My life My Thoughts

Le Midi, Bangsar Shopping Centre

2012-01-11T23:44:00.000+08:00

On Dec 27th we celebrated our 9th anniversary. NINE YEARS!! With our little cheeky boy in our lives, we couldn't be happier. Blissful if I may add.

And like ever year, I have to crack my head for that perfect gift. I mean, what else could I buy as a gift? So this year, as cliche as it sounds, I got hubby a golf club. A driver to be exact. An R11 to be more exact!! And like every year, at the stroke of midnight, we exchanged our gifts. This year, my gift was..... a boring camera bag. HAIYA!!!

But all was made up when hubby surprised me with a delicious dinner at Le Midi Bangsar Shopping Center. Located on the 3rd floor, next to Kuriya, it is a quaint little fine dining restaurant. They waiter sat us at a cosy corner by the window over looking.... our office... the Twin Towers! Yes its beautiful... but its still our work place! Don't really want to be reminded of work on our anniversary lol!

The service at Le Midi was excellent. The waiters were so attentive. It took us quite a while to decide on what we wanted. In the end we made a decision and here are the pictures of what we ordered.

For starters we ordered oysters. They were not incredibly delicious, but not too bad.

Hubby's lobster soup was DELICIOUS! I wished I ordered it but if I did, I know I'd be too full for my main course

And here's my main course. Wagyu steak!! Its my first time having wagyu and OH MY its so yummy! How am I going to have regular steak after this!

Hubby had a sirloin steak. Very yummy too but my wagyu was better

I guess they had gingerbread cookies from Christmas because they served us some with some really yummy chocolate

Although we were really full, I just had to try their dessert. This is a chocolate soufle with vanilla ice cream and it has to be the BEST chocolate soufle I've ever had! The centre is filled with yummy molten chocolate sauce and goes so well with the ice cream and strawberries. I must came back here just for this!

I'd definitely come back to this restaurant. Pricey but worth every penny!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-08T19:57:00.001+08:00

Ok I did make some resolutions. But fun ones not serious ones. Am going to make it a point to make sure that 2012 is filled with more meaningful and fun activities.First resolution: to go to the driving range at least once a week and play golf at least once a monthSecond resolution: to plan my holidays better. So far am thinking of taking Ayden to Disneyland HK, and also plan a trip to Perth.Third resolution: to leave work early everyday!Ok that's it.....- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Scribbling using Bamboo Paper

2011-12-23T00:06:00.001+08:00

Very cool!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The last bits of Gymboree

2011-12-22T23:50:00.001+08:00

When Ayden started at Gymboree, he was not even crawling yet. I looked forward to taking him to every lesson. It was fun for the adults, I bet the babies had fun too! We signed up at Gymboree Bangsar Village and I took the year long package. Ours expires in Jan 2012 and I feel a pang of sadness cos it was really fun taking him to his classes and watch him explore new things.

Now he is running around independently during play gym. He can even go down the slide by himself.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Mumbai again

2011-12-16T01:16:00.003+08:00

On my recent business trip to Mumbai, I put up at ITC Maratha. Very pleasant hotel, but I was event more pleasantly surprised when upon my arrival at the hotel, I was greeted at the hotel drop off. A lady in sari greeted my by my name and said that she will take me directly to my room! Dazed and tired from the late night flight I just obliged and followed. She said "Mam, we will do an in-room check in for you. Your luggage will be brought up to your room". I'm like ok, do they do this for all their guests??

We got into the lift and she continued rambling " Mam, your company has booked you a room on the Club Floor". I'm like okkaaaay, how much is this costing me??? Am not sure if I am entitled a room on the Club Floor!

We got to the room and I was gobsmacked. The room was gorgeous! It even has a massage chair! It's like a small suite. The bathroom was huge too! I had to ask, " So how much is this room?". She showed me the price. Not too bad. Works out to be USD 280. Too tired to question more, I just signed on the documents, gave my credit card and accepted the welcome drink which they brought to my room.

The first thing in tried after the not-so-long flight was of course, the massage chair. Simply love it! It has presets and I chose the 15 min back massage. Definitely loosened up those knots on my shoulders!

This bed is super comfy! Every night they out out a Dream Kerchief on the pillow! It's basically a scented wet tissue, kinda like wet wipes which is suppose to make you sleep well and have pleasant dreams lol!

The massage chair! Fully utilized throughout my stay. Love it to bits. Best part is that the tv is placed directly in front of it, so I'd be flipping channels while I get a good massage. Besides Indian channels, they also had other English satellite channels thank goodness!

The desk, where I do my work every night. Yes I am that hard working :p

The bathroom.

The tub. But I did not use it, preferred the shower better.

I also get to use the club lounge where they had happy hour from 6-8pm. Free flow drinks yo! My colleague from a Hong Kong, who had a room on a different floor, joined me for drinks every evening there. They also served canapés.

I did managed to take a walk around the hotel on my last day there and checked out the pool.

Quite nice!

And of course in India the food is absolutely fabulous. I did not manage to get most of the food I had, but I did manage to get one the masala tossai's I had for breakfast. Which is a shame cos I had the best food ever over the 3 days I was there.

I did not manage to do any shopping as the traffic in Mumbai is crazy and by the time am done at the exhibition, I was dead tired. I did manage to bring home some Indian spices, which the hotel concierge so kindly ran out to buy for me. I thought it would cost me a bomb but it worked out to be only USD 1 per box! Ok la kan.

Am going again in January and hope to do some shopping then. Would probably be my last trip as I might be going back to theGreen Giant sometime next year! Never thought I say it, but I miss my friends and my old life.

Thinking of a holiday

2011-12-12T01:11:00.001+08:00

Ayden has never been on an airplane. We never got around to planning an overseas trip. In fact this year, we did not travel abroad for a holiday at all. Simply because we did not plan things out well. Every time a long holiday comes along we regret not planning something.

Next year, I will be more prepared. I actually took a look at the 2012 calendar to check out all the public holidays. We are thinking of taking Ayden to Hong Kong Disneyland before he turns two. That's because his flight ticket would still be free heheh. Why waste the opportunity!

I've never even been to Hong Kong myself so it does not make it easy to plan a trip with a toddler in tow. I'm thinking, maybe it's better to take a package holiday to make logistics easier.

So we're thinking of going just after Chinese New Year. It would be off peak season then, and hopefully Disneyland would not be too crowded with people. This would be the third Disneyland I would have visited. The first was at Anaheim when I was 6! Yes it was a loooong time ago. During my uni days, on one of my backpacking trips, I went to Euro Disney. That was cool too although I thought it was weird that R2D2 spoke French.

So we are really excited. I hope that Ayden would enjoy the experience. So far when we took him to the Zoo and Bird Park, or even Aquaria he did not seem that impressed. Perhaps he was just too young then.

So if any of you got any tips on visiting Hong Kong and Disneyland with a toddler, do let me know!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Blogging from my iPad

2011-12-11T23:57:00.001+08:00

I bought this app and am really excited. Cos this means that I get to blog from my iPad! Don't you just love technology :)

Testing the photo upload. Here's a picture of Thomas that Ayden and I colored together.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

An almost flare shot

2011-12-04T20:16:00.000+08:00

In September 2011, I attended the Jenny Sun Workshop. One of the many things I learned is to get a flare shot.

To get a flare shot, the sun has to be really low, like late evening or when the sun is about to rise. Aperture must be as wide open as possible. If all goes well, you're meant to be a ring light in the shot.

Here's what I got:

No ring, but flare-ish

Colouring on a lovely Sunday afternoon

2011-12-04T17:19:00.000+08:00

An obsession with Thomas and Friends

2011-12-04T17:03:00.000+08:00

Its Thomas, Thomas and Thomas all day long. I kid you not. This boy is seriously obsessed. He plays with his little engines all day, watch the DVD and on youtube.

He knows all the engines by name too. If he sees a new engine on Youtube he will ask "Daddy, what is this?" in his little voice. Super cute!

Opps knocked over Dieselworks

Little fingers hard at play

Choo choo!

Ok we're back in action now

Percy was one of his first favourites

Pushing them along the tracks

His complete line up.... for now. From left, Edward, Spencer, Emily, Percy, Thomas, Toby, Flora and big Thomas. Missing from the collection is Gordon and James. Am sure they will join Ayden's collection soon!

Thistle Johor

2011-11-22T22:59:00.000+08:00

Its my second trip to JB in 2 weeks. The first was to visit customers around Johor. This trip is to resolve a customer's delivery issues.

Thistle Johor is a great place to put up. The rooms are comfortable and the internet is free. Hence here I am blogging! The coffee house where we have breakfast is great. It has glass walls all around so you can look outside into the green landscape and also catch a glimpse of the pool. Though I did not have time to properly take a stroll at the pool area, but I could see it from the lobby. It looks fantastic. The breakfast is really good too. Surprising for a small town hotel. Ok I know Thistle is meant to be somewhat a 5 star hotel, but I have little faith in the food at hotels in small towns regardless the number of stars (then agan JB is not a small town). Like tonight I had dinner at The Hive, a diner concept restaurant, pretty much like TGI Fridays. I ordered the Lousiana Chicken Chop. Comes with a tomto salsa sauce, buttered brocolli and cauliflower and fries. It was yummy! Totally did not expect it.

Overall Thistle Johor is much better than Thistle PD.

During my last visit, my colleague and I had dinner at Tepian Tebrau. It is a roadside stall famous for its ikan bakar. And it lives up to its name! We ordered pari bakar, ikan sebelah bakar and lala masak chilli. It was DELISH! The place is also famous for its ice kacang. It was a bit unusual because it had cocoa powder in it, or rather it was milo. Strange but still yummy. We had to order our rice from a different stall. The ikan bakar and lala cost RM44. I thought it was a bit pricey. The ice kacang was RM4. Pricey for a roadside stall! But apparently Johor food prices are also the same as in KL. It was a good dinner nevertheless.

Of late I've been terribly busy at work. Usually I enjoy being busy. But this time, I am just so stressed and annoyed. Time and time again I wished that I was a stay home mum. But I've gone too far to give up everything. Time and time again also I get very good strong support from friends and colleagues. Telling me to stay strong. A simple gesture but I truly appreciated it. I have to remind myself to take one day at a time and that it is only work. At the end of the day, my family matters most.

Next week I will be in Mumbai, India for an exhibition where I will meet my Indian customers. I hope it will be fun.

I really do try

2011-11-14T00:36:00.001+08:00

I try to learn something new every now and then. Something different to put on the table. When I am not too busy, I will search the internet, get ideas from friends or TV and of course recipe books. Somehow the latter seems least popular.

So here's what I whipped up this weekend. The recipe came from a friend in FB. I never thought quiche was so easy to make! And thankfully I could find ready made pie crust at the supermarket near my house!

Its basically spinach and turkey ham quiche. Great dish to make when you've forgotten to defrost things from the freezer for dinner!

of Art Classes

2011-11-14T00:24:00.000+08:00

Ayden still has his package going at Gymboree and since he turned 18 months, he could start his art classes.

At his first few classes, he was totally not interested at all. He was wondering around the room, not even remotely interested to try out the fun paints and crafts. Mummy ended up doing most of it. But it was a good introduction for him to holding a brush, getting paint and glue on this fingers.

At home, I bought some non toxic paints for him to play around with. He freaked out when he had paint on his fingers the first time! He cried his and held out his hands like he had the ickiest thing on his fingers lol!

One month later, here is what he could do!

Dipping his fingers away in the paint!

Besides painting, he also gets to do crafts like these ....

He did these few weeks back.

Basically at every art class, it starts with playing with some playdoh. Squisshing and rolling them. Then, they will do some painting or finger painting. After that they will do something that involves glueing stuff. Then a short story telling, followed by stacking giant foam blocks. All that in 45 minutes! Sounds packed, but really, every activity takes about 5-10 minutes.

Had to be right infront for story telling!

I have great friends

2011-11-12T01:00:00.000+08:00

What a fantastic start to the weekend. I had dinner with the Makan Gang at none other than the famous Fatty Crab. Never fails to please the tummies and what a great place to meet up.

We used to meet up for dinner about once a month. We each take turns to recommend a good place to eat and organise the meet up. Over time we got busy and eventually we only meet about once in six months. Although not frequent, the turn out is always good. And this time round, since we had not met for such a long time, we had such a good long chat catching up with the latest hot goss over crab, garlic prawns and chinese fried rice. I miss them so much. I miss the warmth of their friendship.

Its so different from the JV Co. I mean people from the JV Co are friendly, but it is a totally different culture altogether. Its all just work. Other than that, its just dull. All work and no play. Also, I don't think I really fit in. Its just a place to work. And thats it.

I miss my buddies from the Green Giant. They are colleagues, but they are also good friends. Its hard to explain the friendship. No matter where you go, anywhere in the world, if you meet someone from the Green Giant, you immediately speak the same language. You immediately get on. I remember when I went to Tashkent by myself, I had meeting at our office there. I knew no one. But we got on like a house on fire. They event took me out sightseeing over the weekend!

I never thought I say this but I look forward to go back. Yes its in a big mess right now, but... its a big family. Dysfunctional, but still a family :)

Of ME time

2011-10-28T00:37:00.000+08:00

It's really strange to be walking by myself in a mall nowadays. It's like something is missing. It almost feels lonely despite the fact that I used to do it all the time, and enjoyed it too!

Am on a long weekend off. I am making it a point to spend lots of time with Ayden, as well as have some me time too. This morning I took Ayden for a swim at his grandma's house and went out to the mall by myself.

It's so strange to be able to take my own sweet time browsing. Making spontaneous decisions on what to do next. I walked into Hamammam at Bangsar Village 2 and on the spot decided to get an hour massage. Just like that! Any mom would know, that's a luxury of a decision to make! Lol!

I had a incredibly busy few months and I needed this break real bad. My body is actually so so tired and am mentally exhausted. This break, though short, is well deserved. There is a deep sense of satisfaction, having getting lots done and finally taking a break. I didn't want to make a holiday trip anywhere. I just wanted to relax at home and enjoy watching Ayden play, grow and discover new things.

Tomorrow I think I will take Ayden to jungle gym and then have a nice lunch at Stuff Your Face.

I love long weekends!!

Banana Muffin - An Annabel Karmel Recipe

2011-10-09T00:05:00.000+08:00

I simply LOVE Annabel Karmel's recipes. I've been using her recipes since Ayden was 6 months old, making great and interesting purees for him. Her recipes are just so healthy. It was also a great guide in making sure that Ayden had a wide selection of different taste, colours and nutrients in his diet.

So this morning I decided to make some banana muffins for breakfast. Since we had some overripe bananas. Besides banana's the recipe had branflakes and raisins. How healthy is that!

Here's how they turned out!

Straight out from the oven

One for Ayden

Here is the recipe. This one is different from the one on her website cos I got it from her book instead.

60gm of branflakes

10 oz of milk

125 gm of floor

60g of butter

80gm of sugar

one egg

1 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of salt

a handful of raisins

2 ripe bananas smashed

Method:

Soak the branflakes in the milk for about 10 minutes. Cream the butter, sugar and egg. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt. Add in the smashed bananas into the creamed butter mix. Spoon in the soaked branflakes and flour mix alternately (Careful not to get in too much milk or the mix becomes too runny). Add the raisins (my branflakes already had raisins so I did not use extra raisins this morning).

Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg and bake for about 15 min.

Here's the happy face enjoying the muffins!

Yummeh!!

Tapping in daddy's shoes

2011-10-02T23:59:00.000+08:00

Its Sunday night and the crazy work week starts tomorrow. Weekends are never long enough. But this little happy face makes it all worth it.

He loves wearing daddy's shoes. Everyday when daddy comes home from work, he waits til daddy gets out of his shoes so he could jumps right into them and walk all around the house.

The Island of Sodor

2011-10-02T23:48:00.001+08:00

Ayden has a new found obsession for Thomas and Friends. It all started with the Sticky Toffee Thomas book his Grand Aunt got for him. He's been hooked since! Now he even knows the names of the other engines. Percy, James and even Gordon (Gordon looks exactly like Thomas except that he does not have the number 1 on his sides).

So since he liked Thomas so much we decided to get him the Thomas toy and a pop up book.

And this is what he came up with this morning!

Around the tracts and the pop up garage he goes with Thomas

He parks Thomas next to the pop up Thomas and the pop up tunnel.

He nearly mangled the pop up Thomas by shoving him with his real Thomas because he was trying to get his real Thomas into the tunnel

He ripped off the garage door to park next to Percy

In the end we decided to get this poor boy some real Thomas toys so off we went to Toys R Us and we found the Take and Play set. It even comes with a Take and Play Thomas. So here's a very happy boy

A horsey day

2011-09-26T00:32:00.002+08:00

Selangor Turf Club had a Horse Fiesta this morning. Ages ago I used to ride there. It was one of the cheapest place in town to ride and it did not require a membership. I think I paid something like RM45 per lesson, which was not bad at all. That was almost 10 years ago. As far as my riding proficiency goes, I could trot, canter, do simple dressage and very simple jumping.

So this morning, I was really excited to take Ayden to see the horses there. The place look so different. In fact, it looked all spruced up. Of course with the fiesta, the whole stable area was decorated and filled with festivities. They had clowns, mascots, pony rides, hot air balloon rides, handmade craft booths, and even a mobile starbucks stand. I was really impressed. They were really organised.

The stables where they kept the horses were all newly painted. All the horses were having their lunch when we were there so they were happily munching on hay. Ayden did not seem impressed with the horses. Infact, I think we were more excited than him! We were wowing at the horses. Each stable had little signs with their names on, where they were from and typically what their breed with would be useful for. At the time I was riding, there were two Shetland ponies, Dolly and Strawberry. I asked one of the stable boys if they were around. He pointed out Strawberry, but apparently Dolly was not around anymore. He's replaced with Pickles. Also a white Shetland, just like Strawberry.

They had a whole lot of new horses. Non were familiar since the time I was riding there. At the pony ride area, Ayden was a little bit nervous. I think he was nervous because of the sound of the hot air balloon up in the air. You know it makes those loud blowing noises everytime the flame comes on.

The handmade craft stalls were really interesting. I found a stall selling charm bracelets. Each charm only costs around RM4. And they had charms that totally says ME. They had LOADS to choose from but I chose a camera charm (my hobby), a baby pram charm (Ayden), a car charm (I love cars!), a shoe charm and a handbag charm (obviously). And it all only came up to RM36 together with the bracelet. Bargain compared to Thomas Sabo!

