Our room's floor has been levelled! 

oooohhhhh! 

So juicy! 

Want a jambu? 

Doesn't this dress look like a kindergarden uniform? 

Hahahah.... 

My sly look 

See my teeth! 

Jia Wen's Dictionary

Jia Wen's list of words todate;

1. Oh-O
   
2. Duk-Dou (a.k.a. Oh-O)
3. Dye-Dye as in bye-bye
4. Hi
5. Che as in chair
6. CarRow-rer as in flower
7. Chek-chek (her calling her uncle in hokkien)
8. Fog as in frog
9. Du-duck as in duck
10. Nai-nai as in night-night
11. Nen-nen as in milk in hokkien
12. Mu-mum as in food
13. Wow-wow as in dog
14. Cock as in clock (mind her language)
15. Kai-kai (going out in hokkien)
16. Tar as in star
17. Ah Ma (her calling her grandma)
18. Kung (her calling her grandpa)
19. Lai as in light
    

One of my favourite photo of us... actually of myself! heheh 

Our wedding photo 

26 May 2005

It has been 4 years since our wedding bash in Melaka. For those who were there, I am sure you remember it quite well. Yes, 4 years have gone by although technically and legally, we got married on 10 December 2000. So it is coming to 5 years now.

I am for sure still confused as to which date we should use as our anniversary because my dear husband, when it comes to December, he says our anniversary is in May, and when it comes to May, guess what?, he then says our anniversary is in December. Sigh! What can I say? He is my husband.

Nyatoh Door

Got a new main door for our new house. The contractor just put it up yesterday. It hasn't been varnished yet but it looks quite good as it is, doesn't it?

The glass design. 

It is made of Nyatoh wood. 

This is our new main door. 

Bulletins on Jia Wen

Posted all of the bulletins I wrote and sent to people on Jia Wen throughout her first year. Didn't have this blog then so I thought I'd put them all here.

Jia Wen is ONE YEAR Old

Jia Wen is ONE YEAR OLD!! Believe it or not, a year has gone by and I still remember quite vividly the day Jia Wen arrived (except for when I was "drugged") and I bet you all remember what you were doing too. Jia Wen arrived the second day of Chinese New Year so I am sure most of you were either with your families or friends. Now that we have all embarked on the new year, the year of the Rooster is just around the corner and we all hope that this year will bring all that is good for you and your loved ones.

We celebrated her first birthday yesterday by having a small tea party at our house inviting all her baby friends. Although there were more adults than the babies but I think Jia Wen had a lot of fun and so did the other babies. There were 6 babies altogether surrounded by adults. It wasn't a bit party seeing how small our house is but we just wanted to make her day a little different than usual and to signify that that was turning ONE.

A year has gone by for Jia Wen too and I am sure for those of you who have been keeping "track" of her developments, you would know that she has achieved so much as a baby and she is for sure looking forward to many many many more years to come. It is amazing how much and how fast a baby develops. From the simplest things in life to the hardest obstacle, they learn from scratch and it amusing to watch them learn. Things as simple as sitting up to walking is such a milestone for them where we adults usually take for granted.

Indeed Jia Wen has changed not just both Shien Wei and my life but it has certainly changed everyone around her. She is of course the centre of focus in both Shien Wei and my family now. I must admit that I am still adjusting to life as a mother which I believe that no woman adjusts well immediately no matter how ready they may be. However, it is hard to think of what our lives would be without her. One good example was what we did very recently. Shien Wei and I decided that we want to go to Bangkok for a few days and knowing that Bangkok isn't the right place to bring Jia Wen along, we decided to send her to Labuan for my mum to take care of her for a few days. I sent her to Labuan and left her there 2 days before we left for Bangkok and during the two days, I had made plans to go out and catch up with friends, cut my hair, run some errands, etc, basically do things that I can't do with Jia Wen around. It felt good for a while but as soon as I came home at night, I felt empty. Although it was at night and usually she would be asleep by then and I would do my own stuff, it still felt empty, I teared a little. See how such a tiny person can do to an adult?

She has changed us tremendously in many ways. Our priorities in life have changed, our focus have changed, our commitments have changed and it has given us a new meaning in life. By the way, she was fine in Labuan and had fun with her grandparents there and aunt. She adjusted very well there and was easy for my mum which gave me the peace of mind. We are thinking of bringing Jia Wen to Japan in March when we go visit our friends in Nagoya.

Jia Wen has accomplished quite a bit in the last two months. Although not walking on her own yet but she sure can cruise very fast. She can now climb the stairs so quick that she went upstairs on her own in Labuan without my parents' knowing and gave my parents a short panic attack.

