Sharing food

In the afternoons, Caleb would usually be hungry when he wakes up from his afternoon nap which is from 1pm to 3 pm. So I would give him cereals, bread or biscuits to eat. Today, he shared his biscuits with Danielle and its kind of interesting to watch them both eating the same food.



Meimei holds on to her biscuit tight and licks it since she has no teeth. And because of the saliva, the biscuit will turn soft and thus being able to swallow. However, watching her eat is quite disgusting as her hands will be "saliva-dripping with "mushy biscuit".



Here's a video of both of them taking a bite each and passing it to each other to eat. Quite cute as Caleb sees Danielle's biscuit drop and offers his to her. Interesting interaction between them.

Strange eating habit

Caleb loves the strangest thing that not many kids or even adults will love. He loves raw veggies. When we went to the Vietnamese Restaurant in Australia, he was eating raw bean sprouts. And recently, Vicky was preparing to cook cauliflower when Caleb comes along and steals one to eat!



After eating it, he even went back to the kitchen to get himself another! Oh boy...I was pleasantly shocked. Glad this boy is going towards healthy living as he loves fruits and veggies.

Active and Strong

Meimei is not one year old yet and she is already zapping energy from me every day. I have this strong, "not-so-looking-forward-to" feeling that she is going to be more energetic and active than Caleb.



Almost 6 months old, she stays awake most of the time.
Here's her daily schedule:

6 am: feeding
6:15: play time, refuses to sleep back, starts rolling and crawling out of the mattress which is placed on the floor. Because she keeps crawling out, I placed her beside me on the bed. Then she starts tossing over me and pulling my hair. Sigh. Thanks to her, I cannot go back to sleep. After much pulling, I get irritated and placed her back in her mattress back on the floor to give my hair some rest and also hopefully, she will fall back asleep. After much struggle, she goes back to sleep at about 7am.

8am: wake up
8:15: bathing time with korkor in bath tub
8:30: play time. Sometimes, go playground with Vicky and korkor
9:30: feeding time
10-12 sleeping time

She then stays awake throughout
1pm: feeding time (usually cereal)

I try to put her to sleep after that, but she keeps smiling and crawling away from her mattress.



At times, she would also stand up as she holds on to the drawer to pull herself up. I give up trying to put her to sleep. So I end up playing with her till about 2 plus 3pm.

One activity which amuses her is when you blow at her hair. She loves that.


Then she wakes up at 5pm, bathes and stays awake till 8pm. She would drink at about 530pm.

Then at 8pm, she would sleep till CT and I turn in for bed. We would then wake her up on purpose to feed her so that she can drink and sleep back till next morning. So we would usually last feed her at about 1030pm which would knock her out till 530am or 6am.

I have no idea how to amuse her as she can stay awake for as long as 2-3 hours straight. But apart from her active lifestyle, she has been a joy to look after. Probably because at the end of it all, she would always smile at me and makes me think that no matter how tired I am, its all worth it seeing them happy.

Gobbling down her first foods

Now that Meimei is 5 months old, we decided to try solids on her. Reason is because she has been drinking so much milk every 3 hours! I used to feed her every 4-5 hours on 120-150ml. But since 5 months, she has been now drinking 150-180ml every 3 hours only! Sigh. But at least, she still sleeps throughout the night from 10pm to 6am. Phew.

I recently bought for her Frisocrem. It is a Rice-Based Milk Cereal suitable for infants 4 months old onwards.





So far, she is loving it. Frankly speaking, Danielle seems to enjoy food more than her brother, which I like. I feel happy whenever I see someone enjoying their food.



In this video, you can see her opening up her mouth wide each time.



I cant wait for her to enjoy more food once she has teeth!

New additions

I have recently added some new things to my site if you have noticed.

Firstly, I have a new clock on the left hand side of my blog. Think its cute.

Secondly, I have recommended readings of posts from my blog at the end of every entry which is somewhat related.

Thirdly, I added a Live Traffic Feed at the left hand column just to track the country of my blog readers who visits my blog

And lastly,I have wish lists at the right hand column (at the bottom) for the sake of friends and family members who have no idea what to give us for special occasions.

Enjoy!

Too heavy

Here's a video of Caleb holding meimei and both falling down together on the sofa. Think because meimei is getting too heavy for Caleb to handle.Its really funny when I playback to watch the video, but at that very moment when it happened, I was shocked. I have to say both of them do enjoy getting rough together. Hope meimei doesnt become a tomboy. hehe.

Naturally messy

One thing I am pleased is how Caleb loves to eat his veggies and fruits. Strange? But true...

Sometimes, he may not want to finish his porridge or rice anymore but when flashed a fruit in front of him, he would eat it. So I really wonder if he is really full or like what most people would say, they have different compartments for different kinds of food. (i.e they have a compartment in the stomach for desserts. So no matter how full they are from eating the main courses, they can still eat dessert)



Here's Caleb feeding himself with the red dragon fruit (also known as pitaya), which is one of his favourite fruit because it is sweet and tastier than the white fleshed ones! The red ones are better as they have more fibre,minerals and vitamin C. They also contain a significant amount of antioxidants, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure as well as excretes toxins.



