I was thinking the other day that I could write a little every day instead of posting a long one in one shot. I shall try! I wrote today's on the way to work this morning, and only edited it slightly just now...
Like some days when he woke very early and fell asleep again, he woke eventually at 7 plus today and we reached the IFC later. The twins had already arrived and this was the first time I met them. They were both crying non-stop! Hannah was happily crawling about as usual. But ZK refused to be let go or distracted.
He clung on to me and wanted to be carried. But I just let him stand on the floor in front of me. And suddenly, he let go of my knees and stood in his own for at least a full second! I'm so happy to have seen that :)
Then he sat down and whined. Actually he seldom cries. He usually whines tearlessly. But of course, at first glance and sound, everyone would think he's crying and rush to him. But the mama cannot be fooled!!
He has a couple of new toys lately. Last night, Sito came back with a crocodile for him - he could pull it along when he can walk. I said Sito is bad, trying to turn our son into a little buaya!! :p I also got an activity table for him but it's a hand-me-down from W who got it from DC but never used it as her husband's friend gave them the same thing. Her son is now 2+ and still loving it! And tmr, I'm going to collect an activity cube for him - bought it from an online mummy bulk buy. And just when I thought that was it for him when it comes to toys, I saw another bulk buy - smart trike 4-in-1! Should we...?
Update 24 Jun 2013
Taken on 8 Jun 2013 - he started playing with the crocodile..with his mouth! Yesterday, he was pulling it around him while sitting on the floor.
Sighs, I've been really busy at night. ZK usually sleeps between 8.30 pm and 9 pm now, and after that, I have to tidy up the dining area, wash his bottles and prepare his bag for the next day before I could have my dinner and shower. That doesn't leave me much time to do much before I get sleepy. And I usually get sleepy by 11 pm...
Anyway, I love May because it always starts with a public holiday! :) But this time, Sito had to work, bah! So it was up to ZK and me to find something fun to do..
Spent the morning rolling around in the house. Was it that day that I introduced the mechanical giraffe? Can't remember.. Anyway, the giraffe was speeding across the room and ZK had fun chasing after it - and chewing on it!
I also decided to dismantle his baby gym that day. In this shot, it seemed as though he was a bit sad.. But his room looked like that for a couple more days cos I couldn't get the arches off the mat until the weekend! Then I moved his foam mat nearer his bed instead. I thought I would wash everything and put back only the mat and not the arches but yesterday morning, I rearranged his bedroom such that his bed was no longer at the window so I'm not sure if replacing the gym mat would make his room super cluttered.. We shall see...
He was very funny at breakfast - trying to poop!
He wasn't successful *.* But after his nap, he rolled on to the gym to play and suddenly, he just sat there quietly. The next thing I knew, his face was all red again! Success this time!
As I was changing his dirty diaper, we had a little conversation:
ZK: Papa?
mf: Papa is working :)
ZK: Mama?
mf: Mama is here changing your diaper!
Yes, he really made it sound like questions! And he turned to look at me to ask his questions!
Anyway, the plan of the day was to find Mother. He was all over the place! First on the floor...
Source: YQ
Then on me... (Please ignore the blue baby handkerchief on the auntie..)
Source: YQ
Then on the mesh chair! Eh, what's with that expression??
Source: YQ
Much better :)
Source: MZ
Decided to give him some bread for dinner that day but he just wasn't interested in all these little pieces! He just took them up and dropped them to the floor! I had to put only one on the tray before he would pick it up himself. Anyway, he's still toothless, though that Saturday, I finally spotted a bit of white under his gums..
That Friday, Sito was home real early so we spent some time together before ZK's bedtime. He was looking at his flashcard DVD.
So happy!
So 得意!
Then it was time for his bedtime story. It was about hands. He was really looking and enjoying himself right? :) A couple of weeks later, I walked into IFC to find him quietly reading some Chinese flashcards while the carer was busy - I was so proud!
Sito was sleeping in as usual when ZK pushed open our door.. I just let him :p
But this proved to be a prelude to what happened two weeks later - I woke to a noise at about 3 am and found him on the way OUT of our room! He had crawled out of his room, came into ours, and probably went one round before making some noise on his way out!
The next night was worse. I woke to him banging on our door on the outside. Not sure why he did not just push the door open. I set him back in bed and went to the toilet. But even before I turned the toilet light on, I felt something was wrong. I turned on the light and saw an ant bait outside the toilet - wrong location! I quickly checked for the second ant bait - not there! I turned on the light in the study and found that the books on the lower shelf were on the floor. This boy had really gone around the house! Eventually I found the second ant bait in the cleaning pail, phew!
