Learning new words everyday...

Jinc is talking, in single words.

He can say da( for daddy) and he calls me 'ma'. I could not remember when exactly he started to call me ma, but i feel the love every time i hear him calling me!

Jinc can say many other words, both in English and in Cantonese.

Here is a list of words that he can say:
- car
-book
- bird
-ladybird (beerd)
- bee
-clock
-horse (Hor..)
- nana (nanny)
-dadd (Grandad)
-dog
-cat
-pup (puppy)
-chips
-ketchup (Chap)
-Helicopter (hep)
- Santa Claus (Cos)
-Socks (Sok), In Cantonese (Maat)
-Popo (grandma in Cantonese)
- Ma Ma (grandma in Cantonese)
-GongGong (Grand dad in Cantonese)
-YehYeh (Grand dad in Cantonese)
-Mei Mei (sister, calling Lilymay)
- Tong (In pain, in Cantonese)
...and many others, and I realise it will take me more than 2 days to list them all.

Anyway, I am so very proud of him. I just cant wait for him to start talking in sentences, I believe he will turn out to be a very chatty little boy!

Babies, babies and more babies..

Wow, so many baby news!

2011 is full of baby news...first Lily-May was born on 8th of May, then nanny's daughter had baby Jacob (her fifth baby) on July, while a good friend, Tee has had her second baby boy, named Greyson on July too!

Just a few days ago, a Chinese friend, Sophy has given birth to her first child, a baby boy named Owen.

On yesterday, the 1st of November 2011, a very good friend back home in Kuala Lumpur has had a boy on this special day, 011111! How very special!

Congratulations to all! Well done to all moms!

...and another Chinese friend here, Kitty, is going to have her first child on December! How exciting!

Lily-May, six months old!

Oh dear, Lily-May is six months old! Bless her...
As the time passes quickly, she is growing up fast.
Six-month old is a very exciting stage. I am so happy, in a way, I do feel that my baby is growing up too fast!

Lily-May has started solids and she loves her food, she is putting on so much weight, and she is a very heavy baby, she is more than 9kg! She is almost as big as her 21-month old brother!

She loves her walker and she loves watching TV!

Three of us have fallen sick...

Awful!
It is the time of the year again... the weather has gone colder, and Jinc, Lily-May and myself, we all have got cold and cough! How dreadful!

Lily-May could not sleep well during the night, and I am having so little sleep in the night. Jinc is still alright but he is so clingy, just because he is not feeling very well!

Hope we all get better soon....

20 months, and counting!

Where have all the time gone, Jinc is twenty months old!

Jinc is a fast learner. I discovered that he has got very good memory. He can remember words of the things that I told him once, then he will say it out when I least expected. His speech is coming along well, but he still cannot say it in a sentence. Word by word, both in English and Cantonese, I am just amazed at the pace that he is learning. It is wonderful to see his development and every day, there is sure to be a little something that surprises me, be it a word, a gesture or a simple expression.

So far, his favourite thing to do in the morning is to wake his daddy up from the bottom of our staircase. He will shout, ' Da..Dada...Da...' nonstop until his daddy wakes and replies. How cute! He is daddy's little alarm clock!

Jinc is 20 months old!

Jinc is 20 months old....just cannot believe it myself, how time passes by quickly.

Newborn Portrait

Lily-May is nearly six months old... and we have only just got the photo CD of her newborn portrait, taken when she was about two weeks old. Oh, how time flies...she was such a tiny, wriggly baby a few months ago!

All the pictures are so beautiful, we love it.. Our photographer, Theresa at Egg In The Nest has done a very good job. We had her to take Jinc's newborn portrait last year too! We love her work!The delay of the photo is due to Theresa was having a baby in July. How wonderful!

Now, click on this link and see how beautiful Lily-May is!
Newborn Portrait

Pourty Potty

We just bought a blue potty for Jinc, it is called Pourty Potty.

We think it is almost time to start to potty train him, as he is twenty months old. Some said it is still too early to start potty train, well, I guess it all depends on the child. I would think Jinc might not be 100% ready, I just want him to get the idea, and having a potty will teach him the very basic idea of its uses.

Let's see how it goes, i know, this can be one of the difficult tasks for me, as I have got a 5-month old too, and we live in a house that it only has one toilet, which is on the first floor... I could foresee myself running up and down the staircase hundreds of time when Jinc starts to use the loo!!! So, for the moment, a potty will sit in one of the corner in our sitting room. hope Jinc finds it handy!

This is going to be challenging, and I hope it goes well as this is a big milestone for Jinc. He is growing up as a little young man!

Click below link to get this Pourty Potty:

Golly Doll

Nanny came over and brought us some old toys, and the Golly is one of them. This is a three feet tall Golly, which Nanny bought for herself years ago!

It can be cute for some, ugly for some, and some even think it is scary! Lily-May is not impressed! Whatever it is, I will keep it for awhile before I pack it with other old toys and give it to the local charity shop.

A hair cut...

Jinc went with his daddy to the hairdresser yesterday. It was his 2nd time to the hair dresser.
He did cry for a bit, and then he was fine throughout.

Jinc is, literally the youngest customer at the hairdresser so far, and daddy is the most regular Chinese customer ever. Sugar has been using that hairdresser for about three years now...

"They both deserve a framed pic to hang in the shop!", joked the hairdresser, himself!

A relaxing Sunday

When you have two under-twos in the house, and no one is helping you with looking after the kids, it can be a dreadful long day...

I have good days and bad days, and today is certainly a good day! Everything is so smooth, it is a breeze and both little ones are having long naps!

I can put my feet up for a while, and read some magazines...

Babybel Cheese

It's Babybel cheese...
Jinc's favourite snack. I love it too!

It's Indian Summer!

Wow, the weather is so hot, and it is so good to be out!
It is time for shorts and short sleeves again!
Won't be long until we all wrap up warm when we go out!

Double trouble?!

