One Tooth Rachel

It's official! We saw a tiny baby teeth 'slicing out' (term from internet) from her lower gum today.

Her first teeth that we saw is her lower right central incisor (that is, tooth P per the illustration below). My mum claimed that there's another one at the side but we cant see. I shall examine it another time tomorrow. Till then, P is her official first! :)

http://users.forthnet.gr/ath/abyss/dep1151_1.htm

We knew that her teeth were coming out as she didnt sleep well at night recently (she usually sleep through the night) and since Friday, she has more than regular bowel movements. Initially, we suspected it to be tummy virus but now it is likely caused by the eruption of that tiny baby tooth. Nevertheless, going to bring her to see doctor to make sure its not any naughty naughty virus.

The tooth 'milestone' chart as shown below is accurate for Rachel's first tooth. Shall see if it will be almost the same. I'm starting to miss my toothless baby Rachel. *sob* I recalled my mum ever asked me "How come baby look so cute even without teeth but I look hideous without my dentures?" Hmm... anyone can help answer?

http://www.ada.org/2930.aspx

http://www.diyfather.com/content/sequence -of-how-baby-teeth-come-out

Happi B'day Godmi

Shawn & I celebrated Pingnee's birthday at Spizza @ Club Street last Friday but without Rachel. We would have brought Rachel along if it was not too late because afterall, it was dinner for Rachel's Godmi.

However, we try not to bring Rachel everywhere with us. Though it's inevitable that a couple's life revolve around their kid(s), Shawn & I still try to have private moments, either for movies (we watched Sex & The City 2 today!) or quiet dinners with friends. Furthermore, we don't wish to limit our choices of dining places and activities, and compromise our friends' enjoyment at our expenses. Of course, I'm sure our friends won't mind especially when most are parents themselves.

Overall, we had a great Friday night with good food. Beside, the food can't go too wrong with rocket salad served (my fave!). The friendly staff even gave Pingnee a slice of Tiramisu cake and a complimentary glass of white wine for her birthday. So sweet of them. Maybe because I kept asking for birthday discount?

But that's not all! They also gave us a voucher for a free pizza after I asked for the bill by saying: "I know you need our table badly... so for the yummy cake, we are done for the day" with a big smile. So dear Shawn, now you know I'm not just good at reminding you stuff (to you: nagging), I'm good at getting discounts too! Perhaps its time for Bangkok shopping soon.

Anyway, it was a well spent 2 hr dinner (20%) and catch up (80%). *Grin*

Wishing you great health, great job, great friends (you have already) and a wonderful life companion.

Skinny Godmi & 1-day old Chubby Rachel

Rachel having 'Tea' with Godmi @ 5 month

Push Ups - Video

Rachel displaying her supergirl strength in the video... cute huh? *Ha* All mummies will always think that their babies are cute. Right?

This reminds me of a conversation during today's lunch. My colleagues said that I'm too old to blog after I told them about my blogspot. What old? I'm not old hor. Anyway, after I told them that I mainly blog about "my Rachel la", my colleague Isaac went...

"Got so many things to write meh? Oh, I know what you will write in your blog...

Day 1, my rachel is so cute..

Day 2, my rachel is veri veri cuteeeee

Day 3, my rachel is Soooooooo cute

Day 4, my rachel is the cutesssssssst...

Is it? Is It? Is that what you write?"

*Ha* Though I can't recall the exact words he used, he sounded really funny. But he did say what I truly feel about Rachel and as the saying goes "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder".

Push Ups

What push ups?

No. Shawn is not going for reservist. *fingers crossed*
No. I didn't get new lingerie. *naughty naughty*

Yes, its all about Rachel again. *Hee* Cant help blogging about our little sunshine. *Muack* So, what's about Rachel + Push Ups? She is literally doing push-ups anytime, anywhere since 22 Jun.

She can do them whole day long from one end of the playmat to another. Several times, she even went out of the mat. My mum and maid find it amusing when she went across the entire lengthy living room (out of the mat) in backward motions in less than a minute. Sigh, they forgot the purpose of the expensive LG playmat. Ok, I can't blame them because when I witnessed it today for the first time, I too was amazed and starting clicking away with my iPhone camera that I didnt realize that she has got to the other end of the mat already. *Opps*

Good thing Rachel didnt get bruised knees from all those exercises. Time to buy her baby knee guard! No joke, I have seen them retailing but hmm... which shop was it from? Anybody has any idea?