She can also climb up the couch, sit up there and read her book and the best part is, she can come down from the couch on her own safely. She can come down from beds too. She is in the phase where she loves to play with the TV remote control and yes, the buttons on the TV. When she holds the TV remote, she will press the buttons and expects changes to the TV. She knows which remote to play on to get changes.

And yes, when she plays with the buttons on the TV, she knows that there is a certain button that when she presses, it will change to a channel with no channel tuned and it will make a loud "bsshhhhhh" noise and she is usually scared of the noise. So whenever she is playing with the buttons on the TV, she will get ready to runaway the instant the noise comes on. I guess you would have to be around to watch her to actually see how funny it actually is.

Another "kodak" moment we had with her was when we were fixing a safety gate (barring her from going to the kitchen). After fixing it up, we said to ourselves "this ought to keep her out of the kitchen now", but just as we finished saying it, she decided proof us wrong. She comfortably slid through the gate!!! It was a real "kodak" moment for us and we just burst out laughing. Of course now, after some adjustments, she can't.

I am sure some of you are familiar with the "round and round the garden" game parents play with their babies. Jia Wen can now do the "round-round" on her own with her finger and hand. So cute. She can sometimes tickle herself too. She enjoys playing being chased around by her father around the house. She will crawl so fast while laughing and screaming. And whenever I say "mummy is coming, mummy is coming to catch you..", she'll start to move away so fast. We don't know who taught her this "chasing" game but it is quite fun.

Jia Wen also celebrated her first Christmas with her aunts and uncles (Goh Family) and she sure did have a lot of fun opening presents and most of all watching the Christmas tree. Believe it or not, now after ONE month, she still has Christmas presents that are waiting for her in Melaka. We haven't been back to Melaka since before Christmas and so we are going back this weekend to open them. This is what we call "delayed gratituted, delayed satisfaction". Wonder if the tree is still up.

Soon it'll be Chinese New Year (CNY). Though it won't be her first CNY but I am sure this year she'll have more fun visiting around and of course collecting ang pows. We have bought CNY clothes for her and can't wait to see her in them. Jia Wen's uncle (Shien Wei's bro) bought a Chinese pant suit for her from Hong Kong which I am sure she'll look cute in. Although the pants is a bit too long but the blouse will go nice with her new pair of jeans. We'll be driving up north to Shien Wei's grandma's house on the eve of CNY and drive back on the first day itself to join my parents and the rest of the Goh Family in KL. It is going to a hectic CNY week for us especially for me! hahahah... Packing, driving, visiting....plus the heat during CNY doesn't help at all.

Anyway, I'd better stop here before I can't stop. We would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR, GONG XI FA CAI! May the year of the Rooster bring prosperity, good health and joy! Take good care of yourselves. You are always in our thoughts.

As for my bi-monthly bulletin, I will be reducing the "regularity" but don't worry, we will stay in touch.

Jia Wen is Ten Months

And yes it is time to tell you a bit more about Jia Wen. Yes she is already TEN months old (23 Nov) and I must say that she is cuter than ever! We remember telling you guys that she has learnt to crawl, climb up the stairs, stand with support, nothing much has change since 2 months ago except that she is now PRO at what she does! She cam climb up the stairs so fast that you won't even notice she has taken the first step up. And to makes things harder for us, things that she enjoys doing, she'll do it silently. So if she is climbing up the stairs, she'll do it so quietly that you won't even notice what she's been up to. Smart eh? At the moment we are using furnitures to block the stairs (can't get gate that would fit our stairs design) and guess what she is capable of doing? She can squeeze her way under and through the chairs to get to the stairs and will leave us puzzled as to how she has done it.

I have never appreciated our tiny "pigeon hole" sized house more than I do now. I can't imagine if we have a larger house with more space for her to explore. It is difficult when a home wasn't designed for a baby before and now that there's a baby, trust me, our hall has been a mess!

She is also cruising (walking with support) and can do it quite fast too. She walks around the hall holding on to the sofa, the tv, etc. And yes she is what her father calls very "musically inclined". She dances to whatever music she hears. She has been doing that for quite a while now. She started with bouncing whenever she hears music and now she swings her body left right mixed with her bouncing. Her favourite song is the song from Bob the Builder. Whenever the show comes on, she'll drop whatever she's doing and start dancing.

Though she hasn't spoken much but she making a lot noise for a baby. She can point to her pictures around the house. She recognizes herself whenever she is shown her photos. Whenever we ask her "where is Jia Wen", she'll point to her photos.

