June Reflections - Breaks

This month has been most enjoyable cos we travelled (via plane) together for the first time as a family. Although, we were totally tired out by the trip, (Taipei being hardly baby-friendly), we unanimously agreed that it's something we will do it again and again. We really enjoyed bringing him for the trip. He was also extremely well-behaved on the plane and throughout the trip. Think he must have also enjoyed himself!

Taking an occasional break is really like comfort food for the soul - wonderful! Although Kimi's routine has gone haywire, we felt it was worth it.

I really can't wait for our next family holiday, papa!

Purple Food

Needed to replenish puree for Kimi, so after our brekkie at Kovan this morning, I hopped over to the wet market to get some fresh supplies.

Was snooping around for the stuff that were running low when I spotted some purple sweet potatoes!! So cute cos normally those at NTUC, it's the orange coloured ones. Even the Japaneses ones are only purple on the outside and not inside. So I quickly grabbed some. While choosing, I had a sudden impulse to make a batch of ondeh ondeh as I was craving for some.

Plus, also added some new tastes for Kimi : zucchini & sweet pepper. Don't know if he will like it?? Try lor, anyway he needs to be exposed to as many tastes as possible. Also picked up an Australian Pumpkin, so cute & small - just nice for Kimi!

Kimi's New Food - Washed, cut & ready to be steamed!

Sweet Potatoes Puree, ready to be frozen

Since, I'm at it, must as well share my ondeh ondeh adventure and recipe. You will notice that I do quite a bit of agaration as that's how I cook - I just feel it and many a times, I really don't know the exact measurement. But, I'll try next time to write it down.

And I do alot of shortcuts - what with a screaming bb in the background, simply don't have time on my side. Nevertheless, hope you will enjoy this simple and easy (albeit time-consuming) snack!

Recipe

Ondeh Ondeh Skin
- Approx. 400g glutinous rice powder
- 4 medium sized sweet potatoes
- 1 cup of Pandan Juice (I put 1 bunch of Pandan leaves & 1 bowl of water into blender & strain it afterwards)

Filling
- 2 rolls of gula melaka

For Finishing
- 1 grated fresh coconut (get those that have the brown skin peeled)
- 1 tsp of salt

Method :

1. Sift flour into a large bowl, reserve a cup and place in another bowl


2. Add salt to the grated coconut and place in fridge


3. Steam sweet potatoes


4. While steaming, chop up the gula melaka and set aside. Do not leave large chunks, best to use a 'shaving' method as this will ensure that filling will be melted when cooked.


5. Once sweet potatoes are ready, mash lightly & add to flour together with the pandan juice


6. Knead all ingredients together until it forms a pliable and soft but not sticky dough. If still sticky, add in the flour that was set aside earlier, bit by bit till manageable.


7. Boil a pot of water


8. Shape dough in balls, then push in the centre to form a well. Put in gula melake and carefully close dough and roll lightly into a ball.


9. Once water is boiling, add the balls in. When the balls float, remove with strainer and roll balls with the grated coconut.


10. Serve immediately & ENJOY!

Yogi Master

OOO-MMMM!!! Yogi Master in mediation, pls do not disturb, OM!

You don't believe? Ok, look at his nimble posts!

Grand Auntie Kay

My dearest auntie who lives in Australia came back for a short surprise visit. But she got a bigger surprise as we were leaving for Taipei!! So we could only spend 2 days with her - the day before leaving and the day after we come back.

We went for lunch at Crystal Jade. She simply loves her new Grand nephew, Kimi.

She hopes that I can go live with her for a short while and take a holiday in Australia. I would love to but have to look at hb's schedule. But we will definitely bring Kimi to Oz land cos it's nice and children friendly. Kimi can also enjoy the lovely spring blossoms and cute animals.

Pls wait for us Auntie Kay & Australia!

Kimi & His High Chair

I've been feeding Kimi in his swing since we started him on solids and that means I have to either sit on the floor or on a stool. Rather unsightly and troublesome for me too! So, we decided we REALLY need to get a high chair soon.