Its really cute seeing his nose and mouth all red. A definite FUN and nutritious fruit for kids to eat!

PS: Please excuse Caleb's sexy dressing.

Admitted to hospital

For the past week or so, my dad has been having fever on and off. Finally one night, his fever went up so high that my mum called for the ambulance to admit him. He was feeling weak.

After being admitted to the hospital, the doctors ran tests on him to find out the cause of his fever. They werent sure and made a few guesses.

Finally, they concluded that his fever might be due to his lump which he had a year back. So they ran a CT scan and discovered there were piles and it might have cause an infection, thus the fever.

During this period of H1N1 flu, it is definitely not a good time to be in hospital. But on the positive side, it is also not too bad to be in hospital now because there are not many patients. Maybe because the hospital has to make sure the beds are not taken up in case of the epidemic or rather, maybe people will think twice before going to hospital.

So tonight when I went to visit him, he was practically all alone in his 4-bedded ward!


As you can, I was using the table on one side, while CT is on the other bed, making use of the chair. We had the whole room to ourselves...

Anyway now, almost everyday, I would go visit my dad in hospital. My mum and their helper (and sometimes, my brother) take turns to take care of my dad as someone has to be with him 24 hours as he has phelgm in his throat and he has no strength to clear by himself. So someone has to be around to assist him to cough out his phlegm, lest he gets choked by it.

During this time, I do wish I could help out more than just sending the helper to hospital and visiting my dad. But then again, I am glad that the faith in my family is strong that my mum and dad reassures me that God is with them and will take care of them. So, I do not have to worry.

Frankly speaking, during these few days that I have been to the hospital seeing my mum and helper, they do not look tired at all. In fact, they even looked more refreshed than me despite them taking care of my dad the whole time. Ha! All I can conclude is, God is definitely taking care of them!

Caleb's got talent!

Nope, I am not talking about "America's Got Talent" or "Britain's Got Talent", but simply, Caleb's got talent! (well, his own baby version)

Well, what most people know about Caleb is that he loves holding drumsticks and hitting with them anywhere and everywhere. Recently, he has been turning his drumsticks like a pro with one hand.

Here's a video of his 'talent'. He could actually spin it quite fast! I was amazed!

Development of thunderstorm?

This morning, went for my weekly supermarketing at Giant Tampines. I would usually be one of the many to arrive first at Giant when it opens at 8am.

On the way there, I saw something which I have never witnessed before- Altocumulus clouds. The whole sky was full of it..so pretty and amazing!



When we reached Giant, I quickly went down the car and snapped more pictures of the sky!

Check out the reflection!





The altocumulus approach can sometimes be disturbing, for the cloud has a dark and somewhat frightening appearance but since it was my first time witnessing such clouds, I was more excited than frightened.

Even as I was going up the travellator, I was snapping pictures away. Think the strangers thought I was crazy making a big fuss over such a thing. I was practically like a wide-eyed kid in a candy store-all excited and amazed.



As Wikipedia puts it, "altocumulus often are seen preceding a cold front, and their presence on a warm, humid, summer morning frequently signals the development of thunderstorm". So was it true? Not at all! No thunderstorm happened that day, instead the weather remained hot and humid. Arggh. When will this weather end?

Free diaper!

Hi everybody! This post is not only for mummies whose child is still wearing diapers, but its for everyone to know! Why do I say so?

Well, read on to find out!



Recently, I chanced upon an advertisement on Japanese diapers which can only be ordered through the internet from a magazine. So, I went into the website to find out more about it and I saw a link to actually request for a FREE sample! I ordered one for Caleb to try and the diaper is really comfy and good!

The diaper is called GOO.N (click on the link to go into their site)

At the website, you can see on the left hand side, "Free Sample". Click it, register and you can state what size you want your free sample diaper to be and voila- you save one diaper! Each home address can only request sample for once.

I say this post is also for non-mummies because no matter what age you are, you can still request a free sample because you can always order and ask them to send it to your house and you simply bless your friends who are mummies or mummies-to-be with this diaper to show your nice gesture and thought!

Oh and by the way, Caleb uses the L size, while Danielle, the M size! (*hint hint*)

Burger & Fries

Went to Cold Storage recently to spend my $30 Voucher which I got from Manulife Insurance. I do not usually go to Cold Storage for any of my marketing as the stuff there is more expensive.

Anyway, bought proscuitto, pork burger, basil leaves, salad which already amounted to $30 bucks! Can you believe it??!



So tonight, I finally cooked them. Prepared a pork burger(because Vicky doesnt like to eat beef)



topped with crispy bacon, melted cheese,


sauteed mushrooms and onions with BBQ and Mustard Sauce.


First, I put butter to pan and put the hamburger buns in it to give the crispy and slightly burnt taste which I like.



Then I fry the bacon with very little oil till crispy and set aside. I also saute the mushrooms and onions, seasoned with salt and pepper. Then set aside as well.

After that, I place the meat patties in the frying pan till slightly brown. Then lastly, I add the sauteed mushrooms and onions to the meat patties.