We also managed to catch the show jumping competition. How I miss riding! But since my back surgery (long story), it is not recommended for me to get back on the saddle again. I'm really hoping that Ayden takes a liking to riding! :D

We really did not stay that long at the fiesta. Ayden was tired because it was his nap time at that time we were there. So we left after staying only about 2 hours, but it was fun nevertheless.

Here are some photos!

Not a real horse :)

Pony rides. Ayden didn't seem interested at all!

This little white Shetland is called Strawberry. She's been around since I was riding here at STC. There was another one called Dolly. According to the stable boys, Dolly is not around anymore. She is replaced by another white Shetland called Pickles.

Daddy and Ayden checking out the horses at the stables

Me with the hot air balloons

Feel like a new blog layout

2011-09-26T00:07:00.000+08:00

I do change my blog theme very often. This time around I feel like having something simple. Something plain white. Lets see if I can find a good one.

Busy busy bee but LOVING it!

2011-09-24T00:53:00.000+08:00

September is an incredibly busy month. And I mean SO SO busy. I've literally been running around like a headless chicken getting things done.

I've just been piled on more responsibilities, expanding my scope of work and to top it, the photography exhibition which I organizing this year for the company I work with is only three weeks away! Am trying not to panic, all is good!

I've also just launched my new website for Pitter Patter Images! It is a new brand and image which I hope will represent my style. I want my clients to get a feel of who and what I am. And with that also, I hope they can gain the trust in my to capture beautiful memories for them. Despite my busy busy day job and mummy job, I still make time for my passion job. I don't know why but I simply love it.

Apart from all my work related responsibilities, I make sure I have time for Ayden too. Over the Hari Malaysia long weekend I took to Kidz Zone at Sri Hartamas Shopping Centre. Ayden had a blast running around. He was nervous at first and took him almost half an hour to get warmed up. The place was a bit quiet actually with only a few children running around with their nannies watching them. I seem to be the only mum that morning! I hope people did not mistake me for Ayden's nanny!!

So I ran around with Ayden, climbing to the upper level with him, crawling through the little holes, walking across the little bridges and exploring every nook and cranny. Mummy was exhausted! Ayden however went on for almost 2 hours! Needless to say after that he napped for the rest of the afternoon!

Today was also a full crazy day, but I managed to get home early in time to take Ayden to the playground. Its been quite a while since I took him and he had a blast on the swings and on the sea-saw. For some reason he's afraid of the slides. I brought some soap bubbles with me and the other kids in the playground went mad over them! Its funny how kids just LOVES soap bubbles!

So we end the busy week with a blog post and I have so much to blog about but so little time. I've not posted on Ayden's development for ages and he's grown so much and is surprising us everyday with new things that he can do and say.

So have a good weekend my blogger friends (I wonder if anyone still reads my blog, but anyway...)

Ramadhan 2011

2011-08-21T23:48:00.000+08:00

We are more than halfway through Ramadhan already! It has not been that eventful. We break fast at home most of the time, and most of the time I would buy stuff at pasar ramadhan.

The pasar ramadhan that I go to most of the time is the one at TTDI. Simply because its one of the closest to home. But it really is not the best. Infact, I won't recommend it at all! They don't have that many choices, the food tastes terrible and it is SO expensive! I used to spend about RM15 and got everything I needed but this year, I seem to be spending more than RM20! Something not right somewhere. The thing is, you take out a few RM at a time when buying what you need and before you realise it, you've spent a whole lot.

Then we decided to try the one at Kg Sungai Penchala. A whole lot of difference! The food tastes better, its whole lot cheaper and though the place is small, it has a whole lot more variety.

So there's a small review on Pasar Ramadhans for you :)

Other than that, we really have not been out that much at all. We definitely don't go for the over priced buffets. Actually we have never paid for a hotel buffet for the longest time. We just wait for someone to invite us to one. I just don't see the point in paying over RM100 to elbow your way through a crowd of people and eat probably just a little bit. We really can't eat all that much when we are fasting.

This year we've made plans to spend the 3rd day of Raya in Cameron Highlands. We are trying out the YTL Cameron Highlands Resort. Hopefully it is as nice as it is previewed. Really looking forward to it! We took the 3D2N package where all our meals are covered.

Only about 1.5 weeks to Raya and the loooong break. Can't wait!

Shopping in Singapore

2011-08-21T22:40:00.001+08:00

Shopping madness

We are Singapore over the weekend to watch Liong King and decided to go a day earlier to go shopping at the famous shopping city.

I've always disliked Singapore. It's too regimented, busy, everybody is so compliant, there are way too many rules, don'ts and not to mention, it's just too expensive. It's the main reason I don't come to Singapore that often. The only few occasions I was here the last few years was because hubby was on business trips and I tagged along. Accommodation was free, so I took the opportunity. This time, since we wanted to catch the musical, and since it's been ages since we had a holiday since Ayden was born, we decided to spend the weekend at kiasu land.

As stressful as it is, the shopping is known to be good. There is the infamous Orchard Road, the Oxford Street of Asia. From my previous trips, I did enjoy the shopping though, besides Singapore Zoo.

The last time I was in Singapore was for the F1. The first one in Singapore. That was at least more than 2 years ago. At that time, Ion Orchard was still under construction. Now it's completed, and it completely blew me away! It seriously takes shopping to another level!

At first I thought it was like Takashimaya, where yesterday, we spent a good almost half the day there. The ground level had all the big designer names. Then I discovered the lower ground floors. It suddenly opened up into an underground city! Shops as far as the eyes can see! You. Can just keep walking and walking! To top it, all the shops were on sale! I nearly fell over when a dress that I've been eyeing at Monsoon, which cost an arm and a leg in KL was on 70% off!

We walked and shopped and walked and shopped some more. We had left the hotel at 11am this morning and only managed to cover probably only half of Ion. We went across the street to Far East Shopping centre for a bit cos hubby wanted to get golfing stuff. So for golfers, this is the place to knock yourselves out.

The musical was held at Marina Bay Sands theatre. My goodness it must have been one of the best musicals I've seen. The vocals, the stage, props, special effects, costumes were amazing. Not the mention the little boy who played little simba. They used a lot of puppets in this musical to represent all the different animals in the cartoon. And I must say, it was done so well. Definitely a must watch! It has been showing since March this year and will end on August 15. So do catch it if you can!

The theatre is located in the Marina Bay shopping mall. Another new mall! With another whole lot of shops! It's amazing how much shopping these Singaporeans can do! But the brands are similar to the ones at Ion Orchard. All high end and popular designer labels. Shops that I don't bother going in because it's definitely way beyond what I can afford.

Singapore is truly a shopping city. Which makes me wonder, do they do anything else besides shop??

Testing a post from my iPad !

2011-07-21T12:31:00.000+08:00

No wonder people are nuts over this gadget! It is indeed super cool. Loads of apps to explore and lots of fun kids apps too.

Unfortunately I am not able to attach an image from my iPad. But I can upload one from a URL.

Busy month of July!

2011-07-12T00:27:00.001+08:00

All things being fun and exciting, July is a busy busy month! Filled with weekend photoshoots and events.

There was a weekend where I had aThomas The Tank birthday shoot at Marc's Residence in KL. A very very posh service apartment in the heart of the city, right in the middle of the Golden Triangle. One of the little perks in being a photographer, you get to visit cool apartments in the city! End last year I had the privilege to visit The Binjai, another very posh service apartment for an Aqiqah shoot. So the Thomas Party was a blast, planned and decorated by party planner extraordinaire, Yee Send. Who would have thought Thomas could be such a fun theme. Well Yee Send made it possible! I wished I hired her for Ayden's first birthday party. Well, there's plenty more birthdays to come!

Just last weekend I had to be in Kuantan for an English, Math and Science Fest, where I was a committee member, so I had to be there. The horrid part of it is that I had to miss a DURIAN FEST that my office was organising and miss out on a free flow of the glorious golden fleshy, gorgeous smelly fruit. And I missed it for a stupid kids maths and science fest! And all I had to do was be the emcee for the day! To make myself feel better, I brought my whole family there so Ayden get to have fun by the beach, cos I was staying at Swiss Garden, while I go to work. The event turned out well, with a few last minute changes here and there, common when one organises an event. But generally it went fine. And to make up for the loss of opportunity to stuff my face with durian, on the way back from Kuantan, we stopped by to get Musang King at Karak!! Oh SO NICE!! And since hubby is not a fan of durian, the maid and I and of course Ayden had one whole large prickly one to ourselves. Musang King is seriously the best. At RM24 per kg, apparently it was a bargain.

Then on Sunday I had a baby portrait session. Went well, nothing special. Had some good shots. Only now staying up late to edit. So what else is new!!

Another exciting thing happened in the last few days, 2 of my best buddies had given birth!! One to a gir, and another to a boy! Both weigh 3.3kg and is still all brand new and pink. I brought Ayden to meet his two new friends, he did not have a clue what was going on but am sure when the babies are older, they will know what to do!

The coming weekends are equally exciting. My company will be having a family day and the following week hubby and I will be heading down to Singapore to watch Lion King!! Our first holiday together since Ayden was born!

Finally in the last weekend of July, there is meant to be another portrait session, for a family of 30! They are yet to confirm, but seriously, am hoping they dont. THIRTY!! That would be the largest family I would have ever shot.

In between all of that, I still have to ganti puasa. Lots to make up for since I was pregnant and breastfeeding the last 2 Ramadhans!

Cold duck soba at Kuriya, Bangsar Shopping Centre

2011-06-26T22:51:00.000+08:00

Ok I can't help it. But here's another food post!

One of our favorite Japanese Restaurants is Kuriya at BSC. And one of the things I ALWAYS order is the cold duck soba. The first time I saw it on the menu I thought, so wierd. I MUST try it! It turned out to be so so delicious. The duck, though unusual on a cold soba, went so well with the slightly boiled egg. The yolk ads so much flavor to the soba and goes so well with the duck. A little bit of wasabe with every bite brings out all the tastes and flavors. So so good. A must try!

Their sashimi is really good too! I love how they cut it, just the right thickness. I like my sashimi quite thick. Only then you can really sink your teeth into it and feel it melt in your mouth. Their medium set (enough for 2 people) has salmon, red tuna, scallops, shrimp, and mackerel. The scallops were so so sweet. Simply heaven! I enjoyed it so much that I forgot to take a picture! Oh well, all the reason to go back again for more!

Baby Chicken Wrap

2011-06-26T22:36:00.002+08:00

Here's another yummy one! Made it from scratch (no reason not too, its so simple!) and totally my own recipe. I basically just panfried a small piece of chicken breast marinated with a tiny bit of salt ( I only recently introduced salt into Ayden's diet) and rosemary. Then chopped a little bit of yellow, green and red pepper, mushrooms, onions and garlic and sauteed them all until they were soft. After the chicken breast is cooked, I cut them into pieces, small enough for Ayden to chew them. He has no molars as yet :D And then put everything together on a flat bread and roll! Thats it!

I made an adults version for the us. Only difference is the chicken I marinated with salt, pepper, Lee and Perrin sauce and some honey. Simple, healthy and YUMMY!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Cos I did!

The Lion King at Singapore

2011-06-21T00:07:00.000+08:00

It is showing at Marina Bay Sands Singapore! I want to go!!

I LOVE musicals. I wanted to catch The Lion King in London when I was there for work years ago, but did not get around to it. Also ticket price was just too expensive as it was a popular musical. Now I get to watch it in Singapore! OK its probably not going to be London quality, but better than nothing!

So the plan is to go down on Friday, catch the Friday night show (bringing the maid so she can watch Ayden while we are at the theatre) and then take Ayden to Singapore Zoo the next day and then back on Sunday. What a cool weekend getaway!

Can't wait. Now to get an affordable accommodation in Singapore.

Happy Father's Day!!

2011-06-20T00:29:00.000+08:00

Its really late and I really should be in bed already. But its Father's Day and I really should write a post on it before I call it a night.

Ayden got daddy a card (well I got daddy a card and held Ayden's hand while I wrote a nice greeting in the card :D). Then took daddy to lunch at Bens at Bangsar Village.

It was our first time at Bens and I've always wondered what they had on their menu. I'm not sure if it is different from the one at KLCC, which I've also not been to yet, but the one at Bangsar Village was very simple. They had a long list of pizza, salads and side items. Thats it! A very short dessert menu, some really interesting smoothies and drinks.

Since it was Father's Day, daddy got to pick what he wanted on the menu.

He picked out...

Fish pie

Sweet corn and crab meat salad

and Breakfast Pizza!

The fish pie was really good! It also had prawns and mussels in it. Made in a thick creamy sauce and topped with mashed potatoes. The cream sauce was not too rich, but just nice. Went really well with the mash potatoes. The sweet corn crab salad was also fantastic! Light and refreshing, it complemented the creamy fish pie really well.

The main course was the pizza. It was called Breakfast! I was a little bit erked when I was it on the menu. It had everything you would order for breakfast. Sausages, beef bacon and a fried egg. Even had tomato sauce, not the pizza kind, but the ones you would have with breakfast. And it turned out really good! Surprisingly it tasted good as a pizza!

So that was our first experience at Bens. Food is fab, fresh and I would say, different. I was pleasantly surprised at the pricing as well. Not as expensive as I imagine it to be. I'd say it is even cheaper than Delicious.

So here's the happy daddy

A good fun Saturday

2011-06-19T23:36:00.001+08:00

Its been soooo long since I've been shopping at KLCC. I mean, it used window shop there DAILY. Now at my industrial workplace, sheesh, the only windows I see are the ones that looks out to the next office building. So today, I managed to convince hubby, surprisingly quite easily, to go shopping at KLCC. With the whole family in tow, including the maid, who was equally excited, we bundled up in the car and off we went.

OH it was so nostalgic. The shops I used to love, browse, find so much joy, comfort and therapy. Nevermind if I leave slightly poorer than when I arrived. Shopping is ALWAYS so good. And oh I did not know there was a new wing at Suria! Mothercare moved there and their store is bigger too! They have a whole ELC section. ELC toys are just too pricey for me and to date I have not gotten Ayden any toys from ELC.

It was also so strange to spend the afternoon WITH hubby around. I've gotten so used to him being NOT around and doing things on my own. Ever since he moved to his new job, he does not travel on weekends anymore.

So after a good afternoon of shopping, we all headed home for a good Saturday afternoon nap.

For Ayden's birthday party, we bought an inflatable pool for his fishing game. Of course with the double intention that we will definitely someday use it for him to splash in.

And we indeed do lots and lots of spashing! Especially on a hot hot day. So later that evening, we filled up the pool, threw in some toys and a fishing net and we are all set.

We also love blowing soap bubbles. Like all babies, Ayden goes crazy with the hundreds of bubbles floating in the air

Loving those bubbles in the air!

Bubbles all over me!

After a good splash and bubble popping, we were ready to get out and dry up. I put him in his hooded towel and our little tyke took off. He ran off to look for his daddy who was washing his car outside. I ran after him and found him at the door. This was what I saw!

Tomorrow is a Monday, and like all Mondays, it generally is BLUE.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Reflecting

2011-06-13T01:35:00.000+08:00

Ayden is asleep and I have time to myself to surf the internet. A rare treat nowadays. Ayden is getting to be a handful now that he knows what he wants and makes sure he GETS what he wants.

With this quiet time, I took the opportunity to browse through my blog and read through my posts from before Ayden was born. Wow.... life really has changed. REALLY changed. Reading through, it seemed like I took the effort to appreciate the little things in life. I blogged about all sorts of things. Food that I ate, people I met, places I've been. I never realised it, but I guess I lived life to the fullest.

I read the posts on my pregnancy. I was so excited. I was so happy! We were so excited to meet Jr. Jr arrived and changed our lives forever. I was giddy with happiness. He is everything to us. From breastfeeding to sippy cups. Everything was fun.

But something is wrong, that giddy feeling is gone. Am I taking things for granted? Did I forget to be thankful for what was finally bestowed upon us?

Life took a 360 change. Not only because Ayden came into our lives. I had changed my work environment. What is the big deal? Well, I've been in my old workplace for more than 10 years. Yes it has its ups and downs, but its the life that I was familiar with. Its the lifestyle that I was used to. I had lots of friends, people to chat with, shops to browse, things that I liked to eat. At my new work place, everything is different. My new colleagues are great though, don't get me wrong. Work is good too! Can't complain. But its a change of lifestyle. I only eat cafeteria food, which is always nasi campur. I NEVER eat nasi campur as a rule. CARBS is a no no. People are friendly, but different. I can't relate to them, and I don't think they get me either. I got no one to share my joys of Ayden with. They are nice, but not really chatty people. I miss being able to window shop at the shopping mall like before. My new work place is in the middle of an industrial area. Really sucks. I hate it. Finally, the last of my lifestyle to go was my car. I don't want to sound conceited, but my car was what made me feel good. I enjoyed going out in it, and simply just love driving it.

With Ayden around now, I don't go out as much as I used to. Hubby and I don't even dine out that often anymore.

It really is too much of a change all at once. Should I go back to my old workplace? The good thing about my new workplace is that it is a whole lot less stress.

Another cross road. I hate making decisions like this.

Help me?

Eggs Ben at Chinoz Bangsar Shopping Centre

2011-06-11T18:12:00.001+08:00

Its been a while since I blogged about food! I used to be so rajin to take a picture of what I eat and then blog about it. I just love my collection of food I eat all around the world.

Well since I've not been anywhere much lately, here's one closer to home.

Chinoz is a good place for coffee and chill out. I very seldom have a proper meal here, let alone breakfast. So for a change, we went to have breakfast at Chinoz Bangsar Shopping Centre this morning after a doctor's appointment. It was as simple as the picture above. Nothing on the side. The poached eggs were cooked well, with soft flowing yolk and a layer of beef bacon underneath. I personally prefer it with smoked salmon instead, but beef bacon worked just as well. Accompanied with a hot cup of coffee, it was simple yet fulfilling.

Give it a try!

Time to plan for a holiday!

2011-06-06T17:33:00.002+08:00

Before Ayden was born, we used to go for a holiday abroad at least once a year. Otherwise, I would tag along hubby on his business trips.

So now that Ayden's turn one, and I can leave him with his grandparent's with no problems, I am cracking my head on where to go for a holiday. YES, CRACKING! I have no idea where to go!

I mean, how hard can it be! A normal person would instantly have a wishlist on where to go, but I seriously can't think. Has my love for holidays diminished? Honestly, I'd want to go somewhere where I can bring Ayden, but I think he is too young to be travelling with us. It's not impossible, but I think mummy and daddy should have some time with each other and just be a couple for a few days.

