15 Month Update

I'm staring at babyAC as he sleeps and at 15 months, he is beginning to lose that baby look and starting to appear more like a little boy. His cheeks aren't as round, his chin is thinner, and he is growing taller and lankier. His socks are getting too small for his feet and his ankles show when he wears pants that used to be too long. 

If I had to describe my boy, I'd say he is a strong willed child who knows what he wants and does not want. He is curious and alert, and constantly observing his surroundings and notices when there are new things and people around. He's a friendly kid, ready to give you a toothy grin if you smile at him and give him some attention. And he likes his ladies, long haired pretty girls are more likely to get a grin from him quickly than guys. Hehe. 

He is also an active boy, always on the move from the moment he wakes to the moment he passes out to sleep. 

These days, he's gotten quite clingy to me though, and prefers me to carry him around the house and cries when I put him down. But give him enough attention and he's a happy boy, and will potter around playing with his toys or exploring the different rooms at home. 

Took him to Vivocity the other day and we were at the outdoor playground. There were a number of kids around and he was happily running around exploring the place. He learned how to climb up and down slopes (with mama holding his hand for support, of course), and when I put him on the trampoline he stood there unsure what to do until he saw some other kids bounce and then he tried it out for himself. 

He's not that interested these days when I sit him down to read books, preferring to point at pictures in his "My First Words" book instead. 

When he sees his dad, he'll say "dah-dee", and when he sees a baby or small kid, he'll say "beh-bee". No "mama" for me yet. Sigh. He can also say "ball" and "apple", and sometimes "turtle" which sounds more like "but tuh tuh". 

It's amazing how much I love this kid, and how much I love +3 when I see him interact with babyAC. I feel blessed! 

Gonna Miss My Afternoon Naps

So after 2 years out of the full time work force, I've signed on the dotted line and will be back to work in 2 weeks time. 

It feels bittersweet. 

On the one hand, I'm excited about my new role and I'm definitely excited about having a paycheck again. I think this will be something I'll enjoy, and I daresay I'm looking forward to the challenges that I will be facing and to learning new skills on the job. 

Having a second income is also gonna come in handy, especially once babyAC starts going to childcare. And it will give +3 a bit of a breather when we look at our family budget. 

On the other hand, I know it's gonna be tough being away from the little one. I love our morning routine having breakfast together, and I love being able to bring him out and about to different places during the day. 

He's in good hands, though. Between my mom, nanny and (gasp) my dad, he'll definitely have lots of love and affection and will be well taken care of. 

Plus it'll be good to "train" him to get used to being apart. He turns 15 months today and in another 3 months or so, we're likely to be putting him in childcare. 

So 2 weeks left of being a tai tai. Think I'm gonna go back to bed for my afternoon siesta while I still can. Hehe. 

Food Panda

What with us just coming back from our holiday, +3 going back to work immediately, and babyAC and I feeling under the weather, I've not had the time or energy to go grocery shopping. 

So I downloaded the food panda app, and we've been having dinner delivered to us for the past couple of nights. 

I LOVE FOOD PANDA. 

I know I'm late to jump on this bandwagon but better late than never. How convenient is it to be able to choose from eateries in your vicinity, so food arrives quickly and piping hot. I likey. 

We had pho from So Pho, some tze char from Gurney Drive, and some rice and noodles from Uncle Leong's. And we're beginning to figure out what's worth ordering and what's not. Hehe. 

The only downside is that you can only get food delivered when these eateries are open (normal working hours). It's 2am and I'm hankering for some supper but the eateries that work with Food Panda are all closed. Oh man, how nice would it be to have some prata now. 

The Rest Of The Hong Kong Trip

Whoops. Just realised I didn't finish writing about Hong Kong and now a week has passed since we got back. Lemme recap the trip: 

Tue 11 Apr - Arrive in Hong Kong, meet with cousin Zhen and her husband. Make our way to Da Ma's house. Dinner with the cousins at some Chinese restaurant. 

Wed 12 Apr - Head to Causeway Bay for dim sum. Supposed to go to the Peak but got turned off by the long queues at the tram station, so walked to the botanical gardens instead where we got caught in the rain and waited under a shelter for over an hour while babyAC napped. Shiok to be a baby. Think we had Thai food for dinner. 

Thu 13 Apr - Went to Macau. The lobby of the hotel had lots of family friendly activities but babyAC and I had a nap while +3 and cousin Ming had coffee and chatted. Ming took me to the casino to have a look, then we had dinner at the food court. 

