WW: Mesmerised

WW: All Aboard!

WW: Early Education

WW: Just Dance

Walks on Sundays

I like going out a lot (I must have taken that from Mum) so when we go to the playground, I walk everywhere except towards the exits and when Mum directs me to the exit, I do a U-turn and head back to the slides/swings. Mum takes me back to the exit acting as if she can't hear me whining. In between the exit and our flat, she lets me walk on the pedestrian path but some adults walk past me so fast that they knock me down. In Hong Kong, most people are in a hurry to get somewhere and if that means getting there by knocking down a toddler then so be it! Wait till I grow up!!

We reach our flat's main gate and I try to quickly do another U-turn to the pedestrian path but Mum leads me back to the main gate grabbing my hand. The lift door opens but I want it to close fast enough so that I can walk around the lobby for few more minutes. Another lift door opens and I get carried till we reach the flat. While Mum gets busy fiddling with the lock, I head back to the lift but this time the lift doors don't open and I get led back in the flat.

Door is closed till Dad comes home and I follow him everywhere like his tail shadow till he gets my hint. Dad gets ready to take me out...again! YAY!! Mum doesn't say much to my second walk of the day because  that way she can have atleast half an hour to herself. Imagine how fast she'd get fed up if she was a stay-at-home mum - she'd definitely be a bad one!

WW: Stop Callin', Stop Callin'. I Don't Wanna Talk Anymore.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Change!

A change is difficult to make - be it good or bad. I have been forced trying to shift from drinking water from a bottle to a straw cup but the sipping through a straw just makes me smile and I end up spilling the water out. Mum bought a waterproof bib with pockets (<---- click on the link to check out the SuperBib) from Eugene Club in Central mainly because Helper was complaining about the amount of tees and bibs that she had to change in a day (I thought "cleaning up" was a part of her job description?). This bib is perfect for spilling/spitting toddlers! More so for those who likes to spill out those gooey sticky nasty liquid medicines. Let the mess begin (if Helper lets me, that is.....)!

A change in safety and appearance - putting safety corners on the table did not impress Dad because the table looked ugly with them on but better safe than sorry...errrr...hmmm...they did not stay there for too long as I have enough power to rip them off (eat your veggies, kids!) and these things are supposed to be "baby-proof"? I should invent "toddler-proof" when I'm a bit bigger and can talk about marketing stuff.

A change to my dummy/pacifier - Mum likes to get pacifiers with cool prints but yesterday, the choices were limited so she got me one with a panda face on it. Big mistake as it was NOT Avent's! OK, I am not a spoilt brat but if you give me Avent pacifier since I opened my eyes to this polluted wonderful world then I expect Avent till....whenever I am ready to stop taking the pacifier! The panda-faced pacifier does look cute but it's not Avent. I took it to bed lastnight but couldn't sleep for a good half an hour so Mum changed it to Avent pacifier and off I went to my dreamland full of Avent products.

Next change coming up is "Toothbrushing". You'd think Mum would be too busy to notice about my things but she keeps coming up with these ideas of changes for me. What about the changes I want or do not want? You can see it coming if I'd my way. "Yes, I'd want a New Mum for a change! Thanks very much!"

WW: Say A Lil Prayer

What were you saying?

Lo and Behold! A video of me finally walking. Can you see Dad oh-so-proud at the back? You can hear Mum encouraging me with her babyishly annoying voice. No need to see the specialist anymore. *YAY*

Mood Swings

I've got moods incase you think that babies/kids aren't supposed to have one. Mum got a surprise when I waved her "bye" and blew flying kisses last week - everytime she leaves for work, she waves "bye" and blows kisses to me in the hope of getting that love reciprocated (she has been doing this since she restarted work in Oct 2009!). She expected me to do the same the following day but I wasn't just in the mood so she went to work with a sad face. Come on, Mum - I will do the formalities only when I feel like, OK? Jeeeez!!

We see other 17-month olds and younger walking around and I'm still crawling because I'm cooler that way. I don't need to follow the trend. Walking while holding onto something is as good as it gets for now. When I start walking/running, Mum and Dad would wish that I was still crawling. I've got a regular checkup in Dec so Mum and Dad are hoping that I'll independently walk by then - if not then Dad will be taking me to the specialist.

Weather's getting cooler but still in the 20s and my runny-nose-cough saga continues for the second time in the same month. I can see Mum tearing her hair over this once again!

WW: Multi-Tasking

Sunday ~ Funday

I received an invitation to one of Mum's colleague's daughter's 1st birthday party and Mum is anxious since it falls on a Sunday which is Dad's working day and also Helper's day off. She nearly declined the invitation because it is not easy to travel with a heavy toddler and a stroller. I'm still not walking yet so she will have to carry me while trying to open/close the stroller with the other free hand before getting into a cab/bus. Even on buses, you have to close the stroller "before" boarding, not after! Imagine Mum carrying me, carrying the stroller, trying to pay the bus fare while getting on board - she needs 4 hands for all this! It would have been easy if the driver just let her get on with me on the stroller. Fair enough if the bus is jam-packed but when there is a space for an open stroller then they should just let it be. Sometimes (and I mean "rarely") someone will lend a hand to Mum with the stroller and kudos to those few good citizens. There is a good no. of rules plastered on the bus on what to do and what not to do and they should definitely add "Please help anyone in need". Common courtesy in Hong Kong is a whole new post…..anyway, Mum has decided to scrap the bus crap and take a cab on that day - works for me!