So, I've been thinking, maybe Sydney is a good idea. I originally thought, maybe London, since hubby and I have not been to London together. But since we've already been there, Sydney might be a better choice since we both have not been to Sydney.

I've been to Brisbane and Melbourne and LOVED it to bits. At Brisbane we did the whole theme park thing and walking down Surfer's Paradise. Melbourne was actually hubby's business trip where I tagged along and explored most of Melbourne on my own. Totally LOVED it. I SO love Australian life. Would give ANYTHING to move there.

I googled on places to visit in Sydney, looks like there is plenty to explore. The iconic Sydney Opera house I guess is not to be missed. You really can't go wrong with Australia :)

Now that we've narrowed down to Sydney, next is to think where to stay!

Wish me luck

A Saturday morning picnic!

2011-06-04T12:44:00.000+08:00

There is a gorgeous park about 10 minutes drive from where we live. In the past, I used to do a lot of my photoshoots there. But since the park became so popular, it gets too crowded for a good shoot. It is still nevertheless a very nice park. They have a huge lake where there are turtles and fish, and there is also a stream, which is a BIG hit with the kids.

I packed a picnic basket for the adults and our tods. Just simple sandwiches and my friend K brought some fruits. The boys had a blast sharing their sandwiches, splashing in the stream and running around the play ground.

D is just about 4 months younger than Ayden but already much bigger than Ayden. K and I knew each other since our KLICKR days when we were busy carrying our cameras around town and shooting whatever we thought was photo worthy. Nowadays we've parked our cameras aside and diapers and drools are suddenly the centre of our lives!

Here are the photos!

Baby Bircher Muesli

2011-06-03T00:22:00.001+08:00

I try to introduce as much variety as possible into Ayden's diet. So far, he is not fussy at all with that I give him. And I try to keep his ingredients fresh and as natural as possible.

One of my favorites is Bircher Muesli. When Ayden was on breastmilk I made them with breastmilk. Now that I've run dry, I make them with fresh milk.

Here's the recipe! Portions are for baby size of course. Double or triple it for adults portion.

1 tablespoon rolled oats

1 oz fresh milk

1 oz apple juice

1 tablespoon natural yoghurt

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 apple grated

chopped fresh fruits

Soak the rolled oats in the milk and apple juice for at least 2 hours or over night. If you are soaking over night, make sure you keep it in the fridge! Just when you are about to serve, add the yoghurt, honey, grated apple and chopped fresh fruits. Thats it!!

Usually I'll make some for myself as well. The grated apple adds texture to the oats which makes it oh-so-yummy!!

I've tried with other fruit juices like orange juice and mixed fruit juices. Does not work as well as apple juice. I've also tried with instant oats instead of rolled oats. Instant oats tend to be slimy in texture. Not nice at all! But if you are in a hurry and have no time to soak the oats go for instant oats anyway. Don't soak instant oats over night! Thats what makes it slimy!

Happy trying!

Beach holidays

2011-06-02T00:03:00.000+08:00

We've taken Ayden to the beach so many times. The first time was when he was 5 months old. We were at Shangri La Penang. After that we were at Hard Rock Hotel Penang when he was 8 months old for hubby's company away day. Then hubby moved company and we they had their family day at Avilion. Then three weeks ago over the long Wesak weekend my parents booked an apartment at Tioman so we went along too!

The trip to Hard Rock Penang was suppose to be fun. I mean, of course its fun when it was totally FREE for 4 days 3 nights! It was fun, only one thing, Ayden had his first out door fall and busted his lip! He fell off the beach chair and onto the wooden deck! There was SO much blood! I had put Ayden on the chair and only turned my back for a few seconds to put away our bag into the locker the cabana we rented for the day and I suddenly heard a loud THUD followed by a HOWL. I turned around and Ayden was on the floor with his face down. I quickly picked him and immediately there was so much blood on his gums. Luckilly he had no teeth then, but I was obviously panicking beyond words! I rushed out of the cabana and called for help. One of the hotel security was not too far away and came to see what happened. I quickly showed him Ayden's lips and he promptly radioed the front desk and called for a taxi for me to take Ayden to the clinic. To cut story short, the doctor at the clinic simply just lifted his lip and said "Its only an abrasion" I said "Are you sure??!! There was so much blood!" He said yup and told me not too worry. They did not even charge me for the consultation! So that was Ayden's first fall.

So back to the good stuff, beach holidays. Avilion was a short one night stay. By this time Ayden was already accustomed to sand in his feet and was happily playing with his shovel and bucket.

My parents had successfully booked an apartment at Tioman so asked if we would join, so I thought it would be fun for the grand parents so we agreed. My sister also joined and I brought my maid, so in total there were 6 adults helping to take care of Ayden over this trip. What could be better! haha!

So we braved the long drive down to Mersing and the 2 hour ferry ride and made it to the island in one piece! Ayden amazingly endured the whole journey with good spirits! I was surprised! But with 6 adults taking turns to mind him, it was not too bad for me too!

So without further a do, do check out the photos! I believe they speak for themselves.

Fun on the sand

Fun in the sea!

With mummy

With Atok!

We took a glass bottom boat ride to see corals

Everyone had a good time!

They even had life vests for babies!

Grandma pointing at something

Looking at a HUGE coral. The sea was so blue!

More fun with Atok

We also swam in the pool

Splash splash!!

It really was a fun trip for everybody!!

His favorite Grand Aunt

2011-05-31T16:21:00.000+08:00

Ayden gets super excited when there are lots of people at the house. He runs around squealing with a BIG smile on his cheeky face. And of course his FAVORITE grand aunt is always so happy to play with him and entertain him.

When Grand Yee comes to visit, and its usually in the evenings after work. When he hears her at the door, you can see his face LIGHT up and he quickly runs to the door. Ah Yeeeee!! (he really should be calling her Grand Yee according to the family tree).

Ah Yee usually has all the patience in the world to entertain his antiques. Ayden loves books and for the nth time, he would bring his favorite number book or Thomas the Train book for Ah Yee to read with him. And Ah Yee is really animated when she reads to Ayden which is why Ayden loves her so much. And now, he can identify the objects in the book too. Like Star, ball, flower (which he says wawer), dog, cat, Thomas, car …. AND. He can also count! Wan, too, thee, foe, fife, seek, wewen, ey, nein (didn't know he knew german), TENG (didn't know he knew the Ganu accent either!).

Besides reading, if we are at Grand Yee's house (she lives just down the street from us), Grand Yee likes to let Ayden feed her fish. So an overjoyed Ayden like to shake the fish food (with cap on to avoid the fish getting over fed) over the top of the aquarium!

Just last night, Grand Yee and Ayden was playing train pushing the mobile clothes hanging rack around the house! On the way to the door, Ayden goes… ba bye and waves!

At 14 months (yes only 14 months!!) he's full of surprises.

On food and such....

2011-05-30T23:55:00.000+08:00

I have mentioned before that I LOVE cooking for Ayden. We've moved on from lumps to almost regular food now. And breakfast, being my own favorite meal of the day, is one that I love making for Ayden.

Pancakes and honey with fruits that I make quite often. I love decorating the plate to make it colourful and fun. I am probably more thrilled with it than Ayden! It really does not make much difference to him haha! As long as his tummy is filled he's happy!

I have not blogged about work for quite a long time now. Its because it does not stress me out as much as it used to! Its been a little over a year an a half at the JVCo and its been soooo good. Its closer to where I live, not much politics, at least not that I am aware of or am I bothered by it. I have been busy but good because that means I am not bored at work. Its not the best place to work, not exciting or anything like that. Just an honest day's work that pays the bills and I get to go home to my bunny without being edgy or stressed out. Life is really working out just fine! I can hardly complain!

Though I have toyed on the idea of giving up working, not because I don't like it, but because I want to spend more time with Ayden. I've never been ambitious nor have I have ever dreamt to climb the corporate ladder or anything like that. I just want a moderate and comfortable happy life! More than anything, I want to be able to send Ayden to school, do finger painting with him and take him to the playground. I am that simple!

But knowing my fickle minded self, I'd probably get bored of this and then I'd probably start saying that I want to get back to work again haha! But hey, when that bridge comes... just cross it right!

So when I really do make up my mind about that... I'll cross that bridge too. Meanwhile, I'll just enjoy my little blessings :)

Ayden turns ONE!

2011-05-09T00:30:00.001+08:00

Ayden turned one two months ago and I did not have time to blog about it! I was crazy busy at work and I've been neglecting my blog and updating on Ayden's developments.

What a party it was! With lots of family and friends in attendance, we celebrated Ayden's first birthday with lots of fun and games, fantastic food and an awesome birthday cake. I ended up doing the whole party deco, setup, games and catering myself. The darn party planner was completely unreliable (and party planners are suppose to make our lives easier!!) so I decided to do everything myself.

We had a fishing game (with real fish!), sandart (I bought a sandart party kit from an art shop), plaster painting, colouring and some sketchy thing. We had a clown, lots of balloons and a pinata. Ayden had a good time poking the fish in the rubber pool with the fishing net, getting everyone wet. He really enjoyed his party! He was running around and amusing everyone. I was worried that he would be stressed with so many people but he seemed fine! I was busy running around mingling with the guests and also chasing Ayden making sure he did not pull anything or upset anyone's fish container (everyone gets to take home the fish they caught in a plastic container). To be honest the whole party was a blur. I only got to see how it all really went after I received the photos from the photographer! I did not even get to eat much of the food, which I gathered from most of the guests, that the food was yummy.

The party ended with cake cutting and candle blowing. What a wonderful year it was! So many laughs, so much love and joy. Who would have thought a single little person could bring so much joy into ones lives, changing it forever.

The newest talk of town....

2011-04-03T00:09:00.000+08:00

I honestly don’t know what the big fuss is all about, but it seems to be the next big thing after cupcakes! MACAROONS!

I saw so many posts on it on facebook. Everyone seem to know someone who would bring them back from London or Europe. Apparently you can get them here too!

So me being me… not wanting to miss out on the craze, decided to ask on facebook, where can I get them here in Malaysia.

And facebook being facebook, I was provide with a few suggestions on where I could get them. I was SO excited! FINALLY I get to taste what the fuss was all about.

One of the places suggested was the WHISK at Empire Mall, Subang. I thought, great! Very close to where I work. So off I went over Friday lunch, cos we have a long lunch break on Fridays, and went to WHISK to get the-much-talked-about macaroons. They were as pretty as the ones I’ve seen in pictures. So colourful! There were pink, blue (yes blue!), yellow (this one looked a bit electric I thought), red, white and brown. Like how do I decide which one I want??! In the end I picked five. White, pink, blue, beige and a red velvet one. The white was vanilla, the pink was strawberries and cream, the beige I think was mocca something and the red velvet was…. Red velvet. They were the mini sized ones and I thought the portion was just right. Not too big, not too small. At RM2 each, not too bad!

I hurried back to the office and placed the little white paper bag that the nice lady at the shop placed the macaroons in on my table. Quickly I whipped out my iphone and started taking pictures of the bag… and then of course the macaroons in it.

And then… the defying moment. My first bite. I chose the white one. Vanilla. Slowly I bit through it. OOOOOHHHHHH! It was everything I was told it should be!! Crunchy on the outside. Soft and smooth on the inside. It was not too sweet, just nice! Slowly I savored the taste taking small bites at a time. They were indeed very very yummy.

So that was my first macaroon experience.

I Am Ayden’s party planner!

2011-02-28T16:12:00.000+08:00

One would never have thought why I would put in so much effort into Ayden's first birthday. Well, Ayden is our miracle baby and his first birthday is a major milestone. And it is a milestone for us too. Finally we have a bouncy baby boy in our lives. A bouncy baby boy who changed our lives, how we think, how we feel and most of all, how we love.

Ayden is indeed so special to us. It's just not a celebration of his first birthday. It is a celebration of him being in our lives, changing our lives forever.

It's so much fun planning his party! I was going to get a party planner to help me, but then I wanted to have a hand at the deco myself so I dropped that idea. I found a really cool theme from Birthday In a Box and ordered some personalized stuff like a birthday banner, some stickers for his party pack, a birthday button, some paper plates and napkins. A friend has a US shipping service so I used that to ship the stuff home. I don't know how much it will cost in the end, but what the heck. There is a party shop at Ikano that sells the same party stuff, i.e paper plates and matching napkins, cups. But they cost more than double from Birthday in A Box! And they did not have that many choices of themes. Birthday in A Box had SO MANY to choose from that I spent weeks deciding which one! So the theme is called One Special Boy, and it is real cute.

Last weekend we started shopping for more party stuff.

We had to have a piñata. I mean, I just think its so cool to have a piñata. Since Ayden is too small to hit a piñata, I bought a "pull piñata" for him. It's has a whole lot of ribbons at the bottom were all the kids can grab onto one and help the birthday pull. Isn't that sweet? I got this at a party shop at Ikano. But I had to get the sweets for the piñata myself. So off we went in search of a shop that sells sweets in bulk.

We were told of this shop that sells sweets and candies wholesale. Actually we were after this sandart kit that one of hubby's colleagues got for their family day at Penang a few months back. Each kit has a sandart sticker thing and a few packets of coloured sand. I thought, it's a whole lot cheaper than hiring the sandart stand, which in Malaysia costs around RM380 for 2 hours. At that wholesale shop, it comes up to around 50 sen per piece.. or the one that we managed to find was only 20 sen per piece because it's the smaller. But still… that's pretty good! But since the sand that came in those little packers were too little, I ended up buying a sandart party pack at an art store for RM60, where it includes 12 colours of sand and 20 pieces of sandart stickers. Still not too bad.

So at that wholesale shop, which is located at Jalan Pasar, directly under the overhead via duct. we also bought a whole lot of candies for the piñata and party packs. They also had some small amounts of party favors like party blowers, masks and party hats, but they were not too pretty. They do have LOTS of party favor bags of various themes but I did not get my party favor bags there because I wanted a plain brown one, which I got from Bake with Yen, a baking store at Taman Megah.

For games, I planned a fishing game. Basically I am getting a large inflatable pool and fill it with a whole lot of fish. I bought some plastic containers from Carrefour so that each of Ayden's little guests will get to bring the fish home with them!

Along with a clown and some games by the clown, I hope Ayden and the kids will have a good time. It is simple and I am doing most of the deco myself according to the theme but I its right from my heart.

I hope my hired photographer will capture the precious and important moments of that day. I will be posting the pictures, once we get them.

Here are some other places for party stuff that my friends has shared with me which you may find helpful. All of them are located in the Klang Valley area. And I'm talking about Klang Valley, Malaysia :P (just incase I have international readers… which I doubt I do. If there is… do let me know who you are!)

Great place for balloons
Balloon Buzz. There is one at Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara. I believe there is another one at Great Eastern Mall, KL

Party shops
There is one at Ikano, same floor as Uncle Lim's kopitiam. I can't remember what its called! They have great themes and really cool party favors. But they are all really expensive. For other occasions like Halloween and Valentine's Day, their stuff are seriously fun.

Wholesale toys, sweets, party favors, party favor bags
One is at Jalan Pasar, under the via duct. This is the one I've been to. The sweets are seriously cheap and has LOTS of choices.
Another is at Lorong Hj Taib. I've not been there myself but my friends have. On that street they have toys wholesalers, party bags and sweets wholesalers. Apparently if you go early on a Sunday morning, you can park right infront for shop.

For very pretty and not so cheap party favor bags
Stationary shops and bookstores like Popular Bookshop. This info I got from a party planner. They do have very nice gift bags but depends on the amount of stock they have.
Not to miss out Mydin. I've never been there myself as I can't bear the jam and the number of people crammed under one roof, but many people tell me that they have lots of good stuff there.
Baking shops for those plain brown paper bags. Simple and versatile and of course… very cheap!

For clowns, entertainment, party games eg sandart etc… google Cha cha clowns.

Ayden has turned 11 months!

2011-02-24T12:21:00.000+08:00

Oh my what a whirlwind of developments in the last month. First he started standing on his own and we all cheered with excitement. And then he started walking just 2 weeks later and we were stunned!

We started noticing that perhaps he will start walking soon when he wanted to stand up from sitting on the floor. He lifts his bum off the ground but was too nervous to stand up. Then he started to let go while he was cruising on the sofa and the coffee table. Soon after he started to stand on his own and we cheered with joy! One day when my dad was at my house playing with Ayden, he took 2 -3 steps towards him! But when my dad told him to do it again he just won't! And this was just the day before I was going for a business trip so I was so upset as I was going to miss seeing him walk. I was afraid that by the time I came back he was already running around the living room.

When I came back he was still taking little nervous steps on his own but only when nobody was looking. I thought PHEW I did not miss much then. Before I left for my trip also, I bought him a push toy walker thing. You know, those things where you push like a trolley. I think that built his confidence in walking because just a week after that Ayden started walking confidently on his own! He was SO excited with his new found freedom and walked non stop in between naps all day! We were SO thrilled and surprised! I personally did not expect him to start walking so soon as he started crawling and teething really late. So last week I took him to the playground and for the first time he could walk on his own around and enjoy himself. You can see the excitement in his face.

AND… he's starting saying simple words like Mammah, daddahhh, nenen! I walked into the room one day and while his nanny was changing his dirty diaper he looked up at me and exclaimed "mammah!" That sent me to the MOON and back. That was the first time he consciously said Mammah. Before that it was experiments that sounded like mamam, mamama…. Kinda like practicing. Mammah was for real!

He can also say "there" … and point "there". Again I really did not expect him to start so early as usually boys start talking much much later. He is also able to copy our hand actions. He is able to follow Mickey Mouse lift his arms in the theme song in the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse program. And he knows exactly when to do it! He also follows Ian Right's hand gestures in one of his ads promoting Canon Cameras. I am seriously amazed.

Yes people say kids grow really quickly… I am having problems keeping up with that fact!

He stands on his own!

2011-01-26T22:58:00.000+08:00

Yes at 10 months he stands on his own. I was in shock and disbelieve. My boy is a BIG boy now!

He started standing on his own about 2 weeks ago. He stands for a few seconds before he flops down again. Today, he managed to take 2 steps on his own towards the sofa. Then, while holding onto me with one hand, he is able to walk around the room, but at he can't control his speed just yet, so he sort of speeds around the room before flopping down again. Its hilarious!!

I was too busy enjoying the moment to take a picture or video. I hope I catch it again and this time with my camera ready!

