Family days

One of our main reasons for travelling hundreds and thousands miles. Back to Singapore.

We have been spending time with family. I have not made my way out of Punggol (where I am staying) to explore the rest of the city yet. I am thinking I do have one month..the blazing sun outside is making me lazy..

Cheep Cheep and so Shiok!

This is what I have been eating.

Not the best of presentation but who cares when it tastes so good!

Can't find Chwee Kuay in Vancouver, it's probably unique to Singapore. I don't even know how to describe what it is...rice flour cake with radish? Whatever it is made of, it is really yummy.

I didn't know one could still find food that cost SGD1.50 these days. The fried bee hoon (vermicelli) with vegetables and fish cake costs only SGD1.50 and it was packed full of noodles.

Lucas is in a much better mood today. Woke up once in the night which took longer than usual to put him back to sleep but it was alright. He has met his cousins, Marcus & Celeste and they love him!

We have been adjusting to the heat. It is hot and humid year-round with temperatures around 30degrees celsius in the day. I think I was in the shower 3 times yesterday.

I still do speak Singlish ("Singlish is an English-based creole language native to Singapore") and so does Edwin. It is something we grew up with and it tends to surface when we are with fellow Singaporeans. But I was still amused when I heard "What floor?" in the elevator today.

"Shiok" - which means darn good in Singlish

Jetlag

We have arrived. My eyes feel like they will pop out anytime and my head is feeling the magnetic force from the ground. Pardon me if I do not write coherent.

Lucas took to the skies very well. He pretty much stuck to his routine. Played, ate and slept whenever his body clock tells him to. But his sleep was not as peaceful as he would have liked as I had to reposition him when he turned over or moved due to space constraints, and he had to wake up when it was time to get off the aircraft in transit. By the time we arrived in Singapore, he was dazed and confused. But he didn't cry once on the aircraft and was the delight of some passengers around us. One family seated next to us asked if he ever cries? Oh yes he does.

The nightmare only started when we got back to Edwin's parents' home past midnight. I had not slept a wink since I was keeping my eyes on Lucas when he was asleep and keep him entertained bouncing on my lap when he was not sleeping. He went down pretty easy after his milk but that lasted for maybe an hour and he woke up in a head of sweat. I had to rock him to sleep..something I hardly ever did but he was so out of sorts I felt really bad for him. The rocking, hushing and lulling went on for another 2 hours and he fell back to sleep for another 2 hours.

Morning after, he was not in the best of moods and didn't eat much but we survived today. Tried to stay to the routine as much as possible, he was sooooo sleepy poor baby but I had to wake him up from his nap in the afternoon as he was going for more than 2 hours which is probably because it was midnight in Vancouver time. So he went to bed early tonight and we will see how tonight goes. I am keeping my fingers crossed he would sleep through like he would back home.

Now Mommy really needs to lay down.

We are off to Singapore!

Lucas & Mommy will leave on our maiden flight to Singapore this afternoon. We will miss Daddy for sure. Check back for updates on our adventures in the heat and Mommy's food attack in Singapore!

Are you done yet?

After years of travelling and relocation, I am still a 'packing' idiot. I would start packing weeks before travel date. Put everything in the suitcase, and take them out again. Pack. Unpack. Pack. Unpack. Totally inefficient.

I am fickle. Do I need an extra pack of wipes? Should it be 5 pairs of socks or 4?

I have only started packing for Lucas and there isn't any more room in the suitcase. What the heck am I bringing. All I know is I feel better if I have more rather than less.

I am one of those people who overstock their pantry with groceries. Leave me in the supermarket for an hour unsupervised and I go wild.

Excuse me, please eat your vegetables

I must be all men's greatest nightmare. I am a nagger. A very skilled one. I would like to believe that circumstances have made me such. Especially since I am convinced my other half may be making me believe he is hard of hearing. I used to think he has acquired the skills of selective filtering but after 14 years I now wonder if the filter has a big hole. It must be pretty annoying to hear me repeat the same thing over and over again. I think I will live longer if I just stop.

In his element

This is one of Lucas' silly grins.

Er..would someone please change my diaper.

WAAH!!

Ok...I am not a sadistic momma but I took this photo because I had the camera in my hand at that very moment. Honest. And I also knew he was alright. I think he had hit himself on the face with his toy. This lasted for maybe 5seconds and he was back to mischief and giggles after momma made some silly faces.
I also decided to post this because I want to remember how he looks when he wails haha. Wierd but I am actually not fazed by his crying anymore and sometimes find it amusing. Maybe because I am more in tune with what he wants from each whimper.
To all the uncles and aunties who are waiting to lay their hands on Lucas - don't worry, these slobbery moments are rare, he is generally quite a happy baby.
So we all know he has no teeth yet..now who does he look like when he is not in a good mood..

Milk junkie no longer?

It's the crazy hat mama again. This is my new cap. Lucas is not fond of stuff on his head (including his own lil cap). It will stay for maybe 2 seconds and he will take it off. I am in search of a decent cap with a strap which fits his head.

So the milk story is not getting better. He has cut down on his milk intake for the last couple of days. This is not good news for milk production as it, i mean they adjust to demand & supply. And of course I had hopped on the internet in search of answers for why he is not fond of his milk like before. It could be teething, or he prefers the new texture and tastes of his solids or it could be a phase. I am not sure I am comforted by these answers. I would rather him be a milkacholic for a while longer.

