Father's Day took us to Ongar, first to a restaurant for Sunday lunch, then to the Ongar Railway for a bit of train geeking. We also went for mass at St Joseph's, which was well timed, as it was the first communion for a bunch of children. Puppy thoroughly enjoyed himself, having a lot of space to stretch his legs in church, and making a couple of friends on the way.

'Daddy! Daddy!'

'Pick me up, Daddy!'

'Yay! Daddy's got me!'

'I love my Daddy!'

Oh, and Happy 2nd Anniversary to TMBMITW!

Puppy is now 14 months old. News about obese babies prompted me to take him to be weighed at baby clinic after a 3 month absence, not that I was particularly worried about him being obese. He'd put on about 1.15kg, and now weighs 11kg, which is just nice.

Over the past month, Puppy has also started walking, and over the last week, has been managing to get himself to standing position from the floor unaided. I now really have a puppy who follows me everywhere!

I've also got a new camera, a Panasonic DMC-FZ8. My old camera works fine, but I think I've outgrown it, and am ready to start trying to progress in my photography skills.

'I'll just stick to taking photos with the camera phone'

'All that photography makes me sleepy'

We've just returned from a long weekend in Poland. Congratulations to Pzemek and Aneta who got married on 26 May. The wedding was held in a lovely church in the outskirts of Warsaw. The party afterwards was quite out of this world. This is how Puppy fared with all that vodka drinking:



Now what I need to do is get to know more Polish people so I can go to more weddings in Poland!

Recent events are that Puppy seems to have cut his upper right first molar. I'll have to double check on this as it's not easy sticking my finger into his mouth without a high risk of it being bitten off. He's also managed 4-5 unaided steps today.

Puppy has also started driving lessons, here's how he got on over the weekend:

Mirror check

Engaging a corner

Parking the car

I've been a little busy lately, and will post more photos when I get round to it, but the latest news is that on 8th May 2007, Puppy managed to walk unaided. Only a couple of steps, mind, before falling down in heaps of laughter. I took him to Lakeside today, and he decided to push his stroller around, which was a lot of fun for him, although this meant that I didn't get to do any shopping.

You scored as Elizabeth Bennet. As one of Austen's most beloved characters, Elizabeth Bennet represents what most women would like to become: strong, independent, and loyal. Of course, she has her faults including a stubborn will of iron and a clinging to first impressions. Overall, Lizzie is bright and lovable...something to admire and aspire to. Elizabeth Bennet 66% Elinor Dashwood 63% Jane Bennet 56% Charlotte Lucas 53% Emma Woodhouse 50% Lady Catherine 47% Marianne Dashwood 38% Which Jane Austen Character are You? (For Females) Long Quiz!!! created with QuizFarm.com

I chanced upon this on Erynne's blog - I'm sure DH would love to see the results of this! Like Erynne, it seems I'm also Elizabeth Bennett, although not as clear cut. I have to say that the first time I did the quiz, I was Elinor Dashwood, about 58%, with Lizzie second.

Puppy is ONE!

'Finally! I had to wait an entire year to wear my Manchester United outfit!'

'Hurry up daddy! I want to play with my new toy!'

'So this is how it works'

'I'll just get a wee snooze before the festivities continue'

'Schumacher, look out!'

'We're eating a caterpillar?'

'Wonder what it tastes like?'

'Are you sure about eating the caterpillar?'

'Mmm, tastes rather good!'

'Looks like I'll be doing something with pens when I grow up!'

I was there, and it was an absolutely magnificent performance.



10 April 2007: Manchester United 7 - 1 Roma

DH had the misfortune yesterday of missing the bus to Old Trafford. Pity, since Manchester United put in a stunning second half display to beat Blackburn 4-1. Fortunately for his wife, it meant we were able to go shopping, after attempts to do a bit of rambling in the countryside failed, thanks to a certain little Puppy.

We decided to go to Bluewater, which DH had never been before. It was a lovely day out....most of it was aimless window shopping, but we did get a dryer, after months of hmming and haaing.

Some light reading before setting off

Look Puppy, we're coming up to the Dartford bridge!

'Zzzzz, what's so exciting about that?'

'All this shopping makes me thirsty'

'If you ask me, balloons are more fun!'

'Going home now, via the Dartford tunnel'

'Glad the Reds won, I can sleep easy now!'