After months of deciding whether to put me into an organised playgroup or not, Mum has taken the plunge to take me to a trial class at KiddiKraft. She wanted to put me into the famous Woodland Tree House but they don't do weekend playgroups - she could have put me there during the week BUT Mum wanted to be there with me (new readers need to know that she has a full-time job and also attends Uni in the evenings) and KiddiKraft seems perfect since it is a 10-min walk from our place and the particular session is on a Sunday. If anyone from Hong Kong is reading this blog then make sure you come back because there will be a review on how the trial class went.

Follow Me ~ Follow You

 

I'm new to the above memes and hope I can get a larger audience to bore entertain fellow bloggers. Please leave me a message so that I can check you out and follow back! Here's an incentive to make you follow: My Cute Face!

Wordless Wednesday: I See You!

Get Your Own Mummy, Kiddo!

Mum took some time off from her lecture notes and took me to the play-area on Thursday (it was a public holiday in Hong Kong to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival). She was surrounded by few kids and I thought that they were just keen to look at the camera which she had in her hands but I was wrong. She is not shy of making funny noises or making faces to embarass entertain me so the kids were looking at her and laughing. Maybe she should join the circus! *hmph* This other young mummy also took out her camera to capture the precious moments of her kid (the kid in the pic above) and tried to get his attention but guess who was he busy following around in the play-area? YES, MY MUM!!

Mum = Goofy
Kid = Stalker
Ash = Irritated
Photo Proof = Priceless!

Lost Follower(s)

OK, this is not good! I lost a follower and I really need to know how do you lose a follower? Mum has been extremely busy with work, Uni and domestic life so I blame her for this loss so I will definitely update more from now on - twice a week. Is twice a week good enough to keep a follower? Is this "through your eyes" perspective not readable? Guess it is a bit lame to type through my eyes when I can't even put A and B together but Mum can "read" my signs, apparently. Am I not leaving enough comments on other blogs? Any good tip is really appreciated.

Well I have to agree with you all that this blog has been bit of a drag after Mum started Uni but let's give her a break. She was so immersed in her reading materials on Saturday that she let me watch TV for an additional hour. Unfortunately, the enjoyment of extra hour of TV has not happened again because she has started reading when I take my 2 hour-nap.

Coming back to me, I have started walking a lot when someone holds my hands and am more vocal these days especially when I am on the slide or the swing. I humm along when Helper sings badly. My favourite hobby is still sitting by the window and watch the vehicles go by. I am also learning things faster like giving out a flying kiss, let the cars roll along (rather than throwing them on the floor with an evil laugh), giving a kiss especially to Mum since she demands it every other minute, fake those crocodile tears more often, shake my head and reject food when i want to drink water, copying anyone's laughter and putting things back in the play-basket. I also tried to figure out how to sip through a straw but I kept on biting it and no water was coming out. So I end this post with a question:

How did you force encourage your kid to suck on the straw?

Wordless Wednesday: Got Milk?

Education

Education starts from home but there's only Helper to teach me during the week so maybe that's why I don't babble too much/not said my first word yet. Helper sings the famous nursery ryhme like this:

"Baa Baa Buck Ship, Haf Yeh Eny Ool? Yash Sir Yash Sir 3-4-5..."

Mum told her not to sing if she doesn't know the words but she LOVES to sing! Mum and Dad overlooks her poor English because she is great on taking care of me. Things you have to put up with for great love and greater care.

After a well-thought plan (in process) of Mum, we might be moving back to London in a couple of years. Mum despises the miserable weather and high taxes but UK is well-known for its superb quality of education so she'll be getting dragged backwards by me and my future.

Hong Kong's education is not bad if you know the lingo but the best local schools are hard to get into (pressure on parents) and also hard to stay once you're in (pressure on kids). Second option is international school which will cost you an arm, a leg and a bit of your hair. Talking about education, Mum is going back to Uni to do Professional Diploma in Legal Executive Studies mainly because she doesn't want to be one of those old grey haired women with glasses who has been a secretary for more than 30 years!! No offence to any old grey haired women with glasses but she'd like to better her career to provide me with a good future. I am her "motivation". It will take 2 years of her precious time to complete this course and we can finally stop hearing her regretting to herself "I coulda...."

Wordless Wednesday: How to BBQ in the Rain

Game On!

Due to Mum being sick, the blog was running empty for over a week but she has finally recovered from cold, cough, runny nose/blocked nose, high fever and body-aches. Her body is not the same anymore after giving birth to me, which she reminds me that I was totally all worth it! Maybe the reminding is meant to be more for her than me.

I've been showing more interest on walking when someone holds my hands and I also move around on the walker more. The interest doesn't last very long though. I can easily ignore Helper's effort to try making me walk but with Dad, it's a different scenario as he doesn't give up as easily as Helper. Good thing that Dad doesn't get that many days off from work!

My latest obsession is emptying my play-basket and the middle drawer (full of CDs and DVDs) of the TV cabinet. I hear a good number of "No!" being thrown towards me while I take everything out but I'd rather keep Helper busy than bored. Mum is trying to teach me how to put those things back in place but I'm not getting the hang of it because emptying the basket and drawer is more fun! As soon as the floor is tidy, I pull everything out once again but one time, no one moved to clear up the mess. I waited and waited.....and waited till I fell into a snooze. By the time I was awake, the floor was clean so I went to pull everything out again. Score: One to Ash!

Wordless Wednesday: Sunset

Nosy Parker!