Fri 14 Apr - Scrapped the plan to go around Macau in favour of lazing in after a yummy dim sum breakfast at YumCha. Discovered the use of a luggage bag belt to convert normal chairs into baby chairs! Dinner at Ming's restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui - Padang Indonesia Restaurant. Delicious Indonesian food. 

Sat 15 Apr - Met Andi to go hiking at Tai Tum reservoir. It was an easy flat path and we walked for about 2 hours or so, before it started to get really hot. Took a cab to Stanley, and had Mexican food for lunch. Went back to Da Ma's place for a rest before heading out again for a seafood dinner somewhere in Kowloon. We had to take a ferry, then walk through shops and shops selling fresh seafood (cousin Ling and her husband chose the seafood), which would then be brought to your restaurant of choice where they'd prepare the meal. Fresh and oh so delicious, I wish I paid more attention to where we were! 

Sun 16 Apr - Had breakfast at McDonalds because that's what +3 and his uncle used to do when he visited last time. HK McDonald breakfasts have macaroni soup! Then we packed our stuff and took the train to Disney. Checked in but the rooms weren't ready, so we left our luggage at the hotel and went to explore the park. Took some kid friendly rides, and waited while +3 took the more exciting ones, had overpriced lunch and dinner there and watched the night parade and fireworks. 

Mon 17 Apr - There seems to be a running theme in our holidays that we always end up booking our trips when it coincides with the local long holidays. This time it was Easter and HK had Fri and Mon off. Andi and his daughter joined us at Disney, but babyAC was sleeping so +3 went ahead first, which was good cos that meant I got to rest as well, and they could take any ride without worrying about me waiting with babyAC. Had a late lunch at the hotel (not that much more expensive and better quality and comfort!) then went to the park by about 4+pm, just before Andi and his daughter went back home. Took some rides, and even managed to go for a few on my own. Went back to the hotel for an early night and dinner. 

Tue 18 Apr - Enjoyed our buffet breakfast at the hotel, went back up to pack and made our way to the airport. BabyAC was having a temperature at night so we bought some kid panadol and gave him some after breakfast. He was rather miserable on the flight back and his fever had returned when we landed so we didn't stay out too late with the grandparents who had come to the airport to pick us up and have dinner together. 

.. 

Brought babyAC to the doc on Wed and he had a mild throat inflammation. Got some more meds and a few days later, he's now feeling better. Poor boy though, falling sick twice in a short span of time. 

All that fried food at the park and the lack of sleep made me have a cough as well, but I'm also on the mend. Phew. 

I think my favourite part about this trip was getting to know the relatives better, and watch how babyAC interacts with them and is such a joyful spirit. And of course, I'm looking forward to more trips to HK in the future. 

Chompers

Conversation with my dad the other day. 

Me: Mebbe he (babyAC) is cranky cos he is teething.

Dad: How many teeth does he have now? 

Me: Well he has 4 on top and 4 below, and another 5 coming out. 

Dad: Wah 13 teeth! That's more than me, I only have 12. 

Macau

Met up with cousin Ming at the ferry terminal. Bought tickets and boarded the ferry for the hour long journey to Macau. BabyAC was rather restless on the trip there because he didn't get to run around. 

Upon arrival at the Macau ferry terminal, we boarded the shuttle bus to the hotel. Most of the major hotels provide a free shuttle service to their respective locations. 

There was a long queue at checkin, so while +3 queued, we walked around. Holiday Inn Cotai Central is part of the Sands group, and is one hotel under a large complex made of casinos, shopping mall, and various hotels. Walking around reminded me of MBS back home. Hehe.  

Saw some characters like the lion from Madagascar and a dragon and his trainer from How to Train Your Dragon. These and also the dance performances lent a buzz to the air. 

BabyAC and I were tired, so opted to nap in the room while +3 and cousin Ming went to grab a coffee and catch up. Made a quick round in the casino before dinner and learned how to play bacarat hehee. 

Had a nice rest at night (KingSized beds, I love you!) and had dim sum breakfast at Yum Cha. Walked around abit before we packed up and took the shuttle back to the ferry terminal to Hong Kong. 

Back in HongKong, we left our stuff at cousin Ming's restaurant which was at Tsim Sha Tsui. Walked around the shops, had a yummy Indonesian dinner, and back to dama's place for the night. 

First Family Holiday To Hong Kong (11-18 Apr 2017)

Whee! We're now in Hong Kong and the weather is almost perfect! It was raining today but otherwise the temperature was between 19-21 degrees celcius, which is such yummy weather for sleeping in. But we didn't, of course. 

