Eating an apple

Sorry i'm just going Mountain Boy mania over here. I've lots of pictures to upload and i finally have time. During the trip to Hongkong, I discovered that Mountain Boy likes his apple whole, not cut into cubes. I only found out because he took one of those decorative apples from the reception counter and started making his way to the core slowly but surely. So cute seeing his two little hands wrapped around such a huge apple.

Spring Cleaning

Mountain Boy's favourite new activity is to help the nanny clean up the house.

Hello Hong Kong again...

To be honest, Hong Kong has not been my vacation destination of choice for almost 10 years now. Too crowded, too stressful, always 买东西吃东西，买东西吃东西 (shop and eat, shop and eat).... The older generation of hongkongers also come across as for the lack of a better description "no-patience-don't-take-your-sh*t-therefore-can-be-quite-rude" kind of people.Disclaimer: Of course this observation is a generalization of the older generation of hongkongers at large and therefore if you're hongkonger and reading my blog please do not be offended because i'm sure you are the sweet and nice.

Somehow, we ended up in Hong Kong for the 2nd time this year because A. No visa needed given the short time to plan, B. It's cheaper than Taiwan. C. We preferred somewhere warmer so we could pack lighter.

We enjoyed ourselves because we got to spend time together as a family. Mountain Boy brought us a lot of joy with his weird antics and he was surprisingly easy! Not easy as compared to his day-to-day but he was very cooperative. By the 2nd day he was taking 2hr naps in his stroller and he only woke up once to feed at night and went back to sleep fairly quickly, this was a far cry from the usual 4-5 wakes on holidays. He was still nursing a diarrhea but he ate like a horse on the first 2 days. He doesn't like to be fed much anymore so he takes matters into his own hands.

Out of the blue, he can feed himself using the fork and spoon!

Of course he gets tired and gives up halfway. Hands much faster.

To ensure that he was well-hydrated, we gave him alot alot of juice.

Mother/Son picture of the trip. Now i feel bad that i don't take such good pictures of Father/Son.

This trip i must say is quite different from other 买东西吃东西，买东西吃东西 trips. With Mountain Boy in tow, we took our schedule easy and decided to explore more children friendly places. We went to the Citygate Outlet Mall which was quite a disappointment because most of the fashion was off season, but we made friends with a father/son duo who brought us to a huge outdoor playground nearby. We spent a good mid-morning basking in the sun, letting Mountain Boy work off some serious steam.

One of our key destinations this time was the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens. Now I would like to do all future family tourists to Hong Kong a favour by clarifying that the HKZBG is not in Hong Kong park, and neither is it near to Hong Kong park. We've had different directions given by different people, some say admiralty station, some say central station. Took a cab straight to the Hong Kong park only to discover that we had to climb the Great wall of "China" with a 12kg stroller and a 10kg baby before we got to our destination. To make things simple, just take a cab and tell the driver you want to go to Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens. Hong Kong is seriously not child-friendly because of the multiple flights of steps and no options to take the lift or go up the ramp.

Lucky thing Mountain Boy enjoyed seeing the animals upclose so we didn't waste our breath climbing those stairs.

The loot. Well... Unlike other trips i didn't buy any clothes/shoes, in fact we were at different bookstores most of the time! I stocked up on parenting books, and the first 3 installments of the Charlene Harris' vampire series. Mountain Man got his usual non-fiction business stuff that i say kills imagination. Mountain Boy also didn't buy much, all he wanted was a storybook with a pig on it and tht's what he got. I splurged on a couple more books for him because he really loves to read and China is severely lacking in English bookstores.

I was however bestowed upon 2 gorgeous gifts from the generous, loving, handsome, humorous, very athletic, has great skin amongst other good qualities husband. *wink*

Miu Miu Bow Satchel in Palissandro.

Not a good picture- Cartier Trinity, regular size, without diamonds.

I've always been attracted to this ring because i love how playful it is. This is an advance for our 3rd wedding anniversary next year.

Inked

Don't worry no needles involved this time. We just got back from a short trip to Hong Kong. Bought lots of books and lao po bing. And Mountain Man bought me some nice gifts, more on that soon. I am still recuperating i dont know why i feel so destroyed after every trip!