We are looking to buy a double pushchair. I have been shopping around and checking out web reviews, still cannot make up our minds, because we are not really sure whether we will really use it. We have got one Quinny (three-wheeler), Jinc has his push chair, which is a hand-me-down from a friend, then Lilymay has her girly pink Maclaren Techno XLR pushchair.

We are still thinking about it. The thing is, every time we try to get Jinc to sit on his push chair, he wont like it, all he wants to do is to run about. At his age, he will only want to be in his pushchair when he is tired of walking when we go out. It is really difficult even though we have got him a baby reins.

The thing is, I really want to have a double pushchair so that I can go out on my own with two kids. At this very moment, I have never been out shopping with the two kids all on my own. I did go out, to friends' house only. As for shopping, I go shopping with only one baby (either Jinc or Lilymay deoending on baby's mood). Although Sugar is always with me and each of us is having a push chair, that is very inconvenient most time. NO hands for shopping trolley, eh?

Now, to buy or not to buy? Or can we borrow or loan one and try it out before we decide to buy one?

We are eying on the Petite Star Twin Buggy as shown below:


...and here is another option too,cute for brother & sister!!

Play group..

Our local play group is open on every Wednesday morning. I heard and read about this baby and toddler play group, but have never been there.

The play group, which is very nearby to where we live sounds like a good idea. I have also just got to know a new mommy friend named Helen, who lives nearby. So, we make plans to go to the play group together. She is regular, and her youngest child (a baby girl) is eight months old. So, it really is a good idea for me to bring Lilymay to the play group and see whether we will like it.

Yes, we love it there.... It has lots of toys for babies and toddlers, there is a separate room for babies, toddlers will have a bigger area. There is an area for coffee and snacks too. Great place to meet moms, to chat with other moms and watch babies!

I will try to go to the play group every week, and I will bring Jinc there next week. It is like I have to bring each of them every other week. I am unable to bring two kids along, what a shame!

Nevermind, I think next year I can take them both with me because they are both toddlers! I am sure it will be wonderful to watch my two kids play together!

Early morning...

Every morning when all of us wake up, it is the start of a busy day. It takes us at least 30minutes to get change and ready to go downstairs for breakfast and morning TV shows!

First, it is myself, the brushing and changing, then it is Jinc's turn, changing his nappy and change to his day clothes, then help brushing his teeth and cleaned his face. Done. It is then Lilymay's turn, nappy change, then change to her daily outfit, clean her face. All this can take me thirty minutes to an hour, depending on babies' moods. If there is no crying and no interruptions, we are all clean and happy to go down for breakfast in half an hour, if not, it can be quite a nightmare!

Phew!

I really miss my child- free days, where I had some lie-ins, then some procrastination before I feel really 'wake-up' for the morning!

Teething pain...

Jinc is 18months and 2weeks old. He is having this teething pain since last week, he gets really grumpy in the evening, and he clings to me all the time. It is hard, as I have a demanding 4-month-old too who needs attention. My 4-month-old has developed this separation anxiety and she needs me to be around her 24/7!

Hope this stage is only temporary, and I can only hope things get better in the next week..

I can hardly get things done in the house, oh well, who cares? As long as all of us have clean clothes to wear every day and no one is starve!!!

BOVRIL

We love Bovril...
Good for hot soup and good on Jinc's rice porridge / congee. When I was a kid, I was brought up eating congee with Bovril as a meal. As a mom now, I copy my mom and introduce Bovril to Jinc and he loves it!

Best disposable breastpads ever!

This is a godsend!

I have tried some other brands, and none of the brand is as good as this. Some are not sticking well, some will leak and some give me itchy skin...

With this, it is absolutely brilliant. It is very comfy, and it is leak proof. I highly recommend this to breastfeeding moms. It can be a bit more expensive than other brands, but it is all worth it.

That is why, I am the type of mom that who does not mind paying a bit more for premium products.

You can easily get it online from Amazon...

A wedding dinner..

It's Andy and Joyce's wedding. Good friends, good old times, and we went to Ibiza together in 2009. Husband and wife now, what a lovely couple. So happy for the them and hope they become parents soon!!

Took Jinc along to attend the wedding dinner at one of the Chinese restaurants in Birmingham. It was a lovely evening and Jinc enjoyed looking at the beautiful bride. He was very well behaved, he ate his food with good table manners, he said hello to all the uncles and aunties and waved goodbyes to them, he even kissed all of them good bye without even feeling shy. What a friendly toddler he is! Well done, my boy!

Food was only ok and I kinda expected that, but that was not the focus on the evening. It was the opportunity to see the beautiful bride in her ever-so-lovely wedding gown and the handsome looking bridegroom who just cant take his eyes off his beautiful bride that counts...

Lilymay stayed with nanny on that evening and when we returned to pick her up, she was already fast asleep. What a darling!

Imaginery play

This is too cute!

Tantrum

Hate it when Jinc throws his tantrum.

It can happen anytime in the day, especially when he is tired. He is also testing my patience. At times, I just cannot control myself and I have to shout at him!

Really hate myself for shouting at him!

Nanny loves Jinc and Lily-May

Nanny came around and bought some little presents for both Jinc and Lily-May.

She got Jinc a wooden alphabet toy from M&S, Jinc loves it, and he is starting to learn 'A for Apple' and identifying alphabets.

As for Lily-May, Nanny got her three pairs of leggings, three long sleeves top, and one very nice 'Little sister' top. All from M&S...They are all so lovely, very girlie, and I love them! Can't wait to put them on Lily-May.

Petits filous

Jinc loves fromage frais. I introduced fromage frais to him when he was about six months old, since then, he has each cup every day. He started with small tub for babies, and now, a bigger pot for toddler.

Petits filous tastes so good and it has all the goodness for strong bones and teeth! Jinc can't say Petits Filous just yet, all he says is 'gurt', as in Yogurt!

Mum and Jinc love it!
Here's one TV advert of Petits Filous, enjoy viewing!

Can't take my eyes of you...

Lily-May, my little princess is such a sweet heart.
She is such a happy and contented baby.

