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.

from the iphone

Actually the iPhone 3G snaps pretty nice pictures, definitely better than my N97. Maybe it's time to convert.

Long time no see....

We're still alive. Mountain Boy is recovering well from his little accident a week ago but he caught a cold over the weekend so I have been very busy keeping him busy. On top of that I'm also co-planning a charity event that will be happening later this month, more on that soon.

I hope to do an update on Mountain Boy real soon. He is growing fast- running, walking up the stairs, and he has learnt so many neat little tricks that makes Mountain Man and I beam with pride.

But right now, i have to go tend to my little rascal before he destroys the aircon controller. ta!

Burnt!

Mountain boy had a terrible accident yesterday. He was groping around the countertop yesterday and he managed to reach a very hot pot lid and burnt his palm, this was around noon time.

Last night he woke up shrieking in the middle of the night and Mountain Man discovered this nasty blister! He cried for about 2 hrs until we called the emergency and doc advised us to give him tylenol as a painkiller. He finally slept an hour later.

Honestly i really was not prepared for accidents like these at home. I did what my parents used to do which was put toothpaste (but it's the wrong thing to do). I did some research online and i hope this information will come in handy SHOULD you have to use it one day.

From askdrsears.com

WHAT DO I DO IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING A BURN?

• The very first step is to stop the heat. Do this by submerging the burned area in cold water as fast as you can. If the burn is on a part of the body that you cannot submerge, then immediately pour cold water over the area several times or rinse the area under a faucet or shower. Remove any clothing that is covering the area, then pour some more water over the burn. Be careful not to pull a still-hot shirt over the head as this may burn the face. Getting cold water onto the area as fast as possible is the single most important factor in minimizing the burn damage.
• Do not use ice. This can cause cold damage to the skin, which may make the burn worse.
• The next step is to continue the cold water for at least 20 minutes. Submerging the burn is best, but if you cannot, then either run it under cold water or apply cold water-soaked washcloths repeatedly.
• Do not put any butter, grease, or powder on the burn.
• Most children will protest holding the burn under cold water. Your child might kick and scream while you're holding the burn area under water. You will have to restrain and reassure them. It's much better to have a child cry for 20 minutes than to have a worsened burn.

AFTER THE INITIAL 20 MINUTES OF COLD WATER, WHAT DO I DO NEXT?

• Pain relief. Give your child a dose of ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil). Click on it for dosing. This will both help the pain and decrease the inflammation.
• Calm yourself and your child.
• Assess the burn. There are several degrees of burn.
  • First degree burns. This is simply redness, with no blistering. This type of burn never leaves a scar if properly treated.
  • Second degree burns. This is redness with blistering of the skin and is usually the most painful type of burn. With proper treatment, this type of burn almost never leaves a scar. NEVER pop the blisters.
  • Third degree burns. This occurs when many layers of skin are actually burned away. Normally there is no blister, because the top layers of skin are gone. This burn usually leaves a scar, even with proper treatment.

SHOULD I PAGE THE DOCTOR OR SHOULD I RUSH TO THE ER?

Not all burns require immediate medical evaluation, and some do not need to be seen by a doctor at all. Here is a guide to help you decide the next appropriate step.

• Large burns. Any burn over a large part of the body, regardless of the degree, should receive medical attention promptly in an ER. Examples include burns of the entire back or chest and abdomen, or burns involving most or all of an extremity.
• Facial burns. These almost always warrant a call to your doctor right away, unless it involves a very small area, such as the size of a quarter or smaller.
• First-degree burns. Again, this is just redness, no blisters will form, and no skin is burned away. This does not require urgent care and usually doesn't require a doctor's visit. Depending upon your observations you may call your doctor during office hours and speak with a nurse just to be sure no follow-up is needed. Some first-degree burns will begin to blister as long as 24 hours later, this means it has changed into a second-degree burn.
• Second-degree burns. The key here is that blisters will form. If there is no blister, and the skin is not burned away, then it is first-degree. A second-degree burn does warrant an urgent page to your doctor after hours, or a visit to the office right away.
• Third-degree burns. If it appears that many layers of skin have been burned away to the extent that there is not enough skin left to form a blister, then take your child into an emergency room immediately. Even during the day while your doctor's office is open, it still may be better to go to an ER if you are certain it is a third-degree burn.

If ever you are not certain what type of burn it is, then call your doctor.

HOW DO I TREAT THE BURN?

• First degree burns. For this type of burn, you do not need a prescription cream. You also do not need to use an antibiotic cream. One of the best treatments for first degree burns is aloe vera. Buy a bottle of 100% aloe gel and apply several times a day. Be sure to buy 100% aloe. Some bottles will say, "made with pure aloe", but only contain 10% aloe. Read the ingredients. Basically, it should only read aloe on the label. You can also use the juice from the leaf of an aloe plant, if you have one.
• Second degree burns. Treating this type of burn is more complex. You should check with your doctor about how to treat your child's second-degree burns. Here are some general guidelines that we recommend. Twice a day do the following:
  • Rinse the area with comfortable temperature water. Use a sink or bathtub faucet. The stream of water will remove germs, dead skin, and debris.
  • Air dry.
  • Apply prescription burn cream called Silvadene (the generic equivalent is silver sulfadiazine). This is an antibiotic cream that has excellent healing properties, and is an important part of the burn treatment because it's very effective at preventing infection. You need to apply it aseptically; buy a package of sterile tongue depressors to use. Use a lot of cream, as if you were icing a cake. When you change the bandage, if all the cream is worn off or soaked in, then you didn't use enough. Silvadene contains silver, and you will notice a dark "tarnish" discoloration on the bandages.
  • Cover with a bandage. Your doctor may recommend a specific type of bandage. Typically a non-stick pad is placed over the cream (one brand name is Telfa), than a gauze is taped or wrapped around the area.
  • Stretch. If the burn is on an area of the body that stretches or pulls a lot (such as the palm of the hand or palm side of the fingers), the burned skin is at risk of healing too tight. This is called a contracture. In this type of area, it is very important to stretch this skin around ten times a day for one minute.
  • Cut away the blister – after the blister pops on it's own. Your doctor may cut the dead blistered skin away. This will help prevent infection and will promote healing. If you have a large blister that pops after several days, then go back to see your doctor. He or she may want to cut it away.
  • Watch for infection. Call or see your doctor if you detect any foul- smelling greenish discharge from the burn, or see an expanding area of redness around the burn.
• Third degree burns. Because of the seriousness and potential for scarring from this type of burn, it is recommended that you go to a burn center or ER for initial treatment, and then continue your follow-up care with a burn surgeon. We cannot put any general recommendations here for this type of burn.

HOW LONG DO I USE THE BURN CREAM OR ALOE AND BANDAGES?

If you are just treating a first-degree burn with aloe, you probably only need to use it for a few days. It doesn't hurt to use it longer.

If you are treating a second-degree burn, you should ask your doctor when to stop the treatment. In general, as the burned skin peels off, new red (which usually bleeds a tiny bit) skin will be visible underneath. This red skin will slowly lighten into a pink skin color. You can generally stop using the cream at this time. You can also stop covering it with a bandage at this time.

SUN PROTECTION

Burned skin is extremely sensitive to becoming permanently discolored by the sun. Once the burn is healed, you should apply sunscreen or cover the area with clothing or a hat. Continue this extra sun protection for 6 months. Click here for more information on sunburn prevention.