Rabong!

Dear Baby,

Yesterday was the first day of the fasting month and a public holiday and you got to be with mommy and daddy all day. Mommy also decided to try and fast and hopefully it won't affect your milk supply as much. You were nursing all day yesterday, mommy noticed didn't leak at all. I don't know if that's a good thing. And you had a very long nap of almost 4 hours, it helped with mommy next to you to nurse you back to sleep.

In the evening, we walked over to atok and nenek's house as there is a family function. We all wore red just for the heck of it. You were running around playing with your cousins and various family members belonging, mainly keys and mobile phones. Mommy gave you a slice of watermelon which you ate while playing. When it was time to break fast, there were catered food and mommy took for you a spoonful each of the two different rice that was available, some chicken off the bone, and bamboo shoots (rabong). Needless to say for the relatives that hadn't seen you eat before were surprised to see you eating them. They were just generally surprised that you ate by yourself anyway. All mommy did was put the food on the plate and placed it on the coffee table for you, and you would pick on your food as you toddle along doing all the various things you seem to do.

It was the first time you ate bamboo shoots. The first time was at Nini Noi's place when she cooked it for dinner, you just woke up from a nap and didn't want to be with anybody and sat on mommy's lap, and mommy was eating rabong and you had your plate of food too but you decided you wanted to eat off mommy's plate and took the rabong and kept on taking more as you finished the ones in your hand. Nini Noi and Nini Boy had a good time telling the relatives what you have been eating during one of the many family functions we've attended past month or so.

It was during one of those family functions that one of the relatives saw you eating a slice of cucumber, and she went all huffy and said oh it's not good for you and suggested for you to be given a slice of jelly desert instead because it is 'soft'. I think between the cucumber and the jelly, cucumber wins hands down. And that's when that particular relative got a list of all the food and vegetables especially, that you have been eating. They were surprised. Babies don't eat such thing they say. Well, this baby does.

In a few days we're going to have dinner with a friend of mommy's who's daughter is your classmate in your Kindermusik class, we'll go straight after class ends. I wonder how dinner will be like for all of us...

Love,
Mommy

The Sneaky Chocolate

Dear Baby,

We celebrated Auntie Lin's birthday with a family dinner at one of the baby friendly restaurants we like to frequent, Emperor's Court, near home. As soon as we came in the restaurant staff were very happy to see you, and even some of the kitchen staff was at the door to wave at you, and they were all delighted you can walk now.

We ordered a small dish of asparagus cooked with garlic and no seasoning especially for you. So for dinner you had the asparagus, rice, half a buttermilk prawn and corn with crab meat soup. Mommy spoon fed you the soup and when the rest of the food arrived you abandoned the soup and helped yourself to what was on your plate. You ate half of the prawn, most of the rice and lots of the asparagus and you insisted on having two spoons on your plate too.

Mommy also packed you some cucumber sticks as your pre dinner snack and you decided to put some of the asparagus into the same container and put on the lid. Hey, your first take away! Hahaha...

One of the conversation was maybe it'll be easier for you to call daddy's parents as Kong Kong and Po Po, instead of Nini Boy and Nini Noi. Mommy vote yes to that, not sure about the others, after all, Nini Boy is chinese and you are more than half chinese by blood. The ones I don't particularly like is the use of Nini Daddy and Nini Mommy, there are just too many syllables and it's confusing for baby.

After dinner was over out came the surprised birthday cake, and of course the obligatory photo taking of the cake.

The cake was nice, daddy had to order it last minute as your Nini Boy only told him to get one a few hours before dinner. The table near us which had another family sitting there also had a share of the cake.

By then you were sitting opposite mommy playing with Auntie Maricel next to Nini Noi. There was a piece of chocolate lying on the plate on the table. Mommy watched this whole thing happened, Nini Noi's hand moved to the plate, snapped off a piece of chocolate and was bringing it up towards your mouth! I told her stop, and her hand paused mid air. She said, "Oh, I thought she can have chocolate." She knew very well you are not allowed chocolate or any sweet stuff, not until you know how to brush your teeth properly or rather allow us to brush your teeth properly. Mommy seen too many young kids with bad teeth, and I rather we try to avoid that happening to you.

All in all, it was a nice dinner and lots of photo taking of baby. We stopped by the book store and daddy was showing you all the books and mommy picked up a potty training book, and off home we went.

Love,

Mommy

Making Bentos

Dear Baby,

For your first birthday, mommy wanted to do something special to mark this momentous occasion. With you having our first classmates and all mommy wanted to make something for all of you. At first I thought of maybe a cake or cupcake something that says 'Wonder Woman', but the more mommy thought about it, the less keen I was, it was because of all that sugar and fat in a cake. Granted it was a 'sometimes' food, but I figured you have the rest of your life to do that, as right now, mommy is still in the process of building up a healthy food choice foundation, so mommy thought some more.

It moved on to making savoury muffins and in the end, mommy decided to make a lunch pack of a sort.

Bentos! More specifically, charaben! That means character bento. Mommy made smiley snail sandwiches, little egg chicks and apple bunnies to go in the packs.

Making one took long enough, and mommy made six. One for each of your classmates, one for daddy, and one for us to share.

Don't think mommy will do this anytime again soon. We'll save it for special occassions ok when you start school and mommy packing your snacks and lunches.