A picnic at the park

2011-01-21T23:57:00.001+08:00

During my Thaipusam day off I decided to wake up early instead of sleeping in. I decided to take Ayden for a walk and picnic at TTDI park.

It was a nice and not too humid morning. Infact it was slightly cloudy. It almost looked like it was going to rain. We packed our picnic food and went along with our plans nevertheless.

By the time we got Ayden ready, it was almost 9am. I thought by this time, the park would probably be a bit more quiet as TTDI park is usually very crowded earlier in the morning. When I got there, I was shock. It was PACKED full with people. Young, old, cyclist, very large families… they were all enjoying the national holiday… the healthy way. I was impressed!

Since hubby was still in Melaka for work, it was just me and my maid with Ayden. I prepared Ayden’s food, smashed banana and prunes and some biscuits. For me, egg mayo sandwhich and coffee. The maid already had breakfast so she did not have anything. I brought along Ayden’s bumbo seat and a picnic cloth so I could lay it on the grass and Ayden could crawl and play.

We took a slow stroll around the lake, admiring the view and watched people do their morning exercise, kids playing and families enjoying themselves in the little stream. Ayden seems to be enjoying himself too. I planned on setting up by the stream on the grass, but it turned out the grass was still wet from the morning dew. So we looked for a picnic table instead and I chose one that overlooked the playground. I set up the table and Ayden’s bumbo on the table so he can watch the kids play in the playground while he ate.

It was so much fun and relaxing! After his banana and prune puree, Ayden munched a biscuit which now he is able to feed himself very well. After Ayden ate, the maid took him to the play at the playground while I had my sandwhich. Such bliss watching my little one play and enjoy himself. As soon as I finished my breakfast I joined them. I took him on the slides, and let him crawl on the ground. Am not fussed about how dirty he gets, as long as he enjoys himself.

As it was getting too hot, we decided to leave. Taking again a slow and lazy stroll.

Such a simple morning activity but made the day off so much fun and fulfilling. I just love going out and doing things with Ayden. After we came back, I took a quick shower and dashed off to meet a friend for brunch. Ayden apparently slept for ages after the picnic and had his lunch at 2pm! He can't be that tired from the picnic! Haha! Must be a growth spurt.

Ayden is 10 months!

2011-01-20T01:21:00.001+08:00

I missed so many posts!! Ayden is 10 months old today and I totally missed blogging on his 8^th and 9^th month!

So much has happened in the last 2 months. I am so amazed how a little human being can develop so rapidly. Whats 2 months in our lives? Absolutely nothing. But 2 months in a baby’s life…. is something else!

Ayden started crawling properly in his 8^th month! He started with “swimming” on the floor sometime around his 7^th month, but on his 8^th month, he went on all fours. Well almost…. He crawls on one knee.. to be exact, on his right knee only while his left foot pushes his body forward. It was weird to watch, but when I posted his video on facebook, several of my friend’s babies did the same too! So Ayden is not that weird then.

In his 8^th month also, Ayden’s two upper front teeth broke through his gums. No more gummy smiles from my gummy bear. His pearly whites are huge!

Since he is showing some teeth, in his 8^th month, I moved him from purees to lumps. I’ve also started giving plain bread, which he absolutely LOVES!

In his 9^th month Ayden seems to understand what we tell him and pick up what we teach him. So far he can wave good bye, where he gives a demure wave just by moving his hands from his wrist.

He can sign milk!! Yes he can!! Not only he just sign it, he can sign it when he actually wants milk! He can connect being hungry and asking for milk! We are so proud of him! He can also do the chinese rhyme “dim chung chung” very well by pointing his index finger into his other open palm. And just last week, he could gesture “no more” by opening both palms facing up!

Lots of crawling, and cruising this month. I seriously do not know where this boy gets his energy. Mummy is certainly drained from chasing him around the house! We started hazard hunting around the house, removing things that may topple over should Ayden grab it and tries to stand. And for some odd reason as well, he just loves the fridge. Everytime someone opens the fridge, he rushes towards it.

Unfortunately for a baby his age, Ayden goes to bed at night far too late. As late as midnight sometimes. If you have been following my blog, I’ve started Ayden on a sleep routine since he was born! But that seem to have very little effect on his sleep habits. I gave up after 5 months and decided to take a break and let Ayden sleep when he is ready, thinking that since he is more active, he might get tired earlier. We were so WRONG! At 9pm he is still playful and laughing. So I decided to try again and started to wind him down for bed from 9pm. Seems to be working. At least he sleeps at 10pm and not midnight. Yes it takes almost an hour to wind him down.

So that’s my bunny in the last 2 months. Full of fun, laughter and surprises!

Buying organic food in Malaysia

2010-11-19T16:06:00.001+08:00

As with any new mum, we want the best for our babies, and I've chosen to go organic for Ayden's food. Or TRY to. I found that we don't have that much choices with fruits but lots with veggies. You just need the money to buy them because they are so EXPENSIVE!

I've been going around the Petaling Jaya area, in all the supermarkets as well as small shops to compare prices and to see what they have. Here is what I found. My review is based on looking for fresh fruits and veg and baby food, so maybe a bit biased towards what they have available.

Just Life, Ikano Power Center
Located on the lower ground floor near Uncle Lim's kopitiam. A friend mentioned that it is a trade center, which means (and I did not know this before) small independent sellers/ growers can sell their stuff there. They have a fair choice of organic veg but mostly groceries such as juice, rice, noodles, cereal, they also have some household stuff like cups etc (why do you need organic cups??) and they also have baby food. I get my organic cereal here. Its called "Why not?" and has a picture of a Japanese cat on the tin. The organic baby purees in the jar is extremely expensive, not even worth considering. Normal Heinz baby food in a jar costs around RM4-5, while organic costs between RM6-12 depending on brand.

Eco Green, TTDI
Located at Jalan 125 & 127, Jalan Aminuddin Baki TTDI (I happened to have googled this as I don't even know the address myself, I only drove there from a friend's directions :P). Not much choices of veg and I don't see any fruits at all that day. But plenty of groceries eg noodles and brown rice, pastas, even had fish, chicken and some frozen stuff. There is also a restaurant adjoining this supermarket. They do have some baby food in a jar but not much. They have the Organix brand which is SO expensive, probably the most expensive organic baby food I've come across. There is another very small organic supermarket a block before Eco Green which shares half the shop with an Indian Barbershop. Very small and cramp but seem to have a lot of dried goods. I got some organic veg ABC pastas there. Interestingly they had organic basmati rice. Most organic shops only sells organic brown rice or Japanese rice but not regular white rice. So I got these for Ayden too.

Giant Supermarket
Fair bit of fresh organic veg. Not terribly fresh, but if you are desperate, they have some.

Village Grocers Bangsar Village
At the back they have an organic section. Plenty of dry goods and baby food. Lots of juices. I did not see any veg. Near the bakery, there is a shop on its own selling just organic stuff. Somehow to get in, you have to go around the outside although its glass door opens into Village Grocers, but they've locked it for some reason. Also has a small cafe, got some fresh veg, not much fruits and some amounts of dried stuff. Not so impressive.

Village Grocers Sunway Giza
The BEST place to go for fresh organic vegetables. Vegs are FRESH with several choices of producers/ brands. Cost an arm and a leg but at least it's fresh. Also has good choice of organic baby food. They have lots of baby pastas by the Organix brand. They also have Heinz organic baby food, which is the cheapest baby food in a jar. I do keep some bottled food handy for travelling and outings, so its handy to know where I can get a good supply.

Am sure there is plenty more places, but from all the places I've been, Village Grocers at Sunway Giza is the best.

When I first started buying food for Ayden I had to go to different places for different things. It was terribly inconvenient. After surveying all the different places, I find I can get everything I need at Village Grocers Sunway Giza.

Sadly for fruits, I've only seen apples, bananas and oranges. Ayden's can't have oranges yet. It's too much of a shame to let go of so many types of fruits that Ayden can have just to go organic. So for fruits, I get non organic ones, but I make sure I peel the skins.

Ayden's Holiday in Penang

2010-11-19T13:02:00.005+08:00

This is a seriously long outstanding post! We took Ayden for his first holiday and his first time ever to the beach in Penang over the Hari Raya holidays.

We stayed at Shangri La Rasa Sayang. Its our second time there. Our first time was for our wedding anniversary 2 years ago! Now we are back with our baby.

We had the Garden View room and it came with a HUGE bed.

They have us a complimentary cot for Ayden too! All made up with sheets, blanket and pillow. They also provided us with a baby bath tub. Thats cool service for you!

We took Ayden to the beach and to get his first dip in the sea. Well, just his little feet wet.

Then we headed to the beach to make some sandcastles, helped by mummy.

After a while, Ayden got quite good at sandcastles, he could do one on his own! (NOT!) heheh

Some day Ayden will be able to ride a banana boat :)

We also went swimming in the hotel's HUGE swimming pool. Ayden liked the pool better than the beach.

After much coaxing, daddy relented and we went to the Butterfly Farm. Although Ayden does not know much yet, I thought it would be cool to take a stroll anyway. We saw butterflies, fish...

and HUGE lizards!!

We spent 2 nights at Shangri La and had a great time! I anticipated that taking Ayden out for a holiday would be stressful, but it was the complete opposite! He was good the whole time! But we made sure that he was well rested, fed, and tried not to do too much in one day.

We had a GREAT time!

Believe it or not another Penang holiday is coming up and this time at the Hard Rock Hotel Penang!! Stay tune for story and pictures!

Gymboree at Bangsar Village

2010-11-19T12:26:00.002+08:00

When Ayden turned 7 months, I decided to sign him up at Gymboree. Simply because, Ayden needs to get out more and socialize with other babies. As with mummy too!

Because I'm a working mum, Ayden does not go out much. And because he is the first of his generation, he does not have any cousins to play with either! He is constantly surrounded by adults and not children. As a result, the very rare occasion he meets other babies, he SCREAMS!

I don't want to be wondering around shopping malls aimlessly just so I can take Ayden out. I don't exactly want Ayden to become a shopping mall baby! So I thought, Gymboree is a good idea.

Gymboree is basically a play class, although they have music classes for babies too. They limit per group to a maximum of 15 babies. Each baby has to be accompanied by an adult. Classes are categorized according to age groups, and Ayden is in the 6-10 months age group.

His class particularly has around 10 babies. All at different developmental stages, although they are in the same age group. Some can crawl, some can't, some are wanting to stand already. Although the each baby is to be accompanied by an adult, they seem to allow both mums and dads, or basically 2 adults. Which is a great idea because it is rather tiring for just one adult!

The class begins with the Gymboree welcome song. It really gets the babies (and parents) excited and hyped up for the class. Then followed up singing while playing with baby and a short 5 minute parent sharing session (they talk about something different every week and they encourage each parent to speak and give some inputs/ ideas). After that we go to the gym equipment and play for about 10 minutes. All babies spread out and play at the 5 or 6 different equipment around the room, where they change the layout every 2 weeks. All activities at the class is changed every 2 weeks too so it does not get boring. Then there is bubble time, where the instructor will blow soap bubbles and this is when the babies gawk and stare at the bubbles in fascination lol! Finally we wrap up with a dance with Gymbo the class mascot.

The class is around 45 minutes and it is packed full with games and singing. So much so both parents and babies are tired out after the class. I usually give Ayden his bottle and he falls asleep immediately after his class.

I signed up for a package of 6 classes, which is the smallest package. You have to pay a membership fee and you can't go for individual classes. You must sign up for one of their packages. It works out to be RM48 per class for the package of 6 but gets cheaper for larger packages. For minimum package also you must go for consecutive weeks. They will not replace any classes you've missed. They also have their flexi package where the lady at the counter will only push for the largest package which cost RM1700 for 54 classes! This package you are able to mix with other classes eg the music class with the play class and go at any time you want provided you finish all 54 classes within one year.

So there you go. Gymboree is not the cheapest developmental class for babies but I am happy with the classes and both Ayden and I have lots of fun!

Annabel Karmel recipes for babies

2010-11-18T14:33:00.001+08:00

I finally got my copy of this! It has been out of stock in so many bookstores in Petaling Jaya and I finally found one at MPH Great Eastern Mall, Kuala Lumpur.

All this while I've been getting her basic recipes from her website, but her book of course has more! Her website has simple and no brainer recipes such as baby's first foods eg apple puree, carrot puree etc. Sounds simple enough to puree apples and carrots but for a first time mum, this dumb dumb was going to puree RAW apples. OK, carrots I know you need to cook it somehow, but I had no clue that you had to cook the fruits first. Luckily a caring friend called me to check if I what I was doing with his purees! Thank god for great girl friends! She also has more interesting ones like purees with fish, chicken and pastas, but I have not tried these yet.

I get so excited giving Ayden nutritious food, knowing that he will grow and develop well with all those good vitamins and minerals he's getting.

For fruits, right now Ayden is getting: Apple, pears, mango, papaya, banana, strawberries. I puree and freeze them in ice cube trays and then mix 2 or 3 of these when I am about to feed him. He usually gets fruits mixed with milk and cereal for breakfast, or just fruits.

For veg, Ayden's been getting: Carrots, sweet potato (the Japanese ones are so YUMMY!) spinach, butternut pumpkin (in Malaysia we call it butternut pumpkin where else elsewhere in the world I believe its butternut squash), broccoli, cauliflower and potatoes. I steam or poach them with very small amounts of water and puree them until smooth. I store them individually in ice-cube trays and mixed them when we are about to feed him. I'd combine 2 or three of the above for variety. In general Ayden (or most babies I guess) does not like green veg, so I would hide them in tastier veg like sweet potatoes. After the pureed fruit or veg are frozen, I transfer them into a Lock and Lock container.

Annabel's recipes would recommend pureeing 2 or more fruit or veg together but I choose to puree them individually and mix them later so I get the flexibility of having more varieties of different food mixes.

I make Ayden's purees about once every 2 or 3 weeks. I avoid having too much stocks and make sure he finish what I've frozen within 3 weeks, although frozen purees apparently lasts a month in the freezer.

As Ayden is turning 8 months soon, I look forward to introducing lumpier foods. Rice is our staple food in Malaysia so I've only recently started Ayden on rice porridge. Typically we make them with anchovy stock and add fish as the porridge is about to be cooked. I add the pureed veg and mix the different vegs for variety. He seem to like it! No objections so far. I make the porridge from organic rice, which is still far cheaper than the organic cereal I buy!

Most of Ayden's veg are organic, which costs an arm and a leg in Malaysian supermarkets. There are not many choices for organic fruits, so I get non organic but I make sure I peel off the skins before cooking and pureeing.

I don't really enjoy cooking for myself, I never thought that cooking for Ayden would be so much fun!

In his 7th month

2010-11-18T12:44:00.003+08:00

Another month filled with joy and new discoveries… both for Ayden AND mummy!

Ayden eats 3 solid meals a day now. We've also introduced rice porridge made with anchovy stock and fish. He seems ok with it. I've also tried giving him steamed salmon mixed with veg but he did not like that at all! Got to look at omega 3 alternatives. We tried giving him avocados again and this time he takes it easily… thank god! Am not giving up on the super foods!

He's almost CRAWLING! Right now he mops the floor with his chest when he "pushes" himself around. It is hilarious to watch. He turns around really quickly on his tummy too! But slowly he is working out that he should be using his knees and legs so he gets into the "plank" position but comes down onto his tummy again when he wants to move forward. Because he discovered that he could get around on his own, its hard to keep him seated on my lap for very long. He insists on getting on the floor instead. He is constantly moving non-stop!

He babbles a lot. There is no sign of any legible words yet…not even mummy, or mama.... ok sometimes there is dada.... but I'm trying to be in denial and pass it off as a meaningless bable haha!

He is a very happy baby. He smiles a lot more and laughs a lot more now. He smiles at anybody who looks at him and just about anything makes him laugh. Making funny faces at him or tickling his tummy sends him into peels of laughter. I love my bunny.

We've not seen our paed for over a month now so I have no idea how much he weights or how he is going health wise. Our pead has been away all month and he is not helpful with new mummy questions anyway. I find that he rushes through the appointment and is not very accommodating when I have something to ask. I think its time to change to a different pead perhaps.

We finally went out for an outdoor photoshoot! Again, better late than never. Really happy with the shots.

This month I signed Ayden up to classes at Gymboree. It is a package of 6 and we have to go for 6 consecutive weeks. So far Ayden's enjoying the classes and so have I! He does not cry when he sees other babies, infact he is socializing very well now!

We finally did his Aqiqah and potong jambul at 7.5 months. Better late than never! My poor boy is still afraid of loud noises and during the marhaban is screamed like he was being abused! Poor thing. I could only watch helplessly.

This month, I am starting to wean off Ayden from feeding directly from me and I am also gradually reducing my milk supply by expressing less. Its been about 3 weeks now since I've reduced the number of times I express a day and my milk supply is noticeably less. I feel so sad but I have to stop some time. Ayden gets formula in his night feeds but expressed BM during the day. The amount of BM I express although less, is still enough for Ayden's day time feed. I hope to maintain a low supply and not completely stop.

Ayden is able to wave good bye to people leaving, but don't understand that he should be waving good bye when HE is leaving. Its hilarious!

He turns 8 months tomorrow and I am excited what other new things he will be doing.

In his 6th month

2010-10-14T15:57:00.001+08:00

Ayden is babbling in sentences now. It's as though he is telling us something, or rather, complaining about something. It is so hilarious to watch. My bunny is growing before my eyes, it's almost surreal.

He is more interactive with us. He expresses likes and dislikes…. Probably more often dislikes haha! He states what he wants by whining and looking at what he wants eg his bottle. I also notice now that if I ask him if he wants nenen (milk) he responds!

We got him a jumperoo since he likes jumping so much. So to spare our poor arms I bought a secondhand jumperoo online and he LOVES it! He laughs and squels and can go on for half an hour non stop. And much to my amusement, his grandmother thinks that he might hurt his poor little feet while jumping, she insisted that he wore shoes in the jumperoo!!

And probably like many babies in the world, Ayden LOVES ELMO! I really don't know what's fascinating with the annoying red, furry creature but Ayden is captivated by him. We can run Elmo's Ducks on youtube ten over times and he will watch it over and over again. Same goes with Elmo's ABC.

In his 6^th month Ayden is able to sit up on his own! Well at least for a reasonable while before he gets tired and tumbles forward. Very cool! But he is still not crawling. He lifts his butt in the air while lying on his tummy but that was about it.