Now I no longer keep his door ajar; it's not locked but it's closed, for his safety and our peace of mind! And just in case he learns to open the door some day, as he can already stand up behind the door, I have pulled the window grilles together and cleared reachable space of dangerous materials.
Anyway, that Saturday, he fell asleep on his own immediately after I set him down! Wow! He slept very well the couple of nights after we returned from Malaysia, including a 11-hour feat! But I found him sleeping on the foam mat halfway across the room in the middle of the night :p
But that couldn't beat the night of Vesak Day - half of him off the bed! Yes, I had to take a photo before I picked him up, if only to laugh with him when he grows up :)
We went to Plaza Sing for swim spa that afternoon and guess who entered the lift with us? Fandi and his family! Lovely family and the wife thought ZK looked bewildered. Well, he probably was - where are we? Who are they? Where are we going? :p
5 May is Japanese Children's Day!! I made a koinobori for ZK :) Later, I found that Daiso in Malaysia sold this; the Singapore one probably did too! Mine so ugly :(
But still, we hung it up for him. Look at my boys! :)
Our little boy has really grown that day when he first crawled into our room - 18 May. Besides knowing how to crawl and walk - with support - everywhere, he decided that the right way to get off our bed was to turn to let his legs reach the floor first. Very clumsy but he got the idea! Now, I only taught him that once about a week before that. And no one else had taught him that! Again, Mama so proud :)
Then, he started crawling on his knees instead of doing his usual lizard crawl. Not very consistent yet but it's a start - less dirty clothes for me to wash!
He also showed his temper - he threw and broke his bottle of ruyi oil :( Mama had to scrub floor like mad ok.. When he isn't pleased, his little legs show it too:
But I always go "uh-oh" when he does something he shouldn't have. That day, when he threw a bottle cover to the floor, he went "uh-oh" after me!
We celebrated Mum's birthday at Forest that evening, where ZK tried some sour food! Not his first time :p He gave a face but was open to more. We also gave him ice cream - and realised it was teh tarik flavour! Oops :p But the attendant was very nice - he noticed and gave us a mango sorbet for ZK :) In fact, he also noticed that we preferred the small teaspoon for our appetiser to the plastic one that came with the baby set, and that a bowl was better than a plate for ZK's cereals. Good experience there. If only there's a baby changing room - Sito had to go to the ladies' with me cos ZK took a dump *.*
And he has been making clucking and plucking sounds - then he'll smile :) Or he'll stick his tongue out like :d
He's beginning to recognise more things, like the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - he would only rock with this song!
Vesak Day 24 May was the death anniversary of my maternal grandfather so we had a gathering at Ah Yee's place. It felt so strange to gather mostly in the back bedroom as the front bedroom was rented out. The front bedroom used to be the centre of activity.
This little boy rejected porridge for lunch and oats for dinner after we returned from KL. It took a few tries before he started to take the porridge in school again. But he rejected all my porridge until Vesak Day when he ate quite a lot! :) As for dinner, I was so happy that he accepted oats for the week or so before our trip! Now he likes only cereals for dinner. Easier for me but no variety and more expensive! So last night, I tried wholemeal bread with cottage cheese instead. The bread was ok but the cheese was not. Oh well, at least there's variety!
This evening, I gave him a bit of bread to hold and eat but he tore it up and threw everything to the floor :( Only fed him a little so I had to give him some cereals. Tonight, he didn't have milk before bed for the first time - he didn't drink much the past few days so I figure no need to waste.
Our little karate boy while waiting for the train. Went to Novena to shop for a pair of running shoes for Sito.
Last Saturday, we discovered something. Besides knowing how to get off our bed, he also knows when he needs to get his legs down first - I was squatting next to the bed and he just kept going headfirst onto my legs but when I put him back and moved further away, he turned around to get down! :)
We discovered that he could say "ball" at baby spa! :) Makes me want to get a 3D cake in the shape of a ball haha! Nah, I shall save money and get a usual cake with a picture on it.
But he keeps stuffing things into his mouth. I was clipping his fingernails last Sunday and he was playing with the cover with his free hand while I was at the other. Then suddenly, the cover disappeared! I had to quickly dig it out of his mouth! Gaar!
Our little boy seems popular with girls. Um, actually, just one girl. Need to bring him to meet other girls too haha!
Sito's Tumi was put to the test every weekend but last weekend, besides chewing on it and lying on it, he stood on it.
I like this series. He discovered that he could open the close the unused rubbish bin.
I close..
I open.. What can you do about that hur? :p
Love him in sleeveless - super cute!
Today, when I picked him up, his teachers said he said "noooo!" They said before that he seemed to say it and I thought I heard something like that the day before. But well, we like to "put words into his mouth", as Sito would say.. So it's now confirmed - he knows how to say "no". I hope he can also understand "no" when we tell him so!
