Home projects

Now that most of the work projects that I have agreed to prior to my new arrangement to stay home are over, I am beginning to work on some of the home projects that I have listed on my little black to-do book. One such project this week was to clear out clothes that we no longer fit (see related post here). Today, while I was busy sorting out our clothes, Craig was busy going through them "tastefully." As he is going through an "oral" phase now, everything that he encounters is experienced via his mouth!

Craig seen here fooling around with some preloved clothes:

Otherwise, C is doing well. He has two teeth now and loves to hold my face with his hands and bite my jaw. He does this only to me and I would like to believe that it is his way of showing his affection to his mommy. Brian's work schedule has also slowed down a little - which is good - and our next big project is our annual visit to the US next month. This year will be interesting as we fly 26-hours with a then 8-month old baby. I am doing all the research I can - from travel insurance for C to pediatricians near all the different locations that we will be visiting. More on our trip soon!

Great help

It was wonderful to have had my mom over to help me with Craig while Brian was traveling for a week. As always, we're either too busy or distracted to take any pictures of PohPoh and the little boy. Here's the only one I've got from the whole of last week!

PohPoh cleaning the boy up after feeding him his lunch:

Two girls and a boy

It is 4 pm in the afternoon and there are two nappers in the house while I am satiating my Ohdeedoh craving. This only means one thing - PohPoh is in town! Yes, with Brian away for a week in Indonesia, I've asked my mom to visit us for a week so that Craig and I have an excuse to live a little out of our routine i.e. lunching out and shopping! And we two gals and the boy are having a ball.

During this time, my crockpot has also been worked like it has never before with mom cooking up the various kinds of Cantonese soups that I love. Mind you - I'm not the only one who is being spoiled this week. The little boy has also been indulged with much affection in the form of being picked up at the first hint of fuss and being cuddled. It is amazing how babies recognize the fact that their grandparents will not hesitate to give in to their wants!

Craig loves drinking from his sippy cup:

Spot the difference!

What a difference six months made! We're looking forward to the next six months that will undoubtedly be marked by many more milestones. This also means that Brian and I will have to be on high alert constantly. Just this morning, I left him alone for only 30 seconds and the next thing I know, he has transported himself to the television console and was licking the base! Then later in the day, I found him, in the nick of time, pulling our DVD's from the console. Yes - we REALLY need to do something about baby-proofing our place - pronto.

Today he had a bad nap day and was tirelessly active. I was totally exhausted by the time Brian got home from work and was so ready for him to take over!

P.S. I've consolidated my other two blogs and migrated to Wordpress but THIS blog will remain here for now.

Shenanigans

Yesterday, for a mere minute I left C playing on his mat alone (so that he could practice his "skills") to go into the kitchen and here's how I found him when I came out:

He's gotten his playgym, which was placed leaning against a chair by the mat, overturned!

Of first tooth and independence

We have been quiet here as we were away for a week and then upon our return, we had various obligations that left us with little time for luxuries like blogging. Anyhow, we are glad to be back and here's a recount of the past two weeks.Craig and I (I'Ching) left Brian home alone to go to my parents' for a week. While our last visit was fairly recent, this trip was planned to coincide with a short break in Malaysia for Brian and I in Penang. Brian had to be in Penang to conduct some seminars and I was roped in to help. And after the few days of seminars, there was a retreat planned for the staff of the organization we work for there, too. So, we decided to do a brave thing - that is, to leave C with my parents for a few days while Brian and I attend the retreat. As my parents live in a city halfway between Singapore and Penang, it worked out great that I could spend a few days there before joining Brian in the Pearl of Orient.

C did very well with my parents and had a wonderful time bonding with his PohPoh, GungGung and YiYi (who visited from Kuala Lumpur over that weekend). He was great with his feeding, naps and bedtime. My mom did great, too. Though she still experiences pain in parts of her body where she was injured, she is able to manage most, if not all, of her everyday tasks. While it would not have been a problem for her to care for C on her own, my dad took time off from work to help. Needless to say, C thoroughly enjoyed the attention and affection lavished on him by the two, especially the walks GungGung takes him on!