Meanwhile, he is feeding himself on finger foods pretty well now and eats his bananas on his own.

Freedom!

First time ever. Night out without babies.

Carolyn is going back to work next week and we decided we needed a girls' night out. Drove down to the Richmond Night Market and it was so much fun! Tons of food, people and stuff to buy that will make you regret later.

Ate too much. We had jumbo siew mai, takoyaki and bubble tea. Wished I could eat more, darn those tiny jeans I had squeezed into earlier. I should have just worn my roomy PJs and no one would notice.

Bought stuff I am not sure what I need them for and had just enough cash balance to buy my babysitter (aka husband) some food. It's not that bad. I had fed and put Lucas to sleep before I left and he slept through. I spot a gleeful look on Edwin's face when I left. It means a couple hours of peaceful computer games with no chattering monster behind his back.

I sneaked into the house close to midnight and both were sound asleep. Took me a while to get to dreamland after a surreal night. It felt strange to be out having fun like old days without a diaper bag, without worrying about feeds, without a little pair of hands pulling my hair.

Morning after let's take a look at my treasures bought. A pair of earrings, 2 pairs of socks which looks more like hand puppets to me (reason why I bought them), a cap (to cover my almost always dishevelled look), wrapping paper (I have no idea why. Probably because it is so cheap and the girl selling it was too sweet), and my best buy yet; a super-duper cute bag for a momma who thinks she is still pretty darn young haha.

Please take me, I want to be your milk machine

I am getting excited about making my first solo trip with Lucas in less than 20 days. I just hope we will be able to bring him back to his current routine and sleep habits when we get back after a month.

My lil pumpkin has been very busy exploring new grounds. He seems to favor moving towards different rooms with different floors and slap his tiny palms onto the different surfaces. His toys do not get much of his attention now as he is more fascinated with things he can find randomly from moving around..

Today for the first time ever, he refused milk from me and I am devastated. Maybe he is eating too much solids, he loves everything I have been cooking for him thus far. Maybe he just doesn't want to take milk from me anymore? Maybe he thinks he is all grown-up and wants a bottle? I have not introduced the bottle to him and never thought I would since I am quite happy nursing him. But he does drink his water from his sippy cup.

I have been very content with Lucas' progress thus far and we are pretty much in sync with each other's tempo by now. The only thing that still bothers me is he doesn't have much patience in his stroller. He may last for at most an hour but if he is tired or sleepy he wouldn't sleep in his stroller even if I am on the move. This drives me nuts. Don't babies, kiddos love motion?

I am hoping the milk refusal is only temporary and he will wake up tomorrow wanting milk. Now that it is not an hourly or 2-hourly feed, but rather a 4 times a day, almost painless affair, I do want to be my lil pumpkin's milk machine. Amazingly it does feel very fulfilling.

Where he was made

We were @ Pinchbeck's place for dinner tonight which was also home to us a year ago. We sold our townhome in Mountain Edge to him. The minute we walked in, I couldn't help missing the place. The floors we chose, the one-of-a-kind fireplace Edwin designed+built, the lights, the kitchen (island...YES!) and most of all the patio deck where we spent many cool summer nights with Abby. Lucas had a great time eating Alfresco with us and slamming his bottle on his lil table, soaking his shirt as a result. Thank goodness he managed to sleep in the guest room and now back to sleep in his crib.

Three-cup chicken & Bubble Tea

This is lunch yesterday. We decided to head down to Richmond after a lazy morning of don't know what to do.

Taiwanese restaurant (I forgot the name) with fancy cutlery, and upholstery. Where every other table sat dating couples and waitresses in tiny tops and skin-hugging pants. We were not there to see those tiny sharp butts although it was Edwin's suggestion to head there..hmm..

It was Lucas' first time in a high chair in public too. He loved it as long as food continued to make its way to his mouth.

Going places

Ever since he started moving on his belly, Lucas has been very busy exploring. Life sure is different these days.

Looks like he may be back to his bubbly self.

He was displaying very serious expressions lately, what Edwin calls "he is deep in thought..he is a thinker..like his Daddy". And I was getting worried what happened to my lil monkey with a huge sense of humour. I love his laugh. Daddy is still the No.1 person who can make Lucas laugh. Really loudly and hard.

It sure is funny to see his lil face peeping at me when he moves into the room/closet to look for me. My lil pumpkin is cruising!

Forget the exercise, let's just have fries and burgers

I joined a friend & her baby gal for a hike @ Buntzen Lake the other day. We went with a group of other mamas who were part of a hiking group/network. When I drove closer to our meeting point and saw the group with hiking backpacks+babies (their gear looked huge to me, I bet some of them would be the length of me) I became nervous. Me with my innocent baby carrier them with REAL hiking gear. So...they were planning to hike around Buntzen a total of probably 8KM. I chickened out after probably 1KM. Lucas is too heavy! Or blame it on my mysterious abdominal pain the day before..I am so unfit, which is strange because I feel like I am constantly on the move the entire day. Maybe that's why I am stripped of energy to do proper exercise? Really? Bad excuse haha.

We adjourned back to my home and had MacD for lunch. Hah. No exercise but load on the fats
On the photos - Lucas gobbled down his biscuit snack really quickly..the first time I offered the entire biscuit to him. I love his expressions! We didn't capture the evidence of the mommas devouring the fries and burgers..