Love,

Mommy

Sing & Sign

Dear Baby,

We came to an end with your sing and sign language classes mommy signed you up for under Kindermusik at Kerativgarden with Auntie Rachael. You were the youngest in the class of five babies, you were the only crawler but that didn't stop you in anyway. For the first time you got to interact with kids that is the same age range as you. You met Xavier, Zara, Safura and Toby, they were your very first classmates. You got to see them once a week with their mommies and daddies, like how mommy and sometime daddy, when he can, would take you to the class. And we got Auntie Lin to come along too, that way mommy won't have to teach her what we learned in class as she sits there right along with us singing and signing.

Baby with Auntie Rachael listening to tunes

Mommy learned a lot with the baby sign language classes, having to be conscience with using the signs with you and do the activities at home, teach everybody you interact with the proper signs to use. We were taught to show the signs to you as well as sign on you. We'd sing songs in the class and use the signs as well that correspond with words in the song, like the animals, or words like 'please' and 'more'.

We did activities in the class so we get used to using the new signs taught that day, and when we got home mommy will show everybody what we were taught.

During class, you were very interested in the glass wall with the animals stickers stuck on it. Sometimes you even gotten the other kids to join you hanging out there. Other times it'll be the socket switch at the corner. Most of the time it'll be all around the room, interacting with the other kids, parents and Auntie Rachael as she conducts the class.

Your favourite activity was when the make music toys came out. The first time you were introduced to the egg shaker you couldn't make heads or tail out of it, but it fascinated you. When you had one in your hands and started shaking, you totally loved it! And every time the eggs came out, you'd be the first to grab a pair.

I believed you enjoyed the classes, all the singing, noise making, new activities, playing with friends. You also took breaks to nurse and we stayed in the room just so you won't miss a thing when you were quenching your thirst. Once or twice you were so sleepy you napped mid class.

After almost three months of doing the 'Hello' song you can do the sign on cue, and mommy was so proud.

You turned one year old during the session, with four lessons left you took your first steps, by the last lesson, you were toddling everywhere! Just like all the other kids. Mommy liked to think that by seeing all the other children walking it encouraged you to do the same.

Group photo, somebody decided to take centre stage!

Mommy felt quite melancholic at your last class, knowing that was the last time with all the babies and parents, all the things you have experienced. Funny that it's mommy who's feeling sad isn't it. And so what did mommy do, mommy signed you up for a kindermusik babies class! We'll have about 3-4 weeks break now until the first class starts. We won't be with the same kids as they will be in the next level up as they are older than you, it's ok, we're going to meet new parents and babies.

Just so we won't forget the signs we had learned, mommy is still doing signs with you, showed you the alphabets and we sing too, and mommy asked Auntie Rachael to pick up a baby sign language book for us to use at home.

Love,

Mommy

Play Time Water

Dear Baby,

You've already figured out how to turn on the tap, and you just love playing at the sink, and since we don't have a bath tub, filling up a large basin with water for you to play in was the closest thing. Splashing all the way you did...

Love,

Mommy

1 Year Old!

Dear Baby,

One year has passed, and mommy is still amazed with having you in our lives. You have taught us unconditional love, happiness in the simple things in life, looking at the world in a new light, prepare for the future to come...

Having you also taught mommy to be more careful with what we consume and throw out. Alternatives to what is thought to be the norm for the better health. Look beyond self and to constantly be aware of thoughts and emotions.

Having you made us quick on our feet, sensitive to every little sound heard, so we can let you discover the world without hurting yourself much in the process.


We hope by having Shazam!, Chi and Elijah Snow in the house, you will grow up to be gentle, kind, patience and compassionate to other living creatures as the cats can be your source of joy, entertainment and comfort.

We hope that by bringing you out often from such an early age gives you the social skills to interact with people, a smile is always free and appreciated, meeting those who are your peers and playing with them, and confidence.

We hope by mommy enrolling you into all these enrichment classes before you were even 1 will add to your learning experience and give you an added advantage when going to school is in the picture and joy in learning.


We hope we have done as much as we can, to give you a solid foundation to the rest of your life.

Happy Birthday Dyanna...

Much Love,
Mommy & Daddy

The Diaper Drawer

Dear Baby,

Mommy finally found the camera and after charging up the flat battery here is the picture of your full diaper drawer. Mind you this was probably a couple of months ago so... the current total stash now is more than what the drawer can handle, I'm guessing a drawer and a half.

In the washing machine right now are the BabyBeeHind diapers which mommy had bought also a couple months back and only now I finally decided to prep them. Oh no! I just remembered there are two more Bamboolite premium fitted I forgot to chuck in the wash too... It can go in the next wash cycle... Anyway, the somewhat recent new diapers addition are for night diapering, as you get older you're producing more volume and therefore you would need a diaper that can hold all that until we get to the potty training stage.

We have gone beyond the saving aspect of cloth diapering, right now it is the equavilent(sp?) of high heels and handbags. We can make up some of it by selling off some of the stash, I am thinking of letting go of the BumWear covers for now, some of the Lunatots perhaps, and I do have a couple of Blueberry inserts that totally have not been touched at all, because it being hemp - mommy prefers bamboo. Also, I'm vowing with your next brother or sister, I shall be adapt at using the sewing machine so mommy can make the diapers if needed.

As for now, we just have to take good care of the diapers between when you stopped using them and when the next baby arrives. I remembered reading somewhere to wash them every 3 months just so the elasticity does not become brittle and freshen up the diapers so that they can still be used, so we must make sure we store them carefully...

Love,

Mommy