Arrived yesterday at around 2.30pm, and had a late lunch at the airport. Went to Tsui Wah and had some noodles and their toasted bread with condensed milk. Rented a wifi router (60 hkd a day because I forgot to collect the one we booked at Changi), bought the train tickets for the airport express to town (170 hkd for 2 pax, one way to Central Station). 

Met with +3's cousin, Zhen, and her husband who took us to Da Ma's home in Siu Sai Wan. After unpacking and chatting for a bit, we made our way to have dinner with the rest of the family. 

At dinner with Zhen, her husband and 2 kids; Hui, her husband and 7yo kid, Ling and da ma. It was really nice to meet more of +3's family, and being able to speak in Mandarin helped me communicate with them much easier than with some of the relatives in Indonesia. Bought some fruit for babyAC at a supermarket after dinner. 

This morning, we went to the supermarket again and bought a few more snacks and stuff (diapers too hehe), then had a quick nap before making our way to town with cousin Ming and his daughter Christine. 

We went to Causeway Bay to have a dim sum lunch. Was originally planning to go to the Peak but the queue for the tram was ridiculously long, so +3 and I walked to the nearby botanical garden instead. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) it started to rain, so we took shelter and waited for the rain to pass. BabyAC had a nice hour long nap too. 

Made our way to Tai Ku for dinner and had Thai food at one of the restaurants at City Square. Ling and Christine actually managed to get babyAC to eat more than a few mouthfuls of rice today! We need to come to HK more hehehe. 

Settling down for the night and tomorrow we are off to Macau. 

Tee Vee Time!

We just finished watching season 1 of Westworld and I'm not sure if it was the show, or the act of watching TV again that I found more enjoyable. Hehe. 

I've figured out how to lay babyAC down on the pillow and how to arrange it such so he sleeps quite comfortably without me having to hold him. He still perspires a fair bit, but at least it's on the pillow and not my arm. 

Feels good to be doing such mindless activity again. 

My Morning Routine

I think mornings are one of my favourite times of the day, these days. 

I wake up at about 7-730am as +3 gets ready for work, and usually go back to sleep and try sleep in for as long as babyAC allows. Sometimes we wake up at 8ish, sometimes 9ish. I change his diaper and get ready for breakfast.

+3 prepares a cup of oats for me in the mornings, and I add a bit of hot water to it. I prepare a cup of water, some bread and some fruit to have breakfast with the little one. Put him in his high chair with something for him to play with: a spoon, a toy, the remote control, and try to give him oats. Or bread. Or fruit. (He currently LOVES mango.) 

Breakfast usually takes about an hour or so, and I try to do some laundry while he plays for a bit on the playmat. Two hours after he wakes up, I try to prepare him for naptime. We read a bit, nurse him and hope he falls asleep. 

If I'm tired, I'll nap too. If not, I'll do some chores or play some games or prepare lunch. Heheh. 

14 Months

Oh my, babyAC isnt a baby anymore is he, now that he is 14 months old and is toddling around the house. 

He spent his 14th month recovering from hand foot mouth disease that he got from that little girl he met at the photoshoot at Marine Cove. Poor boy had a fever for almost 3 days, and zero appetite during that time as well (the ulcers made it painful to eat). He lost so much weight during this time. :( 

Thankfully, by the fourth day he was nibbling on some bread, and by the fifth day he was taking more bread, spaghetti, mee sua and mango. Today (day 6), he ate oats and some fruit yogurt for breakfast, pasta for lunch, and ceral for dinner, while nibbling on marie biscuits and bread throughout the day. Yippie! 

At 14 months, he can understand some simple instructions. When I say, "Bring mama your book", he'll pick up the book that he left on the floor and bring it to me. When we say bye bye, he'll wave and when we ask him to blow a kiss, he'll put his hand to his mouth and make a muaks sound (but the hand doesn't leave his mouth, so no flying kisses for you!). 

He also comes to me with his stacking cups when he needs help prying them apart and he loves to chase me around the sofa when we play. 

He says "dah deh" when he sees his daddy, but still doesn't call me "mama". *patience* He's babbling quite a bit but still can't make out what he is trying to say. 

Oh and he loves to grab my hair when he's falling asleep. 

From what we can see, this is gonna be one cheeky and smart kid with a sense of humour and a strong character. Let's pray that we will be able to raise him as best we can. Hehe.