Xxm turns o.n.e.

Last year, at this very moment, G was in the 2nd stage of labour..with a very stubborn xxm refusing to crown. (And xxm's gender remains a mystery)

Now, at this very moment, xxm (a very active little boy) is fast asleep after a day of fun and special treats...

Special treat 1: walk to nature park and play on playground that has sand.

Special treat 2: no porridge for both lunch and dinner. Instead, G's mum cooked mee sua for lunch and ate out for dinner - din tai fung noodles!

Special treat 3: Baskin Robbins ice cream cake for dessert!

No wonder he's exhausted...

Xxm also gave us a special treat today: taking steps by himself...though it's only 3 steps, it was gratifying to see that all the effort to train him to walk is finally showing some results :)

One year old...it has not been an easy year for everyone. Taking care of a baby is like going on a trip which you have no idea where and how to get there. Lots of trial and error, mishaps, unexpected discoveries, nasty shocks and pleasant surprises.

As Chen An enters the next phase of his growing up years, may he always be happy and healthy :)

Happy birthday, Chen An!

Baby panda morphs into a koala

Xxm turns one year old in a weeks time!

Had a rather successful bbq party over the national day long weekend. Despite the rather ulu location and unpredictable rain, many guests came and J&G are very grateful for that :)

Feedback from guests were good too. G's jiemeis were happy with the goodie bags, while others liked the food.

And, Chen An too is very grateful for the presents and ang pows! Though he did had a rather embarrassing moment of wailing out loud after stepping onto his treehouse cake...

Now that the chalet is done and over, Chen An seem to have "grown" suddenly in terms of his awareness and "language"

Most obvious sign is the boy is now super clingy to G. G cannot step away without him throwing a crying fit or frantic chase after her. His morning routine now includes a banging fest on J&G's bedroom door while G is changing to go to work. And not only is he mire clingy, he has become more whiny too. Even when G is carrying him, he still gets episodes of crying fits for no apparent reasons. Teething, maybe? Or just the growing awareness that he is an individual, which leads to a form of unknown fear (that he will be abandoned?)

Basically, this little panda behaves more like a koala and G is the only eucalyptus tree in the house.

On a less tearful note, Chen An is starting to "talk".
Buses, cars and motorcycles are known as "aaaaaahhhhhh!"
His ring stacker with a bear head is known as "bah....bear"
G is known as "mm...ama"
Hummingbird that flies to balcony window is known as "jeeeee!"
Children, regardless of age, are known as "ge...gorgor" and "zei...chei"
Bubbles are the one thing he can "say" most accurately, known as "bub per"

Rest of the time, he babbles and babbled which no one can understand, but it's such a delight to hear these cute sounds. Last night, all of a sudden, he started repeatedly babbling "dabada...bada!". G got it down on recording and listening to it makes for good stress relief

G is quite sure it's just a clingy phase he's going through...but how long will it last?

Not too long hopefully...cos G's arms are already aching from all the carrying!

August has arrived!

Oh dear dear dear...

G needs to start paying more attention to this blog!

Last entry was 4 months ago...and now, xxm is turning 1 year old in less than 3 weeks time...

This little guy is really painfully adorable. Now, he is crawling so fast, and cruising so well, the living room is his playground.

One moment, he's on the playmat banging his toy, next thing you know, he has climbed up the sofa and cuddling his soft toy. And then before you can blink, he scrambles down and crawls to the bedrooms.

Not one moment of quiet time...except nap, breastfeeding and occasional breaks he takes.

G is anxiously waiting for him to take his first unassisted step...he can walk quite well when he pushes a stool or the walker toy..but once he is hands free, he will drop down to crawl. Lack of confidence perhaps...

Feeding solids have progressed to porridge which need not be blended. G is now trying to teach him to feed himself with finger food. He should have been able to do so probably 2 months ago, but no one taught him and he got too used to being fed. He actually learnt pretty fast, only problem now is he doesn't know how to let go, so many times, the food goes into his mouth then he takes it out again without leaving the food inside. Then he lets it go and drops onto the floor...to sum up, a messy affair. Nonetheless, it's fun to watch him...and that self-satisfied look he gives when he succeeded in feeding himself one piece of food is worth the mess :)

To celebrate his upcoming 1st birthday, J + G are gonna have a bbq at changi chalet. Hopefully it'll go smoothly and xxm will have loads of fun and plenty of photos to look at when he is older.

On a side note, many of G's friends are expecting or have just given birth...G is starting to miss being pregnant, especially feeling the little one kicking and squirming inside. But...are J & G ( & xxm) be ready for xxm2....?

Leave it to the hands of fate :)