Merry Christmas from us

Have a blessed Christmas and a fantastic end to 2010.

Dexter in diapers

Dexter Season 6 is out! Can't wait to get the box set, it's one of the rare shows that gets better with every season.

Mountain boy looks pretty cute in his teeny dexter outfit.

15 months

The 15th month has been a very trying period.

Separation anxiety usually peaks between 12-18 months and we are definitely going through a pretty intense bout of it. He started exhibiting symptoms of separation anxiety when we first changed nanny 2 months ago, and he has not recovered from it.

The nanny tells me that when i'm out, he'd play and laugh and be very obedient. But somehow when i'm home, he turns into a whiney needy koala bear. He wants to ensure that his body sticks to mine with the largest surface area possible before he is satisfied, and sometimes even that is not enough. I can't even go to the toilet without him following, no joke. As if spending all his waking hours isn't enough, he'd even wake up in the middle of the night and want to "hangout" for a couple of hours before going back to bed. Ugh... sigh... (he is whining as i'm typing now cos i'm not giving him my full 200% attention).

I've wished on many occasions to be more "wanted" by him but now i'm really overdosing. Sometimes i just want to scream, "GIVE ME BACK MY TOILET TIME!".

"I need you mama..."

Physically his motor skills has improved by leaps and bounds. He can go up and down the stairs unassisted, and he has become quite the imitator. Sometimes he does a funny action and i'd wonder WTH he's doing before realising that it's an impression of me! He will fake sneeze and cough while covering his mouth its hilarious.

Breadtalk did not sponsor this. And i did not help him put this on. I think he sees me trying on different hats before going out and thought it's fun to try.

He loves doodling. He still toggles between left and right hand.

Speechwise, he is still rather gibberish but a little more comprehensible than before. He imitates the firetruck in his book and goes "weeo weeo" , says "sss" when he sees a snake, says "mmmm" when he sees a cow, and he calls the nanny "yiiiyiii". Sometimes you catch him saying one or two things accurately but he almost never repeats.

However, not speaking is not a hinderance of any sort when it comes to getting his way. He will whine and pull my fingers when he needs me to do something. He'll even pull out the big guns (ie tears) when i don't allow him to do something bad like opening the diaper bin for example. Luckily attending PET has armed me with useful knowledge to diffuse some potentially catastrophic scenarios. But even then i've lost it a handful of times.

On the health front, not so good. Since winter came, the dryness of the air has caused multiple nose bleed episodes. Autumn winter is also diarrhea season and he wasn't spared. We went to the doc yesterday and he is still 10kg and 80 odd cm. He didn't grow last month again! I think the milk and food just evaporates from his body.

Where am i mama?

Can't see clearly in this picture but he just had the mother of all nose bleeds.

Anyway, he is running a temperature today so i am on night watch. sigh... hope he gets well before christmas.

Signing out...

Separation anxiety attack

I havent blogged about this cos i was usually too tired and zonked out in the day tt i found it hard to even smile. But little man over here has been suffering from pretty severe separation anxiety, especially at night. He would wake up in this confused state of wanting to cling on to me yet feeling frustrated that he cant sleep in his own cozy comfy cot- one of the banes of sleep training cos he cant sleep even if u rock, pat, sing, put him next to you.

Sometimes i get a way with him going back to bed in 1 hr, but at times it can stretch to 3. I resort to letting him watch tv when im desperate, which is whts happening now.

Fyi, separation anxiety and nightime separation anxiety is common and most prevalent amongst 12 to 18 mth olds. Maybe its also these planning for number 2 talk tts been bugging him. Better make sure i cling on to mommy so she has no time for sex w daddy.

Feels nice to be wanted, but not at 1 in the morning go back to sleep!!

If you're happy and you know it...

He's quite the imitator now. Somewhere in the middle of the video, he realises that the camera is pointing towards him and he flashes his rather spastic but funny smile.

Figs are nice (updated tongue twister)

I've never been a fan of dried fruits although i do enjoy the occasional 7D mango. Mountain Man was munching on some dried figs the other day and i was disgusted by the way it looked. He was so sure that i wouldn't like it, i dunno what overcame me i am usually not adventurous with food but i tried one. Couldn't decide if i liked it so i tried another and another. It's a confusing acquired taste, abit cardboard-ish but also more-ish.

