A very full babymoon

Don't read this if you're hungry - you'll get hungrier! :p

Monday, 10 Mar 2014

We took the 8.30 am flight and arrived at Taipei at 1 pm. When we got to the city, we found a late lunch at a udon place at the Taipei Station. We had a bowl of udon each and shared some assorted tempura.

Checked into Sheraton Grande Taipei by 3.00 pm. Our junior suite was nice! There was a cabinet for coats and a walk-in wardrobe for the rest. And since we were going to be there until Thursday, I unpacked everything and felt happy :)

But I didn't feel too happy once I found the weighing machine :(

We lazed around for a while before heading out. First, we checked out the executive lounge and the gym. Then off to Shilin night market we went!



大肠包小肠! Meat sausage wrapped in a glutinous rice sausage!



We were queuing for it and this couple came near us to watch the food cooking. Then the girl asked her partner, "要排队吗?" Hello, you think we just stood there for fun??!

So happy to get our first food at the night market! The first of many!

胡椒饼! The meat was very peppery and yummy :)



Kindly walked into this stall while roaming.. Love them 生煎包! Think we had both the meat and the vege..



Then we had the meat one again at another stall :p

And of course Hotstar fried chicken in Sito's hands and 葱油饼 in mine!



I told myself that this time, I would have 阿宗面线 and we did! It was so good! Why didn't I have it the last time?? In fact, it was so good we had it again on Wednesday night - and we found that we could ask for one without the intestines! Save NT10 :p



And of course we had bubble tea along the way :) We shared the medium cup - there was no small actually - which is the equivalent of the big cup here, at NT35-45 typically, so cheap!

We also did some shopping - got two dresses for myself at NT350 each and two sets of PJs for ZK at NT100 each :)

Had to weigh myself again when we returned to our room :p Gained 400g! :p And that was before supper!

The 黑豆浆 was from 八方云集 where we also had meat and vege gyozas at NT5 each - pictures further down cos we had them again :p I forgot what the white thing was.. The skewer was a whole chicken thigh rolled into a roll - wonder how they did that..



It was Marvel night - watched movies until we got tired..

Tuesday, 11 Mar 2014

Leaving the curtains a little open was a bad idea. I woke with the sun *.*

But managed to Skype ZK before he left for school! Sito woke to say something too :) He was quite bewildered and kept looking to the door to see if I were there, hoho! He looked a bit sad though, as though he suddenly realised I wasn't there with him, sighs...

Did some work while Sito slept on *.*

Went to the lounge for a light and healthy breakfast of fruits and salad before heading out.

I was all decked out in pink! :) I left the coat unbuttoned when it wasn't too cold cos, well, my belly was bulging already... And I was so glad for my boots cos it rained every day - mostly drizzling except the last night but I never like wet toes!



Our plan was to eat at Jiufen! And we did! I was there before and loved it, but it was Sito's first time there. Let me show him what to eat :)

First, some meat and fish balls at this place full of photos of the lady boss - almost like a shrine *.*



Fried mushrooms!



Ice cream popiah! I had it the last time too :)



I think we also had a mega sausage nearby - no picture but it was good!!

Hot yam balls in soup! My stomach was feeling bad by then so I thought hot would be better...



I didn't remember seeing so many stalls selling yam balls the last time though.. I did queue for hot yam cake that was the best I'd ever had. This time, I didn't spot a queue but bought one for each of us anyway - still yummy but cold. It was later when I realised that it was a timing issue - they restarted making yam cake later and there was a queue!

We walked up and down the street a few times looking at stuff and eating, but my gastric pain was getting no better so we decided that it was time to go. But not before we had some mega fried prawn balls!



We were supposed to go to Pingxi and/or Shifen but because of my stomach, we went back to rest instead, sighs... But not before we got a cup of bubble tea!

By evening time, we were ready for more food. And I was feeling better. So we went to Shida night market. It looked different from the last time but we managed to eat a lot too :)

Buns! Very big and juicy :)



Steak on spaghetti! We thought it wasn't spaghetti though.. More like thin udon..? Who cares, yummy!