She has grown quite a bit lately. She has put on a bit of weight and gained some height too which we are glad because now she won't be too small compared to other babies her age. Now her petite size doesn't look so obvious amongst the rest. She is getting very heavy for us to carry her. She has a pretty big beer belly which we call "big big tummy".

Jia Wen has also learnt a few tricks of her own too. She can swing her head to one side and smile at you which is so sweet eventhough she can only swing her head to her right hand side and can't do the opposite side! She can also clap her hands whenever she sees or hears people clap on TV. She can now wave goodbye and recently learnt how to do the "flying" kiss though she hasn't mastered the blowing part yet.

Jia Wen is Eight Months

Yes, Jia Wen is now EIGHT months (23 Sept 04)! Yes yes, time flies!! It still feels like it was just yesterday when Jia Wen arrived into our lives and now she is already EIGHT months!! Unbelievable eh? Well, believe it or not, as Jia Wen grows, we all get a little older too.

It has been 2 months since you all read about her and believe you me, that she has achieved and done so much in 2 months. We remember telling you that she was just starting to learn how to sit and doing the "commando" crawl. Now, she can crawl very quickly on her knees and to make things harder for me (the poor mother), she is climbing too! Though not encouraged, we find that Jia Wen loves to stand. Maybe because it is a whole new different level for her and she gets to see more (what's on the sofa, what's on the chair, etc). So in order to stand, she has to climb and support on something. She climbs up and holds on to ther rail in the cot and bounces while standing. I had to take out one of her cot mobile as she could already reach it and pull it down! She climbs up and stands by the TV console and stands by the sofa. She is quite steady while standing. Lucky for us, she hasn't discovered the buttons on the TV yet!! Today, she discovered some drawers that she can open and close. I can no longer spend much time on the computer especially when she is awake as I cannot put her on my bed anymore, she is too fast!! So my only time on the computer is at night when she's asleep like now.
Of course she is now sitting down very steadily and she is also sitting on high/baby chairs in restaurants, etc. She is much much happier sitting on the high chair with us and not have to sit in the pram below and not get to see what's happening at the dinner table. She simply loves being apart of the party!

All these vigorous activities make Jia Wen quite tired at the end of the day and usually falls asleep quite quickly and sleeps very well at night (fingers crossed and hope that she'll maintain this way for a long long time). She still gets up about 6 am for her first milk and then either go back to sleep or play until 8 am when we both get up and start the day. Now that she is doing more, eating more, the days seem to fly by even faster!!

She has also started taking porridge for lunch too. I started out with giving her vege in the porridge but now have advanced to giving her chicken too. Tomorrow, I'll try beef on her. She absolutely loves her porridge and eats them so quickly too. Besides lunch, I give her a light dinner too and it's usually fruits. I don't want to give her such a heavy dinner just yet as I want her to drink more milk at night. I have also totally stopped breastfeeding and she is now fully on formula.

We haven't been to the cinema lately but I do intend to bring her to watch Princess Diaries 2. Of course it wasn't Jia Wen who requested to go but her mother wants to watch it! hahahah... Not sure how she'll be in the cinema these days as she has been quite vocal lately. She makes sounds and sometimes it can be quite loud too. The other day, we brought her to a birthday dinner and she started to make noises and it was so loud that the whole restaurant could hear her! Don't get me wrong, she wasn't crying or fussing but she was just make noise, discovering the different types of noise and sounds she can make!

Last month, we brought Jia Wen to Penang. We drove up there and spent a couple of days there. We stayed in the hotel and as all kids do too, Jia Wen thoroughly enjoyed the hotel room!! She was so so happy in there bouncing on the hotel bed! Something about hotels I guess. I also brought her swimming for the second time. (first time was in Labuan in August). She is very comfortable with the water and enjoys her time in the water. Last week, we flew to Miri for my school reunion and Jia Wen got her first stamp in her passport (yes, go to Sarawak also need passport!!). We are thinking of making a trip to Labuan again early October but this is subject to Shien Wei's leave approval.

Jia Wen is Six Months

Yes, Jia Wen is now six months (23 July 04)! Quick eh? I seems like yesterday when she arrived into our lives. And now she is six months, other six months, she'll be one year old. Shien Wei and I are petrified at how fast time is passing by us and see how fast she is growing. Of course, we are glad that she has reached this stage where she has achieved quite a bit physically and mentally.

Jia Wen isn't just rolling over, she has learnt new tricks too. Though not yet crawling, she can her body around like a clock very quickly to grab things. So, her rolling over + turning round the clock + kicking, it is just as good as crawling. We can see that she is trying to crawl but hasn't caught the idea how yet. I think like most babies, she crawls with her hands but for Jia Wen she goes backwards because her hands pushes her backwards when she pushes herself up.