He has no problems eating. So far he is only resisting to broccoli, which apparently should not be the first foods that I should be giving him anyway. So far he has apple and cereal for breakfast and carrot or sweet potato and cereal for lunch. I skip dinner as apparently in the early days of eating solids I should not be cutting out milk as he will get too full from his food and not want milk.

I'm having so much fun making his purees. Its so easy to do. I freeze them in ice cube trays and tip them into a lock and lock container and store in the freezer and take out the portions I need. Its so satisfying to see Ayden eating healthy food. I go organic as much as I can. Organic veg is very limited in variety, so whatever I can't get organic I will get the non organic ones. But for leafy veg I will get organic only as pesticides are sprayed directly onto leafy veg. Root veg I am not too concerned. I also get organic cereal for Ayden, which cost and arm and a leg but I guess it is worth the sacrifice. His cereal are mixed with breastmilk and not hot water so the taste is still familiar to him.

I really try to be as hands on as possible with Ayden to make up for the time I have to be away from him at work. Although I have a maid, I make his purees and organize what he eats the next day i.e defrost the pureed veg. On weekends I will try and give him his baths. After work, I will try and give him his evening bath and get him into his peejays. If I can I will get home early so I can take him to the playground or evening walks.

My priority is Ayden Iskandar my little hero.

Starting on solids

2010-09-29T15:22:00.001+08:00

Ayden has turned 6 months old and we have started on solids

Its so much fun! I make my own fruit and veg purees, freeze them in ice cube trays and defrost whatever I need for the day. This way I get to serve a variety of fruit and veg to him everyday without cooking troublesome small amounts everyday.

I started off with organic cereal, one table spoonful mixed with BM. He took his first bite really well! Surprisingly he enjoyed the first taste and his first meal was fuss free. We were on cereal only for about 3 days before I introduced carrots, one cube plus one tablespoon of cereal. Eventually I introduced broccoli, apple and sweet potato. I tried avocado, which is packed full of nutrients for babies, but he threw up everything. Even though tasteless, the texture was probably too much for him. Smooth, but has a waxy after taste.

He still gets BM inbetween his solid meals. I was hoping that he sleeps longer at night but he still gets up once for a feed. He does not seem that hungry when he feeds though, so I am suspecting that he is habitually waking up for a quick latch.

I really do hope that he eventually sleeps through even though his once a night feed does not really bother me that much. At the moment we co-sleep and if he sleeps through, it means that I get to put him into his cot instead of sleeping with me.

Every milestone is just FUN FUN FUN.

POINTS ON HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE

2010-09-22T10:16:00.001+08:00

We've probably seen this many times in our emails and other blogs, but I thought it is a good evergreen reminder to us all...

Personality:
1.    Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
2.    Don't have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
3.    Don't overdo; Keep your limits.
4.    Don't take yourself so seriously; No one else does.
5.    Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
6.    Dream more while you are awake.
7.    Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
8.    Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner of his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
9.    Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
10. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
12. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.
13. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
14. Smile and laugh more.
15. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
Community:
1.       Call your family often.
2.       Each day give something good to others.
3.       Forgive everyone for everything.
4.       Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6
5.       Try to make at least three people smile each day.
6.       What other people think of you is none of your business.
7.       Your job will not take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.
Life:
1.    Put GOD first in anything and everything that you think, say and do.
2.    GOD heals everything.
3.    Do the right things.
4.    However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
5.    No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
6.    The best is yet to come.
7.    Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
8.    When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
9.    If you know GOD you will always be happy. So, be happy.

Watch Your Thoughts; They Become Words
Watch Your Words; They Become Your Actions
Watch Your Actions; They Become Your Habits
Watch Your Habits; They Become Your Character
Watch Your Character; It Becomes Your Destiny

About being contented

2010-09-07T17:00:00.001+08:00

For once in many years… I am finally contented with life. Despite short comings or whatever's inadequate, I am happy and blissfully grateful with what I have.

And it's all because of my little boy who came into our lives 5 months ago.

Before Ayden came along, life was chaotic, filled with unnecessary problems, grouses, arguments, stresses, depression, illnesses…… everything was a glass half empty. When you are generally down, most of the time you see things very pessimistically. Everything just did not work out. Life was just miserable and boring. Even holidays were not fun. It was just bland, grey and not exciting. I let my job take over my life. My job that did not even work out for me. It did not make me happy, but in fact was tearing me to pieces, ruining my life and marriage at the same time.

With our little bundle of joy in our lives, suddenly everything just spring to life! I remembered to breathe again. I remembered to live, to appreciate each day that comes…. each day that I have with Ayden. All the problems that seemed to have riddled me just ebbed away on its' own. I don't even remember why things bothered me, or why things were so awful.

With Ayden in our lives, I am slowly regaining faith that the sun shines everyday. He ensures me that everything will be ok, or that I should not be sweating the small stuff. He tells me to take it easy and just smile. Watch a little bit of Elmo sometimes and giggle at little things. I get a warm fuzzy feeling with the assurance that everything is going to be ok… no matter what.

My little boy has showed me the simplicity of life. It does not have to be filled with high flying colours, loaded with lots of money and or our wardrobe filled with designer clothes/ handbags/ shoes. A good nap, a simple splash in his bath tub and a nice warm bottle of milk is all it takes to make him happy. And that is all that should be making us happy.

Perhaps that is all we need. A simple life. No need to sweat the small stuff. The sun does shine the next day.

Mummy loves you Ayden.

Penang here we come!!!

2010-09-07T14:28:00.002+08:00

We will be spending part of our loooong Raya break in Penang.

I love Penang. It is probably one of my favourite local holiday hotspot. Its fun for the obvious reasons…. FOOD in Penang is DIVINE. The white sandy beaches at Feringgi is not too shabby coupled with the Feringgi night market which is just about at the doorstep of Shangri-La Hotel Penang. LOVE IT.

It will also be Ayden's first time at the beach! So our trip to Penang is also Ayden's maiden trip to the beach. Also we want to get used to Ayden going for trips so that we can get on a plane and go for long haul holidays! Preferably before he turns 2 because his flight ticket is still free then :P

So FOOD, FUN and SHOPPING and just a 5 hour drive from KL. What more do you want! :)

Selamat Hari Raya

2010-09-06T15:28:00.001+08:00

Eid is around the corner and this year is especially special. It will be our first Raya with our son Ayden!

We've already went Raya shopping and bought Ayden his first baju Raya, complete with sampan and songkok! The songkok was a little too big for him, infact it falls right off his head! So my mum found a ketayap and a market and they have a size for babies! It fit perfectly on his head. For his daddy we found a baju melayu colour that matches Aydens. For his mommy, I chose to wear an opposite colour. The boys are wearing peach, so I chose an olive green baju kurung to complement them.

First day Raya will be spent at Nilai at my parents' home.

So to all muslims celebrating, Selamat Hari Raya. Please drive safe. Better late than sorry. For those who are planning to balik kampong on the eve of Raya .. good luck with the traffic jam!

Buka Puasa at Desa Paku

2010-09-03T12:26:00.001+08:00

Absolutely yummy, large spread, and good value for money!

TWO THUMBS UP!!

Desa Paku is located in Ara Damansara. Tucked in the new shoplot area of Ara Damansara, its exact location is difficult to describe if one is not familiar with Ara Damansara.

I've been once to Desa Paku when a friend organized a birthday party for her husband there. It is quiet and not so popular at night. The menu at the party was Negeri type food. It was SO yummy. I went again a few months after that for dinner, but sadly they did not serve the Negeri dishes for dinner. They only had individual dishes like mee bandung and stuff. Apparently they only had the Negeri lauk during lunch time.

So I heard that Desa Paku was having a Ramadhan buffet at Rm35 nett. Very cheap compared to many places. Furthermore it was an international buffet. I realized that they also own the Italian place next door. So I guessed that they will be serving good from that restaurant too.

So last night, with a bunch of friends we went for Buka Puasa. Like most places it was filled to the brim. Luckily I made reservations.

We sat down and tucked in. Wow the spread was pretty amazing for RM35! They had nasi putih, nasi tomato, nasi biryani and nasi lemak! And all the lauk to go with that. The Negeri type lauk was SO SEDAP! I had the pucuk ubi masak lemak, daging salai masak lemak, sambal udang, ikan pari asam pedas. It was SO good. I could go for seconds! But I decided to try the other stuff. I tried the pastas and pizza. Also VERY good. I also tried the kueh teaw goreng, where they gerong right there and then. It was the basah type and it really was soooo good. I had ABC to quench the thirst. They also had other drinks like sirap, watermelon juice and air barley. But they were not good at replenishing the drinks.

Overall it was very good value for money! I highly recommend this place and am seriously considering going there again before Ramadhan ends.

Whats my next gadget?

2010-09-02T15:47:00.001+08:00

I am a gadget freak. Always have been. From the days of the Palm top, to the pda phones to the iPhone. I had them all. And then I got into cameras. And then lenses. And then desktops and laptops!

Now I want an IPAD!!

Oh my… doesn't it look sexy!

I SO want one!

It is not available here in Malaysia, but they sell them in Singapore!

And I thought my life was complete when I got my iphone and macbook :P .........

And yes I bake too!!

2010-09-02T14:50:00.001+08:00

Its Raya season, hence also baking season. Typically we buy our Raya cookies, but this year, since I am in a domestic goddess mood, decided to bake my own cookies this year.

I began with a status shoutout on FB asking who has some good cookie recipes. After some replies, I received some good websites and a Famous Amos cookie recipe! I know the internet has loads of recipes, but sometimes the recipes are just not yummy. It has to be tried and tested. One website that I was recommended which I really liked is www.joyofbaking.com. Apparently my friend has tried a few recipes and she said they were good. So I went through the site and decided to try the Peanut Butter cookie, since I am a huge fan of peanut butter.

And it turned out delicious! Sorry no pictures as I was enthusiastically baking :)

So excited with the excellent results I decided to try another recipe. I found a raisin cookie recipe. But since its Ramadhan, we received a lot of dates as gifts. So I decided to replace the raisins with chopped dates instead and it turned out great too! But the recipe was for a soft and chewy type of cookie instead of crunchy. So would have been better if the cookie was slightly crunchier. Luckily I only made one batch of it.

Finally, I decided to try the Famous Amos cookie my friend gave me. I had to half the recipe as it was 122 cookies was far too many for my little oven to bake. And it turned out great too! And I also managed to take some pictures.

Here goes!

So this year we have 3 home made Raya cookies. I am so proud of myself :)

I cook!! Yes I do!

2010-09-01T11:55:00.003+08:00

I am not very good at local malay dishes. Chinese stir fry's I can do. But Malays dishes I am quite clueless.

So, I am determined to make a change and learn to cook more local dishes. A friend told me I should start with ayam masak merah.

I decided to start with rendang ayam....

There is a lady at the market in TTDI that has pre blended fresh onions, chilli's and other spices so that we don't have to do the hardwork ourselves at home. Also, you can just tell her what you want to cook and she will whip out the ingredients for you. So I told her I wanted to make chicken rendang. And so she mixes all the required spices for me. All I need to do when I get home is heat some oil, plunk in the spices I bought from her, put in the chicken, santan, fresh tumeric and lime leaves and kerisik. Of course this bit I also her to I should go about before getting home.

And I did it! I cooked chicken rendang all by myself! Easy peasy!

So since I was putting all the effort to cook, I decided to go all out and cook a whole meal. Nasi lemak! My neighbour had given me some petai so I cooked that too, with prawns. The spices

also from that lovely lady at the market.

To go with the nasi lemak I also made fried ikan biliks, sambal tumis and boiled eggs. A complete nasi lemak meal! I invited my whole family as well as inlaws for buka puasa and they loved it.

I think I will make chicken rendang for Raya this year too!

My water baby

2010-08-25T16:17:00.002+08:00

We took Ayden to the swimming pool for the first time when he was about 3.5 months old.

I was careful as I did not want him to get scared and get put off the pool. So the first time we just sat on the side and I let his little feet get wet. He was already looking worried as the water was very cold and there were other kids splashing about in the pool. I thought I was careful, but I chose the wrong time of day. We were there in the evening and by that time, the water was too cold for my little boy. A good time would have been late morning or after noon. We attempted to dip him into the water but he wailed because the water was just too cold.

The next time, we tried again. This time after noon, on a hot sunny day. We went to the children's pool. A friend gave me a tip, get his little bottom in first not feet first so he gets used to the water temperature. So in we went, bottom first. I gingerly lowered him into the water. Again he cried but not for long! He realized quite quickly that he could kick and splash while I supported him under his armpits. Barely 5 minutes in the water and my little bunny was splashing and kicking away! It was amazing! It was said that babies are natural in water, but I did not expect to see it for myself! Truly amazing! Ayden really enjoys the water.

So the next few times we went to the pool, Ayden would cry a little bit when he first enters the water, but that crying got shorter and shorter the more often we went swimming. We would be in the water for only a maximum of 15 minutes. He was after all, by this time, only 4 months old. Did not want him to catch a chill.

To make things more interesting we got him a floatie. The one where he can put his feet through into the water. We thought he would really like it. But he seems bored just bobbing about in the water. Once we took him out and back into the water, he was happily splashing away! He did not even seem to mind when water got into his eyes and mouth.

In the next few sessions, I might try dunking him into the water completely. Apparently babies naturally know how to hold their breath under water.

Padang and padang...

2010-08-25T15:33:00.001+08:00

OK I know I am bad at local foods, but I did not know that there were 2 kinds of Nasi Padang. One is the Indonesian Padang and the other is the Negeri Padang, or better known as Nasi Padang Minang.

When one steps into either Padang restaurant, it is easy not to notice which one it was. I mean, I can't tell. They all serve the food the same way. And the waitresses or staff there are usually Indonesians anyway. But both are unmistakably yummy.

At these Padang restaurants you basically just sit yourselves down at the table, and they will just bring in the dishes. You either accept all of them, or choose which one you want. Basically if you are not selective with the dishes, your table will be filled to the brim! But If it is on your table but and you don't eat it, they don't charge you for it. Interesting concept! If it lands on your table, you WOULD be tempted to have it.

Few nights ago we had our Ifar at Selero Negori, a Negeri Sembilan Padang food. Located at TTDI, it is a small and quiet restaurant. It was not busy with the Iftar crowd. On the contrary, the restaurant was half empty. That does not mean that it is not popular, but I have no clue why that night it was so quiet. But it was my first time there. I've heard so much about it and I have a friend who is an avid fan of that restaurant. The choices of dishes is not that many compared to many Padang restaurants, but the ones they had were DELICIOUS. My favourite was the ikan keli salai masak lemak. Their begedil was also nice. Also amongst many others, their deep friend kampong chicken, daging dendeng and pucuk ubi masak lemak. It was so good that we will be going there again next week :)

The Gina Ford technique

2010-08-25T12:00:00.002+08:00

We are still struggling with Ayden's bedtime. I don't know if I have unrealistic expectations or I should start being more strict with his bedtime routine.

Ever since he was a few weeks old, we've had a bedtime routine according to Gina Fords book, The Contented Baby Book. No am not a stickler to her book or her routine, but it really does work… to some extend.

As many new borns do, Ayden slept more during the day than at night in the first few weeks. At night he would wake up at 4am and not go back to sleep until about 7am. This went on for a week over and I was exhausted. This could not go on! So I sent hubby to the bookstore to get the much talked about Gina Ford book. I read through and got started.

In very brief summary, she emphasizes on feeding and putting your baby on a routine. Some may frown upon this but to me, its more like putting the parents into a routine and it really gets the day more organized and less chaotic. Feeding is important because a well fed baby will sleep well. The first feed should start at 7am and the last feed should end at 11.30pm. In between if your baby feeds every 2 hours then that is how it should go. Baby must only sleep certain hours of the day so that he is able to sleep longer at night. I don't follow her routines precisely but as close as possible.

And it worked! After only just a few days, Ayden slept more at night, or to be exact, he sleeps but only wakes to feed and falls right back to sleep. And because we were breastfeeding and we co-sleep, we fall asleep together. Again, some maybe against co-sleeping but there were some research saying that co-sleeping is good for the baby for all sorts of reasons. For the first few months, Ayden woke only once at 3am for a feed and then the next was 6am by then I already needed to wake up for work.

However, he only falls asleep at 11,30pm or maybe even later! And that's not the way to go!

At 4 months plus I decided that I had to do something about it before it becomes a habit that he sleeps late (again somebody please straighten me out if I am expecting too much).

I left off Gina Ford's schedules after the first month as I was happy with his sleep cycle then. So back we go into her schedules now because I really needed him to sleep earlier.

In the past months also we've always wind down for bed time starting 8.30pm. We wash up, get changed into pjs, sometimes a story and then I breastfeed him to get him to sleep (apparently another bad habit but oh well!). But I NEVER succeed. He almost NEVER go to sleep then and will sleep at 11pm over. And this went on until he was 5 months old. So reading Gina Ford again I discovered that at his age, he should only be napping no more than 3 hours during the day. Ayden so far has been napping for almost 5 hours. According to my maid, he naps from 11am to 2pm. And then a few more hours later in the afternoon. In the evening when I come home early we go to the playground or take an evening walk in hopes that we get some activity to tire him out. Apparently this is not the way to go.

So for his age, he should be up and awake and fed by 7am. And should have his bath by 8.30am. By 9am he should nap for 45 mins. Then he should be playing. His next nap should be 12pm and should nap no longer than 2 hours. After that its all play and feeding until his next bath at 5.30pm. And then he should be sleeping by 7pm. According to her, babies his age should be able to sleep through til 7am provided he's ad 4-5 feeds a day and naps no more than 3 hours a day.

But again I don't follow exactly so I will work around it to suit us. So far it is working as at least now Ayden is sleepy by 9pm and then we manage to get him to sleep by 10.30pm. He wakes up every half hour fussing, but I just need to pick him up, pat him a little and put him down again and he would sleep. This will go one 2 or 3 times before he goes into deep sleep. He still wakes for feeds about twice… I think… because nowadays I do things in my sleep so I don't really remember. I must accept that he still needs to wake up to feed as he is growing and some babies just needs to feed more than others. But the good thing is that after he feeds he falls right back to sleep.

Its only been a 6 days since we started Gina Ford again. We hope to continue and see more improvements. I will be reporting now and again of our progress!