I wanted to post this the first time but I didn't manage to. Now that I have been angry with him a second time, I decided I must rant.
Some weeks ago, on a Sunday, ZK didn't sleep long enough and was cranky. I was halfway through keeping clothes from the dryer so things were all over the place. It was 11 am or so so I nudged Sito to wake up to help. He only acknowledged verbally but didn't move. After a few times, I was very pissed and packed ZK off to Mum's place before returning to finish up.
When he finally woke, he explained that he had a headache - he kept having headaches on only weekends, probably the result of MSG from instant noodles the night before but hey I didn't tell him to have that supper!
I was very pissed because it suddenly dawned on me that if I were to die suddenly, ZK wouldn't just lose his mother, he would also lose his father cos he would just leave him with Mum and go play with him when (headache-)free. Wtf.
Then more recently, on our second night in KL, I got super angry again. Some background - when I bathe ZK on my own at home, I would lay out his towel before I start bathing him so that I can carry the dripping boy straight from bath to bed; when Sito is around, he can hold the towel and wrap ZK up immediately after I take him out of the bath. The second method is preferred in a hotel cos of the aircon.
That evening, ZK took a dump at dinner so we had a poopy diaper before his bath. That was nasty, and Sito had prepared a plastic bag for it so that he could bring it out to throw to avoid stinking up the room. That was fine. Except that he had to do it right after removing it from ZK when ZK had to go straight to the bath, and that he took such a long time doing it that when ZK was done with his bath, there was still no sight of him. I was shouting for him as I couldn't leave ZK on his own in the bath tub and I was so afraid he would catch a cold cos of the aircon. Suffice to say I totally flew off the handle.
After we put ZK to bed, he explained that he went downstairs to throw the freaking diaper so that it didn't stink up our corridor. Downstairs?! Really?! And knowing that ZK was going into the bath, which wouldn't take long?! I scolded him for getting his priorities all wrong. I couldn't care less about the diaper. It could stink up the room. Heck, let's sleep with it! But I couldn't let ZK fall ill! He was such a poor thing when he was ill. And since Sito couldn't take leave here and there, it would fall on me to shoulder the responsibility.
I very gladly take care of ZK on my own most of the time when Sito is away. But when he is not working, I expect only full attention from him on ZK. Is it really that difficult to be a more involved parent?
I had a thought some time ago, before the first angry episode, that I had married my boyfriend, not a father to my child(ren), cos he's great boyfriend/husband material but not that amazing as a co-parent. And that is fully demonstrated in his reaction to my anger. Both times, he apologised with that expression of his - a mix of "oh no, I don't know what I've just/not done :(" and "oh no, what have I just/not done?!" - and guess what? I smiled/laughed despite my best effort to stay angry.
I have failed miserably to stay angry with him for a prolonged period of time. I can only hope that my scolding got through to him, and that when it comes to disciplining ZK, I would not be "cutified" and break into a smile which would only be a sure recipe for recidivism.
ZK looked a bit lost as we left the house early Saturday morning. Yes, I'm in my PJs, but why are we not taking the stroller? And Papa is here with us too?
Let him sit with Papa for a while :)
He was all over the place - so excited he was!
When we got to Malacca, we went to find TaiMa - he eventually let her carry him on the second day :)
Found a fantastic rattan chair - see last photo in link - so they must have a photo together :) But dear son, why were you sulking?!
Much better!
We had lunch - ZK had bread with fish and tofu cos he refused the rice - and then stayed there for most of the afternoon. ZK played with some toy fruits and climbed up and down a few steps of the stairs in the house!
Then we checked into Hatten Hotel. It was nice enough but not kid-friendly - they had no baby cot or bathtub! There was a heated pool though but we had no time to use it. The breakfast buffet had a ridiculously long line. Thankfully Mum and Dad were there earlier so we just joined them else we would be late for ZK's breakfast!
I fed ZK some porridge, baked beans and bread. Kind of regretted the beans - he started farting quite a bit *.*
Dinner was at a Chinese Restaurant somewhere and we went to bed after that - followed ZK's bedtime! Although it was later than usual..
The next day, we left ZK with his grandparents and went out with our cousin KS to Jusco before joining everyone for a dim sum lunch. And ZK chose to take a dump just before the food arrived! We changed him on the sofa outside the restaurant - smelly poop!