I have to agree that I don't look cute anymore when crawling because I'm bigger and taller now and when I get off the swings at the playground, people look in disbelief when I crawl. Mum had an unwanted conversation with this old woman:

Old woman: How old is he?

Mum: 14 months….

Old woman: Why is he crawling then?

Mum: Because he wants to…. (trying to walk away from her)

Old woman: (her voice gets a bit louder when she sees Mum trying to avoid the conversation) He needs to start walking. When you pulled him off from the swing, I expected him to walk but he CRAWLED!

Mum: I'm sure he will walk when he's ready. I don't want to force him.

Old woman: Sometimes, forcing is good!

Mum: (with a fake smile) OK….why don't you apply that to your grand-son who has been hogging the swing for 30 minutes when other people are queuing to use it? He needs to be taught how to be considerate.

Old woman: It's none of your business how we teach our kids/grand-kids.

Mum gives her a look which makes her stop talking and goes towards the swing to get her grand-son off the swing.

**No old women were hurt in this part of the conversation**

Wordless Wednesday: Slide UP

Always happy to link up with gorgeous Alicia and Amanda on a glorious Wednesday. Please visit them or join in the fun every Wednesdays.

Daddy Dear

After failed attempts of Dad trying to make me walk on the boring walker and buying a musical activity walker to make me want to walk it more fun, I'm still crawling and I'm about to reach my 14th-month. Mum and Helper just let me be and they comfort Dad by saying that I WILL walk when I WANT to walk but Dad thinks that there's something wrong with me. Maybe I am just a late-starter but Dad can't help but to compare me with other kids! "My friend's son started walking when he was 11 months old!", "My sister's daughter had 10 teeth by the time she was 14 months!", "His kid feeds himself with spoon at this age", etc.

Dad caught me tearing a book recently and this has added more worries to his frustration because he thinks that I will not be good in school. To Dad's annoyance, Mum saw the good sides like how I carefully paid attention to flip over the pages one by one and how I closed the book after finish tearing its middle pages so she has put some of her old gossip magazines in my play-basket.

However, Dad's a great dad who:

1.   smiles when I smile

2.   cries when I cry

3.   makes a big fuss when not needed

4.   cooks the best yummy food for me on his day off

5.   tries to call an ambulance everytime I'm ill

6.   prays to every Gods and Goddesses when I'm ill

7.   comes home straight from work everyday to play with me

8.   gets a bit annoyed when I'm already in bed by the time he comes home

9.   is ready to do anything for me...ANYTHING!

10.  loves me more than Mum

Wordless Wednesday: Copy-Cat

Mum is slacking...

I suddenly realised that I'm posting mainly for Wordless Wednesday, AS IF I live for it - Mum does because she controls this blog and she eagerly waits for that special Wednesday leading her to slack on my "important" updates and it is all your fault - Alicia and other mummy hosts!

Since I have 41 followers (woohoo!!) and also following many lovely bloggers, Mum takes time to visit each of them and leave a comment. If she sees any new bloggers who catch her eyes then she visits their page and read the posts and if they are good enough to tickle her funny bones or her soft heart then she ends up following them which means more slacking on MY blog.

And can mummys like Chelsey, B Mama, Jessica, Max's Mummy, Michelle and other mummys (you know who you are!) please please please not post too many pics of your adorable kids? The reason being that that makes her go "awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" while she just gives me an "aww" - I'm less adorable to her these days. You might not realise it but that long "awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" takes an awful lot of Mum's time which makes her think of your gorgeous kids and not me and the updates of my days go out of the window........Mum - You Suck!

Wordless Wednesday: Dubai

Always happy to link with gorgeous Alicia@A Beautiful Mess - http://weloveiowa.blogspot.com/ and Amanda@My Ramblings - http://www.myramblings.ca/ on a glorious Wednesday.

Wordless Wednesday: Talking Fish

Teething Woes

Mum totally didn't expect me to get teething pain because I've been fed gripe water since I was 4-5 months. It's like holy water (not really but you catch my drift?) to teething babies but apparently it doesn't work on SOME babies and I'm one of them! I have older twin cousins and they were fed gripe water like I was and they didn't get any teething pain and Mum's sister swore on gripe water for their painless teething period!

High fever of 40C for 4 nights + Vomitting for 3 days + Loss of Appetite + Red Swollen Gums = Sick Me + Sleepless Mum + Sensitive Dad (x 10)

You can figure out how the house was with the above summary of my teething woes. Incase you're wondering, I've 5 teeth trying to pop out of those gums at the same time. I slept a lot after meds and antibiotics but the ones who had to stay awake to look after me was worse for health (mentally!!). Mum took two days off work and then came the weekend so we both got the much needed rest and love. I got better by Saturday but woke up to find horrible red rashes all over my face and body. Oh Great!...NOT!!

Mum took me to the doc and she said that the rashes were an automatic reaction to my high fever who got too comfy in my body and decided to over-stay. A dash of calamine lotion everyday, made the rashes go away!

I'm back to my happy self to the relief of Mum & Dad. They just worry too much. If I could've said it aloud, Mum would've said, "Wait till you have your own kids!!" - a famous sentence of her Mum tattooed in her mind, which I'll be hearing it for years to come.

Wordless Wednesday: Through Your Eyes *NOT*

Wordless Wednesday: Crabby Crab

This lil crab was wriggling under Mum's feet when she was lying on the beach. Poor thing was more startled than Mum!

