Phoebe today...

I was working from home today as my mom wanted to join the memorial service for the Chung Ling Dragon Boat Tragedy.

This is what I found when I went downstairs after my morning meetings. She had her hair plaited up and tied with 2 hair clips. My maid did this after showering her. I thought she looked like the cartoon, "Ni-hao Kai Lan".

Playing with her new Crocs Ah Mah bought.

"Ni-Hao Kai Lan"

January Birthdays

My mom and H's birthday is in January. 2 days apart. We usually celebrate together.

This year, we didn't have a big celebration. Just had a simple dinner. Wanted to bake a cake but we just had too many cakes. H goes like "Huh? Cake again?" Had too much cake in December.

Phoebe with "Ah Mah"

Phoebe with Daddy.

Earlier January too we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday. Her birthday was actually in December.

MIL with all her grandchildren in Malaysia.

Last but not least, mother-in-law with her long time companion, my beloved father-in-law. See how serene and sweet they look.

Did a lot of baking

I had been doing a lot of baking in December especially. To kick start, I baked and decorated 72 cupcakes Phoebe's 1st birthday celebration. Followed by 100-cupcake tiered wedding cake for my friend - Dicky & Stella's wedding. These 2 were the most tedious ones due to the number of cakes that I had to decorate.

In total portions, I had baked 12 cakes in December :)

Will soon be starting my baking spree for Chinese New Year.

Phoebe's 1st birthday cake with some of her favorite toys moulded in sugar.

Phoebe's 1st birthday cake with some of her favorite toys moulded in sugar.

Dicky & Stella's Wedding Cupcakes

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache for church birthday celebration.

Closer look at the decoration. Did a simple one as I ran out of time on a Sunday morning.

Baking fruit cake in preparation of Chinese New Year. Did it in December, mature it for 2 months, in time for February.

4 slaps for fruit cakes to be tugged away maturing.

Did this for my cousin's optical shop -- 99 Optics, opening ceremony.

First time icing a full cake. The real tests come when icing a full cake. It is so much skills needed compared to icing a cup cake. I had so many flaws. I need to enhance my skills.

Many outdated posts!

Many of you were asking what happened to me. Why no posts lately.

Here's why.

I had upgraded my laptop to Windows 7. Took sometime for me to re-organize my archive folders. And after a relaxing December (in terms of work), January was a bit like starting an 'old engine'.

Anyways... will be doing a few posts and keep it updated.

Fun time at the pool

It's time to try out some water time with Phoebe. We tried when she was 6 months. She didn't want anything to do with it. She was screaming when her feet touched the water.

We thought now is the time to try again. We were on leave yesterday and decided to bring her to the wading pool at Regency Heights. We were surprised she loved it now.

Testing the waters. Phoebe: "I think I like it mummy, you can change me into my swimsuit."

Ready. In her tankini & swimming diapers.

Walking by the edge of the pool. Daddy: Be careful, this is not like normal walk-walk at home.

Phoebe: Ya... I can now splash water. Mummy always asked me not to during bath time because she said she will be wet.

Phoebe: Who is this boy who kept on looking at me.

Phoebe: Daddy, look, can you ask him to stop? It's been a while he's looking.

Phoebe: My new bath robe is so warm. Thanks Auntie Eni.

Phoebe: I want to go back to the pool.... Can I? Can I?

Ok.. there you go, back to the pool.

Ok Phoebe, time to go home.. We will come again some other time. Maybe we shall try the beach next time.

Our Christmas

Nothing big was planned. If anything is planned, Phoebe had to be taken into full consideration. It should be before or after her nap time, her meal times, her sleeping time etc. So, it was no big deal after all the limitations.

We started off with a Christmas eve dinner with my aunt & Mom at a Japanese restaurant. It was near and we figured not many people would want to celebrate their Christmas at a Japanese restaurant, do they? So, it wasn't crowded, service was good, food was served fast and Phoebe loved Chawamushi. :)

We missed our usual Christmas eve midnight service. We didn't want to end up holding Phoebe on our arms for her to sleep. We went to Christmas day service instead. Hopefully by next year, we should be able to go for the midnight service. It will be definitely more fun than the day service.

That's not all... Our Christmas weekend was longer and more tiring than Christmas day itself. Our 4 god children (9, 9, 6 & 3) came over for a 3day-2nite stay. Their parents were away to Bangkok for a golf holiday. So, you can imagine the havoc at home. 4 kids and a screaming & chatty toddler, Phoebe. It was full of noise and chaotic. Their maid came with them. I didn't want to accept them without their maid.

The whole troop, 5 kids, 2 maids, me and Henry went for caroling on boxing day. It was an informal one organized by some friends, visiting just 4 homes. It was fun to catch up, have fun, have food & singing & proclaiming the birth of Jesus Christ.