She is also starting learn how to sit up. Of course now I help her by supporting her. She can stay steady for a few seconds after which she will slowly bends face down. If she is in the correct position, she can sit for a while. She enjoys sitting down and I bet she can't wait to master it. It would make it a lot easier to play her toys by sitting down.

Jia Wen has started taking solids. I started her on cereal about 3 weeks ago and she loves it. Now she can open her mouth when the food is infront of her. She also sometimes get impatient when food is slightly delayed arriving into her month. So far, I have given her several types of cereal (Gerber, Heinz and Nestle) with different flavours. She especially love vege cereal but doesn't reject the rest. I think next month, I'll start on fresh vegetables and fruits. Bitter Gourd? hahaha..

She has also started on formula. She is taking formula at night just before she goes to sleep. This way, she doesn't have to wake up for feeds. So far, it has worked out pretty well for her. She usually wakes up at about 6 am no matter how late we put her to bed. What I usually do since 6 am is a little too early for me :-), I will feed her and go back to sleep while she'll either go back to sleep or play on her own. Oh yes, she also likes to hold her own bottle. She can hold her 4 ounce bottle and feed herself.

We also noticed the last few days, she is beginning to recognize people. She gets uncomfortable with people she doesn't see often enough, strangers. I guess it is time to bring her out more often not that she hasn't bee going out. She is one baby who goes out a lot. And talking about going out, Jia Wen has also caught quite a few movies in the cinema. So far, she has seen Shrek 2, Day After Tomorrow, Spiderman 2, Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban. She's good in the cinema, she'll either sit quitely and watch or sleep. Next movie to catch... i-Robot!

We went back to Labuan in June and she enjoyed her stay there. This time she got to meet many people as my dad's company had their Annual Sports Carnival and my mum brought her to the sports complex and showed Jia Wen off! She was passed from one hand to another but then, she wasn't scared of people / strangers and she got to see her grandpa play basketball! We didn't go up to Mount Kinabalu as I was thinking of but we enjoyed ourselves there.

Jia Wen and I are going back to Labuan again first week of next month. My cousin is getting married in Lawas so we are flying to Labuan and then take a ferry to Lawas (Sarawakian town between the two Brunei land). We will spend a few days in Labuan after that. I don't think it'll be long because Shien Wei won't be able to live without his daughter for long!

TO UNSUBSCRIBE THIS BI-MONTLY BULLETIN, PLEASE EMAIL ME.

Jia Wen is Four Months

It is amazing how fast time flies by you isn't it? Yes, Jia Wen is now 4 months old (23 May 2004) and she is doing real fine. She hopes that everyone else out there are fine too.

It has been a month since we have up-dated you on Jia Wen. Looking back at the last email, I remember telling you guys that Jia Wen was starting to learn how to roll-over (from tummy to back) but now, she has also mastered the other way around (from back to tummy). This skill came as a shock to me as she was nearly at the edge of our bed! I had never seen her do such a roll-over before then. Now, whenever she is on our bed, we build a fort around her! She's usually on our bed when I am on the computer. She doesn't only roll over but kicks her way around as well. We can see that she will start to crawl pretty soon and that's when the play-pen would have to be assembled. As it is now, it is pretty hard to put her to sleep because she just wants to show off her newly learnt skill, rolling over. When we put her on her tummy, she either rolls over and puts her head up high and when we put her on her back, she rolls over again! Sigh... And to make things worse, she loves to put her legs up high in the air or grabs them with he hands! So you can imagine how difficult it is to put her to sleep when she is so active.

Talk about rolling-over, sometimes she forgets how to do it and she gets stuck and it frustrates her. First learnt how to roll-over from tummy to back and then a week later, learnt to roll-over from back to tummy and last few days, she has forgotten how to do the former! And when she gets tired of holding her head up, she'll call for help. Poor thing.

She loves to put her legs up in the air even when she is in her stroller when we go out. Some people may think she is a little obscene, we call it flexible and very "bendy". hhahaha... So much for being dainty uh?

Well, as all babies are, Jia Wen is getting very smart. She now knows to cry for attention and to be carried. She can cry like there's no tomorrow and the minute you pick her up, she'll smile with glee and probably saying to herself "got ya". Oh well, I guess it is a phase we have to go through.

She is more or less sleeping through nights already. Depending on what time she goes to sleep, she can sleep about 7 - 8 hours straight. She gets up once for feeding which I really don't mind at all because by then my breast would be quite engorged.