And finally, place a slice of cheese on top and cover the pan. If your pan has no cover, you can always use piece of aluminium foil to put on top of the patty for the cheese to melt.



Then I serve it like this.


Aside from burger, I also made butterhead lettuce salad with tomatoes, proscuitto and light evoo, lemon, basil dressing. Couldnt find baby spinach in Cold Storage. So no choice but to have this.



So this is my simple dinner. (FYI, CT had 2 burgers!)


CT and I both concluded that we preferred beef burger. But nevertheless, it was still an enjoyable meal.

Standing Tall

Now, meimei can stand up by herself for quite a while as she holds on to the bed. I am glad both Caleb and Danielle have strong legs and love to stand. There are times when Danielle would be crying and making her stand up does the trick. (unless she is really very cranky then it wont work)



I really wonder if Danielle can beat Caleb's record in being able to walk at 11 months. We shall see...

Modelling time

Once in a while, Vicky and I would dig out old clothes, which Caleb used to wear or new clothes which he has yet to wear because its too big, to try it out. This time round, we also tried to fit Caleb's old clothes on Danielle to see whether he can pass down to her. But of course, I wouldnt let meimei wear boyish clothes, but would rather pass down to my sister-in-law's newborn son. I never knew I would mind such things as to me, clothes is clothes. But now that I have given birth to Danielle and looking at how girly girl she looks, I cant help but want to let her wear nice pretty dresses, shoes and hair accessories.

Here's Caleb's old cap.


She looks more plump with this cap on.

And here's Caleb's old spiderman costume which is much shorter now, but still wearable.



And his new cap which is adult size. So still too big.



I really enjoy such times as we discover how fast they have grown and it's just fun to see them don on new or old clothes. Even Caleb enjoys it too as most of the time, he wouldn't want us to change out his clothes.

Pretty pretty

As Danielle's hair has been growing wildly, I decided to get her a hair accessory to pin it up. Happened to find one that is suitable for her and something I like too (def not Hello Kitty), so I quickly bought it!

There she is with her new hair clip. When I first saw it, I didnt know how to use it as I never seen such contraption before. Its like a spring. However, Vicky assured me that she knows how to use, so I bought it. Sigh. Kids stuff gets more and more complicated. Ha.



And of course as we were putting on for Danielle, korkor comes along and whines for us to put on his hair too. Sigh. So here is Caleb proudly wearing the hair clip and admiring himself in the mirror!

Weekend parties

This weekend, was busy attending baby parties one after another. I guess I am now at the age where friends get married and have kids. So no more simply attending weddings, but also, busy attending kids birthday parties as well.

Yesterday was Joyanne's One Month party.

The weather has been rather hot and humid lately that I decided to dress less for the children as both of them are 'hot' babies - they perspire a lot at the slightest heat available in the air.

Do you know whenever Caleb shows such affection to Meimei by kissing her or just leaning his head against her, do you know what is on my mind? I am actually thinking that if I am a girl around Caleb's age, I would probably fall for him. Ha! Because I can see the deep love he has for her sister in his eyes.



Even the volunteers in church who takes care of Caleb in the cradle room also feedback to me that Caleb has a gentle spirit. All I know is Caleb has been bullied quite a lot of times before and he is the sort who would turn the other cheek for the bully to hit him as well....literally!



Anyway, here's meimei showing us how steady she is now at 5 months as she sits by herself.



Oh forgive us for her Mad Scientist hair. I do intend to keep her hair long so that I can tie it up with hair accessories and since she has such nice natural curls.



My mum came to my place to pick us up as CT had to last minute go to work. Was there at my brother's place rather early but it was good as Caleb would not be distracted while eating his lunch.



Relatives and friends slowly streamed in and some also volunteered to carry Meimei for me.



The food was nice and I had an enjoyable time catching up with friends and relatives.



As for today, we attended Phoebe's 5th birthday party! And once again, I was the earliest as I went right after my church service which was quite nearby.



Just a few days back, I bought for CT a tee-shirt for Fathers' Day. (I know its a liiiitle tooooo early for that) but I was quite excited to get it when I first saw it. And when the parcel arrived, I was also so excited to pass to CT to open it up (I def couldnt wait till June) and quickly told him to wear it soon! So this morning, he finally wore it, together with Caleb!



As we were too early, CT and I walked around with Meimei as Caleb was busy having his lunch.



As usual for birthday parties, I always look forward to seeing the cake as nowadays, cakes are getting more and more fanciful.

So, I was pretty excited to look at Phoebe's! Here it is!



Food was excellent as we had Pizza, Macs, and KFC! At least, a change from catered food!





Phoebe's classmates were invited and it was cute seeing them gather together to eat their Happy Meals.



Over lunch, I was talking to my bro discussing whether we will hold such parties for our children. Actually, I do not know. All I know is that it wasnt easy for Marianne to entertain those children and she did a great job playing games with them and booking the theatre for them to watch movie (No, not the public cinema, but their condo has a mini theatre! How cool is that?!)



Happy Birthday Phoebe! Hope you enjoyed your party and the many presents that you received!