The 4 kids had some requests.. They always do when they come over. They want to eat speghetti, mushroom soup and chocolate fondue with fruits and marshmallow. Pretty easy to fulfill. We had that on Sunday night. The highlight was of course the chocolate fondue. They will do anything, behave well, finish all their dinner, just for the fondue. It was so great to see how much they enjoy it. And the maids enjoyed themselves too.

We sent them home on Monday and right away, quietness was felt.

That was the little Christmas we had.

Some photos to share with you.

(Preparing to go Christmas Dinner. She loves shoes. She pronounced it as 'hoo')

(Keeping herself entertained while we eat)

(One for the album)

(Phoebe with her maternal grandmother - Ah Mah)

(Phoebe with her previous sitter, my aunt)

(Phoebe with mommy)

(Opening presents, we helped, after dinner)

(Caroling on Boxing Day. She sure enjoyed the songs. I had been singing to her those songs for the past one month. At last she heard it from the choir.)

(One thing I tried to do this Christmas was to have her put on the red hat and take a photo. I failed miserably. She doesn't like anything on her head)

(Another failed shot)

(This is the nearest I had got. She was not looking at the me though :(. Will try again next year)

(The chocolate fondue session that the kids were waiting for)

(Even Phoebe was in for the fun, she had fruits without chocolate)

(Kyoko, younger of the twin, trying to color her teeth with chocolate so that it looked as if she doesn't have a front teeth)

(Reko, elder of the twin. She just love chocolate. I gave her the bowl I prepared the melted chocolate to lick)

(Tzi Hwee, he had been behaving because he wanted to have chocolate fondue to badly. I had some conditions that they had to fulfill)

(Tzi Zhi, the youngest among the 4, she too enjoyed it very much)

(Everyone, including the maids, were so engaged. At this time Phoebe must have felt left out sitting on her high chair alone.)

Jesus is the Reason for this Season

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.

The Birth of Jesus

Matthew 1:18-25

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (KJV)


You can read the continuation here.

Things people would have to remember

I felt that this is so true. I stumbled across this at Giddy Tigers' Blog. I really hope people would remember and practice. There are so many people, strangers, supermarket promoters, coffee shop aunties, you name it, had touched Phoebe's cheek, hands, feet, hair, everywhere.. :( Some even asked if they can carry her. I just don't know how to tell others in a polite way not to touch her.

Will teach Phoebe to say "No" shortly. She now knows how to sway away when others want to carry her, but don't know how to say "No" on the touch part yet.

And #4. I was faced with countless questions whether Phoebe is a boy or a girl. She was all decked up in pink top, skirts, and people still ask "Boy or girl huh?" *faint*

__________________________________________________________

Things people should always remember NEVER to do/say to babies and toddlers:

1. Touch or stroke their cheeks, hair, arms, …basically DO NOT touch them at all! Who knows where the stranger’s hand has been prior to touching the baby or toddler?
2. Offer their thumb, index finger, middle finger, turtle or whatever for the baby to hold on to. Contrary to popular belief, it is NOT entertaining at all to see baby hold on to a stranger’s finger or any other item (see no. 1).
3. Keep on touching a toddler’s hair or cheek when the toddler loudly protests and says “No!” Which part of “No” don’t you understand anyway?!
4. Ask “Boy or Girl ah?” when clearly the baby is dressed in pink with flowers. Who would dress a boy in flowers anyway? I tried dressing her up in a dress and also got the same response. Please. Observe and think before you speak.

Phoebe's 1st Birthday Party

We had a party for her a day after her actual birthday. Invited some friends and family to join us. Not a huge one, just for fun.

We didn't have to make much preparation, we decided to get catering service so that we can entertain and enjoy our friend's company.

I baked cupcakes for the occasion and put icing for it. I created some of Phoebe's favorite toys on some of the cakes. I started doing that while she took her morning nap. When she work up, she saw the whole cake assembled. Her first reaction "Woh". I hope she meant it was nice. :) Then, she started sniffing. She saw one of the figurine, which is supposed to be our dog Ebony. She always sniff when she sees Ebony or any dog pictures. She imitate how Ebony sniffs. The figurine must be real for her to associate that with the real dog. Funny.

We, of course the adults, more than Pheobe had fun catching up with each other, enjoying the food, and night scenery at the party venue. We hope that she will be able to enjoy more in her next party and be able to invite 'her' own friends to it. She sure had loads of presents that night. It will be a while we don't have to buy her toys.

I am thankful to God for a whole year of fun & blessings we have had with Phoebe. She changed our lives and it will never be the same.

Phoebe, mummy & daddy prays that you will grow up in grace & stature and become a fine lady. Amen.

Photo slide show

Printed some photos as party favors

First Malay Word

We should not be surprised Phoebe will pick up Malay words because our maid is Indonesian. However, we didn't expect it to be so soon.

She now knows how to say "jatuh" (drop) and really meaning what she says.

