Big Boy Oradi

My baby is almost a big boy oradi cos he finished his milk milk on his own this morning! I'm so proud of him! It made me tear a little cos I was happy and sad ... happy cos he is growing well and becoming more indepedent. sad ... cos slowly he may not need me, his mummy anymore ... in a blink, he will be all grown up... sigh...

Women, we are such contradictory creatures - we can't wait for them to grow up yet when they show signs of independence, we worry we will lose our dependent baby.

My forum friend, Sherl commented to me today that our babies are growing up so fast... I cannot agree more ...

"See my milk milk finish oradi, mum. Told you I can do it on my own!"

"Wait, 1 last drop first..."

"Ok, I'm a happy boy now"

I've Been Awarded & Tagged!

I was pleasantly surprised when my blog friend turned pal, Ellena, gave me this award. It's such a nice gesture and I've not felt 'appreciated' in a long while. Kekeke!! Thanks very much, Ellena!

I met Ellena through her fabulous food & baking blog. She is a very dedicated mom and a very creative and fabulous cook and baker. If you are thinking of getting some yummy home-baked goodness like Macarons and baked donuts, amongst other heavenly bakes, remember to get some from Ellena!!

After swirling in the clouds, I would like to make some others as happy as I am by passing this award to another 6 friends. Although I am supposed to pass on this award to 5 friends, I want to pass on this award to more. So we can all enjoy the joy of receiving!

All these bloggers are wonderful and dedicated moms who are very creative and have made their baby's blog so interesting and nice to read. Enjoy the wonderful pix and videos of cute cute babies!

1. Charmaine Kee
2. Elly
3. Michelle (Bluegrapes)
4. Michelle (BB Milk)
5. Michelle (J&S Mum, Alethea)
6. Serene (Zenn)

Before I start on my tag, I would also like to tag the 6 ladies above. My tag of 5 things :-

Found in my room:

1. Mini pantry for Kimi's milk feeds
2. Mini torchlight by my bed to check on Kimi in the middle of the night so I don't have to turn up the lights
3. A bottle of water
4. Air filter
5. Kimi's cot - he sleeps right next to me and it's such a wonderful feeling to be awakened by his smiling face every morning!

I have always wanted to:

1. Travel to the Himalayas, Tibet and making the journey on Silk Route.
2. Live in a penthouse with a large roof garden that overlooks the sea or the city. It is equipped with a large kitchen with lots of storage & state-of-art baking and cooking equipment. FABULOUS!!
3. Learn to speak Finnish, Norwegian, German, French, Spanish, Thai, etc. I love languages.
4. Have more than 10 children! (I can't even manage with 1 now, sigh..)
5. Play the piano & harp

Found in my bag:

1. Kimi's dummy, snacks, face cloth, feed cloth, wet & dry tissues
2. Handphone
3. Wallet
4. Keys
5. Lip gloss

Found in my wallet:

1. Cash
2. Credit cards
3. Used receipts & ATM slips
4. Discount & Membership cards
5. A folded heart made from a $2 note

I'm currently into:

1. Thinking up of complete meals for Kimi and exploring new ingredients
2. Blogging - it provides a channel for my rantings and is a great relaxation therapy
3. Cycling
4. Wubai (since when I'm not?)
5. Melodolic lullabies, folk songs, nature sounds and soothing music for Kimi
6. Books on parenting
   

Ladies, happy tagging!!

A Mother's Pain

I think what hurts a mother most is seeing her child hurt. And it is magnified when their hurt arose because of her neglience.

Since Kimi was born, I would like to think I have been diligent in keeping him safe and well, except for the time he toppled out of the cot. Then, my heart stopped and turned cold when I heard the thuds in the kitchen.

But this time round, although it seemed like a small fall, he cried more vehemently and was kicking non-stop when I held him. I knew then he was in great pain. It took quite a while to calm him down although by then I was also sobbing and hating myself!

What happened?

I had placed the exersaucer next to the coffe-table so he wouldn't go beyond that area. Kimi then stood there playing happily with the toys on the exersaucer, pulling and tugging it. I think the floor was too slippery, he slipped and scraped his ears from the inside out. (I had just turned around to take a sip of water). His whole ear became purply-red and had a slight bleeding.

I hate it when things like that happen because I feel it COULD be avoided if I HAD been more diligent. I do believe that children need to fall to learn to stand but to get hurt like that is uncalled for and totally my neglience.

But children as children, they bounce back so quickly that he was playing and laughing 30 minutes later.

It is so true when they say that only a mother can feel another mother's pain. Sorry baby, mummy have caused you much pain today, I promise to be more careful.

Pix above - See my poor baby's ear (my hp couldn't take a good pix)

Pix below - Happy & smiling again!

Pointing Up & Clapping

The past 2 weeks had been very noisy in my household! Kimi is clapping, rolling and shouting ever so often. The moment his favourite show is on, he clapped and rolled his hands, singing (more like screaming) along with it. Hollering down supermarket aisles, in his highchair, basically everywhere!