There she is, laughing, smiling at me, and how can I have the heart to leave her and return to work. I guess a full-time mum suits me perfectly at the moment. I can't bear to think about leaving both my kids to child care when I return to work..

So, it is a career-paused for me...I am grateful that I could make this choice, as not many mothers are able to make a decision like this...

Still manage to cook....

I thought I will not manage to cook when Sugar is not at home, while looking after two very young children.

Look what I did today, yes, I manage to cook for the family, besides cooking some porridge for Jinc.

I think it is very amazing at how mothers can do, the multitasking is simply wonderful and I am really proud of myself as a well organised CEO of the house!

My girl...

Lilymay is 7.5kg. She is nearly 4 months old. She is quite a big baby, so much bigger than Jinc when Jinc was her age. Well, every baby is different, and I should not compare the two of them.

Lilymay is a very easy going baby, she smiles a lot, she is very playful, she loves milk, she sleeps well and she is fun to play with. I love her gummy smiles and she would find every sound that I made was funny and she just could not stop laughing!

Entering the fourth month, she has started to flip over, she loves her tummy time, she loves bath time and she splish-splash during her bath. Her favourite toy now is her own fingers and they never fail to keep her busy playing with them for minutes and minutes! She has chunky thighs, she can fit those 6-month old tops, and 9-month-old leggings. She has very short and fine hair, and she looks bald. She looks completely like a baby boy when she wears blue!

I love Lily-May so much and for a moment, I hope she won't grow as fast as Jinc does. But all babies grow fast... I love to cuddle her and can't stop kissing her! She smells so lovely and she is simply adorable!

Love fruits..

Jinc loves all kinds of fruits. I make sure he eats his fruits every day. Sometimes strawberry, sometimes grapes, bananas, apples, raspberries, nectarines, pears, etc. I rarely give Jinc oranges, because he makes too much mess eating oranges!

Today, I gave him small pieces of pear. He refused to eat them at first, but he eventually put them into his mouth. Just when I thought he was not going to finish the pear on his bowl, I returned from the kitchen and found that he had emptied his bowl. What a brilliant boy! That made me very happy!

I am sure every mom would love to see her child finishes his food at each meal. I am not a pushy mom, but I do sometimes feel a bit distress when Jinc does not finish his food...

Everyday cuteness...

My little girl, laughing playfully. I love love love babies...

Weston-Super-Mare

Summer has almost come to an end... as the cold weather approaches, we took the opportunity to enjoy the outdoor (sunshine) as much as possible!

We went to Weston-Super-Mare, it is the nearest beach available to where we live!

So, spent the day strolling around and having fun with the kids. Had some fish and chips, which tasted so bad! Jinc enjoyed so much, and during our journey back, he slept soundly in the car!

It was, overall a very nice day-out, sunshine, yes, but it was a bit chilly and very windy. I enjoyed myself too. I love it that I carried Lilymay in my Baby Bjorn baby carrier. It was so comfy and so 'stylish' on me. It helped to hide my post-baby body, hehe! I am still not losing the baby weight :(

I am using BabyBjorn Original Classic. It is available online, get yours now with just a click away!

A garden party...

Will be going to a garden party at Jinc's nan.. Jinc calls them nanny and granddad. They are our good friends and wanted Jinc as one of their grandsons. Pauline and Stewart are their names, we are friends and now we are so close and like a family. When Jinc was only three weeks old, and as a first time mum, I did not know what to do, Pauline came to see me every other day. She gave me lots of confidence and shared lots of useful parenting tips. She is a very well experienced nan. Sometimes when Sugar and I need some time out, we will take Jinc to nan, and nowadays, we take both Jinc and Lily-May to nan whenever we need time to go out as a couple.

Until today, Pauline and Stewart still come around every week, to spend time with Jinc and Lily-May, and have some casual coffee time at our place. We will go around for Christmas and celebrate birthdays together.

Yes, they are like granny to Jinc, and now Lily-May too. They are both very special persons to us.

My breasts...

I have been breastfeeding Lilymay since the minute she was put to me after she was born, and I am still breastfeeding her.

This time round, it is easier as Lilymay seems to know how to do it properly, she latches on very well, therefore, a smooth breastfeeding journey. I did not even need a breastfeeding support worker to help me. I had one, she was Becky and she assisted me when I was breastfeeding Jinc last year. Lilymay is three months and one week old, and I am grateful that I am doing this. I hope to be able to breastfeed her as long as I could. Lilymay is a very hungry baby, I do give her some top up of formula, she seems happy, and I am happy too!

I love the closeness of breastfeeding Lilymay, I love every bit of breastfeeding my baby! I am so glad I get to do it. I love my breasts too. I know it will sag as time goes by, it is ok for me. It has done a very good job for me as a mother!

UNSUBSCRIBE

Getting lots of junk mails in my inbox recently. Some are useful, but some are totally irrelevant to me, and all I do is click the 'unsubscribe' button.

I do actually read some of the junk mails, mostly promo emails selling things, but there are some really good ones such as offering tips on how to save energy. The purpose of the mail is of course, asking you to switch energy supplier for cheaper ones. I am sourcing, and definitely time for me to switch, the energy bills are increasing and sometimes I think it is rather ridiculous!

Inflation...

Kicking ball in the garden..

Jinc is like a small footballer, he loves balls!

Youtube shown here is Jinc having some fun, he is 17months old!
Oh, my baby, i love him to bits!

What a mess...

Look at the news... Riot every where in major towns. It is terrifying and it makes us think for a while, what would the future be for the United Kingdom? Youngsters, teenagers, kids are sending the country into a rampage.

I wonder why this is happening and it has been happening for a few days now, widespread to other towns as well. I wonder how the government is going to get the country back on track!

Chillin' Out

Father and son chillin'out at the backyard of a friend's house on a summer afternoon. They really enjoyed themselves.

This is pure happiness, while I watched them played together...

A rainy sunday...

Raining... it made me feel so lazy, for once, i thought i just wanted to have a long afternoon nap!