Attachment

Mum had visitors during the weekend and as soon as the Auntie & Uncle arrived, I instantly crawled to hug the Uncle. Auntie wanted a cuddle but I kinda got stuck on him. Auntie didn't give up on trying to get a hug out of me so she tried her best to be nice, sweet and playful but I was having none of it. Uncle loved my attention so he told Auntie to give it a rest. Mum felt bad so she ripped me away from Uncle's leg and made me sit on Auntie's lap for a few seconds...1-2-3-ok-that's-enough!

When I go to visit my cousins, I automatically crawl towards their daddies and how hard their mummies try, I pay no attention to them. Ofcourse Mum has to be the villain and rip me away from the daddies and force let me pay a bit of attention to the mummies. You can see the routine here - me getting attached and Mum ripping me away. I fear for my future girlfriend(s)!

At home, I'm more attached to the Helper than Mum and more to Mum than Dad and it's in that order because I get to see the Helper more than Mum and third place goes to Dad. Sometimes Mum "dreams" of quitting her job, letting go of the Helper (it's just her "dream", remember!) and look after me 24-7 so she would be the first person I would go to if I need something but reality sucks - someone's gotta bring that milk-money home!!

Wordless Wednesday: Innocent Eyes

We had gone swimming last Thursday so this pic is from that day. We had just returned to the flat after swimming and I kept on looking down towards the swimming pool from the window. My innocent eyes are begging her to stop clicking my pics and take me to the swimming pool again.....innocent eyes gone unnoticed. This is my first ever linky (after making a boo-boo on another linky last week *oops*) and I'd to add something...not so wordless afterall. Blame Mum please, not me!

Wise Shopping

I got lots of pressies before and after I was born that Mum didn't have to shop for my clothes for a good 6 months. Some of the pressies are stored away as they are for 2 -3 year olds and some new unworn ones were passed to my lil brother (Dad's brother's son). Mum keeps an eye on the stored clothes as I tend to grow too fast for a one year old's shirt/tee/shorts/jeans/etc.

We have to LOVE the shopping in HK - you can get a mix of cheap good stuff as well as expensive bad stuff. Mum can't help but go in to every shops that have displays of kids' clothes - be it an outlet or the higher end stores. Once she bought a tee for HK$200 and saw the same tee in a stall for HK$50 and she nearly banged her head on a pole when walking past that stall. OK - quality was a bit low but everything was nearly and perfectly similar to the expensive tee. I'm growing up fast so the expensive tee was worn only for a good dozen of times and Mum couldn't seem to store it away as she felt like it wasn't used to a max (C'mon Mum, my belly was hanging out of the tee - not a good look on me!).

Yes, she learnt her lesson! For HK$200, she started coming home with 4 tees instead of one and I wear a different one everyday and even if it outgrows me in 2 weeks, Mum doesn't mind anymore (No more hanging belly *YAY*).

The places she normally shops are the lanes in Central, H&M, Mongkok market, Jordan market, Stanley market, Giordano, Bossini, Mothercare and Marks & Spencer. The 3 in 1 and/or 5 in 1 pack is of great value!

Swim Swam Swum

Weather has been weird for this half of the year - winter was way longer making summer shine a bit late. With heavy rain for the past week, the sun finally got a chance to beam from yesterday but the weatherman says that we should expect more rain in the weekend. When you don't have much to talk about, you talk about the weather (as per Mum - she learnt that from the British).

There is not much to blog about as we are still recovering very s....l....o....w...l...y from the birthday weekend - yes! it was like 2 weekends ago and Mum has been busy finishing the pending errands which were on hold till the birthday party. Also, she has been thinking whether to close this blog to the public since many readers might think it as silly for a blog to be written through MY eyes...............

As she tries to make a decision for this blog, let me tell you a bit about the "title". It's a public holiday on 1 July for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day - it commemorates the transfer of the sovereignty of HK from the UK to the PRC. While lots of people will march for universal suffrage on this day, Mum will take me to the swimming pool instead - you can tell where her priority lies. Like any overbearing caring Mum, she has done all the research - which sunblock to buy? where to buy? which spf to use? which swimming diaper is the best? how to make my first swimming experience a good one? etc. etc. She contributes a LOT to the traffic on google!

Happy 1st Birthday To ME!!

OK - I'm just recovering from my birthday weekend now and what a busy weekend it was especially for Mum&Dad. They tried to make it a perfect birthday party for me (but that was just an excuse for them to party it up with friends and relatives). I didn't have a clue what was going on! Mum tried to be clever and put me to nap at noon missing my morning nap in the hope that I nap for longer but I woke up after an hour and by the time it was 7pm, I was ready for my bed. I slept as soon as we got to the restaurant. Guests dressed up to the nines started filling in the restaurant slowly and some kids woke me up by blowing horns next to my ears. Dad's clever idea to keep the kids entertained with the horns made it not-such-a-clever-idea-afterall!! I cried for few minutes when I saw so many people in one room. Helper took me out of the restaurant for a bit and I calmed down because I kind of knew that my crying wouldn't send them running home...this time!

At the chance of my opened eyes, we cut the awesomest and equally delicious Teletubbies cake (it tilted a bit because of the humidity) and guests started showering me with warm blessings and warmer gifts. I was cranky because I wanted to sleep and it didn't go down well with some guests but hey, I'm sure that they don't like getting their sleep ruined either! Out of the restaurant I go for some cool air and peace and there comes another guest who wants to kiss and carry me. She carries me back to the restaurant and all the attention is back on me. Mum&Dad were running around like headless chickens trying to see if everything and everyone was doing alright.