But being the fusspot as I am, I wanted the high chair to have these features, no less (if possible) purely for the safety of my son and the convenience of maintenance:-

• Easy 1 hand removable tray


• 5 point harness PLUS crotch guard (the centre pc to prevent bb from sliding down, I know my little bugger can be a handful and he may just do that and a pc of harness was not going to be good enough!)


• Adjustable height so that in future Kimi can dine with us at the dining table


• Lockable wheels


• Easy to remove and clean/wash/wipe down seat


• A leg rest so that when Kimi's bigger, he can rest and not let his legs dangle everywhere


• Folds and can be stored away

Many high chairs had 1 or the other and I've been scouting for 1 since preggy. The one that met my requirements was the Chicco set but it was almost S$300!

Finally, we happened to go shopping at Causeway Point, KP and saw this and I grabbed it without 2nd thoughts as it met ALL my needs and was only S$99!!

Look at how happy Kimi is in his highchair!!

Taipei & Kimi's First Plane Ride (Part 1)

Attending Wubai's concert in Taipei is a very good excuse for us to bring Kimi for a holiday. We both agreed, we start him off on a short flight and see how it goes. But you wouldn't believe how early I started packing and preparing for the trip - I like to plan ahead and BE PREPARED, as always.

We left for the first flight out of Singapore so that we can arrive noon time in Taipei. We left home at 6 in the morning, it was nice and cool. Alright, not too much talking.. more pix as a pix says a thousand words ya??

23 June 2007 - Singapore













Above(L-R)-6am taxi ride to airport; In Departure Hall of Changi T2, Kimi's awake oradi; Waiting to board plane






(L-R) - Kimi having his milk on board SQ & chewing his new toy!







23 June 2007 - Taipei
Arrived Taipei around noon and hopped onto a bus to Sheraton.










(L-R) - Kimi with Papa on the bus; Kimi back in my arms again!




(L) - Kimi enjoying his 'romp' on the extra large bed!!







After a shower and a little relaxation, we waited for our good friends, Conrad & Sharon (from Taiwan) to pick Kimi. They were going to babysit him while hb & myself will enjoy ourselves at Wubai's concert later.

I wrote out a list of things to do and packed Kimi's bag. In a way I'm glad it's them babysitting Kimi as I know he will be in good hands. But all mums are the same, we just like to worry n worry incessantly! Conrad & Sharon have a 1yr baby so we are confident that they can handle Kimi. Pls look at Part 2 to see Kimi's first little adventure outing without mummy & papa.

Kimi had no qualms and took to Conrad & Sharon immediately! They loved him too cos he's so smiley and cute, they said. After we handed Kimi to them, we went for a quick bite at Mac's before heading to XinZhuang Stadium.

While we were on our way to take the train, me & hb realised that we have not been on our own for so long - instantly we felt like before again, before Kimi came along. We felt so carefree. But, we concluded, we liked having our little peanut around although he can be cranky at times.


(L-R) - Outside concert grounds; Dino's drums











The concert was GREAT and it ended at around 11+. By the time we could get a taxi and pick Kimi, it was close to 1am! Anyway, he didn't sleep till midnight! Goodness! This is the first for Kimi. It felt great when I held my baby in my arms again!


24 June 2007 - Taipei
All of us slept in as we were soooo tired, Kimi included! In fact, ever since we arrived, there was simply no routine, it's a holiday for goodness sake so let's just relax a little and go with the flow. Hahaha!

After we woke, lunch was at Din Tai Feng, our fave haunt. Then we went to Ximen Ding for a short walk. Met up with Conrad, Sharon and their son for a short while before we left for dinner at papa's fave BBQ Buffet joint. It was really shiok!





(L-R) - Ding Tai Feng again!!! YUM!; BBQ Buffet












(L-R) - Conrad & Sharon & their cute little son






25 June 2007 - Taipei














Again we slept in - look how tired both father & son are? We had too many walking abouts & meet-ups. Waiting for the MRT on the way to get my fix again - xiao long bao!!