Pity, iPhone didnt do justice to the pictures (and I'm too lazy to edit the photo) but the pictures should be pretty clear to show princess gymnast doing her push ups. The cutest thing is that she will push herself up, look around, shout at us (if spotted) and start yakking away. After a few seconds, she will get back to her relax position. Just like a typical army girl. *But no. Dont!*

And guess what, 2 teeth are emerging from her lower gum. No wonder she didnt sleep well for the past 2 weeks. (Neither did we *Yawn*). My mum warned me to bring liquid panadol to Bintan next week in case she get fever due to the tooth development. *cross all my fingers and short toes* What a smart grandma! Anyway, my mum has always been smart but just kind of blur sometimes. Nevertheless, Im pretty impressed when she told me that. :)

Rachel 8 Months Old

Time really flies. Our Rachel has turned 8 month old yesterday. *blink* *blink* Now that I look back, it wasn't that torturing during my 3 months confinement despite welling up buckets of tears from multi-tasking (pump, feed, eat, take care of her, etc) and the tons of calls I made to Shawn to ask him come home. *Ha*

So what's Rachel's recent favorite exercises? Oh, she is the typical infant that loves pulling our hair, scratching our necks and kicking our faces (in her sleep), but we LOVE it. Ok, this applies to Rachel only. Anyone else who does it to us will likely get a kick from us. :P

Hence, Rachel's new nick is Mooster (Moo Moo + Monster). Of course, she is our lovable mooster. You can never fault an 8 month old sweetie pie. Just look at her big smile below.

Rachel 8 month old (20 Jun 2010)

It has been a while since she know how to hold her own bottle while drinking but I dont remember when she started. My mum (who is taking care of her) had witnessed her many 'firsts' but she didnt note the dates and usually only relate to me few days after those discoveries. *sob* Though a pity, we are fine with no dates. Month milestones are fine for us... so let's just take stock of the recent development. :)

She can now:
- sleep through the night (actually since she was just 2 months old *fingers crossed still*) but last week was not so (hmmm)
- support herself in high chair and bath tub (been a while...)
- sit unsupported for 5 seconds as timed by Shawn (not bad huh)
- hold her own bottle while drinking (been a while too...)
- starting to get up on fours for a second or so (keep it up!)
- finish 2 rice bowls of 'thick' porridge and still have about 4 feeds of milk daily (its commendable for the fact that she is still keen on supermodel diet)
- react with open arms when I say 'Lets go' to her while she is in her car seat (perhaps its coincidental each time?)
- know its 'Baby Signing Time' (a DVD that teaches sign language given from my friend Pamela) each time my mum goes over to the TV console to put in the disc. She reacts by kicking her legs and waving her arms in the high chair
- shake her head (not because she is sleepy) and several times when Shawn say 'Daddy carry?', she will shake her head *hee* Mummy's the best huh :P

And we observed that she:
- loves water but despite drinking lots, her poo still kind of dry sometimes
- loves air-con but we didn't let her sleep in air-con room from the start. hmm...
- loves porridge as compared to her Similac milk
- loves godpa sebastian to carry, which my mum claims as Rachel tend to open her arms whenever she sees him
- loves chewing on everything from toys to hanky to books and just today, she had a great time chewing the TV remote controller while the family was glued to TV. *opps*
- loves rolling on her playmat and off it. We got her a super big playmat but she can still roll off it and my mum got to constantly place her back in the center
- loves talking (or crying) the moment she wakes up in the morning.
- loves Daddy & Mummy and we are sure of this (of course the rest of the family too *wink*)

So Happy 8th Month to our darling girl! We look forward to our first family trip to Bintan Angsana on 1 Jul. If things go well, we shall all be heading to Japan very soon, right Daddy Shawn? *Big Grin*

Happy Daddy's Day 2010

Yes, its Father's Day but I prefer to call it as Daddy's Day since Rachel call Shawn 'Daddy' like I call my Daddy. Ok, she can't say it yet but when she can, I'm sure its 'Daddy'.

It has been a tiring weekend... just like any other weeks. And now, we have to celebrate Father's Day for 3! My daddy, father-in-law and Shawn. But of course, they deserve the attention and treat, so no complain, especially when it's Shawn's first.

Didnt bring him to anywhere special because I was so busy last week for a 4 day course that I forgot to make reservation. When I called Morton's on friday night, the only available timeslots for dinner was 5pm or 10pm. *opps*. Good thing Shawn didnt hold against me (knowing that I am forever tired nowadays). Ok, I will bring him to Morton's next weekend instead. Why bother squeezing with other daddies and pay premium for the same meal on Father's Day? *roll eyes innocently*

So what's make a good daddy? Hmm.. I guess there's no definition to it but the reasons Shawn is a Super Dad are plenty...