Last Saturday, the couples in my antenatal class met up for a 1st year birthday party for the babies. It was great to see everybody again, especially those who didn't do the regular meets. Anyway, since I haven't obtained permission from any of the parents to paste their child's face on the web, I won't do any pictures of those, so you'll have to be content with a birthday cake instead, oh, and of course, an obligatory video of Puppy's antics :)

Yummy birthday cake

Since the last post, we've been to visit Puppy's relations in Ireland. We hadn't been since Puppy was 4 months old, and he had a lovely time meeting up with Grandma, Granddad, uncles, aunts and cousins. He seemed particularly fond of Richard, who, in fairness, was probably the only one around who had the most time for him while we were there.

Looking up to my uncle Richard

'Like my new smile?'

Puppy's also turned 11 months old. He is now 9.85kg, which is a relief considering he hadn't put any weight on since December. From the way he was eating at Tarantino's this lunchtime, I suppose I didn't have to worry, really.

Puppy also had a good time at the park today, enjoying a little tete a tete with the wildlife.

'So, that's what duck looks like when not in a pancake!'

I watched a programme last evening on the Cost of Kids. In it, it was estimated that it would cost you £180 000 to bring up a baby. WHAT?!! I ended up screaming incredulously at what I saw and heard. I'm not saying I settle for the cheapest, flimsiest items all the time, but it's weighing up quality vs. price vs. brand vs. user needs. Let's just see how I did with my also newly bought baby items.

1) The cost of setting up a baby nursery room - a couple ended up paying £2000 to get their nursery items from Mamas and Papas. Fair enough, it's a good brand, but many of the items are just not worth splashing a whole load of money on. I must admit though, that I did get a £89 changing station from them (generously donated by the parents-in-law), because it was the only one which suited our requirements and didn't look like it would fall apart after a week. 10 months on, we're still using it, and can't do without it, so justifiably it wasn't a faddy buy. Our cot was sourced from a Babies R Us sale, mobile from a Mothercare sale and there's pretty much nothing else that's newly bought in terms of nursery furniture. Total cost: £200

2) Buggies and strollers - A gold plated stroller costing £2000?! I bought Puppy's travel system (Graco Quattro Tour Deluxe) and a few months down the line, lightweight stroller (Maclaren Triumph), all for £265 - still going strong, and neither are a fashion faux pas.

3) Clothes - The programme quoted Christian Dior babygros going for £85. As much as I like their perfumes, I reckon Tesco, Sainsbury, Boots and Mothercare are the places to go to for babygros - I've probably spent around £40-£50 the last 10 months on his vests and sleepsuits, just because he goes through so many. As for daytime clothing, my mother-in-law generously contributed a gigantic bag of perfectly wearable used boy's clothes some time ago, sizes ranging from 3 months right up to possibly 2-4 years. Other relatives have contributed a few more items of clothing over time, which has been really helpful. Most of the day clothing cost has come recently, since Puppy has started nursery, but I must have spent no more than £30 - £40 supplementing the supply I already have. Many of my supplemented clothes come from NCT sales, where I've managed to pick up good quality second-hand clothes for between 50p and £1.50. Brand-wise, they range from Tesco and Sainsburys to Gap and OshKosh, so Puppy isn't exactly in rags and perfectly 'in' with the fashion.

4) Toys - I do expect the cost of toys to rise depending on what Puppy likes and what we perceive as acceptable, as opposed to what the little boy in the programme had - Playstation, handheld nintendo set etc. Mind, I had my first computer at age 6 (a little IBM-compatible 286), and had great fun playing Olympic Decathlon, PacMan and Lode Runner on it, but was never big on the girly fashion, being more interested in sport. Besides the computer which was shared with my brother, I suppose the biggest 'toy' that my mum purchased for me was a Wilson Ultralite tennis racket which cost about SGD$160, although I argue that it was a necessity since I was playing tennis competitively.

So, I don't think parents necessarily have to spend absolutely loads to kit up their children. Then again, I'm one who's opposed to the idea of the culture of Christmas and Birthday materialism (not so bad if you have one person to buy for, absolutely emotionally and financially draining if it involves EVERYBODY). I think it's about whether the gift will develop the individual, e.g. a baby getting a certain 'developmental' toy, just a good one, and not several which purportedly do the same function. It's about whether the individual needs the item, and not just buying something simply because it's the 'in' thing, or because it's Christmas and you feel obligated to do so. If it's about the 'spirit of giving' and showing how much you love your child, then I'm sure the child will appreciate just as much any undivided love and attention who show him that he's the most valuable being in the world.

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Gung Hei Fatt Choy! This is Puppy's first Chinese New Year, well, second, if you count the time he was in my womb. We went to the Singapore UK Association's CNY dinner at Oriental City last night. It was a wonderful evening, way past Puppy's bedtime, although he seemed to enjoy the lion dance entrance, and the sumptuous 10 course banquet which included a yummy salmon Yu Sheng (lou hei! lou hei!), crispy suckling pig and juicy lobster! SUKA even flew Ivan Heng over for entertainment, which was rather nice of them.