Stay tuned :)

Learn to cook

2010-08-24T15:49:00.001+08:00

How FAIL can I be because I don't know how to cook Malay food. I can cook Chinese food no problem but Malay food is such a struggle. I have a my malay/ Chinese parentage, but I am more Chinese than Malay. Hence Malay dishes at home is not common. I only have Malay food at restaurants or cooked by someone else.

So, I am on a mission to start to learn to cook more Malay dishes… from scratch. Not from instant mixes. I found this very interesting website www.bayanindah.com. Their cooking classes are SO interesting. The menus are so vast, I can't decide which one to go for! I would love to go to as many as I can but the classes are a bit pricey.

Someone also told me quite some time ago that Chef Wan's cook books are also very good and the recipes are accurate. I will try this too.

A friend advised for me to try ayam masak merah. If I ace this, I can do anything haha! I will try this too!

Wish me luck. I WILL post pictures when I am successful.

Ayden turns 5 months old!

2010-08-23T17:10:00.001+08:00

Our little pumpkin just turned 5 months and he is getting cheekier by the day!

He makes funny faces now! He will make pooo poooo noises while blowing bubbles. He can even cry and smile at the same time! When he catches us looking at him while he is complaining about something, he actually breaks into a smile! Oh my he is SO cheeky!!

He also laughs a lot nowadays and it is easy to set him off giggling. My little pumpkin is a happy boy :) When we wake him up in the morning, he always wakes with a smile followed by an intense expression because that means he is filling up his diapers haha!! So cute.

We took him for his first haircut over the weekend. He was too small to sit on the block that they put on the chair so little children can sit, so he sits on my lap. He was good and did not cry but frowned curiously and looked intensely at himself in the mirror. Towards the end he got bored of sitting still so long and starting crying. The Auntie who was cutting his hair was swift and quick with her scissors and did the job really well.

At 5 months old Ayden is still not sleeping through the night. We are back on the Gina Ford routine and see how it goes. I hope he at least starts sleeping at 10pm because in the last few weeks, he's been falling asleep really late. As late as midnight! After reading Gina Ford, I discovered that he sleeps too long during the day. He naps in the morning for as long as 3 hours and almost 2 hours in the afternoon. According to Gina Ford, he shouldn't be napping longer than a total of 3 hours during the day! So we started last Friday on her routine and slowly, Ayden is sleeping earlier. BUT he still wakes up every half an hour and I have to pick him up, pat him and put him down again. And I do this several times before he falls into deep sleep. Recently I also bought the Baby Whisperers book, also a highly recommended book for getting babies to sleep. Fingers cross I hope we get into a good routine soon!

Ramadhan thus far

2010-08-23T12:52:00.004+08:00

Its been good. Not terribly eventful, but good.

I am not really a fan of buka puasa buffets neither do I get many company invites. So we usually get our iftar spread from the Ramadhan Bazaar. But this year, 2 weeks into Ramadhan, I have not personally been to any bazaars! I get to leave early but I rather go home to my Pumpkin. So hubby has been going by himself and brings home dinner. On nights where he has company do’s I’ll just raid the fridge which is usually filled to the brim with leftovers.

We did however have a buka puasa do with friends last Friday at Subak. They were friends from my previous company and we used to have monthly makan-makan get togethers. We’d take turns recommending a restaurant every month. Subak is really a nice place to have dinner so we decided to try their Ramadhan spread. At RM50 nett it was not too bad a price.

Subak is tucked into one of the hills at Kampung Sungai Penchala. It has a cosy, romantic kampung feel and lots and lots of green surrounding the restaurant. Subak serves local as well as western food but for Ramadhan, their menu was traditional malay. Usually Ramadhan buffets are terribly crowded but at Subak, it was not too bad. The variety of dishes was not that large, but was very tasty! When a dish is finished, they will replace with something totally different. So if you missed out on a particular dish, they won’t replenish, they will replace it with something else. The desserts were really good too! Also traditional malay kuih’s. Looked simple but very tasty. Sorry no pictures! Was too busy eating and chatting.

Besides the good food, we had good company. We had a good laugh and it’s been a while since I saw my friends. I missed them very much. So much so, we’ve planned to arrange another get together before Raya. I think this round, we will do Lala Chong! Or wait, I think Klang seafood is good too ….. drools!

So this is me getting my bubur lambuk at Subak. I look like I just came out of the forest :)

A Pitter Patter Photoshoot

2010-08-22T00:42:00.001+08:00

Arianna, originally uploaded by Pitter Patter Photos.

I came to know that a very old friend just had a baby girl. It's been more than 10 years since I last saw him. We were in our final year Uni at that time. Amazing how time flies. Now we are both parents.

Wisdom no more…

2010-08-18T16:53:00.002+08:00

A few weeks ago I had a surgery feared by most. I had my wisdom tooth extracted. Allow me to clarify, a FEW extracted… to be more specific… THREE was extracted!! One on my upper deck, 2 on the lower deck. Ship Ahoy, it was definitely NOT a pleasant experience. I thought to myself, before making this brave decision, since I had a baby removed from my tummy, why not 3 teeth. How much worst can it be??

WELLL…. Definitely a WHOLE lot more WORST!!

The original plan was to remove just 2 (TWO). One on the upper left gum, one on lower right gum. The one on the lower right already has cavity and is erupting sideways. So whether I like it or not, it has to be removed. Lower gum wisdom tooth needs to be removed under sedation. So my dentist told me, since you are under, why don't you remove the upper left one, which has fully erupted. My dentist, an old friend from school, usually refers surgical procedures to a dental surgeon in the city.

I was nervous as hell, even though I told myself it was going to be a piece of cake. After all, I will be sedated and sleeping. If painful… take painkillers. Piece of cake! I called the clinic a day before to ask, how long the whole procedure would take. She said, including x- rays, about an hour. I thought, wow! Not bad, must be simple then.

So the morning came, and I was ready. We took an x-ray and to my dismay, my left lower wisdom tooth, was growing the same way as my right…. Sideways. The surgeon said, well…. History usually repeats itself and high chance that it would erupt the same way as your other wisdom tooth. May as well take it out too. I thought, ok… since I am sedated, and since it is going to be a PIECE OF CAKE…. Why not. So I told the dentist, lets go for it.

They put me under. It was a simply injection into my veins on the back of my hand. I went to sleep easily. And then I woke up… ALL DONE! PIEACE OF CAKE! I was still woozy but happy that it was all over and I did not feel any pain… at that time. We left the clinic and even managed to run some chores! Everything was still numb. I was given antibiotics and yes… painkillers, which was only ponstant. I told the dentist I was breastfeeding, so he says, ponstant is ok.

The next day, my gums started to ache slightly. More so on my lower left gum… from the tooth we did not plan to remove. We went out for Sunday brunch, everything was still bearable but both cheeks were slightly swollen and I looked like a chipmunk. By evening, the swell on my left cheek was the size of an egg! It also turned BLUE BLACK! I looked like I was punched in the face! The pain was also getting unbearable, ponstant was not helping. I was using cold compress all evening and that night I could not sleep. I was also very hungry! I could not eat much. Only the porridge my mum made.

The next day I decided to call the dentist to ask if it was normal to bruised and so swollen. He told me to come in so he can give me a jab for the swell. So I went in and received my injection. He said the swell was due to an internal bleeding on that gum. The other two gums were fine and healing normally. I also told the dentist that ponstant was not working and I asked for the painkillers I had post C section!

Over the next few days, the swell gradually subsided. The bruise took a little longer, infact it took a week to go away. My lower gums were swollen for almost 2 weeks and I could not eat properly even though it did not hurt. I also could not open my mouth wide, burgers were definitely out of the question then!

Now, over 2 weeks post extraction, everything feels normal. That's a very long recovery!

Fasting and Breast Feeding

2010-08-18T16:06:00.001+08:00

I was nervous about fasting and breast feeding during this Ramadhan. On a normal day, I get very hungry and thirsty very quickly. I was also concerned that my milk supply would be less.

So the first day I decided not to fast. After reading about friends who BF on FB and successfully fasted I thought I give it a try. And I did ... and it went well! There was no significant change in my milk supply either. I made sure I drank lots and lots of water the night before and had plenty of supplements. I felt no different than I would normally when I fast. The first few days I just felt extra tired in the evening and that was all.

However 2 nights ago I forgot to make sure I drank lots, the following day, there was a significant drop by more than half the amount, of milk. I decided not to fast that day as I also felt extra weak.

So lesson learnt, drink lots after breaking fast if you are breast feeding.

An experience at Musikgarten

2010-08-18T12:30:00.003+08:00

Fit For 2 Bangsar Village also runs Musikgarten classes for newborns. You can bring them as early as one month old and the newborn classes accommodate babies up to 6 months.

We brought Ayden for Musikgarten when he was 2 months old. The aim was actually just to have a fun day out. I thought it would also be good to socialize with other parents and for Ayden to meet other babies his age. A parent has to accompany the baby during the class but both mummy and daddy can be in the class as well, the instructor does not mind as the class is quite small.

So hubby accompanied Ayden in his class while I took pictures. Its really a very simple class. Everyone sits on yoga mats on the floor, both parent and baby. The instructor sings and claps and we just follow. That's it! She also has bells and scarves that we play with during the class. At the end of the class we all get up and dance. The class was only 45 mins. Just right for babies in this age group because any longer they might get bored and start to fret. Ayden appeared to be amused and attentive throughout the class. He did not cry at all but looked curiously at everybody and everything.

It was a simple and quite fun experience. We went twice to this class, I don’t think its worthwhile signing up for a whole package. We would like to pick and mix with other types of activities at different places so that Ayden can be exposed to other things too.

We will try Gymboree next.

He loves the swings!

2010-08-05T23:50:00.005+08:00

It truly amazes me what a 4 month old can do. I must admit I've been too excited to try new things with Ayden and I try not to do too much with him at such an early age. But I really can't help it! He's just so much fun!

At 4 months old we took him to the playground to play at the swings! And surprise surprise.... he LOVES it! He laughs in delight the faster and higher we push!

Ayden Iskandar you are amazing. Mommy LOVES you so much!

He rolls over by himself!

2010-08-05T11:15:00.002+08:00

Ayden has just begun rolling over on his tummy by himself. Before this, he could turn but his arm on the side he turns over gets stuck. So we have to help him by freeing that arm. We also have to give his bum a little push to help me roll over. Yesterday he figured out how to roll over and "unstuck" himself by himself!

He is also laughing a lot lately. He is such a funny boy! He pretends to be upset and then when he catches us looking, he would give a giggle…. Even a loud laugh sometimes!

He is definitely becoming more and more human and very very fun!

We had such a fantabulous weekend!!

2010-07-27T15:46:00.002+08:00

I took Friday off to sleep in because I've been so exhausted with all the photoshoots and editing work. Ayden and I slept in until 10am. We were suppose to go for Bumps and Muffins at Fit For 2 at 11.30am so I quickly got him and myself ready and off we went.

It was a good turn out at Bumps and Muffins that morning! Bumps and Muffins at Fit For 2, Bangsar Village 2 is where mums and mums to be gather and share experiences or just chat over free mini muffins and ginger tea. That morning we were meant to talk about babies and swimming but since there were lots of pregger moms and new mums like me, Debbie, who runs Fit For 2 decided to talk about Birth Experience instead. I dragged along my dear friend Kaz that morning who also brough her 6 week old baby Dean. We also met Magda, my Swiss classmate from my pregnancy yoga class. Her baby is also about one month old. So there were lots of new mums and definitely lots of sharing happening that morning! Not to mention we also scared the 'mums to be' with our birth stories. Its so nice to be with other new mums as it makes me feel more 'human' with my crazy first month mum experience.

After the sharing session, which was an hour long, Ayden had his lunch and I decided to have my lunch too. Did I mention that food at Fit For 2 is delicious?! Its very healthy too! I had the chicken quesadillas which also had a small portion of salad with a very yummy vinaigrette dressing.

The reason for my day off was also to do some shopping. After lunch we headed downstairs and to my pleasant surprise Zara was on sale! I was sooo excited and almost could not contain myself! Haha! Its been a long time since I've been shopping and since I LOVE Zara, it was a GREAT surprise that they had a sale. Cuffz was also on sale, they had 70% off women shirts! So I ended up buying 2 for RM107! A real bargain! By this time Ayden was already sleepy and cranky so I sent Ayden and his nanny home and I came back for more Zara! I did not buy that many stuff at Zara, not as much as I would like to anyway. I bought a jacket, a pink top, new work trousers (larger size than what I used to wear! Oh my!) and a long sweater top thingy. With the 2 new shirts I got at Cuffz, I got plenty of work clothes now! Unfortunately all one size up! OH NO! But hey, we've got to face the reality haven't we.

After I was done shopping, and since I was blissfully by myself, I decided to have cake and coffee at Marmalade. The cakes in display was too tempting. I ordered the carrot cake to go with my long black. BIG MISTAKE. I never thought they could go wrong with carrot cake, but they did. Probably the worst I've had in my life. Oh well, what waste of calories!

So that was a fantastic Friday, although I forgot about Friday rush hour traffic going home and got stuck for TWO HOURS where otherwise it would have taken only 20 minutes to get home.

Saturday morning Ayden had a birthday party. A friend's daughter turned 6 years old and the theme of her party was Barbie Mariposa! How sweet! Ayden had a little tattoo done on his arm. We wanted to do face painting but the queue was too long and the radio that they had right next to the face painting counter was too loud for my poor 4 month old. All my girlfriends Oooooh'ed and Aaaaaah'ed at my bunny, which of course makes mummy very proud.

After the party I had to drop off Ayden home and I had to rush off to a dental appointment, not so exciting but I guess it had to be done.

We had Sunday brunch at Harrods KLCC. I had the breakfast set while hubby had the salted beef sandwhich. Both were yummy. It cost an arm and a leg to eat at that restaurant but I guess it was a treat, since we don't really eat out that much nowadays.

After that we took Ayden swimming at the pool at my sister's condominium. A few weeks ago we tried getting Ayden to go into the pool but he screamed because the water was far too cold. It was shortly after the rain and dumbass mummy did not think about water temperature at that time. This time we are cleverer (hopefully) and went out during the hottest time of day hoping that the pool water would be warmer for my first timer. He cried for the first few minutes and clearly looked uncomfortable in the not so cold(not so warm either) water. After he discovered he could kick and float, my bunny paddled like a natural swimmer! We were SO SURPRISED! Ayden was SO EXCITED swimming. He kicked his legs and waved his arms as though he was actually swimming. I supported him under his armpits and laid him on his tummy in the water, and he paddled and kicked like he's been swimming forever. My 4 month old loves swimming!!

We took him out of the water as soon as we saw that his toes were wrinkly. He was about 15 minutes in the water. We took him upstairs, got him into a warm shower, gave him some milk and he slept like a log! Haha! My bunny was exhausted from his exciting first time swimming in the pool.
So that was an exciting and fun long weekend for all of us. Weekends used to be boring and we thought hanging out in cafe's sipping coffee watching the world go by was fun. Having a baby in our lives tips the scale in what FUN is all about.

Have a pleasant week!

Ayden is 4 months old!

2010-07-22T17:38:00.001+08:00

Ayden turned 4 months old on the 19th of July. It’s amazing how much he has grown, developed, learned, and changed over the months. If you think about it, what was 4 months before baby came along? That's just over a quarter of the year. We were probably busy hitting quarterly business targets. Just work, work and more work.

The last 4 months has been the most amazing in our lives and it gets more and more exciting as Ayden becomes more interactive with us and more aware of his surroundings. At 4 months old, Ayden can definitely see better now. He watches us as we move around the room, or watch his train set whirl around in its tracks. He smiles back at us, even giggles and laughs out loud when we try to amuse him. He loves looking at himself in the mirror and really cracks up when we play “hide and seek” at the mirror. We disappear by moving his view out of the mirror and back again. It really cracks him up. He loves being kissed, he loves hugs and loves chatting with us. He just loves everything we do with him. He hardly ever complains except when he is hungry and when he wants to sleep. He does this funny thing when he is sleepy, he whines on and on in until he falls asleep. It is actually hilarious!

Without me realizing, Ayden is actually a very easy baby. When he had a stuffed nose he does not even complain or cry, he just looked surprised! He had an expression that says “whats going on?” and wiggles his head side to side. It was so funny! Although it was difficult for him to suck for milk he just breaks for air every now and again. We took him out to an afternoon kenduri last week, one of hubby’s nephews got married and he did not mind the heat at all! I was surprised! Mommy was absolutely melting in the heat. I don't usually like these afternoon outdoor kenduri’s but I wanted Ayden to experience it and meet his cousins. He surprised mommy by being absolutely ok. That's my boy!!

He LOVES his Atok! Atok loves talking to him and Ayden seem to talk back at him. Such a wonder to watch. He does not even do that with me. Atok asks him a question and he makes a sound back as though answering him :)

Sometime over the last few weeks I think he went through a growth spurt. He suddenly wanted milk every 2 hours no matter what amounts we gave him. He was on 4-4.5oz. We pushed to 5 oz which he sometimes finishes and sometimes does not. At 2 hourly feeds he feeds 5 times a day while I am at work. Nowadays I can only express milk for 3 – 4 feeds, that makes one feed short. We supplement that missing feed with formula or sometimes frozen BM. I also wanted to introduce formula to him once in a while just incase I am not able to give him BM. At least I know he will be able to take it ok. So far so good, Ayden has no problems with BM. He also woke up twice at night for feeds instead of once. But just this week as he entered into his 4th month, he is back to once a night feeds and 4 feeds a day. I guess growth spurt is over!

Every little thing that Ayden does amazes us. He has brought so much joy to our lives. I feel that I don't do enough for him. It makes me feel so sad that I have to leave him at home during the day while I go to work. I really wish I can be with him every second of the day.

Mommy loves you so much Ayden.

A truly 1Malaysia Wedding

2010-07-20T17:06:00.003+08:00

OK I’ve managed to finish editing one of the many events I shot in the last few weeks.

It was the Solemnization of a dear friend which was done at a mosque in TTDI. It was a mixed marriage and truly a 1Malaysia Wedding. It was probably the largest Solemnization ceremony I have ever attended where almost 200 guests were present. It was my first time at Masjid At-Taqwa, TTDI. It was like any old mosque but I like it because the Solemnization was conducted outside the prayer area. It was a covered area but with skylight roof’s where natural lighting comes through. It was almost like a courtyard. Needless to say, the lighting conditions were fantastic that day.

I know my dear friend went through a lot in the preparation of his big day. It turned out to be a simple but beautiful event.