Party ended at 1am and finally we got to head home after making Dad's wallet a bit lighter. I slept like a baby (literally!) that night and the day after (Sunday). Monday was the horrible two-vaccinations day which I don't like to remember nor blog about and Tuesday was Mum's birthday so we treated her to a nice Thai dinner. Let me catch my breath now!

Fat means Healthy...?!

I'm eating varieties of food these days and drink lots of water but only if gripe water is added. I really didn't like gripe water in the beginning but now I can't drink without it! This is how a habit starts - good or bad! Same thing with the dummy. Mum is planning to wean the gripe water and dummy off me since I'm turning ONE in 4 days but all the best to her. She needs it!

Mum bought me a suit for my birthday bash and it is "meant" to be for a one year old but the shirt and trousers seem a wee bit tight on me. She can't exchange the shirt and trousers for a bigger size because the set (shirt, trousers, bow, waistcoat and a coat) comes in its own size and the shop doesn't want to have a set of a 18 month's suit-set without the 18 month's shirt and trouser.  Annoyingly fair enough!

Mum was fussing over the tightness while Dad had a smile on his face. For him, the tightness meant that I'm taller/bigger/fatter than a normal local one year old kid. When I drastically lost weight at the time I caught human swine flu, Dad was very worried and hassled Mum and Helper to feed me more more more. He commented on my weight everyday "Look at him! He is so thin! Only his head is big! Helper is not feeding him properly! I need to install a camera at home!". The weight started increasing slowly and Dad got happier. When people comment that I'm a fat boy, Dad swells up in pride. Mum told him that he better not be too happy when people make the same comment when I turn 10! His answer "Fat means Healthy!". "Not necessarily...!" says Mum. Pointless discussion, really. Did I mention before that they worry too much?

(Pic: This is how Dad likes me - I was 5 months old.)

The Devil does NOT Wear Prada

Mum and I was on our favourite playground at the weekend and the queue was long for the swings. There are only two swings in our area but we need more! Did the government put them up as a teaser or to encourage us to be more "active" than just hanging in the swing? It's nice for Mum when I'm not active for even few minutes and I get to enjoy the swing so it's a win-win situation. Back to the long queue, we are waiting while two kids are put into one swing and they start feeling uncomfortable after the first swing. The boy starts crying and the girl (who is a bit older) starts shouting at him and their granny tells them to stop crying/shouting/moving so that she can release them. Granny is having a hard time so another parent helps her. Mum couldn't help at that time because I was eyeing up the swing and getting all fidgety in her arms. Mum felt sorry for the granny but I felt happy to see that empty swing!

The regulars who frequent that playground knows that the boy and girl mentioned are a bit of a trouble-maker and their grandparents can't handle them. While on the swing, I can see them hassling a bigger kid for his tricycle and his dad carries the bigger kid and the tricycle and heads off somewhere else. Then they start on another girl who wants to play on the slide but both of them are sitting on it and teasing her so her mum takes her to the other end of the playground. Why are the parents not saying anything to the Granny or the boy and girl? I guess that it is more civilised to turn away from the problem but for how long can they do that? I'm sure Mum would do or say something if I was being bullied. Her weakness is not able to speak in Cantonese but her angry face is enough to scare anyone and I'm just talking about the adults here!

Mum is nodding "hello" to the other parent swinging her kid on the next swing and compliments how cute her kid is. The other parent just gives a smile...without a "thank you". There's a lack of common courtesy in Hong Kong and Mum should be used to this by now but she's not. She says a lots of "thank you, please and sorry" and she kind of expects other people to do the same and also nags Dad to take up the good habit but he says that "thank you, please and sorry" are for distant people - it doesn't have to be used with closed friends and relatives. Blame the bollywood movies especially "Maine Pyaar Kiya"..one of the movie's famous dialogue is "Dosti Mein, No Thank You No Sorry" which means "In Friendship, No Thank You No Sorry".  Mum makes the extra effort to tell my helper to say "thank you, please and sorry" when needed because I'm with the helper more than Mum&Dad. Mum even told her nieces and nephews to get into that good habit. She spares no one! God help me with my growing days!!

Time for Teletubbies!

I love Teletubbies!! Mum lets me watch the telly which is supposed to be bad (?!) but hey, it's entertainment for me and it also gives Mum some "off" time so it is not that bad! I can think of lots of bad things than watching telly. She tried to show me various cartoons/shows but nothing caught my attention like Teletubbies did. The squealing sun and the colourful Teletubbies keep me happy especially when I'm having my food locked in my seat. I used to cry at the loud ships but they don't scare me anymore because I'm a big boy now. The dancing teddy as well as the boys and girls are also very entertaining like the Teletubbies. Dad thinks that I'm like Po (the cute short red one who speaks in Cantonese every now and then) but Mum thinks that I'm like La-La (the cuter yellow one who is always so happy - yeah! that's me on my good days). Why would some people/country want it banned though? It might not be everyone's cup of milk but it's mine so let it be how it is.

19 days to go for the big day!! The most exciting part of my birthday is the cake and yes, it will be a TELETUBBIES cake!! Aunt Sabita does a wicked job on the cakes among other delicious things and she is very dedicated, hardworking, flexible and creative towards achieving what we want. Do check out their facebook page: H&S Concepts. Sorry folks outside Hong Kong, you're missing out on these incredibleyummyliciousfingerlickingfantastic sweet treats!

Special update is that I stood up unsupported yesterday for 2 secs. I've been trying for the past couple of weeks and finally I did it!! If I can toddle by my birthday, that would be wicked. Stay tuned!

(Pic: Mum said "smile" and I gave her that!)