As Lily-May was having her nap, Jinc and I played colouring. It was messy but we had lots of fun. Time really flies, Jinc is 17 months and he likes to scribble. I bought him a set of colouring felt tip pens, and he will hold the pen and start to scribble. Cute! My boy is really growing up, and soon, I have to start to do school run and prepare lunch boxes. How exciting is that!

Motherhood, it is a lifelong career and I love it!

I am always tired at the end of the day when my two kids are in bed. Tired, but all worth it.

Online shopping!

It is so easy these days. I can buy anything online, even online grocery shopping! Love the idea of online shopping, saves time and money. Online grocery shopping suits me just nice these days. Imagine if I were to bring two babies out, I wonder I would have enough hands for the trolley!

I will do lots of online grocery shopping when winter is here. The delivery man of my grocery to my doorstep is always friendly and helpful. I bet he loves his job too! I use Tesco a lot. Will try Asda some other time, and I think Asda is relatively cheaper. I am so used to Tesco, and I love it as it is so easy. It saves my items in favourite for my next shopping, so I do not need to search for those regular items again, saves me lots of time searching and browsing and putting things into my basket! How clever!

It's my birthday!

No celebrations.

All I want is to have two hours of uninterrupted nap in the afternoon. Impossible, who will help me to look after my babies? Completely impossible at night too, because Lilymay will wake for her feed in the middle of the night. But it is alright, she only wakes twice at night, which is quite OK for me.

Well, I am 35 this year!

No presents. Sugar bought me a Rolex. The Rolex is more of a 'push present'( more about the push present in other post later). So, he said no birthday present for this year. I do not mind, as I have lots of love from him and the babies!

Life is good, can't ask for more!

Greatest gift of all...

What a lovely Sunday!

Sun is shining, the two little ones are having their afternoon nap.

I have time to have a cuppa and go online, what a relaxing afternoon. I am also listening to my Ipod, after so long... it's been awhile, quite awhile.

I hope we have more sun, the past few days have been raining and I have been lazy...All I want to do is to catch up with some sleeps.

Today is absolutely wonderful, but Sugar is working the whole afternoon, therefore, we are not going anywhere. Yesterday was pretty cool too, it was my very first time going out with the kids, completely on my own bringing two 'babies'. It was not as bad as I would have imagined! We went to a friend's house, the Tus, and they have two sons, so Jinc was having a lot of fun with the two boys. I am looking forward to going out more with my two babies.

On another note, Lilymay is ten-weeks old, and she is such a darling!

Photobooking

I have been creating photobooks for Lilymay for the past few weeks. I have been doing that for Jinc and now, I am so busy, I have got two children and I am creating more photobooks for the both of them.

I really enjoy doing it. I enjoy taking their pictures and instead of printing those photos, a photobook is more practical for me.

Received the photobook in the post the other day. The picture quality was not as good as before. I don't think so I will order from Bootsphoto again. The reason that I still use Bootsphoto is because I have bought the credits for photobooks a year ago. No choice, I will have to use up all the credits. Will create and purchase photobooks from another site instead.

Click and see,
i) Lilymay newborn and hospital pics
ii) The first few weeks

Jinc has a temperature :(

Jinc has never had a temperature since the day he was born. During the teething stage, and also after his immunisation, he was always fine and normal, and I am so proud of him.

However, he had a temperature yesterday for the very first time, 38.9C, which was quite high. I was a bit panicky, first time...the very first, I did not know what to expect and what to do next. So I rang a friend, who is an experience mom of two. We did not rush to the GP or A&E, I just continued to monitor his temperature, let him wear loose clothing, and make sure he did not get too hot. The temperature came on and off, so I got worry and rang the GP, according to the GP, it looked like he had some viral infection, and advised me to give him some Calpol.

I did just that, Calpol every four hours, continued to monitored his temperature. He acted normal, he had his night time milk as top up, he had his meal and snacks as usual, I gave him lots of water to drink. He went to bed as normal. As I said, it was on and off. The whole night, I did not quite sleep, I was worried.

It really worn me off the next morning. He still had a bit of temperature, but it went away in the afternoon. He was all well and happy. What a relief!

I can cook!

These days, as I am looking after a baby and a toddler all by myself, I hardly have time to do proper cooking regularly.

I love cooking and enjoy cooking for friends and family. Sometimes, when Sugar is around, he will help me with the childcare while I stay in the kitchen to prepare delicious meals. I really enjoy my time in the kitchen, from food preparation till the washing up of dishes. I love every bit of it. I have never imagined that I have become so in love with my kitchen!

I cooked some Malaysian style Pan Mee today. I can easily get those flat noodles from Tesco these days. I cooked the dry ones, oh, so yummy that I forgot to take pictures!

Rasa Malaysia is my favourite online recipe finder. It has lots of my favourite dishes, and mouth watering pictures. Love good food photographs on the site too. I am sure those dishes taste as good as they look!

Every day amazement..

Jinc can easily put a bin liner to the bin without us teaching him how to do it...amazing!

He is a very observant little boy and he does copy things we do around the house. I also notice that he can remember words that we have told him once. Just once! For example, he would point at a picture of horse and said it out loud 'horr'! I have only taught him once!

When we are reading together, I will point at pictures and tell him the words. Then when we finish, I will go back again to the picture and say the words, without pointing at the pictures, he could easily points out the pictures. How clever! He is just eighteen months old!

He is my smart little baby!

Lily May first immunisation

Took Lily-May to her GP for her very first set of immunisation and her eight week check. First jab, all ok, and she was so strong, she cried a bit, and the whole day, she was not grumpy at all. My brave little girl...

As for the eighth week check, everything was fine, except that she has got mongolian blue spot on her left ankle, which I thought was the mark caused by the hospital ID tag. The GP assured me that the spot will eventually fade away as she grows, I hope so. It looks like a bruise!

At eight weeks, Lily-May is 5.7kg ( 12Ibs 9Oz). She sleeps well and she is a very happy baby! She made me a very happy mum too!

