One-year-old: Counting down

Craig turns a year old in two weeks' time. Oh what a year it has been. It is impossible to imagine how we ever lived without him (okay - I sometimes can when he wouldn't let go of my leg and clings on to me while I'm starving and trying to eat my lunch).

A fun activity while we wait to be served at a restaurant - reading "Where's Spot?"

To celebrate this eventful milestone, we have two parties planned. As his birthday is smacked right in the middle of a work week and the weekend post-birthday is the Chinese New Year, we decided that we will hold a small intimate party on the weekend before (February 7) with a few close friends and family members. We leave for Ipoh to celebrate the New Year's with parents on the next day. So, on the exact birthday itself, the family will have a multiple-course dinner at a favorite Chinese restaurant here. As we would also be celebrating Brian's BIG 4-0, he got to pick the restaurant - Sun Lee How Fook. Meanwhile, even a small party requires planning and prepping... watch this space for more updates soon.

Hanging out with daddy on some grapes:

Not keen

Brian and I were first introduced to Yo Gabba Gabba when we visited the US in November. Some of the characters from the show took part in the Macy Thanksgiving Parade. At that time, we thought that the characters were rather funny and quirky - in a good way. So when we got home, I checked them out on the internet: Yo Gabba Gabba. In many ways it reminded me of another show which I grew up watching when I was in grade school - Electric Company (which, by the way, has an updated version currently running on US tv).

Their website features some music video clips from the show and when shown to Craig, he loves them - lively music, colorful characters. One particular song all of us like was "Don't bite your friends" which teaches one not to bite others. A few days ago, I discovered that the show is now being broadcasted over a Singaporean tv channel daily at noon.

Now, even before Craig was born, we had decided that he will not get to watch tv until he can read and has cultivated the love for reading. So, armed with a decision like that, and upon some negotiation with Brian, we decided that we will make an exception for YGG. But guess what? C didn't like it! Other than pausing for a few seconds from his hectic playing and getting into things he shouldn't when DJ Lance says, "YO GABBA GABBA!", he was not interested in the show at all. We are strangely quite pleased that he is more interested in his soft building blocks than Plex or Muno. So that's that for now, no tv for C at least till he first loves reading and when he shows an interest in watching the tube (can one still refer to the tv as the tube now that most sets has LCD screens???).

Getting acquainted with Bill Buckley:

"Surprise!"

Over the weekend, I, I'Ching, went on an overnight trip to Kuala Lumpur (KL) to surprise my sister on her birthday which fell on Sunday. Brian, the wonderful husband that he is, stayed back in Singapore with Craig. After all, Saturday is Daddy day. I caught the earliest coach to KL to meet my parents who were also traveling there to celebrate my sister's birthday. Was she surprised? YES! But she admitted that when she saw me walking out the station with mom and dad, she was half-expecting a white man with a baby in his arms following. But alas...

On the day's agenda were ice-cream cake and seafood dinner which saw us feasting on finger-lickin' delish crabs and drunken shrimps. Instead of posting characterless pictures of the sumptuous dinner, I will leave you with pictures of what we ate in their pre-wok state to tickle your imagination!

Most Chinese seafood restaurants display their live crustaceans and fish as evidence to their freshness:

No, none of these potential princes were selected for our dinner table:

A closer look at these cute creatures before they board the culinary express:

Update on Yuletide

Christmas with family in Ipoh was warm (literally!) and delightful. It was perfect that Craig was in the company of his grandparents on his first Christmas. While he did not enjoy the opening of his presents too much - he hates the sound of wrapping paper tearing - he loved his presents especially the toy ones.

During the duration of our stay in Malaysia, Craig also put on more than two pounds thanks to all the nutrient-packed rice porridge that PohPoh made for him every day. It is amazing as we witness the rapid development of this little boy - as we compare his pictures from even a month ago, he looks more like a boy now than a baby. Watching his expeditious growth is bittersweet for us - we miss the sweet docile infant but we are pleased to know the present uber-responsive tyke. It is hard to believe that in just a few more weeks he will be a year old. Time to get cracking on his birthday celebration!