Oh, and Puppy has cut his right lateral incisor today.

Christmas has come and gone. Over the past week, thousands of people were stranded at Heathrow Airport due to flight cancellations from the fog. Even I, on one particularly bad afternoon, managed to miss the turning home, and ended up in Harlow rather than Brentwood! Poor Puppy had to sit in soiled nappies for 5 hours, and he wasn't pleased!




Christmas in the UK is still a very family orientated event. The past two Christmases have seen us celebrate it together, just the two of us, and Puppy of course. It is especially special for darling husband as it is his birthday, so it means making a bigger effort to ensure he has a good time.....only when growing up, my family tradition was going to Por Por's house for curry chicken, french loaf and iced fruit cocktail! So I've had to consult Aunty Delia yet again....


Preparing the turkey (it's supposed to be a small one!)






Pigs in Blankets








I didn't have the time to do proper mince pies this year, so I cheated with mince 'vol-au-vents' instead.....still nice though!




Everything put together

So, we've been back in the UK for 3 days now. The weather is as expected - cold and miserable. It's nice being back with darling husband, who missed us immensely. Puppy doesn't seem to have forgotten him - in fact, has been clinging onto daddy with dear life since returning. We've been rather organised for our standards this weekend - managed to go to Ikea to get our wardrobes and bookshelves, as well as get a Christmas tree. It has been a good weekend, apart from being jetlagged - I've been awake since 5am - and Manchester United losing 1-0 to West Ham (while Chelski spectacularly beat Everton!).

Puppy goes to nursery for his first 'settling in' session today - hope it goes well.

Puppy's new gumshield....made of cucumber.

My first real Christmas tree - a Nordman Fir.

Someone posted this on the Baby-Led Weaning forum that I'm on, entitled 'For People with Sons':

1. A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft house 4 inches deep.

2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

3. A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant. (in my case, an 8 month old :))

4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.

5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6. The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.

8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9. A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old Man says they can only do it in the movies.

10. Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4- year old Boy.

11. Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12. Super glue is forever.

13. No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

14. Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15. VCR's do not eject "PB & J" sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

16. Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17. Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18. You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is

19. Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

20. The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.

21. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

22. It will, however, make cats dizzy.

23. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

24. 80% of Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.

25. 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

Puppy's development has been progressing by leaps and bounds this past week. Friday, 8 December - started clapping his hands; Saturday, 9 December - started smacking his lips. He's also pulling himself up to a stand position with ease now. This morning, he managed to do that while sitting perpendicular to the supporting cot rail. Yesterday, he managed to shuffle across the cot length to get a piece of biscuit placed out for him. He knocked the biscuit over into the cot, and bent down to get it, one hand gripping the cot rail. I never realised he had so much control over his movements! Apart from cruising and using less arm power to support himself while standing, he also likes rattling the cot rail and jumping up and down in it. I hope our cot in the UK is ready for all the abuse it's going to get in 3 days time! Saying all this, Puppy's not actually crawling, but still creeping along the floor - at speed - I'm not sure if he will crawl, or want to, if he can get along with creeping.

Speech-wise, he is saying 'ma ma mum mum' now, whenever he wants milk - I'm not sure if that's just a coincidence though. And in case Daddy is feeling left out, I can assure him that Puppy was practising saying his 'Pa' today, only he hasn't quite mastered it yet, and it comes out as 'Pwah, Prah'

Some photos from our holiday within a holiday in Genting Highlands, Malaysia last weekend:

Cable cars

Trying to look like a tourist

'Look Daddy! I can drive!'

Having fun at the playground

'Wonder what Malaysian cots taste like?'

'Please God, don't let me have a tummy ache!'

1st December 2006
Puppy started babbling. It was around 3.30pm Singapore time, and we were in the study contemplating what to do next.....and it came, rather suddenly......'buah, brah, wah, row, wow, bao'. Over the course of the afternoon, it became more of a 'pah, ra, wah'. It's all rather exciting. Someone said her son at 9 months still hadn't started babbling, probably because he was getting confused over being bilingual, so I'm obviously chuffed to bits that Puppy has started, at 7.5 months.