When she drops something, she will say "jatuh".
When we put her down to her bed, she will say "jatuh".
She also tried to drop things intentionally so that she can say the word "jatuh".
At the area that she feels that she's going to fall, she will say "jatuh".

But sometimes at inappropriate times too..
Just this morning, once she opened her eyes -- "jatuh".

LOL.

Obsessed over Bananas

We started off Phoebe on banana at the very early days of solids. She simply loved it. She didn't mind we mixed it with any savory food. We used it to coax her to eat what we wanted her to eat.

It had been one or 2 bananas a day for her since then. Recently, she learns to say the word banana. She can't pronounced all the 3 syllable, she pronounced it "nana". "Nana" had been her 1st consistent word. She had never failed to repeat after us.

And now, she had been obsessed over the word. She will say "nana" when...

* we passed by the market stalls selling bananas in the car

* she walked passed the table top we put bananas

* she sees bananas at the supermarket

* she sees the pictures of banana

She can even associated the tearing with bananas. When we tear paper, she will say "nana". It really looked like how you peel the skin of bananas.

Because of her love of bananas, we need to know all the locations that sells the type of banana she can eat. So, whenever we need to buy, we know where to go. She will even ask for "nana" when we went visiting baby Hannah.

This video shows how she will say "nana" when she sees the picture of bananas. (Anyone can tell me how to rotate this video?)

HUTH - Hang Up the Horns!!

My thanks and best wishes to all of you mommies out there, especially my friends at Dell's Mother's Room. My pumping journey had come to an end. I had received such great advice, learned so much from all of you. I am fortunate that my husband and family is extremely supportive.

My breastfeeding journey did not start off smooth. I had all the symptoms other nursing mothers have. Cracked and bleeding nipple, engorgement, fussy baby and to make it worse, I had very slow let-down which led to low supply eventually. I had to start supplementing with formula when Phoebe was 3 weeks.

Before I deliver, in every piece of literature I read, it is said everybody will have enough milk to feed. If you do not have enough means you are not diligent in feeding. This will definitely not occurred to me. I believed in breast milk so much that it had to work for me. I fed more than 10 times a day. I literally do not sleep at night because of the frequent feeds. It took me some time to come to terms that I do not have enough to feed. And after all I had done, the many people I talked to, I do believe there are some mothers, despite all things done, still do not produce enough.

Despite the low supply, I continue pumping and feeding on demand. Over the weekends, you will see me in my few nursing tops. I had fed in public, in malls, restaurants, airports, car etc. When Phoebe was lighter, I can carry and feeding Phoebe from North to South of Queensbay Mall.

For many times, I was traveling for work and figured out how to pump on planes and at airports. Went online to find where are the nursing rooms for the airports I'll visit. Transport milk back in cooler bag. Had one bad experience in Japan, had a rewarding experience in Bali, other times were all good. Some of our offices have good mothers room while others do not have any. I had used my battery operated and manual pump in the toilet, in a store room to pump.

Everybody told me to have a target on how long I wish to feed. My first target was a very pessimistic one -- 4 months. 4 months had passed and I'm still feeding and pumping. Next target -- 6 months. 6 months had passed and I'm still feeding and pumping. Next target -- 9 months. At 8 months, Phoebe was all addicted to the breast and refusing the bottle. While I'm away for 10 hours in a typical workday, she had only as low as 5oz of milk and a little solids. I had to continue, some milk from me is better than no milk from the bottle. Since I'm at 9 months, I might as well make it to 1 year :). And here I am, I made it to a year of pumping and feeding.

Along the way, I am blessed with many moms with oversupply. I've got breastmilk from them for Phoebe. I am extremely grateful and thankful to those moms. You will definitely be blessed abundantly in return.

In celebration of Phoebe's 1st birthday, I am hanging up the horns! We will continue to nurse in the mornings and before bed as long as my supply allows. Thank you for your support and camaraderie over the months. It has been such a roller coaster- getting the nursing going, hating the cracked parts, sore parts, undersupply, experienced pumping in the airport, feeding in public and all of it.

There were many tender moments when nursing. Carrying and holding Phoebe, the expression on her face, her refusal to let go were all invaluable. Now that she's more responsive, she will do some obnoxious act. Open up your blouse and say nen-nen; when you ask where is nen-nen, she will point to the breast and say 'nah'; use her head to rub on my body etc. I will definitely miss those moments when I stop nursing completely.

Most of all, I think you have the right attitude with not stressing over it, which is a milk supply killer. I also stressed a lot over this until I just finally accepted that, if I have to supplement, that's ok, formula is not the end of the world. What's important is not pride, but that my baby gets the nutrition that she needs.

I have such admiration for all moms that pump and/or nurse and/or exclusively pump. It is such a tremendous commitment and one that very few people really understand. If I am blessed with another baby, I will still choose to do it all over again. And I pray that God will develop my milk ducts and grant me full supply to feed. To all of you who are still pumping, all the best.