Initially it was difficult for me to not have our little boy with us but after a few phone calls of positive report from my parents, I breathed a sigh of relief and made it a point to enjoy our break.

Hanging out with PohPoh:

The E & O Hotel where we stayed was beautiful. True to its rich heritage, the service was excellent, the facilities were first-class and the food was superb! We especially enjoyed swimming in its salt-water swimming pool. After indulging in sleep-ins and feasts of buffet a few days, we were more than ready to go home. I was very ready to see my little boy again.

C was very pleased to see me again - evidenced by his gummy grins and laugh when I greeted him. Then when I fed him his oatmeal, I discovered that his first tooth has finally made its debut!

Loves his teething biscuits:

The experience of C doing so well without us clearly testifies that our little tyke is growing up fast and is increasingly independent of his parents. In fact, today, when he was on his tummy, he pushed himself up with his arms and knees and tried to move. With his fast-developing crawling ability, he will soon be independently mobile as well!

Free from temptation

Now that Craig is half-a-year old and learning various new skills, we believe it is time for us to start thinking about baby-proofing our apartment. For a few times the last couple of days, I caught him on his tummy staring - with much interest - at our entertainment unit. We need to look for a better way to house our television, music system and dvd player. We shan't tempt the tyke to any attempts that he (and we!!!) may regret afterwards!

Below: See how close he gets to the "untouchables"?

Today should be marked on C's growth journal as well - he swam in a big-people pool! A friend invited us over in the morning to swim with her and her son at their condominium's pool. While Brian and I had planned a day out over the weekend at the public pool a block from our apartment, I decided that an additional dip would be fun. And fun it was! After the swim, three year old Wesley commented, "That WAS a great time!"

After that, while the moms were lunching over gourmet mushroom pate on home-baked bread, the boys hung out. It was evident that C has found a pal in Wesley - see picture below that captured an intimate moment between them - very sweet!

Furiously kicking

Finally I'm done editing the video clip of Craig and his first dip in a pool albeit inflatable. Could have done a better job with the clip but I'm still new to the movie making application on my computer... so this will have to do for now.

Notice: If you are not Craig's parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles, you will probably not have the patience nor interest to endure a whole 1:48 minute clip of a baby kicking up splashes!

Outgrowing

Yesterday evening we took out Craig's six month old onesies from storage to replace the ones he is wearing. Though he is more than a week away from turning six month old, he is outgrowing many of his clothes. It continues to astound me how fast the little boy is growing.

Onesies is not the only thing he is outgrowing - he is also outgrowing his playgym. Now that he is rolling over all over and making attempts to either sit or crawl (by pushing his posterior up), his play-space calls for an expansion. Two days ago, and frequently since then, I found him rolled over with half his body on our cold hard floor and the other half on his playgym as evidenced by the picture.

To meet C's need for an extended amusement territory, we have ordered a Korean playmat - popular among mothers here. Though a tad costly we believe the investment would be well worth as it promises versatility and durability.

Craig continues to love his solids - he has progressed from merely rice cereal to apples, bananas and pumpkin. His clear preference for pumpkin bodes well when we visit the US during Thanksgiving when pumpkin pies are aplenty.

Craig looking for more food:

Though a month has passed since I began my unpaid extended maternity leave, I am still feeling the weight of work. While I'm officially off-duty, I have to fulfill a few speaking engagements which I have agreed to prior. This coming week will see me juggling the tasks of caring for C and preparing a talk on marriage for the weekend - and ALL this while nursing a lingering cold. As the Turks would say, "Kolay gelsin" - May it come easy to me!

Trial run

Craig and mommy took off the whole of last week to spend time with family in Malaysia. With the introduction of a direct flight service from Singapore to Ipoh (where I'Ching's parents are), it's a breeze to travel to visit C's PohPoh and GungGung. While I traveled there alone with C, Brian joined us over the weekend and flew home with us last night. My solo flight with C was not bad at all - he merely fussed a little but settled down soon enough. Of course, it was a really short flight - an hour and a half.