But it was fun, fun, fun cos he is just so funny & tickled when we asked him to roll his hands. It's the sign for 'SIGNING' in the Baby Signing Times DVD. Sadly, I've yet to capture that on film, will try to do that soon!

Sleeping Bubba @ 10 months old

Kimi is 10 months old today! What a journey we have walked together, darling!

Instead of the usual smily, posey shots, I'm posting a collage of Kimi sleeping. I don't know why but I love and enjoy looking at Kimi when he's asleep. He looks so innocent, beautiful and sometimes funnily cute when he opens his mouth! I enjoy taking his shut-eye shots, think I have quite a number over the months...

Remember to take these shots of your baby cos they are priceless!

Baby Creamy Salmon ABC Pasta

With some cream left over, what better way than to intro some creamy alfredo-like sauce to Kimi. I've been looking around for a while now for interesting yet small enough pasta shapes for Kimi. So far, it's those plain ones until I chanced upon this... And you would never have guessed where I got it! Yup, it's at NTUC - Organic Vegetable ABC Pasta. Not the most interesting shapes but the coloured pasta is made from vegetables.

However, I was a tad disappointed as after boiling the pasta, the colour faded and did not look as appealing. Guess vegetable colours are not as lasting. But, it was still a good dish and Kimi enjoyed it.

Ingredients

• 250g salmon steak
• Dash of pepper & kelp

Creamy Sauce

• 6-8 tbsp of Thickened Cream (Bulla)
• 20g of shredded Cheddar
• 1 tsp butter
• Dash of black pepper
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• Some milk (optional)
• 2 florets of cauliflower & broccoli (steamed, chopped & set aside)

Method

1. Rub the pepper and kelp onto the salmon steak


2. Add a little oil in pan and fry the salmon skin side first on medium heat


3. Once the sides are golden brown, turn and continue to fry until the salmon is light golden brown. Use fork to separate lightly to check if it is fully cooked.


4. Remove and place on flat plate. Use fork to remove skin and dark flesh under the skin and discard. Continue to flake and set aside


5. Add the butter to a saucepan (low heat), once melted, add the cream and stir till bubbling.


6. Stir in the cheddar cheese and let it bring to boil. If too thick, can add a little milk.


7. Add nutmeg and pepper


8. Stir in the vegetables and pasta and turn lightly till all coated.


9. Remove and serve immediately. ENJOY!

Tips :

As with all pan frying of steaks whether beef or salmon, do not keep turning and frying as this will dry out the meat and render it tough. A slightly high fire is used when we first place the steak in so that it can seal in the juice. Then reduce heat slightly so that the inside will cook well. Check by looking at underside of the steak or at the edges. Once the other side is done, turn and let the new side cook. At the very most, turn 1 more time and serve.

Feeling the Air in Your Face

We bought 2 bikes a few weeks back so that we can bring Kimi for cycling and let him enjoy feeling the air in his face.

Contrary to what we thought and were afraid that Kimi may fidget, he was, instead, enjoying his ride and could even 'weeeeeeee' with me as we thunder down the slopes.

Unfortunately, we couldn't grab a moving shot of me ferrying Kimi. Look, how happy Kimi is!

Baby Cream of Mushroom

This is one of my favourite dish so I want to re-create something similar that is baby-friendly for Kimi since he is old enough to eat mushrooms.

I only used White Button Mushrooms because I do not want the soup to have too strong a mushroom smell. For my own enjoyment, I would mix in some Brown ones to intensify it.

I've also made this soup slightly less thick as I want to add Lentils and other veg in to make it a complete meal at 1 sitting. Kimi eats this readily and enjoys it!

Ingredients

1 punnet of White Button Mushroom (approx 200g), washed & sliced

4 tbsp of Thickened Cream (I used Bulla)

2 large cubes of chicken stock

1 tbsp of chopped onions

1 tsp of butter

Dash of black pepper

Dash of Ground Nutmeg

Dash of powdered kelp

Method

- Add a little oil and saute onions till fragrant

- Add mushrooms and fry till brown, soft & fragrant on medium low heat

- Remove and put into blender and blend till fine & set aside

- Put 1 tsp of butter into saucepan and melt on low heat

- Once melted, pour the blended mushroom and fry lightly for 1 minute

- Add the cream and chicken stock

- Once the sauce is bubbling, add pepper and nutmeg and kelp powder

- Stir well and remove from fire

For Complete Meal

- Spoon 2 ladle scoup into baby's feeding bowl, add in 2 tbsp of pre-boiled & drained lentils and 2 cubes of broccoli puree (or finely chopped steamed broccoli florets).

- Mix well and serve immediately

Tips

- It is important to add some ground nutmeg to recipes that use high cream/cheese content as the nutmeg helps to neutralise the heavy cream taste and helps to bring out the fragrance of the main dish that is cooked in cream/cheese. It is the same theory where we use lemon in cheese cakes.