Here are some shots from that wonderful day

The Pitter Patter Mommy

2010-07-06T15:39:00.004+08:00

Me shooting a Chinese Tea Ceremony during the games bit of the ceremony. No tea pouring happening here :)

So besides being a mommy what else have I been up to! Surprisingly, very busy with photoshoots!! I am actually up to my ears with editing and not to mention exhausted from running around to back to back events.

Over the last 3 weeks, I shot an engagement, a solemnization, a tea ceremony and a Glee Birthday Party! I had to pass over a Chinese Wedding Dinner to a friend which was on the same day as the Tea Ceremony and Glee Party or I would have fallen flat on my face! I had lost sensation in my wrist, arms and shoulders. Yes on that very day, I had back to back 3 events. The Wedding Dinner was a friend’s, so I attended as guest instead of shooting it myself. In between events, I had to express milk in the car. Poor Ayden was missing his mommy all day!

The following week is not looking too shabby. I’ve got a malay afternoon wedding kenduri in Seremban, which unfortunately overlapped with a morning solemnization in Setiawangsa. Again I passed it on to a friend, but Pitter Patter maintains ownership by doing the editing and delivery. Yes brand is everything.

Towards the 2 weekends end of the month I had 2 more bookings for birthday parties!! This time I really had to handover one of the jobs outright to my friend as I really can’t cope even with just editing work. There are so many chores at home that I’ve left unattended namely servicing my car, which is 1500km overdue, picking up the paintings which I sent off for framing almost 2 months ago and picking up my baju Raya which I sent off also almost 2 months ago and I believe should be ready by now.

Although a busy bee, life is FULL and EXCITING and am loving every minute of it.

Alhamdullilah for the rezeki!

The evil car seat

2010-07-06T14:59:00.002+08:00

At 3.5 months we are still struggling with the car seat. Ayden is still not too happy sitting on his car seat and ever worse he hates the safety belt that goes over his chest. We are not giving up. He HAS to get used to his seat or no going out. Safety is not something that we can compromise.

Last weekend we went out for a kenduri in Puchong. It was about a half hour drive. Clip Clop and Trumpet was assigned to keep Ayden company in his seat. Mommy was purple in the face talking through Trumpet, also due to motion sickness in the backseat. Guess what…. We made it without a meltdown!!

The way back was a different story. By this time, it was almost Ayden's feeding time. He was tired and hungry. Mommy gave in and took him out of his seat and fed him on the way home. NOT proud of it. Should NEVER do this again. We must practice and plan more. In the very least, he should not be hungry when breaking him into his car seat.

Later that night, we went out with Daddy who had to run some chores. I grabbed the chance to get Ayden into his car seat again. This time he bawled the moment he was placed in his seat. I was adamant to get him used to it and left him to wail, this time making sure that he was fed and changed before leaving. After about 10 minutes of wailing, he tapered into 2 minutes bursts of crying, then he fell asleep. He woke up crying again and again I left him to cry. He went on all the way out and on the way home. Must practice some more!

My happy bunny

2010-06-30T16:10:00.006+08:00

Ayden is about 3.5 months now and he seems to be developing quite a personality!

He is a happy baby, always wakes up with a smile in the morning. He is only grumpy when his tummy is hungry and if he has wind. The past months we discovered the reason why he gets cranking in the afternoons is because he had gas. My poor bunny's been having an upset tummy. In the last doctor's visit, he was prescribed Dentonix, colic drops, which worked like a charm. Now Ayden is a happier bunny. In the afternoon, between naps and feeds, he would play with his nanny and generally is in very good spirits.

He's also just begun grabbing his toys. Mr. Monkey is still his favorite. He will hug Mr. Monkey and try to nibble his hands. He has not actually begun to put his toys in his mouth just yet, but with Mr. Monkey, he seems to be getting there!

Ok here's not laughing here ... mommy was not fast enough with the camera hehe!

He LOVES playing airplane! He will laugh and giggle when I lift him into the air. It's hilarious! Another favorite is playing peek-a-boo infront of a mirror. Owh that really tickles him! It sends me to the moon and back when he laughs. He gives a really cute giggle!

It's s so interesting to watch my baby grow. He does something different every week.

Ayden’s 3rd Month doctor’s visit

2010-06-25T10:21:00.001+08:00

We bundled little Ayden in his carseat and set off to Damansara Specialist Hospital for his booster shots and check up. He slept while he waited as it was also time for his morning nap.

Dr. Musa's office is known for his looooong wait. But somehow the longest we had waited was an hour and it's because we were late and probably bumped to the end of the list. One hour is pretty bearable as I've waited as long as 4 hours at a gynea's clinic before! So Ayden napped peacefully while we waited. I also gave him a feed so that he does not wake up hungry when he sees the doctor and when he gets his shot. Not a nice feeling to be hungry and being poked I imagine!

So his name was called and we piled into the doc's office. I was a bit apprehensive because the last time Ayden wailed when he received his shot but apparently he was hungry. So with a full tummy this time, I kept my fingers cross. Dr. Musa examined him and then weighed him. 5.4kg! And then he measured him… 60cm! My little boy has groooown! He was 48cm when he was born.

Then Dr. Musa prepared his shots. I thought, uh oh……. With expert quick hands, the doctor yanked on the musical stuff toys hanging on the window sill making them all sing happily and promptly stuck the needle into Ayden's thigh. I was still captivated by the stuff toys (not sure about Ayden), amazed at how many he had, and the doctor was done! Ayden did not even seem to flinch. Still happy and kicking, oblivious of what happened. I was relieved! Good boy! Next was the oral meds. I think it was the rotavirus meds. The doctor squeezed the liquids into his mouth and he just swallowed without any problems. Again I was amazed! Very unlike his mommy! Dr. Musa said he did great and will not have problems taking medicine. I was REALLY relieved. My lil munchikin is such a trooper!

After we were done at Dr. Musa's I thought I treat MYSELF with some coffee at the cafe at the hospital. What I thought was going to be a high drama morning turned out to be otherwise with a very cheery Ayden bouncing happily in his stroller.

Looking back at Ayden’s second month and first month

2010-06-22T12:56:00.009+08:00

Ayden just turned three months and looking back at his second month, it almost seemed like we’ve had him all our lives. I cannot imagine life without him.

So here's his second month in a glance.

My First Mother’s Day
We celebrated Mother’s Day for all the mums in our family, namely for my grandma, my mum and ME! My very first Mothers Day! Wow what a feeling! At that time, Ayden was only 6 weeks old and just had his combined first and second month booster shots. So he was a bit poorly but still happy! Did not complain at all. We had Mother’s Day dimsum brunch at PNB Darby Park Minmax Chinese Restaurant. Ayden was good the whole time, though we had to take turns carrying him, he did not fuss at all. By this time, taking Ayden out was a WHOLE lot easier compared to a few weeks before that. His feeding time is longer and he does not poop as much so diaper changes are not so frequent.

The next day we went to the IBU Family Bazaar at Bangsar Village 2 and Ayden was good all the way in his stroller. Infact he took a brief nap in the early part of our trip and woke up when we stopped for lunch at dessert at Delicious. I LOVE my lil munchikin :)

The maids issue
It was a rough month for me where maids were concern. It was also the month I started work. In summary, my first maid arrived at my house and only to stay for 3 days before the agency took her back. Her replacement came exactly a week after that only to run away 3 days after that! These indons are a big nightmare and honestly training them is even worst. I vowed to pay any amount of money to get a better alternative. Finally we found a reliable agent which had a Filipino maid immediately available. We took her in and she is a SUPERSTAR. She’s great with Ayden as she took care of twins previously and super proactive with housework. With minimal training she found her way around the house and only one week with us, she is already right at home. She costs an arm and a leg, but its worth every bit of it. Ayden now has a reliable nanny to take care of him and I don't have to worry too much while I am away at work.

First visit to Atok’s house
Believe it or not, since Ayden was born, he has not been to my father’s house in Nilai. We’ve been so tied up post confinement, with the maids’ issue, starting work etc we finally had a spare weekend to take Ayden to his Atok’s house. Atok will be selling his house to move closer to us so he can be closer to his first grandson! Nilai is waaaaay to far out anyway, even though it is NOT for his grandson. So we spent the weekend at Atok’s house and Ayden seems happy that he is not sleeping in his own bed(or rather mummy’s bed) that weekend.

Ayden’s First Father’s Day
We had an early Father’s Day celebration, also at Minmax Chinese Restaurant. Hubby’s been a fantastic daddy, completely handson. I don't have to tell him what to do, he is an expert with Aydens diapers and has no problems heating my breastmilk for Ayden when I am not around. WELL DONE DADDY!

Breastfeeding
We are still on exclusive breastmilk! I hope to hang in there as long as I can. So far milk supply looks good. I hope it builds up with Ayden’s appetite.

He laughts!
Ayden started laughing when he was about 6 weeks old. Over Mother's Day weekend he gave me BIG BIG smiles and small giggles. Towards the end of his second month, he was laughing a lot more, and loves it when people talk to him. He will respond with a big smile and a giggle. He giggles like Ernie in Sesame Street! He is such a morning person too! When he wakes up in the morning, he gives me a gummy smile which sends me to the moon and back! What a start for the day!

Reading
Ayden seem to LOVE books! He likes it when we read to him. He will look at the pictures and I can keep him occupied this way for almost half an hour! He also loves his musical book, his toy book that plays nursery rhymes and has colourful animals that lights up. He also loves his singing catapillar which plays classical music. He will stare at it and batt it with his hands while it plays. I try to read him a story before bedtime, but our evenings are not in routine just yet. So my aim for his 3rd month is to start winding him down to bed with a bath, and story time. Hopefully he starts to sleep early then.

Musikgarten
We also took him to Musikgarten for newborns. No, its not a long term thing, neither did we buy a whole package to make him a musical wonder, but it was just a one off family outing! One member of the family gets to be with him during the class and Ayden looked like he was having fun haha! Well daddy had lots of fun. Mummy was happily snapping photos!

Also in this month, I had an engagement event to shoot. It was my first photo assignment since I gave birth. I ached everywhere!

No wonder I was exhausted! But with Ayden’s lil smile to come home to everyday, nothing is too much!

MUMMY LOVES YOU AYDEN!

Ayden's First Time Out

2010-06-17T17:14:00.001+08:00

Ayden is almost 3 months old and I am SO behind in updating my blog with his developments.

We had a wonderful weekend, and weekends has always been fun and exciting since Ayden came into our lives. We LOVE taking him out and he LOVES going out! He does not fuss at all and outings are easy and very manageable. However… it was not that easy to begin with.

When Ayden was born I was determined to be able to take Ayden out by myself. So I was adamant in ensuring that I will be able to cope on my own. I was not keen on the idea of dragging a maid along with me (if hubby is not around that is). So when Ayden was one month old, and according to Chinese confinement rules, Ayden is allowed to go out. I chose to take him to Ikea on his first trip out as it was baby friendly. So off I went, packed his diaper bag, carefully ensuring that he had enough diapers and wet wipes. I lugged his stroller into the car, first making sure that I knew how to 'open' and 'close' it quickly. Thankfully I already knew how the carseat buckles work. Really, these things are probably no brainers, but when you have a crying baby, everything seem to be a blur!

So I made sure Ayden was fed and changed before we left. I bundled him into his carseat and off we went. All was good. He was good in his seat. Ikea was only about a 10 minute drive from my house, so the journey was not that challenging. It was a week day then, as I wanted to make sure that I can get a parking space easily. When I arrived, I was surprised to see Ikea's parking was not as empty as I thought it would be. The Family parking bay was full, so I had to park at the regular bay. The Family parking bay is wider than the regular ones to accommodate for loading and unloading strollers etc. I parked, unloaded the stroller and thankfully remembered how to 'open' the stroller. Carefully I unbuckled Ayden from the seat and lifted him from the carseat. So far… so good! He was slightly cranky but all was good. Quickly we made our way to the entrance of the mall. So far… so good!

Since it was my first time out with a stroller, we do take things for granted. Eg, I can't go up the stairs anymore, I have to find a lift to go up instead. So off I went in search of a lift, which was obviously not my normal route around Ikea as we just take the stairs or escalators. As soon as we got to the furniture display floor, I suddenly became nervous. Should I stop by the changing room first, or shall I proceed with taking a stroll through the floor. Ayden looked a bit agitated, but seems ok still. So I took a chance and proceeded through the furniture display hall.

Not even 5 minutes on, Ayden grew more and more agitated. And then…. MELT DOWN. Major PANIC for me! I could have shouted MAYDAY!! I made a Bee line for the changing room. We got changed and I gave Ayden a feed. Exhausted (already!) we decided to head home. I placed Ayden back into his stroller and we made our way out to the carpark again. By this time, I think we hardly spent 45 mins at Ikea.

As soon as we got to the carpark, Ayden was yelling his lil head off again. Spot the new mum a mile away, I was almost in tears myself trying to pay for the parking ticket at the autopay machine. I wheeeezed to my car and strapped Ayden to his carseat. My poor baby was crying with his cute little faced streamed with tears. Now all I need to do is to 'close' the stroller. In a panic, my mind went BLANK and I've totally forgotten how to do it. Short of screaming out for help, I tug and tug at lever but the darn stroller just would not fold! By this time poor Ayden was drenched in tears wondering when mommy is going to take him home. Finally one of the switches or levers must have given way and got the stroller folded. Quickly I threw it into the car, I jumped in myself and drove off. Ayden was still screaming his head off and I did my best to keep calm.

Thankfully there was no traffic and the drive home was not even 10 minutes long.

Both of us shaken, I vowed not to go out alone with Ayden, not in this early days anyway.

Thinking back the incident in the carpark, it was actually quite hilarious. But I was not laughing that hard back then!

Now, I've got it all figured out and made sure Ayden is fed and changed before we leave the house. His feeding and pooping times are also more predictable and 'stable' now so much much easier. Now we just LOVE going out and I know Ayden loves outings too.

This picture was taken when Ayden was 2 months old.

Busy bee

2010-06-11T15:09:00.000+08:00

Time just flew by me with the last few weeks a complete night mare.

My new maid who just came ran away. I am too exhausted to elaborate what happened but to cut story short, I got Filipino maid, which costs a bomb but reliable.

I've been meaning to write more in this blog, but I've just been too busy. Ayden has grown so much, I feel sad that I do not have time to share it here! On top of that I am tied with lots of photoshoots this month! Alhamdullilah for the rezeki of jobs. Since I have not done jobs since I was 5 months pregnant, I was busy pulling things together. Plus with Ayden, I could not do some of the jobs assigned to me, and I actually have to pass it on to a friend.

Also, last weekend we had to give Teddy and Cleo away :( We've been too busy to love and take care of them. They were so miserable and could not understand why they were not allowed into the house. We sent them to our Aunt's who LOVES cats. She would definitely love then and take care of them far better than us. Its sad but its for the best.

More updates to come soon.

Til then hugs and kisses from me and Ayden :)

The new maid is here

2010-05-26T10:37:00.000+08:00

My new maid has arrived. And I am stressed.

Ironically it is more difficult than I thought it would be. First of all, although she is suppose to make my life a whole lot easier, I am not used to putting up with a stranger in my house. And this stranger will be taking care of my baby!

She came with only a handbag and one change of clothes. Exhausted from her trip to Malaysia she went to bed right away. I thought, maybe I should not give her too much work so soon or it would overwhelm her. So I started with showing her around the kitchen and that she should make her own meals. She's from a small village in Medan and I was not sure if she could use modern appliances. Thankfully she knows how to use a rice cooker. But when I asked if she has one at home, she said no! She's only used one at someone else's house. And when I saw she did not know how to light a gas stove….. I knew I was in for a long haul.

Now I am overwhelmed. How is this clueless girl going to take care of my baby? Can I trust her to heat his milk (Ayden's on stored breastmilk during the day) and feed him at the right time? Will she be able to tell if he is still hungry? Or in pain? I cried with the thought of leaving poor Ayden at the mercy of this stranger. Both the maid and Ayden will be at my grandmother's house while I am at work.

Why continue to work you say? Why not give it up and stay at home. Yes it had toyed in my mind many times, alas I know I will not be happy fulfilling what I want. It is indeed another reason to argue about, career vs family, but we all know that is one never ending debate, so I shan't go there.

So the training of this new maid will begin in bite sizes. I had already started showing her how to do the laundry, separate the colours, delicates and bulky items. I've showed her how to give Ayden his bath and by watching her do it, I know it is with practiced hands.

I hope this works out without too much problems. She seem to be a keen worker and eager to please. Proactive and does not need to be told twice. I think I am the one who needs adjusting more than her!

Indeed, the dilemas of a working mom.

I survived the first week at work!

2010-05-24T13:40:00.001+08:00

DSC_8687Edit, originally uploaded by Pitter Patter Photos.

I’ve been back at work for a week now and I must admit, it’s good to be back!

I miss Ayden terribly, especially when the last image of him on my mind would be the mornings’ gummy grin and chuckles. I don’t know why but he seems to be in the best of mood at 4am! That is when he wakes up for his milk and diaper change.

My new workplace allows me to leave home quite late and leave for home quite early and arrive home in max 30 min plus jam. Otherwise on a clear day I can get home in 15 minutes! I love the work stress free work environment and I actually do not dread going to work everyday. Life is simple and uncomplicated. Such BLISS.

Best of all, I get to go home to Ayden Iskandar everyday.

Mommy loves you so much!

Sleeping beauty

2010-05-19T16:11:00.001+08:00

DSC_8575Edit, originally uploaded by Pitter Patter Photos.

My lil sweetie pie. Mummy miss you so much while at work. Be a good boy ok!

My maternity leave is almost over!

2010-05-15T21:29:00.003+08:00

How time flies! 60 days is far too short! And believe it or not, 60 days is all we get in Malaysia. Even in Vietnam they get 90 days! Boohoo :(So I will be back at work in a few days time and I dread it whole heartedly. I had such a wonderful time with Ayden who is now, well, almost 2 months old. I love waking up to his big round eyes and smiles and smelly diapers. I will miss our morning cuddles and kisses before we give him his bath. I miss watching him grow everyday, he does something different every week. His PJs used to be so big and floppy, now fits him almost perfectly. I can't believe this beautiful angel is mine. Finally after 7 years, its almost surreal.

We went for our first Musikgarten class for newborns today and basically it involves singing and bouncing with mommy :) Ayden enjoyed himself (I think) and surprisingly did not cry or kicked up a fuss despite the fact that we were already late for his feeding. In his class today there were 2 other babies, another baby boy who is 5 months old called Noe and a 7 month old baby girl called Sarah. Babies can be accompanied by any parent/ adult so next week daddy will accompany Ayden to Musikgarten.