Craig enjoying the company of GungGung:

As expected, C was showered with much attention and affection by his maternal grandparents. He also got to take a dip in his cousin Ru's inflatable pool. Now that he is over five months' old, we reckoned that it is time for us to take him swimming. And the inflatable pool was an opportune trial run before the real thing. C had a splash - kicking his legs as he floated around with mommy's arms around him. We think he's ready for the real pool!

Working out

Together with a few mothers from the circle of February moms here, we took Craig to a baby gym trial class. It was a lot of fun for both parents and baby. While it was obvious that C enjoyed it thoroughly, he was exhausted halfway through and fussed a little. Here are some fun shots from the outing.

"Let's stretch those legs!" (Pix credit: Loke Kit Kai)

"Shyann, where do you get all this energy from??? I'm exhausted!" (Pix credit: Kris Tay)

Five months old!

Craig turned 5 months old yesterday. It is hard to believe how rapidly time has flown by and how much this tyke has grown! He has always been a cooperative baby and as he grows, he is increasingly easy to care for. A friend remarked that he has spoiled his parents!

Here are some updates:

Milestones:

1. Sleeps through the night: 8 pm - 6 am

2. Rolls over back to tummy and this morning managed to roll back to his back from tummy

3. We started him on a little rice cereal 2 days ago and he seems to like it - knows how to open his mouth as the spoon approaches

Likes:

1. Music - especially jazz (he especially loves Ella Fitzgerald!)

2. Kisses - loves to be kissed

3. Smiles - though he frowns a lot, if you smile at him, you will most definitely get a wide toothless grin back - even when he is very tired

4. Playing with his toys by himself - sometimes, he gets impatient when we hold him too long. He wants to be left alone to play with his toys or practice his new motor skills

5. Being read to - he would look at the page we are reading and touch the page with his little fingers - as if he understands what it is about!

6. Being carried face-out on his carrier when we go out - he gets so excited, he would start kicking his legs furiously!

Scare tactics

Last week on my way to the grocery store, I encountered an eerie sight at the building next to ours. It looked like some kind of creative/artsy installation but in reality they were some elements, which represent death in the Chinese religious culture, placed at the mailbox of someone who owes an illegal loan shark money. I have blogged about this phenomenon before - click here

What you can see stuck to the rocking chair are Hell money notes that are usually burned during funeral rites. It is believed that the dead, in netherworld, would receive them and hence have some pocket money to spend! A page ripped from a newspaper's obituary section was also part of the ensemble. The message? "If you do not pay up, yours will be next!"

What fascinates me about this particular case of illegal loan collection is how creative the scare-shame tactics have become. If this particular "installation" was found in an art exhibition, it would be deemed expressive or artistic. But at the ground floor of a residential apartment, it's plain disturbing!

Fourth of July outing

Daddy explaining to Craig what happened on July 4 a long time ago:

"I think I'm going to devour some hotdogs!"

Guess who found his thumb?

Having fun!

First July Fourth

Today is Craig's first July Fourth. The day had a perfect start when he snoozed with us, after waking up to a feed at 6 am, till 9 am. Typically, when he wakes up at 6 am, I would change and feed him and then have him on our bed for awhile before we start the day. We would play with him (last few days it has only been me as Brian leaves for work at this time). He would then fall back asleep for a short nap about an hour later. But this morning I was too tired to play with him as I have been nursing a sinus-migraine for the past 3 days. So, I left him to play on his own between us on our bed. I soon drifted off to sleep and the next thing I know, I found the little boy sweetly napping next to us.

To get into the spirit of day, we are planning an early evening outing at the July 4 Fun Fair organized by the American Association here. We look forward to the jazz, hotdogs and fireworks. Hopefully Craig will not be tired and we can stay for the fireworks display.