虾仁煎! Cos we don't eat oysters...



Finally, 烧仙草! At first I thought it was different from last time as it was too watery, but after a while, we realised that I had forgotten that the thing would solidify after a while! So good :)



Before we left, we had wantan soup with beancurd, our only 卤味 the whole trip.



Then it was bubble tea number 2 with us at the hotel :) Oh, and we bought Hokkaido soft serve ice cream from the 7-11 near the hotel on the way back - it was so creamy and rich!

This night, we kept a toilet light on instead of the curtain, and I woke past 8.00 am! Bliss!

Wednesday, 12 Mar 2014

We always thought the pregnant woman sign was cute - like a ball hidden under clothes :p



Anyway, we started with a healthy breakfast at the lounge again, and walked to Huaining Street where I last stayed to check out the hotels there. The hotel I last stayed in was renovated! Heard from Kel it changed hands. Found a lot of food in the area as well - we thought we could stay there next time we go to taipei :)

Also walked around the station mall a bit but it was too early and many shops were still not open for business..

Then it was off to our one and only proper sit-down meal - at Ding Tai Fung! Waited for some 15-20 min for a table.

Loved my outfit - ribbon on belly! ^.^ And I let my hair down without my little clip - it's the "old" mf, i.e. what I used to look like years back!



We shared a 炸酱面, a 酸辣汤 and 10 小笼包 so that we could eat more later :p



Then we walked along Tonghua Street, and found 甜不辣!



And 八方云集 again! This time, we had the 白豆浆, vege gyoza and...



... 肉饺 and 虾饺! But the latter didn't taste much of prawns, bleah..



葱抓饼! Cos I love 葱 :p



Very full by then but how could we pass up on some mango dessert? :) Mango ice cream on shaved ice and mango :)



Being very full and it was too early for dinner, we went back to hotel to laze around, with a cup of bubble tea :) Then we went to Danshui!

Supposed to catch the sunset but it was cloudy and drizzling so there was nothing to see but food to eat :p

Didn't take pictures there though cos the drizzle turned into a downpour :( But we had fried mushrooms and fried squid, and walked around quite a bit. I thought it was a little place near the sea but there was actually a lot to see, including a seemingly huge shopping area that we didn't have time to see.. Next time..

We were determined to go to Shilin despite the rain! By then, the rain was having mood swings...

Had two of these, chicken with leeks - super spicy!



Glutinous rice! They call it 油饭 - so yummy :)



This was another fried chicken, with honey.



We had shelter from the rain at the cinema.. And next to the cinema was a bubble tea shop so... :)



Also had a vege 生煎包 but it turned cold as I started shopping :p Bought some hair accessories and a onesie for little baby to wear on discharge, very happy!

It was really pouring as we left and I got wet as my coat was not waterproof. So I took it off and pulled my scarf into a cardigan instead - Sito was so amazed! Repeat stunt back at hotel :p



Oh yes, that was yet another Hokkaido ice cream in my hand :) Also brought back our third cup of bubble tea - one for day 1, two for day 2, three for day 3! - and McPork :p Yes, there was a Macs opposite the 7-11!

More movies late into the night - after all, this was our last night in Taipei..

Thursday, 13 Mar 2014

Breakfast #1 - carrot cake, cheese 蛋饼 and soy milk.



Breakfast #2 - 温州大馄饨! We saw the chain umpteen times and finally had it!



Went all the way to Taipei Station, walked around, got bubble tea :) and headed back to the hotel. Also grabbed a 青葱长饼 along the way but we couldn't finish it - too full!

Packed our stuff and checked out. Grabbed a cab and off to the airport we went, sighs...

Lunch was 卤肉饭 for him...



And 牛肉面 for me!



Oh, so we had 卤 stuff again after all :)

Immigration was a breeze cos we got into the priority queue with my belly. Even back in Singapore, we didn't need to queue for a cab! But ended up in a more expensive cab, oh well!

