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.