>> He wakes up in the morning to change Rachel's diaper when she cries automatically
>> He is forever buying toys for Rachel and nothing for mummy (he says I have too many bags though they are countable compared to Rachel's mountain of toys)
>> He washes her up every night before bed time (but forget to put back the bucket of water and wash cloth)
>> He makes milk and takes turn to feed her (and sometimes fall asleep while holding on to the bottle)
>> He helps to sterilize bottles and clean the sterilizer monthly
>> He bathes her on weekends sometimes (he got to leave some days for mummy-rachel bonding too)
>> He prints Rachel's photo immediately when requested but if the picture is mine, he can take years (if i dont nag)
>> He buys nice & sometimes expensive camera lens to take nice pictures of Rachel (ok, I know thats not the only reason but I put it in blog to remind him what he told me :P)
>> He coaxes Rachel back to sleep in the middle of night and ask me to go back to bed (best point so far)

Too many good points and I simply cant list them all but of course, there're also bad daddy traits like singing the wrong lullaby lyrics or too much babies' talk... but he is still Rachel's SUPER DADDY SHAWN.

Cheers to all daddies out there. And may the daddies stay forever lovable and doting! Same to Shawn... I shall do a checklist of the above every month. Title can be stripped anytime! *Ha*

Breakfast at Swensen's

Shawn & I craved for toast and eggs for breakfast recently. Actually, I was the one craving them. (psst... I'm not pregnant *Hee*). I especially missed those weekends having breakfast in California Deli in Novena Square, now known as Velocity. It has been 4-5 years since it has closed to make way for those boring sports shops. Sob. I wonder if they have re-opened somewhere. Hmm...

Anyway, we decided to settle for Swensen's at Jurong Point that morning after concluding that Cartel at IMM is a bit far. (Ya, we kind of getting lazier by the days :P)

Here are some pictures of our little darling looking forward to her Swensen's breakfast only to realize that I'm giving her milk and fruits puree instead.


Caught her pulling a sad face looking at our breakast. *Hee* I totally agree that kids are our little joy, no matter how mischevious they are. Maybe I'm speaking too soon? Let's see... :D

She can now support herself fairly well in high chair and in her bath tub

Reminiscent of Rachel

Above collage was made specially for my gynae Dr. W K Tan to thank her for delivering our Rachel aka moo moo. Did it in less than an hour (including time to start the super slow laptop) just before I was about to leave the house for follow up @ TMC, which explains why it was sloppily done. Also, back then, I had not discovered wonderful free collage apps like smilebox. *excuse*

Wanted to also thank the 2 nurses that helped pushed (literally) Moo Moo out but I couldnt remember their faces in the midst of several vomits , gown changing and 52mins of pushing. Yes, Shawn was with me but you can never rely on husbands to remember such things , especially when he was concentrating in breathing very hard, screaming (into my right ear) and choking me each time I'm suppose to push. And prior to that, he was of great moral support sitting by me sipping his milo while I was in pain and waiting for that moment. *Sigh* But he did offer me his hand to squeeze which I didn't. At least I was still rational not to waste my energy torturing him, knowing it won't decrease my pain.

Hopefully, he will be a better support the next round. *wink* Daddy Shawn, please take note!

If u're happy & u know it, CLAP ur hands

Rachel did just that in the above clip. :)

Rachel Sitting Tall

Just about the same time, Rachel's thighs grown too chubby for her bumbo chair and she started to fidget in her maxi cosi infant car seat. So we reckon it's time to upgrade her to baby high chair and bigger car seat. And there she is, enjoying sitting tall!

Dim Sum @ Peach Garden

Yummy! Sebastian treated whole family to dim sum buffet at Peach Garden recently. This is his first treat since he started working after graduation. Loves his initiative. Thanks bro!

I didn't have the luxury to savor the menu as I was busy feeding Rachel so not sure if the food was good. Woes of a mother. *ha* Of course Shawn usually help with looking after Rachel but he haven't had a peaceful meal in a while so I just let him enjoy the dumplings and all. Maybe Sebastian can bring me there again. :)

Took some pics at the restaurant that day because I wanted to enter a 'family eating day' contest but alas, I forgot to take the food. So can't tell that we were having family lunch. But it's okay, I shall enter other contests instead. Hee. Love entering contests ever since we won $2Kworth of Mothercare cots, dresser and accessories in a Huggies photo contest last year. If a contest is not much of a hassle to qualify, I'm likely to try my luck! However, no luck with the recent Abbott Super Dad contest. Those qualified entries weren't good at all. Wonder how they select.

Anyway, it's not about winning the contest but the process in joining those contests. Most importantly, I now try to shelf time to do 'life' stuff like entering contest and blogging about it. *Ha* My long lost 'Work Life Balance'. Cheers!