I still cannot believe it , that I can actually look after two very young kids (Jinc is 16months old and Lilymay is 2 months old) at the same time!

My mini-me!

Every one says Lily-May looks so much like me. Bless her.
She is eight weeks old now. Sleeps well and she is a very calm baby, so much easier than Jinc!

In The Night Garden LIVE

We are taking Jinc to go see In The Night Garden Live. He absolutely loves the show, and the LIVE show happens to be around the town near to where we live. We bought premium tickets and make sure we get to sit as close to the stage as possible.

We will have to leave Lilymay to the nanny... :(

Jinc is very excited when I mentioned to him that we are going to meet Iggle Piggle! He will dance his way to the telly and he is so cute. I could see that he is feeling all excited and I am sure he will enjoy the live show!

A New Car

We bought a new car. It is more like a family car as we are a family of four now. It is a Mazda 6 Estate. It is voted the best family car 2010. It suits us ideally at this moment. It has a very spacious car boot which is what we need to put the buggies. It is diesel and can save us on the petrol as the fuel prices are going up so much.

We wanted a seven-seater or a people carrier. In the end, we chose the Estate because it suits us just nice, and I just cannot think of why we would want a seven-seater as we are only a family of four, and the only passengers will be our two little ones.

As our circumstances have changed, I would really miss driving a fast sports car. Perhaps, when the kids grow up, I can choose to drive a sports car again, but I am sure I will be quite old then, and would probably drive at 30mph!!

Hay fever

It is the time of the year, spring...as trees, grass and plants release pollen as part of their reproductive process. It is the season that hay fever sufferers dread most! Sugar has very bad hay fever during this season, I really pity him as he will sneeze about 50 times in a row, and have watery eyes! He uses tissues like there is no tomorrow, and it is a nightmare to be out with him during the day.

He normally starts taking his allergy pills to prevent his hay fever when the very early signs of the symptom appear. He thought of getting an injection to help ease his allergies, but never got around to do it. He gets this every year. He seems to be able to live with it, but I actually hate to see him being so 'affected' by hay fever!

I have read from the internet that it affects around one in four people, which is quite common during spring and summer.

Let's hope and pray that I will not get it, but you will never know!

A little helper...

Jinc is 16 months old now..he is ever so cute, apart from his tantrum...

He is my little helper around the house. Ever since he has a little sister, he understands that he is a brother and has to help around the house. He is such a great help to bin Lily-May's nappies for me whenever Lily-May has a change, he is able to tidy up his own toys, he is always making sure the kitchen door is shut, whenever the door is left open, he will just go and close the door, and then come to me to ask for a praise. He is so cute, I think he is very bright at 16 months old!

It is so quick now and Jinc is learning to talk. He understands so much from us, whether it is in Mandarin, Cantonese or in English. He will nod his head when it is a 'yes', and he is able to say 'no'. He waves goodbye and gives out flying kisses. He helps me a lot to pass things around, especially I told him to put things back on the table.

He can do so much, with his little hands, and he understands so much. However, he is not potty train yet... I wonder how to start, especially I have a baby to look after and can't find the time and patience to potty train him.. We shall wait, i guess.

In the Night Garden Live

Jinc is a great fan of In The Night Garden, and we are going to take him to In The Night Garden LIVE show at Woburn! Yay!

Looking forward to a great day out.. Unfortunately, my little princess will not be coming with us, she will go to nanny's for a relaxing day.

Hope to take her with us NEXT year!

Sixty Six!

When I was pregnant with Lily-May, the final weeks were dreadful. I was so huge that I could not sleep well, I could not find a comfortable position in bed, and my bump was so big, I could not carry Jinc!

On those final weeks, I was 80kg, that was the heaviest ever in my 35 years of age!

Now, six weeks post pregnancy, I am 66kg! Still a long way to go to reach my ideal weight, which is 50kg!

Stealing time...

Argh, i am so busy with two young kids now. It is quite fun in some ways, but hardly have time to myself.

It is very warm today, the live-in helper, or rather, the nanny has taken Jinc to the park, Lily-May is having her nap, and I thought I should get some sleep myself, but quiet afternoon like this is so hard to come by, I decided to go online, and blog...finally!

I am so please to have two lovely kids now. Everything looks good, but inside my heart, I really fancy some time to myself, so that I could put my feet up, for once, or have a long bath, without having to worry about the kids.

A mom of two, it is a challenge every day and hardly can get things done uninterrupted, even talking on the phone for a while, is as challenging as ever! I am going to have to live like this for the next few years, is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Lily-May is one week old now!

My second baby, she is already one-week old!!! Yay!

Burberry for mothers day!

Sugar got me a surprise mothers' day gift ( Although it is late, but it is very sweet of him). It is very unexpected, but very pleasant. In the UK, Mothers' Day is the fourth Sunday of Lent. As I was brought up and growing up in Malaysia, Mothers' Day is always on May. So, I really did not expect anything.

It is a cashmere Burberry snood. I like the colour and I am so grateful he did not choose the Burberry signature brown check, that is too common and too Burberry. He certainly knows me very well!

This black and grey one is just nice as it does not 'shout' Burberry. Very practical and it keeps me warm. It warms my heart too. I feel so loved!

Week 38

I am now 38 weeks pregnant with our second baby.

Counting down on the b-day, feeling anxious, although I had been through labour about 14 months ago, my very first birth experience is still vivid. I just want a straight forward birth. This time, I have got the GroupB strep again. The same with my 1st pregnancy. I just hope things go smoothly and I am able to return home as soon as possible. I am so going to miss Jinc, I am sure.

This time around, we have hired a live-in helper. She is really helpful and she is already here with us on the 18th. Jinc gets along well with her, and I am so please. I am all ready to go to the hospital and concentrate for the 'push'!

Oh, life is great, with a live-in helper...At least I could put my feet up after a meal, and have time to read my favourite magazines, uninterrupted.

Mothers day!

It is mothers here in the UK, nothing much for me, it is a lazy sunday afterall.