It is a lot easier to take photos of Jia Wen now because she can lift her head up and more sturdy. What we did was, we put her into a bowl and took picture of her in the bowl. I am sure you all have heard of Anne Geddes the famous baby photographer who uses things like bowls as her props, so Jia Wen is auditioning for it! hahaha... I wonder what she's thinking of us for putting her through all this, "Jia Wen smile... Jia Wen look here... Jia Wen look at Daddy... Darling Girl laugh... Jia Wen hello... Jia Wen peekaboo...etc". to her! hahaha...

We are going back to Labuan mid June then in August again. I am sure Jia Wen's grandparents there misses her so we thought we'd go back for a short holiday and maybe make a trip to Sabah and maybe drive up to the Kinabalu National Park for some fresh cool air. However, the thought of lugging the baby car seat all the way back to Labuan may just put us off the idea of driving to the National Park. Malaysia hasn't come to the stage where we can rent car seats. Oh well, if we don't go to Sabah, we'll definitely take her to the beaches in Labuan.

Jia Wen is Three Months

We are doing just great and just thought we'd update you on how our little princess is doing. Yes she is now 3 months old (23 April 2004)!

Jia Wen is doing great and is a happy baby. She smiles so much more these days and is starting to laugh out loud too which makes taking pictures of her so much more fun. She can even smile back at you which is just so wonderful for us. She is happiest when she wakes up in the morning and of course after feeds! She has progressed well physically and mentally too. She loves to play with her baby gym (Thanks Christine) and loves to lift her legs up high and kick the toys hanging from the gym. I let her play with the gym everyday and that can keep her entertained for quite a while and that's when I usually do my laundry and stuff. She is now able to roll-over yet but has not mastered the art yet. She is learning and trying very hard. She does it most in the nights when she is tired of sleeping on her tummy. Everytime I put her back to sleep on her tummy, when I wake up the next morning to see her, she is on her back playing all happy! Of course when she gets tired from trying, she will call for help. During the day, when she is trying, I will show her how, where to put her hands and help her roll-over. I also teach her to lift her head (while lying down on her tummy) as a form of exercise too.

Our trip back to my parents in Labuan was good. Jia Wen was so good on the plane. We were afraid that she might feel uncomfortable on board because of the pressure and was told to feed her milk while taking-off and landing but Jia Wen didn't show any signs of being uncomfortable and we left her. She slept all the way and slept through the taking-offs and landings too. A good sign of a real traveller! Next destination? Perhaps somewhere that she can use her passport. Yes she has her own passport now and can now leave the country! hahaha... Yes, when we were back in Labuan, we managed to get her passport done within a day.

We are off to Gentings this Saturday so I guess it'll be a test on whether she can take windy roads! I am sure she'll be fine and I am sure she'll enjoy the cooler air up there! Unfortunately she won't be able to sit on the coasters yet though.

We bring Jia Wen out quite a bit, in fact we go out more with her than before she arrived! We bring her to shopping complexes mainly and she behaves very well when going out. She sleeps most of the time I guess because the shopping complexes are cool and nice. I sometimes take her out myself. It is easy with her in the car seat and she doesn't fuss in the car or her stroller.

Anyway, that's all for now. Please feel free to drop a line or two. Although I am a mother now, I still make time to check, read and reply my emails. We would like to hear from you too. Below are some latest pics of Jia Wen which I have also added into her Yahoo! Album too (in case you don't want to go through the whole album). For those who would like to see more pics of Jia Wen, do go to:

http://photos.yahoo.com/szuefeiandshienwei

Jia Wen is One Month

Yes Jia Wen is now ONE plus month old. She celebrated her one month old birthday (not sure the right way of calling a one month old celebration) in the car with delivering goodies to relatives in the Klang Valley. She went from down town KL to Shah Alam sending red eggs to relatives.

Jia Wen has been wonderful. She is now sleeping quite well at night only getting up for feeds. We put her to bed at about 8 pm after her "dinner" feed. Sometimes she sleeps through 5 hours before getting up again but generally, she wakes up every 3 hours for her feed. We are glad that we managed to sort her night sleep out quite quickly. She now knows the difference between night and day. Of course there are some nights that are a bit difficult but most nights, she is an angel. She sleeps on her own in her bedroom where we have a baby monitor (walkie talkie) to keep an "ear" on her.

As for the days, she sometimes have difficult afternoons where she can't sleep and cries a bit. We think it is her tummy that is making her uncomfortable and sometimes it is just plain "wanna be carried". She tends to bully daddy and daddy lets her.

Although we notice she is sleeping less during the day now but I am still able to manage some house chores in between her feeds. I can leave her for a while on her own while I do my work like now. I am one who can't live without checking my emails so I try to make sometime to get online everyday.