We Skyped with ZK while waiting for our luggage - he was having dinner and looked bewildered again. Love this boy :)

So there, our first proper and well rested holiday and couple time in almost two years, and our last for quite a while... Probably going for a staycation before little baby arrives, and then it's lovely family time! :)

A new era (for a while)

I had a revelation during dinner yesterday - we can now eat together because ZK can feed himself! So happy to have entered this new era. Yes, it's messy but he has improved a lot. Yes, it's only until end of the year when his brother will start solid food but all the more we should enjoy this period!

We came back from Taipei on Thursday night. Didn't see ZK until Friday morning when I went over to Mum's place as he slept over on Thursday too. He took a glance at me and carried on playing *.* It wasn't until he wanted me to blow at a trumpet that he called me "mama".

We skyped him a couple of times while in Taipei but when I finally saw him on Friday, he seemed to have grown so much in four days! My little boy is growing up real fast! :)

Anyway, we survived a long day without help today - if you don't count Thomas as help :p Y was off and Mum was in Malacca so we didn't go over as usual. I decided to cook fried noodles for lunch for all of us. Good move cos it rained quite heavily; bad move cos it was a lot of work - cooking for me and child care for Sito. I even made mee sua for ZK's dinner using frozen soup from Mum! The adults packed their dinner. But I think, until ZK can entertain himself well, we'll just eat out instead of cooking at home :p

Away from ZK...

I was looking at my little boy watching Thomas this morning and felt sad that I would be away from him for four days..

After close to 20 months, this is the first I'm going away from ZK for such a long stretch of time.

Tonight, he is going to sleep over at Mum's place as we have to sleep quite early for our flight. He will be sleeping there until we return. Y will go over to help morning and evening.

As tiring as being summoned into his room at 2 am might be, I think I will miss having his little hand sayang-ing me. Was just thinking to some three Sundays ago when he sayang-ed me on my shoulder as he was drifting off to sleep.. Such a wonderful feeling..

Anyway, I just logged into Skype on my phone so that we could at least see him through Skype while we are away.. Just have to time our dinner properly.

Nonetheless, we're very excited at our babymoon in Taipei! Mixed feelings, really. Well, updates when we're back!

ZK sings!

He went "all through town"! :)

We had some family karaoke time today - Sito and I sang the song while ZK did his round-and-round action, and at the end, together, "all through town!" :) He also said "beep beep" when we got to the horn of the bus :)

Today, he also had his first ice cream cone. Ice cream is not new but to lick it off was new - and apparently very funny!



Actually this has been a week of firsts. On Thursday, he screamed a mini scream at the end of the crocodile version of the row row song - actually, just a feeble ahhh but he got the idea :)

And on Friday, he went on his first school excursion! I prepared socks for him and made a lastminute sling out of a lanyard and a hairband for his water bottle :p They went to Xplorer at Pasir Ris and apparently, he was afraid of the big ball pit! On the way home from work yesterday, I was thinking, my first school excursion was in primary five or something - way to go, my little one!

And then there was also something final - he had his last bottle in his bassinet this morning. He barely finished his milk when he puked everything out along with some vegetable from yesterday. Think he was trying to get up and puuuu! Probably indigestion? So the bassinet got dirty and I thought, well, perfect timing..

We left him watch to watch Thomas wearing only his diaper while Y cleaned up and I got him some clean clothes. Then we set to dismantle the bassinet. Some parts got stuck, and ZK came over to kaypoh a couple of times, but we managed to get the cover off in the end. Now the frame is hidden in the cabinet and the cover is drying on the rack. ZK didn't seem to miss it during his afternoon milk time, phew!

Growing up fast..

TGIF! It's been a busy week at work - I didn't manage to do something I really wanted to complete this week, sighs.. But at least I managed to buy milk powder last night on the way home! Was on vetting duty and we broke record by finishing it by 8 pm when the past three teams left office at midnight, yeah!

Finally, some time to share more photos, which show ZK growing up fast...

Our little boy looks all grown up with his new $10 bag :)



He was looking at the dog next door, saying "狗狗"...