We've been in Singapore for the past 2 weeks now, visiting friends and relations. Puppy has been keeping us up at night, the past 4 nights with teething pains. His two upper incisors are pushing their way through at the moment, and I think he just cut the right one this morning. He's also been trying to stand, and started doing so independently about 3 days ago.

29 weeks - 9.345kg (20lb 9oz).

His first solid poo was also discovered today - thought I had a puppy in the house. Must be the Oatibix from yesterday. He demolished a pear all by himself this afternoon, so probably another solid poo for tomorrow.

Something that actually made my day!
And if you don't understand Mandarin, maybe Cantonese?

More food photos. Since the shortbread incident, where we demolished a pack of butter in 2 days, I decided to make some Italian biscotti (cantuccini) in the hope that it wouldn't make us feel that guilty after eating it.

Puppy is really trying to crawl now. He kinda lifts his bum in order to get his knees off the ground, then propel himself forward. I gestured him towards a toy last night, and he managed to move about a metre to get to it. Does this mean I can't let him out of my sight anymore? He's also got a fascination with TV cables and feet!

He ate his largest amount yet yesterday.
Breakfast - 1 1/2 tablespoons baby porridge + 3 scoops Aptamil
- Petit Filous
*all eaten*

Morning tea - Digestive biscuit (OK, this wasn't in the plan, but the lady at the parish hall offered it to him and he took it)

Lunch - Whole pear
*2/3 eaten*

Dinner - Sweet potato mash
*3 spoonfuls*

Also still breastfeeding loads.

Basically, he's eating so much that I've decided to invest in some long sleeved bibs rather than overwork our poor washing machine.



His stroller arrived today - can't wait to put it in use!

So, Deepavali and Hari Raya Puasa have passed. I was wanting a curry, but can't afford a takeaway. So, the next best option....make my own.

Pappadoms

Chicken Mughlai

Aloo Gobi

Final result.....yum yum

Debbie Gibson - For Better or Worse

Watching this on YouTube brought back memories. Anyone who knows me (well enough!) will know I have a serious case of Gibsonitis. This is the first single from her fifth album. I remember going to the mall the first day the album was released and then locking myself in my room, playing it over and over again. I haven't seen the video until now - she actually used to date Chris Bruno (the guy in the video) - he came with her to Singapore and fixed her piano when she performed that song at Boat Quay.....ahh, it's all coming back really vividly now......and I'm really sad for knowing all this :)

That Boy Rooney

OK, I know he hasn't scored since goodness knows when, but hey, he's still a footballing genius.

So, I discovered that there is a baby clinic at the GP surgery in our village. Seeing that we didn't fall under the catchment area of our previous surgery anymore, I decided to take Puppy to baby clinic, and at the same time register with the new GP. Turns out that the HV at the surgery is actually based at the baby clinic which I used to go to. We bumped into Pamela who was from the council and had a good old chat with her. She remembered us from when we first saw her, and absolutely loves Puppy. There was another lady with her little boy who was there before me, apparently she was lamenting on the fact that there weren't too many baby boys in the village (hers is 8 months old). I didn't get to talk to her much, but as I was filling out the registration forms to join the surgery, other mothers came in with their babies - all girls! We started chatting with Tracy who had come with Halle (turned 6 months on 20th October), and she told us about some baby groups in the area. All being well, we might join her at baby signing next Monday. There was also a 10 month old, and another very mobile crawler who came in - it was rather amusing half watching (half filling in form) all the babies play together. The older folks who were waiting for their doctor's appointment certainly seemed to enjoy themselves - one elderly gentleman even came up to Puppy and played with him. As usual, Puppy seemed to take in all around him. He even cried when one of the babies had to go.....awww...

More cooking - made shortbread today. Really simple, and turned out brilliant. No more need to get any Walkers shortbread.



Puppy is also 27 weeks today. He's really becoming rather hyperactive! I managed to confirm his place at the nursery, and he's going in for some settling sessions in December.

Singlish Security Lecture

When in Singapore, speak as the Singaporeans do.

At 6 months, opting for a Baby led weaning approach has certainly seemed the way to go, as well as taken lots of time that could have been wasted on pureeing and mashing.

On a typical day

This is how he greets his food...


And the aftermath.......*burp*

X Factor vs American Idol (chicken factory)

Was watching YouTube, looking for last night's X Factor liveshow, but found this instead!