26 June 2007 - Taipei
Met Marla, who very kindly bought us lunch and you guessed it!! Xiao long bao again! I never tire do I? But this time at a different place which she says is frequented and favoured by Wubai.














(L-R) - Me & Marla; family shot; my little laughing Buddha, Do they look alike? Keke!

After lunch, we walked about abit for some last minute buys before heading back to the hotel to get ready to go to the airport for our flight back to Singapore.

It was a really nice and fun trip. All of us enjoyed ourselves and Kimi was so well-behaved throughout. We promise to bring him for more holidays soon!

Good bye Taiwan, we will be back soon!

(L-R) -At Departure hall in Taipei; Kimi at Winnie the Pooh's Playhouse

5 Months Olds Today!

Kimi is 5 months old today, how time flies!

Me & hb was flipping thru Kimi's first pix & videos when we realised how much he has grown, amazing!! When we first brought Kimi home, he was still so small, look how much he has grown!

Even the bath tub that we use for his daily baths, he looked so tiny in it then. Look at him now!! He seems almost too big for it now! In fact, he's even holding onto the sides on his own, balancing deftly in the tub!



Coincidentally, it's also Father's Day today. But I am down with a bad flu so we shall not be doing any celebration but to stay at home and rest well so that I can recover quickly for our Taipei trip next Saturday!!

Little Shrekkie!!

My Forum friends decided to form a pix collage of all January babies in Shrek ears. So, out I went to Mac's to buy these ears for only S$2 but all for a good cause - proceeds from each sale goes to charity.

See, Kimi is pretending to be Shrek!

Think he is better off being a happy, smiley, chuckling baby! And my favourite shot, it's got to be the last pix where Kimi is laughing heartily! My pretty, happy baby, how mummy loves you so very much!!!

Papa's First Bath for Kimi

Finally told Hb that it is about time that he starts bathing Kimi so that they can have more bonding time together. But, in actual fact, it's a chance for me to get lazy, wuhahahaha!!

So, hb took the plunge today. Although it was his first time, he seems like a pro oradi. Well done, papa!!

Seems like I can "relak 1 corner" and shake leg liao!

Safety Comes FIRST!!!

With Kimi growing so quickly, it was time to change the infant seat to a proper seat. After many rounds of shopping and surfing, we decided we needed to invest in a good car seat. This is so as I'm always alone and on the go with Kimi so it makes sense to get a really good one, rather than a 'can -do' one.

Here's the one we got, Maxi Cosi Tobi. Cool right??

Check out its features here : http://www.maxi-cosi.com/maxicosi/productdetail.aspx?id=10&language=ot-en

My First Dip!!

The past few days were pretty sunny so we thought it would be good to bring Kimi for a dip in the pool as the water may be warm.





Unfortunately, the water was just as cold but Kimi enjoyed himself and was not afraid of the water. So, guess there will be more swimming in the pipelines!

I Wish, I Wish, I Wish ...

Kimi can now take the bottle from me and feed himself. But I only allow him to do that for water and not milk.

Here, a liitle twist on his nap in the car!

Baby - Puree Glorious Puree

Time to let Kimi have a taste of 'real' food other than just rice cereal. Here, I bought a load to make a variety for Kimi. We have broccoli, pumpkin, peach, avocado, corn, carrot, potatoes, etc..

Juicy de-skinned peaches ready for steaming and puree

To de-skin a peach :-

• Pop ripe peaches into a bowl of hot water for 5 - 10 mins
• Remove and place in a bowl of ice/cold water, leave for a few mins. You will see the skin curling back. Peel off and steam the peach.
• Pureem as requires and trf to baby cubes
  

Tried out my new handheld grinder - verdict : I think I'll use my trusted Braun next time..

Tiring and not fine enough, better for older babies

(L-R) - Steamed goodies, ready for puree; all done, ready for freezing!