I'm a Big Brother!

We got a big surprise last week as Dad's S-I-L gave birth to a cute baby boy - he was supposed to come out in mid-June! Mum got me all tidy to welcome him yesterday but he was suffering from jaundice so he's getting discharged today. I'm a big brother now and Mum keeps on telling me that I have to behave well because the little brother will look upto me as his idol (does he get a choice?). To start with, I have passed most of my old stuff to his parents. Dad said that he'll want them back in future which got Mum to raise an eyebrow to ask "what for??!". You know where I get the cheekiness from!

Dad loves baby girls and he was a bit disappointed when he found out my gender during one of Mum's ultrasound scans. He even told his S-I-L that her baby better be a girl. As long as the baby is healthy then that's what should matter and Dad knows this too but he really wished for me and the little brother to be girls. Dad said that he wants to take the girl shopping for beautiful pink frocks and brush her long hair and make her all pretty. Shouldn't Mum be the one thinking like this? Mum's friend passed her a Chinese Chart where you can figure out the gender of the baby based on the woman's age and due date. It was accurate for Mum - is it accurate for you?

Grandmum says that babies are god-gifted and once a baby (whether it's a boy or a girl!) enters a person's life, the world changes in a nice way...for most. For some, it might be a nightmare as he/she wouldn't know how to deal with the new responsibility and he/she might regret the baby's birth leading to horrible consequences. Luckily for me, Mum & Dad falls under the "nice" category but if some parents fall under the "nightmare" category then they should seek professional help before it's too late!

I'm going to be 1 year old next month and we're doing a countdown - 26 days to go!!! Lately, Mum has been pretty good at picking up my actions. If I stand up on her lap and look towards the bedroom, that means "I'm ready for my nap!". If it's my meal-time and I want water then I close my mouth, block it with my hands and refuse to eat the solids. If I want her to push me faster on the swing then I flail my arms and legs and throw a bit of a fuss - same goes when she wants to take me out to give turns to other babies. (I know what I want for my birthday!!!) Does action speak louder for other Mummies too? Please share if you like.

Stranger rhymes with Danger!

Summer is creeping up slowly in Hong Kong along with the unwanted humidity. I've a thick mop of hair so Mum clipped it off "unevenly" as I kept on shaking my head. A month to go for my big birthday bash so hope it'll "even out" by then! Well, it better!!

I've moved on up from rice porridge with mashed veggies/meat to steamed rice with unmashed veggies/meat. Mum doesn't want me to feed the latter as it has salt and spices but I don't want to eat those soft bland food. Mum tried to be clever and made me steamed rice and veggies with a pinch of salt but I banged on the tray to show her that she can't simply fool me. Helper made some chickpeas and potato curry and Mum added that to my dinner and I ate without a fuss. The new menu is out on force from today - steamed rice with veggies/meat with yummy gravy without the spices. Salt is supposed to be bad for babies but a small pinch won't hurt. No flying daggers at the cook please! Mum has been baby-led from the start so she has to keep up on me.

OK, the main reason for posting today is that Mum took me out to the swings yesterday but it was too hot so she took me to the activity room. It was cooler there but the other kids were doing Mum's head-in! Two of them were coughing very badly with one of them with a visible runny nose and three of them running around like they own that room. Where were their parents? Sitting on the sofas admiring their active babies. Awwww!!! As soon as I saw my chance, I crawled to the exit door and Mum got the hint. Out we go to the lift where a big chinese man was standing next to us:

1. He smiled - I smiled back.

2. He gave me a funny face - I gave him my funny laughter.

3. He extended both of his arms towards me - I extended my arms towards him.

4. He laughs out loud - Mum gives a fake laugh (praying for the lift door to open within that second) and rushes out singing a "bye bye" to the stranger.

I was just being friendly to him because he was a nice man. I'm always told to be nice but the above action no. 3 was a complete "no-no". As soon as we get home, Mum looks at me with her worrying eyes and says "Stranger rhymes with Danger! Stranger rhymes with what, Ash??". I give her my dazed look and she knows it's time for her to change my nappy.

(Pic: I can't get enough of Delta Goodrem on Mum's BB!)

Why So Serious?

I know Mum misses me a lot when she's at work and the first thing she does when she gets home is pick me up (after cleaning her hands thoroughly!) and shower me with hugs and kisses. I flail my arms and legs with excitement and send out high pitches of happiness when she carries me to the lift because I know that I'm going out. The flailing is so vigorous that Mum ends up being badly slapped about in the head and face - "this slap is for leaving me at home with Helper and that's for making me eat strawberries which weren't sweet enough and that's for making me wear a nappy...". I'm kidding ofcourse because Mum knows that I'm just showing my excitement and not meaning to cause any harm.

In the lift, I "try" to press every buttons and Mum is quicker to keep me away from those. The guard opens the main door for us and out is the world of lights, lights and more lights. My smile vanishes as I get busy looking at all those wonderful bright lights. Mum stops in front of the pedestrian crossing and doesn't cross the road even if it is a green man because she knows how I love to stare at the blinking green man. We wait for the red man and cross it on the second blinking green man.

My face is still expressionless as I take in all the moving objects, loud sounds, some beautiful smell as well as the unwanted smell and sights of other babies and pets. Mum takes me to my favourite thing on the playground - the swing! 1-2-3-Wheeeeee, 1-2-3-Wheeeeee and still no smile. Mum is starting to think that it might not be my favourite thing afterall. Even the kid on the other swing is smiling at Mum because she is teasing me by making funny faces IN PUBLIC - things she does to see my smile. She is such an embarassment sometimes!