About a week ago, she stunned us by doing a flip. She was lying on her tummy and next thing I know, she was on her back. She did a flip!! Since then, we haven't seen that stunt again but we think she is progressing well phsically. Plus she kicks quite a lot and is able to push herself around the bed. She can go in circles! Time to put up the play pen!

Went for her check-up with the doctor on Friday and got her second shot of Hepatitis B. I was so afraid for her. I think I was more scared than she was. I was so afraid that she will cry in pain that I might just end up crying myself!! But she was so brave. Of course she cried when she felt the needle but she stopped immediately after I carried her. She is now 3.82 kgs and 52.3 cm long.

Jia Wen has also been very lucky to have gone to most of the shopping complexes here. Since she was 2 weeks old, we have been taking her out quite a bit. We just pack her up, put her into the car seat, drive out and put her in her pram and go shopping!! She enjoy car rides which is good seeing that mummy loves to galavant! Just two nights ago, we brought her to TGIF!!

She will be taking her first flight end of this month where we are bringing her to Labuan to see her grandparents and Ah Ee May (my parents and sis). We thought it'll be good to take her on the plane as early as possible to train her. We hope she'll be alright so that she can be a world traveller too.

Anyway, enough about her. To some of you, this email may be a tad boring and a bit of a brag but we don't care!!! hahaha.... There are some latest pics of Jia Wen which we have uploaded so for those who wanna see how much Jia Wen has changed, please tune in to:

http://photos.yahoo.com/szuefeiandshienwei

Jia Wen's Dictionary

Jia Wen's list of words todate;

Oh-O
Duk-Dou (a.k.a. Oh-O)
Dye-Dye as in bye-bye
Hi
Che as in chair
Car
Row-rer as in flower
Chek-chek (her calling her uncle in hokkien)
Fog as in frog
Du-duck as in duck
Nai-nai as in night-night
Nen-nen as in milk in hokkien
Mu-mum as in food
Wow-wow as in dog
Cock as in clock (mind her language)
Kai-kai (going out in hokkien)
Tar as in star
Ah Ma (her calling her grandma)

Poo

This morning, while playing in her cot, Jia Wen decided to take-off her pyjama-pants along with her diaper. As skillful as that may be, one thing happened that didn't need any skill - pooing!

After taking off her pants and diaper, she decided to spice things up by bombing (household name for pooing) and imagine my horror when I went into her room and discovered that she was reading her book covered with some poo! One of her books had some poo around it and her fingers were covered in some! Her bed was of course wet. I nearly fainted when I saw her poo in her cot and was overwhelmed by the smell too!

I quickly took her out to clean her and put her into her tub while I started cleaning her beddings and toys! Fortunately, her poo wasn't the soft type like usual. I could pick the poo up with tissue. Disgusting eh?

Not the kind of blog you read everyday but I hope I haven't been too descriptive and spoilt anyone's appetite.

Bubble Bath! 

I simply love to bathe!

See mummy, I got mustasche & beard! 

Wash my face? 

Wanna join me? 

Taking a bath 

Small Price To Pay

My latest letter to The Star in response to some guy's suggestion to reduct prices of books:

While I agree to Sudheeran Sivathasan's suggestion to "Reduce prices of books to encourage reading" (22 May 2005), I would like to point out that buying books is not the only way to read good literature.

In our country, we have public libraries, school / university libraries, secondhand bookstores, rentals, etc that we can resort to instead of spending so much on books. One should not be ashamed of borrowing. With the right attitude and initiative, one can be as well read as others.

One should also understand that a good read comes with a price and RM30 is a small price to pay

And with the recent deluge of movies being made from books, I think it has increased the rush for such books and created more excitement to read them. One very good example is J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of The Rings". Tolkien wrote and published the trilogy in the fifties and very few people were aware of its existence untill 2001 when many started grabbing and reading the epic itself, a book whom many think it was a small price to pay for a fantastic read.

Watching "Bob the Builder" 

Checkout my sexy belly! 

Sharing a curry puff with daddy 

Spanglish

This was what Adam Sandler said to Paz Vega in the show Spanglish which I think was so romantic:

"They should name a gender after you
Looking at you doesn't do it
Staring is the only way that makes any sense
And trying not to blink
So you don't miss anything
And all of that, and you're you!"

Doesn't this make you melt? I think it would make any woman's knees go weak. The only thing wrong with it is that it came from Adam Sandler, not the most romantic guy in the movie scene but imagine Tom Cruise, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Hugh Grant, John Travolta, Sting or Will Smith saying it to you. You'd fall into his arms in a second (no brainer).