And then he waited for the lift patiently..



We went to KAP! Let him play with some stickers while Papa got food..



He had quite a bit of McChicken :) Ok, not exactly the healthiest food on earth but I was just happy he was eating meat cos he wouldn't have it at home. He had fun feeding us fries dipped in curry sauce, sweet and sour sauce, ketchup.. He even had some Milo to top it all off :)

Then we took pictures. After all, this Macs will see its last patron next weekend..



We left, saying bye bye, and popped into Cold Storage where, well, what do I say? Like father, like son??



We were waiting for the bus home when I had a major stomach upset. Had to go back to Macs although our bus was just arriving. ZK played at the figurines while I was gone.. And then we said bye bye again, for real...

Wearing Papa's shoes while he was sleeping.. Can't wait to fit into Papa's shoes already!



A couple of weeks back, on such a sunny day, he went to the door and said "hot". When I went over, I realised that he was touching the parts of the door where the sun was shining! So I took the chance to teach him "cold" using other parts of the door. I wonder how much he got in... Guess I'll know when he tells me "cold" next time!

Head to head with Papa! And having fun! We played that just now too and I suffered a mini concussion *.*



That was at Pioneer Seafood Restaurant - it has a very homely feel and the old boss was there to say hi too. I felt so welcome..

So concentrated on a fan while we waited for dessert...



He ended up having some yam paste too :)

Oh, that was the first time he was not sitting next to me at a restaurant! Cos by the time he was done with dinner, the table cloth in front of him was all wet so we had to move him.

And his drawing! It's quite obvious an elder kid or a teacher had a hand in it too...



So last Saturday, I showed him Thomas. So boring *.* But he liked it and wanted it the next day.. And the next... So now, he's watching every morning after his milk, and every evening at dinner time! Nightmare... I never wanted him to watch stuff over a meal :( My only consolation is that he seems more open to food while watching, probably cos he isn't concentrating on his food *.*

Anyway, it's quite fun watching him watch Thomas. He goes "choo choo" when he wants to watch, and during the songs, he'll laugh, say "boo" or "uh-oh" or wave bye bye. He likes to call trains "bus" too *.* Yup, boy :)

Excited about little baby!

Much as I've always wanted my firstborn to be a boy cos I've always wanted an elder brother, I always felt I was carrying a girl for all four pregnancies. I never knew about the two we lost but obviously I was wrong with ZK and this little baby.

To be completely honest, having a girl after ZK would be good. But a boy is good too - not sure if it's all his movements lately that make me more and more excited about having another boy! Well, my little one, you've got me captivated!

I wonder how he will look like... Will he look more like Sito, i.e. like his brother, or more like me? And the other day, Sito dreamt of little baby looking exactly like ZK! But based on the latest 3D scan, we think his face shape is somewhat different from ZK's already. Akan datang...



When I was in the toilet just now, I was also thinking I'm more used to taking care of a boy. ZK is active but he isn't particularly sticky. Seems that girls are stickier; not sure how I would react to that, hmmm.. And of course, I'm more used to wiping a boy's poopy bottom!

And of course, it's wonderful to see little Sitos in my home :)

Oh, just thought of something great too - we can institutionalise a boys' day when they're older, when Sito will bring them out and I'll be kids free for an afternoon :p *evil*

The first question I usually got from people when they heard about our second boy was - so you're going for a third one to try for a girl? Um, well, we'll see how we cope when this is born... Really, if this is going to be a girl, there is great impetus to close shop. But now, well, let's keep an open mind :)

Making waves already

I was wondering - how many legs does a dragon have?

Answer: Four, and the number of claws matters; in the past, the five-clawed dragon referred to the emperor.

Think what matters for me in the end is that dragons have short legs compared to the rest of their body. On the other hand, a horse has long legs...

See where this is going? :p

Well, my little baby has huge movements! In fact, he was making waves on the way home tonight! I was stoning while ZK was looking outside the window, and the car was gently bumping along, when I felt waves inside. And as I started to write this post, I felt him move at two places - left pelvic area and right waist. He seems quite big!