A full 15 mins on the swing and not 1 smile, Mum takes me home where my smiles return. There used to be days when I smiled at everybody on the street but now, why so serious?? No one knows but me *evil laughs* but if you do know the answer then please leave a comment. Mum would love you for it!

Link of the Day: http://lamebook.com/ (Smile! The world is viewing your lameness.)

5 Followers - WooHoo!!

Mum hassled some people to "follow" this blog so I don't know whether it is by heart or by force (typical Mum), I've got a few good followers. Thank you to those who are currently following - makes me feel so special!

I've started eating an apple - two slices a day - one hour each! My itchy gums get relieved as I eat those yummy juicy slices. I'm killing two birds with one stone. Mum was recording a video as Dad's sis in England wanted to watch my cute activities. I kind of choked twice yesterday but after a good pat, I was back to biting. Mum nearly suffered a heart-attack as I choked. Dad watched the video after he came home from work and his excitement turned into sour when he saw me choking. Mum got a telling off and she reasoned with him saying "We can't put Ash in a protective bubble. He will learn as he grows with our hawk-eyes on his every move!". They are such drama queens!!

I would like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all beautiful Mothers who make our world a better place. What could we have done without Mothers? Some Mothers deserve to be despised but the good Mothers always have our best interests in mind. They are there for us whether we need them or not. I was watching telly and I saw that even the mother-animals protect baby-animals. These beautiful gazelles were running for their lives when a lion started closing in on a baby gazelle and the mother gazelle ran back to her baby and "tried" to fight with the lion. It was a lost fight but she fought good. Mum was crying over it. She has been blaming her tears on my birth because she used to be a strong woman, apparently. Strong woman or not - I still love my Mum because there's no one else better than her!*

*Mum is exaggerating.....

Here comes the Lil Terror!

I've mastered the new skills of standing up by holding onto something and fast crawling which I love but others might differ. I'm like a cute lil puppy who will follow someone everywhere especially Mum and be like a cute meaow-ing kitten who is too curious but if I don't get what I want then I change into a lil terror with monkey shrieks and crocodile tears! Be aware, be very very aware!!

Mum had bit of a hard time controlling me yesterday as Helper was off and she had friends visiting. She didn't let me have what I want and didn't let me go where I want - such a big terror! It takes one to know one.

Mum has also mastered a new skill of wrapping the nappy around me while I'm standing up. I like being natural so as soon as my nappy is off, I feel so comfy and reject any advances to get myself nappy-wrapped. Helper is still learning that new skill so I'm more nappy-free when Mum is at work. Oh! how I love the working week.

Since the animal related words are up on this post, I wanted to share the fact that I was born in the chinese year of the Ox which shouts "Stubborn!!". I'm posting a link for you to check what animal year you were born in and agree/disagree with the characteristics it tells you. Enjoy! http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/chinese-zodiac.htm

I'm getting there....

On Saturday, Mum got me all ready to meet another baby and she could do with new faces as well. Helper and Dad's S-I-L also got on the bus with us and helped Mum with closing and opening the stroller, which she finds rather annoying! I can tell that it is not easy to close a stroller when carrying a heavy 10 month old - she should have bought a lighter stroller or just feed me lesser (which I will object to with lots of awful noises).

I wasn't active enough for my new friend "B" because I had just had one big bowl of congee and that hour was supposed to be my nap-time. Anyway, excited movements of B and the new surrounding kept me awake. B and I attracted a lot of attention because B is a blue-eyed baby boy with a big smile and I am just I.

Mum met up with Helper and S-I-L after we bade farewell to B and his mum. We went for a long stroll around Hong Kong Park which is a relaxing landscape of 8 hectares among the hustle bustle of a busy business area. It has an artificial lake with massive koi fish and lots and lots of beautiful green trees, plants, butterflies and birds.

My favourite moment of that day was coming home right on time for my evening meal - not so much of the "coming home" but rather the perfect ending with "evening meal". I am guessing Mum's favourite moment was the whole day with me especially when I did not throw a fuss with new faces this time.

When a happy baby turns into a cry baby...

I'm 99% a happy baby. I hardly cry or make a fuss. Our neighbours asked Mum whether I was away since they don't hear any baby-noise. I have been blabbering a lot of "mmummm mummmaaaasss aaaas eeeesss oooossss" and Mum talks back as if she knows what I'm referring to. Crazy woman!!

The non-stop crying part starts when Mum takes me to someone's house. I cry from the moment we enter the flat's lift/door till Mum leaves with me and her embarassment. I do fine when I'm out under an open sky. I guess that I am too used to my comfort zone and when Mum tries to introduce me to a new environment with new faces, which messes up my 'eat and sleep' schedule, I act out by wailing with my tears and snots out. I still look cute though!

Lately, Mum has been trying to make me meet more buddies in the hope of getting me used to new faces and more of that has to do with my upcoming birthday party. Will I wail my hear out on that special day? Let's just wait and see - I might surprise you.

Link of the Day: http://www.partyparadise.com.hk/ (Party Goods Supplier - Mum's using them for balloons, candle, birthday banner, etc.)

Long weekend for HK People

In Christianity, Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many countries, including HK, get a long weekend starting from Good Friday till Easter Monday.

Chinese people celebrate Ching Ming Festival on Monday the 5th of April. "Ching Ming" denotes a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime and tend to the graves of departed ones. Most chinese families show their respect by going to the cemeteries of their loved ones and sweep away the dusts and debris on their graves, make offerings of wine and fruit and also burn joss sticks/paper offerings. Firemen and police are on high-alert for any fire/disruption on this particular day.