Nothing much to rave about the movie. It was a so-so movie but Tea Leoni's abs were fantastic!

Bo Bice Rules

Results are out! Unfortunate for Baby V but horray for Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood!

Bo and Carrie made it as the final 2 in the current season of American Idol! Can't wait for the finale next week to see who will be the next American Idol. Will it be Bo or will it be Carrie? I am hoping that Bo will win as he has made a difference in the Idol outlook. He has brought a nice change to the stereotypical R&B, Pop, Ballet type of songs.

Bo (real name Harold Bo Bice) was born in Huntsville, Alabama on 1 November 1975 (exactly one year younger than Shien Wei) was bitten by the music bug at an early age. Bo's mom, Nancy Giddens-Downes, and her three cousins Evie, Linda, and Rhea were in a Southern gospel quartet called "The Singing Jays" that traveled, sang, and recorded together in the late 60's and early 70's. Nancy also sang some with another trio and even appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. With his mother's musical background, it was only natural that Bo was exposed to a variety of gospel and country songs at a very early age.

Bo plays piano, guitar, bass, sax, harmonica and write songs. He has his own recording studio at home! He likes Matchbox Twenty and Sheryl Crow and music aside, he loves cooking.

Of course beside being talented and all the mumbo-jumbo, I think he is hot and gorgeous! He looks great with his mustache and goatie. He is a real beau! He is a true rocker and I will definitely buy his first album.

Rock on Bo!

Jia Wen's Dictionary

Jia Wen's list of words todate;

1. Oh-O
2. Duk-Dou (a.k.a. Oh-O)
3. Dye-Dye as in bye-bye
4. Hi
5. Che as in chair
6. Car
7. Row-rer as in flower
8. Chek-chek (her calling her uncle in hokkien)
9. Fog as in frog
10. Du-duck as in duck
11. Nai-nai as in night-night
12. Nen-nen as in milk in hokkien
13. Mu-mum as in food
14. Wow-wow as in dog

Isn't my daughter beautiful? 

No, I am not! 

Am I sleeping? 

Funny Face! 

Hi! 

Journalist wannabe! 

You cannot catch me! 

Standing in the corner! Punishment? 

Anyone want to hop on? 

Driving my car! 

Sly-smile! 

My funny face! 

Mummy bought me this pink combination from Reject Shop 

Arty-Farty picture! 

So, this is going to be my new house eh? 

Oh-O! The house is not ready yet! 

Rob & Amber Lost

Booo hooo, Rob and Amber lost! I wanted them to win so much not because they were mean to other teams but just because they were a good team. They never fought or shouted at each other, they were very competitive, they were strong, the were sharp, they were good at all the tasks chosen, very resourceful, very keen, very determined. They may not be the kindest team played but hey, you have go to give it to them for being so competitive even though all the other teams hated their gutts!

Well, congratulations to Uchenna & Joyce. They were very lucky to have won and indeed it was one close call. One question though, why did they tell the cab driver that they didn't have any money? Why didn't they just tell the cab driver to wait for them outside and tell him that they will come back and pay him 10 times more? Could it be the rule of the race that they had to really finish the race even if it means paying what they owe the taxi driver? Hmmm... that must be it. And the cab driver also dumb lah, hasn't he heard of the Amazing Race?!

Rob and Amber, congratulations and may you both have a happy life together. Cheers!

Happy Mother's Day

Too all mothers out there, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Always remember you are doing a great job and there's no job that can compare to being a mother. It should be the highest paying job in the world but it isn't. Just remember that the love you shower onto your child / children is priceless. No one can give price tag to that and your kids and husband loves you dearly.

To my mum, I love you!

Architectural Nightmare

Ever since we bought a house in Nilai, we started noticing house designs everwhere. We have seen houses that has been quite tasefully done up and we have also seen some which makes you go "eeks". But none have actually made it to my book of architectural cum design wonder except for (very unfortunately) my soon to be neighbour's house.

This house stops traffic, this house astounds, people dumbfounded and fazed, it is flabbergasting! Everyone who has seen this mutilation were awed. Our contractor shook his head when he saw this defacement when you would expect someone like him to have "seen it all". It is tacky beyond return.

Thank God we didn't buy the house directly next to it. Imagine if we bought the house directly opposite it and have to face it every single day! Ouch to the owners in front of this house. If we were directly next to this house, no design can beat the this "majestic" awe! Oh yes, before yellow and green, their fortress was pink and purple. Can anyone guess whether it is a Chinese, Malay or an Indian house?

Well at least people won't have any problems locating our house! Oh by the way, our house is 2 doors away on the same row.