Ok, just Googled - he is more than 25 cm crown to heel now!

Sito and I are feeling a little scared... Seems like he may be even more active than ZK! If you see us lose weight (from running after two boys) or, on the other extreme, gain weight (cos there was no more energy left for exercising), you'll know why *.*

Still, I'm totally enjoying feeling his movements inside. Can't wait to see him again at the end of the month :) Let him put on more weight! Let my weight go to him! (I put on 3kg in the past month from having too much fried beehoon for breakfast *.* It's healthier food from tomorrow!)

One of my fave set of photos

I think it is perfectly normal for parents to think that theirs is the cutest baby EVER. Some photos here are indeed of ZK's cutest moments, in a month of both laughter and tantrums.

I had to work the Saturday after LNY so they went with Mum to West Coast Park and had a blast! Heard from Sito he was laughing happily on the swing :)



That Sunday, he overturned his toy box for the first time, and only helped to put back a few *.*



The following weekend, he successfully flipped his mattress down from a standing position when we weren't fast enough to reach him, and proceeded to jump on the mat on his mattress until I dismantled the thing. Then, abandoned *.*



Anyway, I had fun with him after missing a Saturday with him due to work cos the following Monday was centre closure day. Mum brought us to RTC to swim play with water!

The float jacket was a little big. But he enjoyed himself nonetheless. I think he likes water.. Yesterday I was on leave and went to register for infant care during water play time - he was having so much fun! I hid from him of course but that made it impossible to take pictures..



And I think that made him tired.. After the pool session, he was knocked out for two hours, starting from his car seat and didn't stir much when we moved him. And last night, he woke only once at one plus and slept until 6 am. Shall monitor this next Friday..

The next day, he decided to help me carry my laptop :)



And we cut his hair the following Saturday! He saw this at the basement of Plaza Sing and wanted to get on it VERY MUCH. I think we shall not put a coin in ever, else we'll end up having to spend a lot on this *.*



We tried to let him pee on the potty cos he had been peeing in the shower every time for a couple of weekends. But he sat down, got up quickly and peed on the floor *.* This was after the pee when we sat him down again and told him he should have done that on the potty...



I think he knows where pee and poo come from. Last weekend, I was surprised to hear him say "poo poo", with his hands on his butt. I asked him if he wanted to poo poo and he said "要" and within moments, his face turned red *.* Think we'll try the potty again..

And now, my fave photos!

Yeah! Look what I've done!



Ladies and gentlemen, acknowledge my masterpiece!



Now, what shall I do with this...?



Topple it, of course!



A video of him in action a few days later:



He was so tired that morning that he fell asleep in his bassinet after a milk feed - he hadn't slept in there for ages! But we woke him up shortly and left for Mum's place else he wouldn't take an afternoon nap.



His lunch - he loves noodles and is now able to feed himself with a spoon. Very messy though... And if he doesn't want it anymore, he spoons everything out of the bowl onto the floor!



Lucky boy gets his afternoon tea for many Sundays in a row now.



And Sunday is also when we indulged him - he can watch endless videos on YouTube with my in-laws while Sito and I rest!!

Last weekend, we went to Vivocity to try out the outdoor playground but it wasn't suitable for his age and it was too hot. So we walked around. He found it fun to hold a mannequin's hand *.*



And we played hide-and-seek / catching! He loves being found and caught haha!



Brought out his old shoes cos his sandals were drying out. They were so dirty! But this pair was getting really tight - think it's time to keep for good...



He brought back his handicraft on Tuesday - flower for Mama? :)



He's in school now while I attempt to work. Obviously, I'm not working now! Settled some emails and procrastinating on another piece.. Ah well, I will try again...

ZK in my belly!

Oops, this took a long time coming!

Don't blink - it's over in 17 seconds:



I'm thinking of doing a maternity shoot for this little baby since I'm not taking pictures of my belly week by week.. Time to look for a good lobang!