After Mountain Man saw this post, he told me to recite a tongue twister really fast. Try it! It's nothing short of "inappropriate".

I am not a fig plucker, nor a fig plucker's son.

But i will keep plucking figs, till the fig plucker comes.

Mrs Vain

2 things i did this week which proved that i am a true blue vainpot.

1. I was involved in a recent charity event and i was tasked to do make-up for the main performer. Had no idea why i got arrowed to do something like that *roll eyes* but i didn't mind the challenge. So i enlisted the help of youtube to find demo videos of cool make-up techniques, then i came across Michelle Phan; a lancome spokesperson/make-up artiste who posted some very easy-to-replicate make up ideas. I borrowed the video on Modern Geishas and adapted it to a butterfly. Honestly the eye make-up was a total failure because i didn't know how to blend and i look like someone hit me in the eye, but i created these beautiful butterfly wings that turned out very well because it distracted people from the disastrous eye-zone.

2. The other vain thing i did was to get hair extensions!! Cute right? Apparently it stays on for 6 months. I'm not sure i'll last 6 weeks. I've been wanting to try hair extensions for the longest time but i never did because i was afraid of post-natal hair loss.

5 Things he does that makes my day...

1. He helps around the house.

When i ask nicely, he puts his toys back into the box. He likes to wipe his own play area. He fetches me things. He takes his own diaper and dumps it in the bin after i wrap it up nicely.

2. He knows how to wave "goodbye".

He loves bathtime every evening. He grins from ear to ear when i start filling his bathtub, he'll even get spasms from the trickling warm water that runs through his fingers. After splashing around for a good 5-10 minutes, i'll take the towel and say "it's time to go" and he'll wave bye-bye to his bathwater.

Same with playgrounds and toys. With ample notice, he never creates a din when we have to leave a place.

3. Learning how to sign "Please", "Thank You" and "Sorry".

My boy can't talk very well but he sure does communicate. In the beginning he'll sign when we prompt him, but these days he says "please" organically IF he wants something badly enough.

He also nods and shakes his head.

4. He never lets anyone bully him.

I am usually quite worried that someone bullies him at the playground because he is so tiny. But on more than a couple of occasions i've witnessed him defend himself when the older kids push him or snatch his things. Of course he doesn't push back, but he'll always cry for help and cheer up the moment they apologize.

5. He is very affectionate.

He hugs other kids. Sometimes he kisses them.

Before Daddy leaves the house each day, he'll kiss Mountain Boy and Mountain Boy will kiss back. After that Mountain Boy always push mommy and daddy's heads together signaling that we should also kiss. At bedtime, he also must make sure that I kiss his Xiaoxiong, and xiaoxiong kisses him, and he kisses me etc, you get the idea.

The new nanny loves him to bits because he calls her "yi yi" and then he hugs her and pats her on the back.

I love you Mountain Boy. *mmmuack*

Under the sea

Mountain Boy's girlfriend turned one 2 weeks ago so the parents put together a massive Under The Sea theme party filled with balloons, decoration, presents, the whole shebang.

This time we only dressed Mountain Boy. So here he is. The Jellyfish. Costume made of an old shirt, white cloth and bubble wrap to simulate tentacles.

A new camera

Baby X's mom was sporting the new Canon S95 and it was tempting. I did my research and i was wowed by the camera's features, it's got more cool functions than the Canon G9! I am a layman when it comes to photography so i like using the "scene" mode. Manual adjustments can take forever and moments whizz by too fast with a 14 month old tot.

The original plan was to wait for the Panasonic GF2 launch in January 2011 but i hated not being able to capture Mountain Boy's kodak moments. Being without a camera for almost 2 months has left a gaping hole in the chronicling of his growth.

I probably will still get the GF2 once the price comes down because i really want an SLR but the S95 will be good enough for daily use.

So here's Mountain Boy re-enacting the Hungry Giraffe from Gymboree's Brave Elephant and His Friends.

"Chomp chomp chomp...Uhm, this taste good"

"He wanted the leaves up high, and the grass down low...Way up high, and down low..."

Clap clap clap, stomp stomp stomp... "What is that sound?"