And later, he got cranky. But for two minutes, I had my time - he refused to be carried by anyone but me! Ah, my Mothers' Day gift??! Anyway, Mothers' Day had been totally eclipsed by ZK taking his first overseas trip :)
It was off to TaiMa's place for the rest of the afternoon before KS drove us to KL where he lived. Cranky in the car after waking up from a nap. Then, cranky in the restaurant, Oversea Restoran where four of had us dinner - while comforting him by carrying him around, I realised that that was probably our last time to that place. The char siew was very good, but they ran out when we went. The place was too crowded. The service was no good. And the food was not cheap. When I shared that with Sito, he had the same thought as well. Ah well..
We stayed in the Westin in KL. They provided a baby cot, a baby bath tub and - when we requested for it cos we left ours at Hatten - baby amenities. No diapers and wet unlike as St Regis but it was very good already. But well, ZK wasn't too keen on the cot - except to play! So he ended up on our bed again, and that night, he forced Sito off the bed to the sofa *.*
And despite me being in PJs and a freaking huge turban on my head, I'm posting this picture cos it's the only one of me and ZK on Mothers' Day! And that day also marked him turning 10 months, woohoo! (That was the adults' supper - mee mamak! - cos dinner just didn't cut it.)
At breakfast the next day...
"Huh, you mean this costs S$70?!"
Yes, my dear toothless baby who chews on hard breadstick all the same, it was an expensive breakfast! Just that we didn't know at that time!! Following our wonderful staycation at St Regis, we assumed breakfast was included in the rate but we had a rude shock at checkout :(
But it was still a lot of fun, especially after the first breakfast when ZK discovered Sito's wallet!! Um, a good thing that our baby loves to lie in a pile of cash, or not? :p
After he woke from a good nap, we left for Times Square - it was within walking distance. After walking around, we decided on Japanese for lunch. ZK had his cereals there too, and the staff were so friendly to him :) He had a great time too - he pooped ^.^
Next was foot reflexology! We remember doing that at this particular corner unit but it was run by different people, it seemed. And the prices had gone by a lot since end of 2009! We spent RM45 per person for an hour of bliss. Well, still cheaper than in Sg. And we could still feel the effects for the next couple of days!!
What followed was episodes of gluttony in the Tiny Taiwan section of the mall - sausage was followed by ham and cheese waffle on a stick, and then we had mango ice at Hui Lau Shan where ZK had his first taste of sourness! And he liked it! We packed some guilinggao and left.
Passed by another mall on the way back to the hotel, where Sito found this sign on the escalator - lots of funny stuff! Our fave at nine o'clock - what's that?!
Had time to check out the hotel pool - cold water - and the kids' club after a little rest before we went to Pavilion across the road for dinner. After some deliberation, as is normal when it comes to eating with Sito food, we decided on Duck King Express! We realised we were there the last time too but only for a little dim sum snack. This time, we found that they had super good char siew too! That's it, confirmed ditching Oversea Restoran!
And ZK was a Super Boy :)
Super cute :) But cranky - the whole place was littered with food he threw or spit out :( We left some change behind for the waiter.. But that was partly because he pooped - yes, second time that day! We packed a piece of cake and KFC (oops) before heading back to the hotel, where I got angry with Sito for the second time this year - more on that separately..
But the next morning, he was open to trying plum! I gave him a chunk to hold and suck but he dropped the whole thing pretty soon. He also tried peanut butter! No funny face with that one.
After a very good nap again, we had bah kut teh at Pavilion where he had a poop - smelly! Then we had more episodes of gluttony - mochi and crepe cake at the Japanese area of the mall, followed by grass jelly ice at Meet Fresh.
All too soon, it was time to go home.. But it was exciting too - ZK's first flight!!
ZK's boarding pass :)
And just before boarding with Mama! He was like, so what? Show him next time :)
*imagined conversation with older ZK*
ZK: Huh, my first flight was on a budget airline??
mf: You took your first flight before one. I took mine at 19 so shut up.
:p
On the plane with Papa! We had an infant seat belt around him but that didn't restrain him one bit! He was having lots of fun pulling stuff out from the pocket in front of them only to drop them. Managed to give him a dinner of bread I kopped from breakfast :p
We reached Sg just before 8 pm, very close to his bedtime. He fell asleep on the way back from the airport. So tired, poor boy. But he woke up when we came back so we gave him a quick shower and sent him off to bed.
The next day, it was couple time as ZK continued to go to IFC. In the morning while Sito was sleeping, I finally opened a savings account for the little one. Also had a foot treatment downstairs - now I have softer soles! Then we lunched at Royal China - spent less than an hour there, given how quickly we ate! Iron Man 3 followed - loved it!! Picked ZK up together after that. I even taught Sito how to put ZK in bed - though many iterations of ZK rolling in bed! Very sad to have to return to work the next day but we think it has really been a good holiday for us all, Papa, Mama and ZK :)