Puppy also got the opportunity wear the gorgeous costume which his Kong Kong bought for him in December when we were over in Singapore:

Getting ready to go out

'OK, I'm dressed for the occasion, where's the food?'

Today, being CNY proper, we went to Mass, then went to Mandarin Palace for Dim Sum. It was absolutely packed. After that, we decided to pay his greatgrandma and greatgrandpa a visit. Puppy had a ball of a time, showing us just how he probably is like at nursery, very active and vocal throughout. Nowonder he's lost weight despite eating like a horse!

'Let me show you how to use the chopsticks, Daddy!'

'I'm an angel, honest'

'At least I look like one'

10 months old now, and Puppy's getting more and more active. So active, in fact, that for the first time, he's lost weight. He was 9.45kg at baby clinic this morning. So I reckon his portion sizes may just not be enough although considering how he managed to eat a huge portion of minced pork, courgette and brocolli congee at lunch, wonder where all that is going to. He is a very sturdy and well built boy though, I must say.

Anyway, I'm a bit of a no-mess freak when it comes to babies handling fluids/semi-fluids. I just don't see why the house has to be re-decorated after every meal time. Darling husband though, is of the opposite persuasion. So, after all this time of helping Puppy drink from his cup (without the lid on), I finally relented and allowed him to handle his own drink, so to speak. Lid on, of course!

'Please mummy, I promise to be very good!'


'I told you! No mess!'

'I cleaned up with my shirt!'

We went to Nandos for lunch today, boy did Puppy enjoy himself! He had a wonderful time using his hands to eat sweetcorn, chicken and fries, and at the end of it, still wanted more. For dinner, he devoured a cheese sandwich, half a yogurt and some blueberries. I'm glad his appetite has returned, especially since he hasn't been well the past few days. He's had a chesty cough for the past 3 weeks, and weekly runny nose, all thanks to his friends at the nursery I'm sure. I brought him to the GP yesterday, and although he said he couldn't hear any wheezing, decided that since it had gone on for such a long time, to give Puppy a presciption for some Amoxycillin. I'm in half minds whether to actually let Puppy take a course of antibiotics, or just let nature run its course. I suppose 3 weeks worth of phlegm isn't pleasant.

We've experienced the first snowfall for the year. It wasn't very heavy, but I was rather glad that it finally came. It must be one of the warmest winters I've experienced since arriving in the UK. Puppy didn't seem bothered really - give him another year, and he will be revelling in the snowball fights.

Blackeyes the panda wondering why everything's turned white.

Outside.

On another note, Burn's Night is traditionally celebrated in Scotland on the 25th of January. Although neither of us have any Scottish heritage, it was an excuse to read some 'Rabbie Burns' in our best Scottish accent, indulge in a 'wee dram', or in my case, a 'wee sip', and of course some Haggis (courtesy of the good people from Macsween), Neeps and Tatties.

So, it's official. Puppy has been out of my womb longer than he has been in it. He had his weight check yesterday - we hadn't been in a month, because I can't go to weight clinic during the week anymore now that I've started work. He hasn't put any weight on, and is still 9.5kg (21lb), not that I'm worrying too much, because he's getting more active, and eats well anyway.

Puppy loves fruit. I don't think he has any favourites, but I think if we put him in a vineyard, an orchard full of blueberry bushes or a banana plantation, it would really make his day. He had his first raspberries this lunch time:





He's also added 'nanana, ngah ngah ngah' to his repertoire of babbles.

Puppy is 9 months old today.


Reading the day's sport headlines with daddy.


Too full to move after a big lunch

Puppy's survived his first 1 1/2 days at nursery - and, according to the girls there, has settled in rather well. He enjoys his meals, which is a good thing. My problem is not being able to express milk for him, so I go down at lunch time to breast feed him, just to relief myself, and also so he sees a familiar face. I did agree to him having some formula, now that I've done the full 6 months of breastfeeding, and having some bottle feed doesn't seem like such a huge issue anymore. Not sure if he's actually managed to have any though, apparently he didn't know what to do with the teat when it came close to his face!

So, now to not have him cry everytime I see him after a long absence.....

'But Daddy, I'm not sleepy yet! I want to watch the New Year fireworks on TV with you!'

'Good morning mummy'

Happy New Year. We had Cotswold Gran to stay over the past few days. Puppy was charming her by looking cute, and not crying too much. Oh, and he started doing 'ta ta, da da' on New Year's Eve.