Soon after my birth, I have been blessed both by a Buddhist monk and a Hindu priest so I'm guessing that I'll have no pressure on choosing a religion as I grow up. Mum says that religion can't simply be forced upon! Parents' families celebrate every auspicious festivals - Dasherra, Diwali, English New Year, Buddha's Birthday, Christmas, etc. Grandpa says that it is just an excuse to get together, eat, drink and be merry. As long as my heart is pure, I shall be OK but I am still in doubt - will I be better off being a person with a laid-back attitude on religion or a die-hard follower of Christ/Buddha/Sai/Shiva/Ganesh/etc.?

Cough Cough Cough

Mum and Dad took me to the GP again on Friday and she gave me more of those syrup - cough and runny nose and added antibiotics 'Augmentin' this time. It was the same antibiotics which was prescribed to me when I had human swine flu, the hospital had also prescribed Tamiflu to me but Mum was a bit wary coz it has more of the bad reviews than good - http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=21087&name=TAMIFLU. Even the doc at the hospital told Mum that it is upto her whether she gives it to me or not, which sounded dodgy, so after juggling with her options, Mum opted not to give it to me. Better be cautious than sorry!

My cough has settled down a bit but I still have a runny nose. The syrups are sweet and they make me sleepy, which gives some free time to helper V and Mum. I used to sleep a lot when I was younger but nowadays, I nap lesser and I have to crawl, slide, grab everything that catches my eye, stand up by holding onto helper V or anyone sitting next to me and I have even mastered the skill of sitting up after crawling. I can't wait to start walking and running - give more exercise to Mum! She needs it!!

Link of the Day: http://www.geobaby.com/ is a wicked HK website for all the mummies and wanting-to-be mummies.

Summary till today

Since I want to post of those early days till now, I am writing a short summary:

~ My first holiday with Mum and grandma was on 14 Jul 2009. Dad joined us in Aug 2009. We stayed there till 27 Oct 2009 and I had an awesome time as I got to meet my grandpa, uncles, aunties, nieces, nephews and cousins. I got lots of attention and care since I was the youngest one in the big family. Aunty K came to visit from UK too and she loved to cuddle me.

~ When we returned to HK, Mum had to restart her job and helper V came to look after me. I think that Mum missed me more than I missed her. Dad was worst - he kept on calling helper V everytime he was on a break.

~ To Mum's surprise, I first rolled over on 29 Nov 2009 and started sliding across the floor from 27 Dec 2009. I still haven't been able to master the skill of proper crawling yet but I slide/half-crawl from one place to another which is good enough for me.

~ I love drinking milk and I eyed-up Mum and Dad's food everytime they ate, I even drooled but Mum waited till I turned 6 months to introduce organic rice cereal to me. Talk about strictness! Anyway, I took the spoon as I had been eating with it long before I was born. I preferred the plain organic rice cereal than those banana/apple flavoured ones. I even got a puree of banana and apple separately but it was too sour for me. Mum thought to stop giving them to me coz I kept on making funny faces.

~ Mum has been giving me Woodward's Gripe Water - Alcohol Free! since I was 4 months old so I had no problem when my first tooth popped out on 15 Jan 2010. A second one appeared soon after that. Feels very funny in my mouth, I tell you. My other teeth are trying to come out and now, I have been hit with fever, cough and vomit. I guess the daily feeding of gripe water might not always work. Apparently, it does help you with colic and stomach upsets. I am not a colicky baby nor had horrible stomach upsets yet so gripe water might have worked on those parts. Who knows?

~ Since my appetite was growing and lots of different types of food was on offer, Mum started to feed me puree of rice with carrots and lentils from 23 Jan 2010 onwards. It was yummy! Sometimes, the puree of rice was mixed with pumpkin/broccoli/potato/egg and I enjoyed every spoonfuls. Mum asked helper V to introduce one new item and wait till 2-3 days to check if I am allergic to it. Egg seemed to make my skin a bit funny so helper V stopped mixing egg. before introducing solids, Mum checked out lots of baby-websites which are listed at the bottom of this post.

~ I was seriously ill with high fever and cough on 1 Mar 10. I went to the local GP but I was still ill after taking the medicines he gave me so on 2 Mar 10, Mum and Dad rushed me to the Emergency Department of the same hospital that I was born. I was considered a low-risk case so we had to wait 3 hours before we got to see the doc. They did x-ray on me and sent me to the baby ward for further checkups. I just slept through the high fever but cried a lot when nurses and docs kept waking me up to poke me at places that I didn't like. I had contracted human swine flu. Mum and Dad were highly stressed out but had to hold everything together for me. Mum stayed with me for 2 nights at the hospital and since my fever didn't return after the second day, the doc discharged me with medicines on 4 Mar 10. Mum and I were so HAPPY to leave the horrible hospital. Mum has gone mental on cleanliness in the flat since then!

Today, I am suffering from cough and runny nose. Mum took me to the local GP on Saturday and I finished my medicines too but the annoying cough is still there. Helper V said that this is all due to teething and I hope so coz better it be teething than human swine flu again!! Dad is at home with me today and he is fussing over my cough and cold. We will wait till Mum gets home tonight and decide whether to take me back to the GP or not.

Mum's favourite baby websites:
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
http://www.babycenter.com/
...and other websites that Mum finds when she searches on http://www.google.com/