Yesterday was our third wedding anniversary. Nothing much as well, as Sugar is working long hours, and when he got home, Jinc and I were in bed!!! Three years and counting. As I am now heavily pregnant, I am very tired and have no celebrations at all!

First tooth brush

Jinc is already 14 months old. He has got eight teeth, so far, four on the top and four at the bottom. We bought a toothbrush for him when he turned one, but only to properly get (help) him to use it two months later.

He has seen me brushing my teeth every day. So, one day, I took the tooth brush out and told him to open his mouth, then I said to him, ' brush-brush-brush, brush to your left, brush to your right'. He got so interested now he thinks his toothbrush is his favourite toy!

He has started to play with the tooth brush, and I am brushing his teeth every day, without using any tooth paste. He is still too young to understand how to spit out the tooth paste. So, one step at a time, we shall wait then...

It is very interesting, to teach my child the basics. There are still many things for him to learn, learn to say our language, learn to eat by himself, learn to use the toilet and the list goes on... I am sure, one day he will be very independent and won't be my clingy baby anymore!

Counting down!

It's been awhile since my last post. It's been really busy these days, not to mention my easily-tired-heavily-pregnant body.

I am counting down to the b-day. I have 8 weeks to go until I see my second baby. Then I will go through all the thrill of having a newborn and the endless feeding-and-changing a newborn all over again.

It is very exciting for us, and I am so looking forward to seeing Jinc cuddling his little sister!

JInc is ONE today!

Jinc is one today, how quick!

Jinc is walking!

Welcome to toddler hood, my little baby!
Jinc will be one- year-old in about 3 weeks time. I just saw him walking towards me without the help of furniture around him or his pull-along toys. He happily walked towards me while babbling ma-ma-mama-mama..
The moment was magical, and it made me so happy!

Nasty cold

I have got a nasty cold. I am also the only person who looks after Jinc. Jinc spends most of his times with me at home when daddy goes to work I am very sure I will pass the cold to him, and yes, i did.

Jinc is coughing too, and not sleeping well. Hope he gets well soon. It is quite hard not to kiss him every time I carry him, or to put him to bed.

I am sure he will be fine soon!

Update, 11 Months

Where have the time gone?

Jinc is now 11 months old. He is developing quite well as an eleven month old.
He is still loving his milk, although he eats what I normally eat now during meal time. I do occasionally cook baby food for him. He is not a fussy eater I would say, he literally accepts all sort of food with different textures and tastes. No, have not let him try spicy food though. He is able to hold a little spoon and feed himself, with a bit of my help to put the food to the spoon. He also loves all sort of finger food and is quite good at picking his finger food from the food tray of his high chair.

Jinc sleeps through so well at night and I must praise him for that. He still has his afternoon nap which normally last about 1 hour. He is able to play and entertain himself. If he is in a good mood, he can even sing, all in his baby language. He loves to dance when I say 'disco dancing' while playing some music. He will just copy me, so cute!

He is growing fast, and he is going to be a big brother! I am really grateful that I am always beside him and is able to see him developing to different stages.

What a god send!!!

Jinc is very mobile these days. He is attempting to climb up the staircase but we used his buggy to block it. He would then tried to push the buggy away, he is very strong.

To be better safe than sorry, we decided to fix a safety gate. So I have been looking around on the website and reading reviews. In the end, we bought the Lindam Sure Shut Orto. Lindam is a very reliable brand when it comes to child safety products. It is reasonably priced, easy to fit ( pressure fit) with no drills and screws, which is brilliant for us. It it auto-shut too. It can be easily taken out when we decided to move to another house! Or it can be easily be refitted to another place in the house, eg, the hallway.

Now, we have got this safety gate, and I am sure Jinc is safe to play in the lounge, and he can only go up the staircase with me by his side. This Lindam stair gate is such a good product and I would recommend to anyone who wants to child proof his house.

For hassle free shopping, get it from Amazon with just a click,

Jinc's 1st xylophone

I bought this xylophone for Jinc. He is still not very good in playing with it, he bangs on it. So much fun for him... I think this toy is great as it is colourful and safe to play for his age!

You can get it online from Amazon,with just a click!

'No'

Jinc understands the word 'No', and he says no whenever I leave him alone in the room. He did not say exactly 'no', but he will scream 'noo-noo-noo-noo', then cries. My baby is certainly growing up. He is going to be a big brother soon!!

Pic: 1,2,3,4,5, he is showing off his teeth, and the sixth tooth is pushing through...

New Year!

Happy 2011 every one!
Another year.. this is going to be an eventful year for us.
In 2011, we will have a new addition to our family, and we are so looking forward to it.
We will be a family of four. daddy, mummy, Jinc and a little baby!!!

On the eve of Christmas...

..we were snowed in. Pics shown the snow in our garden!

It is very nice we are going to have a white Christmas. Looking out the window, it is plain white and the flying snow flakes are simply beautiful.

Hope the snow will stop soon so we get to drive to nanny's on Christmas Day! It is Jinc's first Christmas and also our very first Christmas to spend at Nanny's....

I must make a note to thank Nanny. I am so grateful to have her as Jinc has the privilege to call her nanny. She is like a real grandma for Jinc, indeed. Now, a little bit about Jinc's English Nan...

Nanny's real name is called Pauline. She is in her sixties, and her husband is called Stewart, who Jinc calls him granddad, and he is in his seventies. They are both the regular customers at Sugar's restaurant for the past few years, and have become good friends with us. When I gave birth to Jinc, the first few weeks were extremely difficult for me to cope, as a new mum, the sleep deprivation, the complete change of having a newborn was a very daunting experience. I have no family support, as our family is too far away in Malaysia. I was also experiencing difficulty in breastfeeding Jinc. Pauline suggested that I try to give Jinc some formula milk, and then she just rushed out to Tesco and got me the very FIRST tin of formula milk for Jinc.

Yes, she did a brilliant job. The formula milk was like a miracle milk indeed. Jinc had a small bottle and he could sleep so well. That was because he was filled up and able to sleep more, for longer hours. Me, happy mum, as I finally got some rest. I could not thank her more.