My freezer is already stocked with frozen breastmilk enough to last a few days. I will be expressing at work to keep the supply up. I hope to breastfeed for at least 6 months, thats the target. I can't believe I actually made it this far to be honest. I was ready to give it up the first week after Ayden was born. It is more difficult than I thought. But we made it this far now! yay!

My birth experience

2010-05-04T14:20:00.000+08:00

I realized, a month and a half post natal, I did not write about my birth. Since I like reading about other people’s birth experience, I must share mine too!

So here goes:

At week 38 of my pregnancy, I had started my maternity leave, just incase labour kicked in early. Plus I was also very heavy and too tired to go to work. It was also difficult to drive around and walking was close to impossible (well not really, but at that time, I like to think so). At my doctors check up at week 39, he was happy to announce that jr was already engaged in my pelvis and everything look smooth and ready for a natural delivery, perhaps at week 40. With that good news in mind, I did all I could to enjoy the last few weeks of my pregnancy.

During our week 40 check up, our doctor was surprised to find that jr was no longer engaged! We thought… HOW? Was that even possible? Well, the good doctor explained that it could happen, although very rare. So he advised us that it was probably a good idea to go for a planned C section. OR we could wait to see if jr engages in the next few days, OR we could induce him and see if he could come out naturally. However chances of a natural birth this way is quite slim and we could end up with a C section anyway! Hubby and I had actually pre-discussed, what if we need to do a C section. I am not too fussed however the baby comes out as long as he is safe and ok. Besides I’ve been SO afraid of labour pain and the whole thought of pushing a baby out of an opening that was originally smaller than his head.

So C section it was. We were so EXCITED!

So a C section was planned for the 19^th of March 2010. We were told to check into the hospital at about 8am and was told to fast from then til our surgery at about 3pm. We arrived at the hospital timely and settled down in our comfy room. The nurses came and prepped me for the surgery, and we waited… for 3pm.

I was nervous as hell. It was the longest wait EVER!

2pm came and went. 3pm came and went…… still no call from the OT.

4pm and then 5pm. I was from nervous to bored to annoyed! We asked the nurse how much longer we had to wait. She said that the OT was full, and so was the labour room! It was a full house that day!

We continued to wait. AND WAIT!

Finally at 6.30pm the nurse came into our room to get me. OK time to GO! FINALLY! By this time I was not even nervous anymore.

I was pushed down to the OT and to the recovery area where I was hooked up for epidural. First, the doctor injected a local painkiller. The injection felt like any injection, like the one you would get on your butt. And then he will insert the giant needle which helps guide the tube that goes into the dura canal. I did not feel anything at all! But I did feel the tube going in though. It was not painful but I felt something move down my back! When that was done, I was pushed into the OT.

It was actually bustling in the OT where all the OT staff was getting ready for my surgery. It was a long day for them and I was the last patient. A catheter was inserted to drain my urine, this did not hurt, nor did I feel it because I the epidural was already taking effect. In the meantime, a screen was put infront of my face, my arms were position so it is spread out on my side and finally my hubby joined me beside me all dressed up in scrubs! I did not recognize him at all!

I said “Hun is that you?”, hehe…. He replied “yes its me!”.

He held my right hand which was free (the other hand had the iv and I think was tied down). An OT assistant peered from the screen and asked if I felt anything… I said no. Apparently he was pinching me with something.

Then I said…. “Wait, I can move my toes! And clench my butt!”. The Anestician said no worries, he will put me to sleep immediately if I feel something. The concern was, sometimes epidural does not work and some people need to go on GA if that was the case.

My gynea came in, said a cheery “HELLO” and the surgery began. The pediatrician also came in to receive the baby. I was still nervous. I clenched hubby’s hand real tight! Soon, I felt people pushing and moving my body! Suddently I felt some discomfort right in the middle of my rib cage. I told the Anestician and he gave me some gas. He said the gas will make me feel high but I will not lose consciousness. And boy was the gas GOOOOD! It was a nice floaty feeling and the discomfort on my chest went away. It did not take too long before my doctor said, your baby is born! But I did not hear anything! Hubby was smiling from ear to ear with tears in his eyes… “He’s a big boy” he said. Soon after that we heard him wail. Oh it was MUSIC to my ears, although I was still high on the gas, I was over the moon. He was bundled up and passed to hubby. We said hi to our newborn son, I stroke his cheek and hubby cuddled him. Then hubby cited Azan into his ears and Ayden Iskandar was whisked away to the nursery for further examination. Meanwhile I was being stitched up. Hubby was told to leave and I was left to be cleaned up before I was sent back to my room.

Ayden was born at 7.59pm and I was back in my room at about 9pm. That was real fast. The surgery itself took about 15-20 minutes while the rest was preparation and clean up.

The recovery:

I was given another dose of epidural after the surgery. Then something else from the same epidural line. After that was just Cataflam. I was sitting up the next morning and did not feel any pain or discomfort. I was walking about the day after that! Still no pain or discomfort but I was on Cataflam 3 times a day. There was a day though where I skipped all the Cataflam doses and there was some aching in my abdomen. Like I did a 1000 crunches. It was like a muscle cramp and that was it. It was uncomfortable though. So I made it a point not to miss my painkiller medication.

At home, still no pain. I was walking about, up and down the stairs like usual.

The verdict: C Section is very much recomended!! It was a very pleasant and wonderful birth experience.

Good help... good maid?!

2010-04-23T14:10:00.005+08:00

How hard is it to get good help these days? Well... VERY HARD. Good help that you can trust that is.

I will be going back to work soon and I still have not sorted out the maid situation at home. For my dear readers outside Malaysia (if any), in Malaysia it is common to employ help/ nanny to look after your children and they typically come from Indonesia. The problem with Indonesian maids is that, they tend to runaway! That is, runaway from their employers home, sometimes leaving the baby/ children alone all by themselves. After paying a hefty amount to the agent that brings in these maids, they run away.

So people do resort to protective measures such as installing a nanny cam, or send their babies to a nursery, together with a maid! So you have to pay for the nursery care AND the maid. That is how much people do not trust their maids alone at home. Some fortunate people get to send their babies with their maids to their parents/ family members house. Bottom line is, someone has to watch the maid to make sure that she does not gets up to no good. All these efforts is so that..... both parents are able to work to keep up with the high cost of living in Malaysia. Boohooo. Really, sometimes it costs more for a mom to go to work, than to stay at home and be a full time stay at home mom.

So ...... What do I do about childcare?! Bringing in a maid via agency costs a BOMB, seriously. Sending Ayden to a nursery is a no no ( I am over protective you see and there is no telling how they will care for him there!). If I am willing to spend the amount to bring in a maid, I still do not want her to be alone at home with Ayden!

What to do ... what to do!!

How life has changed

2010-04-20T23:42:00.002+08:00

Very much!

First of all, if you think your life was scheduled before baby, well think again. Life is even more scheduled when the little one arrives. Around his feeding schedule that is! Even more so if you are fully breastfeeding!

One thing about baby boys, they feed more than baby girls. In the case of Ayden, he needs to feed every one half hours to two hours. He feeds for an average of half hour and time to next feed is calculated from the start of the previous feed. So really, the next feed is only an hour away if he is on a one half hourly feed! Thankfully now I have some extra milk to express. Which also means I can get away or go out for a couple of hours to run some chores or to get my hair done.

I am also beginning to wonder if I ever get to sleep through the night again… EVER! Since he needs to feed so often, he wakes up that often in the night too. That is, if he goes to sleep right after each feed and not get cranky. After about 3 weeks, I adjusted to this new sleep schedule and managed to breastfeed and catch some extra sleep time. By which we sleep right to almost noon! But at least he still gets his breastmilk, and I get my sleep. What used to happen was, I get so exhausted when morning comes, I pass him over to my mum and she gives him formula until I wake up…. At noon. Now I am proud to say, we are on exclusive breastmilk.

The good ol boobs aint the same anymore either! Its more of a feeding machine, rather than an aesthetic purpose. The bright side is, I finally have a cleavage :D

My days does not seem to have enough hours! Although I am on my maternity leave and not working, I seem to be busy all day! Of course there is the never ending feeds, but also inbetween feeds I try to squeeze in some chores and bits and some rest. It is said that when baby sleeps, mommy should be sleeping too! But its really not that easy! Even that, I have my mom to help.

I have to plan my milk supply if I need to go out say to pay the bills. I have to calculate how many hours I will be out and how much milk I need to express.

As you can see most of if evolves around feeding. I suppose of the baby is on formula, it is easier because the person minding the baby just need to whip some up in the kitchen. With breastfeeding, the mommy has to be around all the time to cater for the demand.

Ayden is also cranky nowadays and refuses to take his afternoon naps. So this means carrying him all day and pacifying him. Before I had Ayden, I used to think, how hard is that… let me tell you… its back breaking! One can only last at most an hour trying to sooth a restless and crying baby. This is where a pair of extra hands helps. A 10 minute break makes a whole lot of difference.

In saying all this, its by no means being a mom is the worst life changing experience. It is just a different life altogether. Its because we love the little cute, pooping being is why we do it. I love Ayden with all my heart, so much that it hurts. I never knew I could love anyone so much before. Even when he is up at 5am and refuses to go back to sleep, his big round eyes (and sometimes cheeky smile) sends you to the moon and back. I would do everything and anything to protect him and make sure that he is ok.

And that’s what being a mommy is all about.

Thinking of a holiday already!

2010-04-16T18:07:00.003+08:00

Club Med Maldives

I've only been a mom for a month and I am thinking of a holiday already! Pictured above is Club Med Maldives. Isn't it gorgeous!! I sooooo wish I could go there. Club Med is running a promo right now where every second adult pays half price. I called up Club Med Malaysia to find out more and they said that the Club Med Maldives package is min 4 days 3 nights at RM2,400 per adult, so second adult pays RM1,200! Package includes all except flight tickets. Bargain right!

Sleepless mommy

2010-04-16T17:36:00.003+08:00

Finally I have some time to blog! So how’s mommy hood been? Its been a roller coaster of many things! How come there was no mommy manual to get us prepared for this :P Ok la there are books out there like “What to Expect in the First Year”, but I guess nothing beats hands on and experience. And someone experienced with babies does help. My mom is around to help and she’s been a BIG help, but its been ages since she’s handled babies so she’s as new as me as far as newborns are concern!

Ayden will be one month old this Monday.

Here’s a brief report of how the months been since our week long stay at the hospital:

First week at home:

Ayden’s adjusting to life outside mommy’s tummy and mommy is adjusting to him adjusting! He wakes up at night for his feeds every hour or so. He does not wail but he does whimper and refuses to fall asleep. We did everything we could to make him comfortable, lots of cuddles and patience! He sleeps like an angel during the day though. That was when I decided I HAD to get the Gina Ford Book, The Contented Little Baby book where she writes about how to get your baby to sleep through the night.

Mostly Ayden wakes up 3am onwards and won’t sleep until morning. Come morning I would pass him to my mom and I will get some much needed sleep. This is where breastfeeding exclusively fell through where I was just too tired to nurse him in the morning so my mom just gives him formula.

Second week:

I was busy trying to put him into the Gina Ford sleep routine. We try to keep him awake as much as we can during the day and wind him down to bed between 7 – 8pm. He gets a quick sponge bath and gets changed into his pjs. There were days where it worked and days it didn’t. It took both mommy and Ayden some practice to get the routine going. By this time my boobs were so sore and I had to get my Medela pump or I will never get into breastfeeding exclusively. So finally I bought the pump from a lady who sells the Medela Freestyle online where she sells them almost RM500 off the price in the local stores. I think she brings them in from US.

Third Week:

Ayden is sleeping better through the night. He only wakes up to feed and does not fuss and fret but falls straight back to sleep after he’s done. Which means mommy gets at least 2 hours sleep in between feeds. However during the day he gets very unsettled and we’re suspecting that his tummy isn’t feeling too well. After some gripe water he seems to be happier so I guess that’s the problem then! We are still trouble shooting his needs and wants. Last night was a huge milestone, Ayden slept through the night with only one feed at 3am! I guess the Gina Ford technique is slowly taking shape.

I’ve also started on the cloth diaper to see how it works. So far, not that good. After only 3 hours, the diaper gets very wet! I don’t know the brand of the diaper that I bought as I bought it from a friend. It was only RM35 per set, which consists of 2 inner layers. Maybe I will give Grobaby a try, but it costs RM90 per set! The price is very far different, but who knows, maybe the inners are more absorbent. It is worrying how much disposable diapers we throw out a day. Maybe if we can cut down half the amount, it will do the environment some sort of good!

Although the first month has been chaotic, I guess that’s what being a first time mommy is all about. I think it could have been worst, but it was cope-able.

Ayden turns one month this Monday which is also hubby’s birthday. I am yet to get hubby a pressie. Maybe I should just tie a ribbon around Ayden and present it to him as a pressie :D

Blissfully blissful....

2010-03-31T16:45:00.003+08:00

I never expected to be this happy to be a mom. There is a sense of euphoria everytime I look at him. Be it when he is sleeping or even when he is wailing! He has this large intense eyes when he looks at people... almost gaping with wonder.

Ayden is so captivated by his mobile. He can't really see at this tender age, probably just seeing blurred images of something moving above him.

So blissful when he sleeps

My Angel is here!!

2010-03-29T20:18:00.006+08:00

Baby Ayden Iskandar Faisal was born on 19 March 2010, 3.45kg via c section.

Our cutie pie has been home for almost a week now and seem to be adjusting well. The first night at home was hell for both mommy and Ayden (and maybe daddy who seem to have slept through the whole din). Ayden was adjusting to life at home while mommy was adjusting to Ayden adjusting!

Breastfeeding was more challenging than I thought it would be. I wished I prepared myself for it more.... or at least read more about it before I delivered. Anyhow things are much better, Ayden had problems latching on in the beginning causing me a LOT of pain. But now he seem to be sucking better and my milk seem to be flowing better too. Thanks to some papaya soup as well as frequent feeding. I do mix his feeds with formula, formula mostly being fed at 3am feeds only.

Ayden was in for jaundice before we discharged his bilirubin levels were 16. He was in phototherapy for 2 nights. He was back in for jaundice again last Sunday with B levels of 12.8 and also spent 2 nights. Today he is finally home! Despite 2 good nights sleep, we missed him so much!

Finally 40 Weeks!

2010-03-17T12:33:00.004+08:00

I am 40 weeks today! And I have not popped yet!

It was a long and exciting journey. I enjoyed my pregnancy thoroughly and had minimal discomforts. I could do this all over again.

We are doing a planned C section this Friday, somehow I knew I would not go through natural child birth. What happened was that jr was engaged at 39 weeks. And this week during doctor's check up, he got himself disengaged!! The little rascal must have wriggled himself out!

Uh oh I've got a hyper active baby in my hands!

Wish us luck! We will see jr is 2 days!!

Pancakes with Bananas and Maple Syrup

2010-03-11T16:24:00.002+08:00

Pancakes with Bananas and Maple Syrup, originally uploaded by Selinz.

I guess I am on a blogging roll today. So here's another post.....

Only in the 9th month of my pregnancy did I have a strong craving for desserts and am actually hungry all the time. No matter what I eat, I still don't feel full.

So here's one craving I had not too long ago. Panckages with bananas and maple syrup from Paddington's Pancake House at The Curve, Mutiara Damansara.

A walk in... wardrobe that is...

2010-03-11T15:16:00.003+08:00

I soooo want one of these. No matter how often I spring clean my current wardrobe, I ALWAYS run out of space. Although my current wardrobe is already 8 doors floor to ceiling. Half of it is hubby's space of course.

If EVER we get to buy a new house, hopefully it comes with walk-in wardrobe space. Nowadays the new houses design (from semi-D size of course) comes with consideration of a walk-in wardrobe space. And I love to have a centre island in the middle where I can put my jewellery, accessories, make up etc.... a layout kind of like in those small dress boutiques in Bangsar, which is nowadays so cosy and interior decorated.

I WISH I WISH I WISH!

39 Weeks

2010-03-11T14:58:00.002+08:00

and I still have not delivered yet!!

Everything hurts. My hips, my back, my pubic bone. All HURTS!! Walking is getting to be very difficult and uncomfortable. Sleeping is also difficult. I need a pillow to prop my belly when I lie on my sides, which is the most comfortable position I can find.

I do try to keep myself mobile. I find that if I move around, my body does not hurt as much if I just lounge on the sofa. So little by little, I try to do the dishes, the laundry and even take a slow and easy drive out.

We are getting excited. I am almost convinced now that with pain killers labor would not be too daunting or painful :D Hopefully we see jr this weekend.

Jr's scrapbook and guest book is ready, also his give away treats to people when people comes to visit him :)

Birthday ME!!

2010-03-10T12:59:00.002+08:00

Happy birthday to me..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME..... Happy B.I.R.T.H.D.A.Y to MEEEEEEEE... Happy BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEEE!!!

Yes a year older.... thats how it usually works... a year wiser.. I am not so sure. But one thing for sure this year... the BIGGEST BIRTHDAY present ever.. we will see junior!!!!

I had a great birthday. As usual flowers from hubby and as a present this year... he bought a watch from Toy Watch! In shocking pink too! Looks bright? But sure looks good on the wrist. Not heard of Toy Watch? Google it!

LOVE IT!

Chocolate Mud Cake - Pizza Uno, Centre Point, Petaling Jaya

2010-03-09T12:28:00.004+08:00

I never knew that Pizza Uno could do desserts well. We only go there for the pasta and hubby would usually order the chicken or steak.. which is very yummy also. So this time we thought we'd try the dessert.

Surprisingly delicious! The cake was moist and warm. The chocolate sauce complements the ice - cream very well.

Excited!

2010-03-08T12:46:00.003+08:00

Just came back from the doctor's office and jr is finally engaged!! Yes yes he is on the way finally. The good doctor recogns maybe sometime end this week or early next week.

Last night was probably the most uncomfortable night since being pregnant and only to find that I am not even dilated yet! I wonder what it would be like closer to THE DAY!

I am enjoying my leave, savouring my last week of freedom. Lazying around, being a couch potato and also enjoying hubby's pampering. I really don't have to tell him twice to do the dishes or take out the trash! Hows that! He even offers me a glass of water.... voluntarily! Did the moon turn blue??.... hihi no... am just pregnant. LOVE IT!!