Bento Madness 3

I first chanced upon these Hello Kitty & My Melody Egg Moulds last year just before I got pregnant. But I've not been able to get it. Finally, after waiting for more than a year, hb managed to find them and bought it for me. I still have yet to find my car shaped egg moulds so I am keeping my fingers crossed for hb to find them. He also bought a lunch box for me but it was not the one which I wanted. But it's alright, will ask him to continue to find for me.

Will post some pix of how the egg will look when I get round to makin some!

Little Pianist In the Making?

Today we went to Sandra's place cos she & the twins wanted to see Kimi and play with him. Also, since she shifted to this new place in Feb this year, I've not had the chance to visit.

Pity, I didn't take any picutres of her lovely home cos as usual we were all rapt up with Kimi. I LOVE her kitchen, it's a DREAM KITCHEN!!! I must take pix next time to show you guys!

Anyway, Sandra put Kimi on the piano and she commented that Kimi has very good music sense. In fact, I, too feel that Kimi has an innate attachment to music. Everytime when there is music or singing, he will light up. I'm happy he likes music just like me and hb.

Managed to capture some piano strumming gigs.

Cutting of 4th Tooth

Kimi chat :

Finally, you can't call me 'boh-gay' no more cos my other front tooth has just cut today! Very soon it will grow fully and I may even whistle. Stay tuned, "wee-wheet"!

Kimi's Power Packed Brekkie

As Kimi gets bigger, I need to think up of better and more nutritiously packed foods for him This is 1 combo I came up with which is a real winner!

Ingredients

- 1 yolk to be made into scrambled egg (see method below)

- 1 tbsp of steamed spinach (cut/chopped after steaming)

- 2 tbsp of cooked & drained lentils

- A dash of powdered kelp

- 1 tsp of Tahini

Method

Preparing the scrambled egg

- Separate 1 yolk into a microwave safe container & beat lightly

- Add 10-20ml of milk

- Dash of pepper

- Thumb size of cheddar, cut in small pcs

- Put micro on low and micro for 40sec, remove and use fork to stir

- Repeat till egg is fluffy and scrambly

- Set aside

Preparing the meal

- Place scrambled egg, lentils, spinach, tahini and kelp into bowl and mix thoroughly

- Serve immediately.

Tips :

- You can also add a little banana, yoghurt or other fruits so that it tastes better when baby is taking this for the first time.

Nutritional Facts

• Tahini - What is it? (Adapted from the book, Super Baby Food)It is a super healthy spread made from ground sesame seeds (just as peanut butter is a spread made from ground peanuts). It is high in calcium, protein and the healthy fat that your baby needs for proper development, especially brain development.

• Kelp - Powdered kelp (which is actually a seaweed) is a rich source of iodine. Purchase from natural stores and ensure it is deep sea and organic.

Baby - Chicken & Red Lentils Stew

I've never really been a great fan of carbo like rice and potatoes so whenever there is an opportunity to replace these foods, I will try it out.

I am re-posting my Baby Chicken Stew but this time, I have omitted potatoes to include Red Lentils as it is more nutritious. I also like how lentils have a nutty smell and taste to it. It really tastes good in stews! So, it's a good way to introduce lentils to babies as the fragrant chicken stew can mask the earthy nut smell and taste of the lentils which some babies may be averse to in the beginning.

Ingredients

- 230g of Chicken fillet (remove visible fats &/or 'veins')
- 1 carrot
- 1 - 2 sticks of celery
- 1 clove of garlic, minced or chopped
- 1 tbsp of chopped onion (large orange type)
- 1 tsp of corn flour
- 2 dried apricots (thinly sliced)
- Dash of pepper
- Dash of powdered kelp (optional)
- 1 tsp butter
- 120ml of chicken or vegetable stock

- 6 tbsp of red lentil (washed and drained)

Method

1. Put slower cooker on high


2. Add butter, garlic and onions and let it simmer in slow cooker till slightly soft & fragrant, about 5 to 10mins


3. In the meanwhile, cut chicken, carrots, celery into small cubes


4. Marinate chicken with pepper, cornflour and kelp


5. When garlic & onions are soft, add chicken, veg, apricots and lentils.


6. Then add in the stock


7. Reduce heat to Auto and let it simmer for 2 to 3 hours or until chicken is soft and fragrant


8. Remove, cool and serve

Depending on age of baby, you may wish to either mash/chop or puree in blender for appropriate texture using the gravy from the stew.

How To Be a Domestic Cheapo - Ginseng man

I call this my cheap Ginseng alternative just so because aft cleaning up the little root - it looks like one!

This great tip was shared by my MIL many years back. So, now whenever I buy cilantro (yong-suei/chinese parsley). I always save the roots and use it for soups as a base in addition to the other soup base ingredients.

These roots emits a lovely flavour to soups so please save these roots the next time you come back from marketing.

Method :

- Cut off roots

- Use a small knife to scrape off the outer skin of the roots

- Remove extra/small roots and hair on the roots

- Wash and place into boiling water and let it boil as per normal