Today, Pauline is like a mother to me, I will go to her for advice, and this Christmas, we are going over to hers, it is like we are going home for Christmas! She is my English mom, Jinc's English nan!

Au-pair agency...

Need help and I am browsing the au-pair agency websites. I guess I really need a helper in the house. It is almost time for me to source this to prepare the arrival of our second baby.

.. and it is still snowing, and I hope it will stop on Christmas day. We are so going to visit friends and family here...

Snowed in

.. and the freezing weather continues..
we are all snowed in.
Not nice at all, but very pretty outside. All clean and white.
We are going to have a white christmas this year!

Update, 8-Month Old

My baby Jinc is eight months old now....how quick.

This is quite a fun stage, and I find it rather easy going for both mom and baby at this stage. Going out and about is a breeze and dining out seems to be a lot more easier, as Jinc is keen in trying new food. It is also hassle free as he will now sit on the high chair, and just by handling him some toys to play with, I can have a lovely meal without interruptions!

Oh boy, he is growing up too fast!

Baby2see.com

Baby2see.com.
It is very resourceful, and it is such a brilliant site for all mother-to-be.

A good weekend is...

..long lie-ins,
zero house chores,
easy going baby,
and lots of good food.

pic: spicy tom-yum kung (home made)

10

October the 10th, year 2010, so it is 101010...

Car seat and high chair...

I wanted to write about this shopping experience earlier, but keep forgetting about it. As Jinc is getting bigger in size, we think it is time to change his infant car seat. At the same time, as he can now sit unassisted and started weaning, so we get him a high chair. We want him to understand that having a meal on his own high chair next to us by our dining table would mean meal time. This will certainly help if we do bring him out for meals, he will get the idea of meal time.

We always like to shop locally, and we are very fond of shopping at the Next Generation.The service is superb and it carries a wide range of products that suit our needs. All products are reasonably priced as well. I would say, it is a very reliable and responsible retailer. We especially love its helpful, friendly and knowledgeable staff.

So, we got Jinc a Recaro car seat, which can be used for up to the child is about 36kg. Not bad I would say. Sugar is loving the car seat!

We bought a wooden high chair, it is foldable to save space, since we do not have enough room for large items. Very sturdy, and easy to clean. We added a cushion to the chair so that Jinc can sit comfortably during his meal time.

As Jinc is growing, the shopping list is growing too!

Pampers on sale....

Pampers in on sale at Morrisons, gotta go stock up some. Jinc is now wearing size 4! He is using the active fit range. How quick..

These days, my shopping list contains most of the things for baby. I have not bought a mascara since a long time ago! How pathetic.

I guess it is time to pamper myself again. It is time to put some fashion items to my shopping basket!

Sorted..

We have just sorted out our flight tickets to Kuala Lumpur on November. It is going to be exciting!
It will be Jinc's very first long haul flight.
I am so going to browse the internet to find out about tips on traveling with a baby by plane. Hope things go well for us.

As Jinc is under two years old, his ticket just costs £67. Brilliant!

So looking forward to this holiday!

Change of Season...

Autumn, can be beautiful, but it can also be melancholy...

Mid Autumn Festival

This year is Jinc's very first mid-autumn festival.

Unfortunately, we do not have lots to celebrate living in the UK. No lanterns, no candles and no Chinese family around to celebrate with us. We do have some moon cakes, and I let Jinc to try some. He loves them.

Cauliflower and Cheese...

Jinc loves his organic cauliflower and cheese jar food, by Hipp. He is still using stage 1 jar food, and I am quite happy as the way it is.

Jinc still has no teeth. Health visitor said that it is nothing to worry about, as long as he is eating and trying new food. I am not worry about when he is going to have his first tooth to cut through. It is just that I hate seeing him having sore gum and he can be quite unsettled in the evening.

Actually, I love Jinc's gummy smiles...so cute!

Endless nappy-changing...

It is so scary, Jinc made so much poo today. It is like I am a nappy-change machine for the day!

The agony of teething...

Jinc is nearly seven months old now. Most babies will have their very first tooth to push through at this stage, but Jinc is still showing all the signs of teething pain. I wonder when this will stop and finally let me see his very first white tooth...

He turns to be quite grumpy in the evening, and the situation worsens when he is about to go to bed. I cant do much to help, but to apply some Bonjela teething gel on his gum. I hope this thing will be over soon, my poor baby!

Good day, bad day

For me, I think today is such a good day...
Jinc is so bubbly, he makes me laugh so much, and Sugar is helpful.
If ever every day is this easy, I do not mind at all!

Easy job!

Six months on, I am a not-so-new mom.

It is quite fortunate to say that Jinc is such a straight forward baby. He is a very easy going baby. He eats well and sleeps well too. During the day, I will try to play as much with him as possible. Sometimes, he will watch me do some of the housework such as ironing. I talk to him as much as I could because I want him to know that he has my attention all the time.

I am also quite an easy going mum. I will only prepare his pureed food from scratch when I have the inspirations. Other days, I use baby jar food which can be easily purchase from the supermarket. Jinc loves every thing so far. There are days I will spend some time in the kitchen preparing his porridge. At the moment, he does not eat lots, just a small bowl on each meal. Good enough, he is happy and he is also having normal poo every day.

Overall, I am a happy mum!

opps, we did it again!

It's positive, pregnant again!
Jinc is only six months old now, a bit too quick, but we are all very excited!

A Good Weekend

It's weekend. The whole week has been lovely, I feel quite relaxed every day, because Jinc is such an easy going baby. We both now sleep so much, and for the past two days, Jinc woke up at about 6am for his milk, then we continue to sleep until 12pm. I am not sure whether this is good, but I do love the opportunity to lie on my bed for as long as I want. I have never thought I would have this sort of luxury when I have Jinc. Things are going quite good these days, and oh, how I love to be a stay-at-home mom!

House-bound!

