought her a new toy, Jae smiled and said, "I ike mummy, I don ike daddy." Happy Father's Day.

The little one held my face, look into my eyes and said, "daddy close your eyes okie, everyone sleeping already okie." Ahh..she's definitely back to her kaypoh self again.

Time Did Not Fly.

Back to Kampong Day!

Night Terrors

One Year

I'm Two!

One little Monkey and One little Tiger

Slurp Slurp!

Turning 2!

Cut Cut Cut

Shape

Guess what's on her face?

Ben & Jerry Chunk Festival

New SLR Camera

1 Before 2

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

Central

Didi-down

Boo Boo and Chio Chio say Hi!

Singing

Chop Chop

Dinner

Ms. Sum Sing

Portrait

Class Photo

Ben Ben

Jae is a Rice Monster

Stocking Up

Rice Cooker

Mid-Year School Review

HFMD

Jae the Spoominator

Eees Dis?

Magic by Geraldine

Kawaii Jae

Nobody but you - Jae & Geraldine

今天我们学华语。

The world through Jae's eyes

The Snackinator

The Dah-Dah-Lah-Lah Song

Strange Bruises

The parrot

Her First Bag

A Little Growing Person

The Curious Case Of The Infection.

There goes the chicken

大头

Competition

Valentine's Dinner

Our World With Jae

New Single - We R Baseks!

How to fill the huge warehouse of Ikea?

Three Syllabus

Bits & Pieces

Teaching the kid to burp like a man...woman also can!

The Most Accurate Thermometer In The Whole Universe

Dad Mee Shoo Dah

New Uniform

CHOMPS

T3 = Toddlers Under 3

Judo Master

Marina Barrage

Ipoh and KL

A Funny Conversation

F1 driver in making!

1st class photo

Last class @ GUG!

2nd Last Swimming Lesson

KL

Daddy: I don't like you.
Jae: I don't like you also.
Daddy: I don't want to bring you to the playground tomorrow.
Jae: I like Daddy!

My giant elephant grass.

Jae to mummy: "Mummy you like me?" Mummy replied yes.
Jae to daddy: "See, mummy like me. Nobody like you daddy."