U.G.L.Y House. When you find this house, you'll find our house. 

My sink is gone! 

A skilled mason 

Mason working on the walk-in wardrobe to be. 

Window frames are up. 

Keep children in back seat to protect them

My response to the above letter written to The Star, 3 May 2005:

In response to T.Chee's "Keep children in back seat to protect them", I couldn't agree more. I am however bewildered that he was horrified when he saw a father driving with his toddler in his lap when it is such a common practice!

Our government should not only make it mandatory for child safety seats but to also educate parents on travelling with children in the car. Many parents give-in to their children's whining as a way of easing distractions while driving even if it means letting them climb all over the car. I know a friend who breastfeeds her toddler while driving just because her baby doesn't like being in the car seat!

How many innocent lives have to be sacrificed for the government and the public to come to its senses? A child's life should not be left to fate!

Jia Wen

It's been quite a while now since I have updated or said anything (in my case, boast) about Jia Wen. I think the last time I actually wrote something lengthy was when she turned 1 year old. She's now 15+ months and is still amusing us everyday.

Remember when I said that it is fascinating how a baby develops, how she learns the beginnings life from scratch? How the simplest things in life that we as grown-ups take for granted like walking, holding a pen, holding a spoon and feeding ourselves, kneeling, squatting? Babies start their life with no inkling that they are supposed to learn all these and don't have the slightest idea how and where to start. And in just 15 months, it is bewildering how such a teensy-weensy little thing can learn and achieve so much in such a short period.

Jia Wen has not only learn to walk (which mind you takes a lot more than you think), but has achieved so much more over the past few months. Physically, she is already almost running which is making it very hard for us to chase her around the shopping complexes (now I understand why parents leash their toddlers, though I am against it). She is so active and so "in-to" her new breakthrough (walking), being in the stroller is like torture for her. So gone were the days where she obidiently sits in her Maclaren wherever we go. So armed with her shoes and lots of ammo (energy), she can walk miles in a shopping complex. She's not afraid of strangers around her. She'll walk to them especially kids her age and say hi. So now it takes us double the time to get to a destination as she makes a lot of "diversion" along the way. She'll walk into the shops, walk by the bench, stop at someone's stroller, zig-zagging.

She can now stand-up from sitting or lying position very quickly and can squat for quite a while too. It takes a lot of balancing work as a baby.

It is amazing how such a tiny brain can remember things so well and absorb so much at such a short time. For example, when we went to Japan and had strawberries at the farm, she remembers the strawberries and whenever she sees them anywhere, she'll go "mum-mum". Even for foods that she has never seen before and wouldn't know that it is food, she will go "mum-mum". She can recognize and differentiate food from other things. And I am not just talking about normal household foods like egg, meat, vege, she can tell it is a cake when there are different types, shapes and sizes! Interesting how their brains work so well.

Words - although her vocabulary hasn't quite filled up the Oxford dictionary yet but she's getting there. Her favourite word are 'car' and 'oh-o'. I like it when she says the word car when she sees one (or more), she will say it with such enthusiasm as though it is her first time seeing a car. She also says 'wow-wow' when she sees or hears dog. And her latest word is 'du-duck' for duck.

As for intelligence *grin*, she has achieved quite a bit lately. She is now able to play with the shape-sorter toy she has and didn't have any problems with a new and different one she just got a few days ago. She will applaud herself whenever she makes a successful slot. She likes playing with (don't what to call it) a set of cups with different colours and sizes where you can stack them up and put the smallers into the bigger ones. She enjoys playing with the cups and the way she holds and handles the cup is so professional, putting one into another.

We recently bought her 'magna-doodle' (I am sure everyone remembers playing with this) and she scribbles like a pro. We still can't tell whether she is a left-hander or a right-hander. She uses both equally. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Oh yes, Jia Wen can shake her bootie man! She can really shake. Eversince young, she has always been musically inclined and will shake her body to any kind of music. She is quite rhythmic too. She knows when to go fast, and when to go slow. Now that she can stand, she can shake butt man! Her aunt, Szue May says that she can shake like Beyonce and I quite agree. She can shake better when she's sitted down on the floor and when she does that, your head immediately tunes up 'Crazy in Love' . Hahahah

Gosh, it has been a long time since I have up-dated on Jia Wen that there's just so much that I wanted to add but I just can't remember now. Everytime I notice or see something new going on with her, I say to myself that I must note it down and blog it but somehow it just slips my mind when I am actually on the PC. Anyway, there are some little but important notes that I have blogged along the way in this journal. I have also loaded most of Jia Wen's "selected" of photos into the blog too. So this blog is very much alive and up-dated.