Jinc is getting very demanding these days, and he needs constant attention.

Some days, I do feel exhausted, and hoping to have a helper around the house. The trouble is, hiring a domestic maid is not as easy as in Kuala Lumpur, where almost every household with young children can afford a domestic maid. It is a totally different situation here in the UK.

Well, never mind...

What a busy day...

Lots of washing up, lots of tidying up..
Lots of cooking, and lots of ironing...
A typical day for a house wife can get really busy, thus a short post!

A&E

A lazy Sunday turned out to be a not-too-peaceful Sunday.

Sugar came home early from work, yes he normally works on a Sunday. The weather was so good and we wanted to walk to the park, and spend some time out door.

I was only downstairs getting things ready for the little one while Sugar played with Jinc on our bed. Minutes later, I heard a loud bang, it was like a 10kg rice bag fell to the floor, followed was a hysterical cry! Jinc fell from the bed, I thought, and ran upstairs. Sugar had picked him up from the floor but he was bleeding, and crying.

I panicked, while Sugar told me to grab the car keys and drove to the A&E. It was only about 10minutes drive from our house. Arrived and checked in, and within minutes, Jinc was being looked at. He had stopped bleeding and he seemed so normal and back to his bubbly self. Yet, we were told to wait for the pediatrician to get a thorough check before we could go home.

So, our Sunday afternoon was spent at the A&E, everything was fine, except Jinc has a small tear on the inner part of his upper lip. No big deal, but this incident is bad enough to make me feel guilty, and Sugar is equally guilty too.

Well, I guess, as we go along this journey of parenthood, we will encounter some accidents at some point of time. Just that, this very first came as a shock, and ruined our Sunday!

What an eventful Sunday!

Sittin' up!

Jinc will be exactly six months old in two days time.

He is able to sit on his own, without tumbling over for more than five minutes. This new discovery surprises me. Today, for the very first time, he is able to sit properly unassisted. He sits and grabs his toys, then continue to play with them, so cute!

I am so grateful that I am always beside him, and able to see and discover his development first hand.

Now, I just can't wait to tell Sugar about this when he gets home from work!

A meal out...

As Jinc can now sit up on his own, bringing him out for a meal is such a breeze, as I can now sit him on the high chair (harnessed and cushioned his back), while I can enjoy my food.

The trick is, hand him some toys to play with and he can be such a darling while I enjoy my meal.

Pictures shown my little darling, sitting comfortably on a highchair. This was when I went out for a meal with Man and Yanny who came for a visit all the way from London, and we even ordered crabs on that night. My hands were busy and dirty cracking up those crab shells, yummy.... and Jinc was watching us eating good food!

It won't be long until he sits next to me and enjoys Chinese meals using chopsticks perfectly!

This is interesting...

This infant stool guide is very useful for first time mum like me.
Click here to see pictures of types of stools....
How interesting!

Is this teething pain...

Jinc is grumpy, and he cries a lot before his bed time. He is constantly wanting a cuddle, and most of the time, he only falls asleep on my chest when I hold him.

Is he having teething pain? He dribbles a lot and puts almost anything into his mouth and starts 'biting' them. Is he teething? I am not too sure, I am only a first timer....All I do is apply some Bonjela teething gel on to his gum to soothe him. I think that helps a bit!

Many told me that Jinc is having teething pain, as he is approaching six months old. I am not too sure, we shall see.....

I just can't wait to see his first tooth!

We celebrate...

When Jinc has gone to bed, the house is a little quiet, and quiet time like this is much appreciated, especially Sugar and I hardly have a quiet evening like this. We sit and chat and for a moment, we do not talk about parenting. We talk about us, us, us...

Sugar thinks we deserve a celebration, so, Sugar took out a bottle a champagne, which sits in our fridge for ages waiting for the right occasion to 'pop'!

We do not need special occasion to drink a glass of champagne. I love this sort of spontaneity, which Sugar and I used to do this when we were a couple.

Tonight, it is just so ordinarily special, and this Moet Grand Vintage comes in handy!

Some good news...

Sugar and I are hunting around for a bigger property for our 'expanding' family. Before we make any offers to the property that we like, we sorted our mortgage application. That way, we will be able to select the property based on the price range that we could afford. We just do not want to burden ourselves, because paying a mortgage is a long term commitment.

Today, our broker called us and confirmed that we have got our mortgage approved. The application is valid for the next six months only. Things sound good at the moment. We have looked at a few properties around our area, and still, we cannot seem to find the ideal place that we want.

I got a feeling, this might take a bit longer than I expected...For the time being, I still love our current two-beds. Although I really fancy to move to a bigger house, but, it has got to be the right one. I believe, we will be able to find 'the one' when we least expect it!

Banana as first food...

I have read so much about giving babies banana as their first food to see whether they are ready to start on solids.

Today, I made some pureed banana, and Jinc loves it. It made me very happy.

I used those leftover puree to make myself a banana smoothie. Blissful!

1st spoonful...

I feel that Jinc is ready to try solids. He stared at me when I had my meal, and he even moved his mouth when he saw me eating!

Today, I decided to give Jinc's very first spoonful of baby cereal, mixed with his usual milk. He took it quite OK and he only had about 4-5 spoonful. I would say, this is a good start.

I will be getting busy preparing baby meal. Weaning is an exciting stage, and I hope Jinc would love food as much as I do, and be as adventurous as possible when it comes to trying new tastes and flavours.

I shop online to save time!

These days, I love shopping online to save time. It is so easy and safe. Most importantly, it saves time.

To date, I have shopped for baby products, computer peripherals, some skincare products, and I have yet to try grocery shopping online. I have read in some forums that online grocery shopping is easy too.

As we live so close to Tesco, grocery shopping is my way of motivation to walk to the park and to get some fresh air! A bit of exercise, at least!

Favourite place to shop online is Amazon.

It's another month.....

It is now August....

How quickly...

Time passes especially quick when every day is full of things to do. Where have all the time gone? Jinc is now a little mischievous, but he still melts my heart every time he smiles!