PS: The Gymboree disc has gone completely bonkers, i swear i've watched it enough times to recite the entire script in my sleep.

3 Ninjas!

This is very very delayed, but i only just got hold of the pictures from a friend who so kindly took pictures for us at this year's Halloween party.

I put together 3 simple ninja costumes using black and red cloths. Because i knew Mountain Boy would refuse to put on the hood, i figured he could be an apprentice of some sort, so i sewed on some ninja star darts made out of tin foil on his outfit.

His outfit held through the entire night but ours didn't. Funny story. We put on our hoods upon entering the house and then we were greeted by a bunch of people in weird/scary costumes, that coupled with multiple balloons bursting proved to be too much for Mountain Boy so he burst into a super loud siren-like wail almost instantaneously. Luckily the friend managed to snap a couple of pics of us in our full gear during the commotion.

We only got 2m into the front door before Mountain Boy burst into tears.

"Get away from me you scary bandit! Hiak hiak!"

"Look! It's mama!"

His outfit from the back.

He just recovered from crying here i think.

3 ninjas

Another engagement!

Prince William and Kate Middleton just got engaged. Picture of engagement ring below. It belonged to the late Princess Diana, Prince William thought it would be nice to "include" her mother in his engagement process. Some critics called his gesture "creepy" and "tasteless", i think it's sweet. Better let someone in the family wear it than end up in some Christie's auction i think.

The couple makes a compatible royal pair even though Kate "plebian"ton isn't of aristocratic decent.

Anyway, i read about the news on Yahoo! and i find it quite odd for the report to refer to the William as the "pre-maturely balding Prince". It's like saying it's a bad thing but not exactly. Totally irrelevant right?

Hair clipped

Mountain boys hair is really getting long and unruly, but i cant decide if i should keep it or cut it. In the meantime, he will have to borrow baby X's hairclip to tame the mane.

Mountain Boy turns 14 months!

My little one turned 14 months yesterday. This boy over here is turning out to be quite the sprinter, always dashing from place to place. His obsession for slopes is quite puzzling to me, he likes climbing up slowly and then the thrill of rushing down really fast, and this can go on forever. He has this internal mega charged battery that goes full-blast from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to sleep.

"Come get me..."

Thanks to watching Gymboree's Brave Elephant and His Friends countless times, he now gallops, hops and roll-over on command. He's sorta like our pet but better. We never get tired of his various animal impressions, namely the frog, the giraffe, the monkey, the elephant and the dog.

"This is how i gallop!"

It's funnier in real time of course.

Sometimes he surprises me with his cognitive abilities. He doesn't say much but he always understands my instructions. For example, when i ask "where is the train?" he'll point to the train. When i say "give mama the train", he'll take the train and put it into my hands. The quiet observer learns everything i do, so i must be quite careful to model myself well.

"I look pretty handsome when i don't do my snorty grin right?"

At 14 months, he is 10kg and 80cm tall. That's 25th percentile and 75th percentile respectively according to the WHO chart. I'm quite resigned to the fact that he'll never be fat till he turns 30. He was such a good eater (note the past tense). But eating has now become a daily challenge. Mainly because of the strong need to gain control of feeding time, which means that he chooses what to eat, and how to eat. No longer can we shaft food down quickly and neatly, now it's food flying here and there, whining and avoiding the spoon especially when being fed something he doesn't like. I guess I should be happy that Mountain Boy has a mind of his own but sometimes I do wish it can be neater and faster so we can just "get on with the programme".

"waaaaa"

Typical cry when he doesn't get his way.

Sleeping wise, he is still on 2 naps. But the first nap is getting longer, and the 2nd one shorter. I believe he is on his way to consolidating the naps but i still like the 2 naps schedule because then i can take him out to lunch. So i really am in no hurry to convert him. He sleeps about 12.5 to 13.5 hours total now.

Mr Cool.

The PD said that physically he is doing great. But the greatest threat to his health right now is accidents. Kids his age have no concept of danger so they do get themselves into pretty precarious situations. So there's no room for negligence although it's quite impossible to keep an eye on him all the time when I'm alone trying to do multiple things.

Anyway, hope you've enjoyed the pictures i've posted. We went for a family photoshoot end september and I finally got round to posting them.