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Saturday, December 29, 2007

Julian at 7 Months

Julian turned 7 month old yesterday (28 December 2007). We weighed ourselves on our bathroom weighing scale while carrying and while not carrying him to estimate his weight. Horrors! He's only roughly 7.5kg. We agree that this is not the best way to weigh a baby but we really wonder why he's not gaining weight well. Anyway, there's no appointment at the clinic this month. So, we'll have to wait until he's 8 months old to know his actual weight.

We believe he has been feeding well, at least until he's satisfied and does not want anymore milk (about 5 1/2 to 6oz), cereal or porridge. He's currently taking 1 "chinese" bowl of cereal for lunch and 1 bowl of porridge at tea time.

We still face the every-night challenge of putting Julian to bed (no, we don't put him "to sleep"). He's into the habit of being carried to sleep, sometimes with much fuss and crying. So, we have tired pairs of hands. Please excuse us if we refuse to help you carry heavy loads.


On the plus side, Julian can now sit unaided for longer periods now, sometimes even with his hands off the ground.

Julian sitting
[Wobble wobble... easy does it...]

Julian sitting again
[Daddy, I'm tired... please can you put the camera away and carry me?]

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

We Love To Travel!

Angie and I love to travel. When we plan for our holidays, we often use the Internet to do our research for places of interest, accommodation and transportation. So, sites like Hotel Reservations would certainly be helpful. This site allows you to view various options for hotels, flights, cars, vacation rentals and vacation packages. The surprising thing is that their coverage is pretty wide, i.e. covering most major cities worldwide. For a “one-stop” website like Hotel Reservations, I think the prices quoted are reasonable. Must remember to check this site when we plan for our next holiday :o).



This post is sponsored.

Christmas 2007

It was a busy Christmas this year. Monday evening saw us in Butterworth for Christmas Eve steamboat dinner with Angie's family. On Christmas Day, Angie and I were in the choir to sing for the Christmas Day mass at 9.00am. We then adjourned to my brother Niq's place for Christmas Day lunch with my parents. So, within the two days, we managed to meet up with all our family members.

This is Julian's first Christmas. We believe he enjoyed it because (1) there were lots of opportunities to meet up with his grandparents, uncle, aunties, grandaunts and great grand mother (they couldn't leave him alone, ho ho ho); (2) there was lots of beautiful Chirstmas music; and (3) there were lots of presents!

Julian and his presents
[Julian and his presents]

Present from Mummy & Daddy
[Here's one from from Mummy and Daddy: Ho! Ho! Ho!]

Julian's turtle romper
[What did Mummy and Daddy get me? A turtle-on-my-bum-bum romper! Auntie Pelf Jie Jie would certainly approve :o)]

Wishing you a Blessed and Holy Christmas Season and Happy New Year 2008!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Half of This, Half of That

Last weekend, we noticed that Julian has started to "commando" crawl. We got to be more alert now because he can get from one end of the mattress to the other end very quickly.

Commando crawl
[The Commando Wannabe: We don't think so... he'll be smiling non-stop at the enemies]

He has also started to "half sit" with the help of his hands.

Half-sitting
[Let me sit properly and we'll have a game of mahjong, okay?]

Auntie WY would recognise the outfit Julian is wearing :o).

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Julian the Fonda

One of Julian's favourite pose currently is his aerobics pose. He does this to balance himself when he is just about to turn over from his tummy to his back.

Julian the Fonda
[Julian the Fonda]

If I Could Talk

Julian is 6 1/2 months old this week. While on his tummy, he seem to be able to change directions more easily now. We have also noticed him crouching like a resting cat. Sometimes, he seem to be almost crawling.

Tonight while having our
pink rice for dinner, we let Julian sit on his glider chair to play with his rattle and teether. After a while he started babbling and made lots of interesting expressions.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
[Hear Ye! Hear Ye!]

This close!
[Oooff! We were this close to winning!]

I like your idea!
[I like your idea, young man... well done!]

Don't you understand?!?!
[Get them to redesign this product! Understand?!?!]

This big!
[It was this big! But it got away...]

Dinner Disaster

We were given a baby full-moon pack last weekend. We could not finish everything and so, we stored a couple of red hard-boiled eggs and a few "ang koos" in the freezer.

This evening, we decided to reheat the red hard-boiled eggs for dinner by steaming them in the rice cooker as the rice was cooking. Bad mistake...

Pink rice
[Pink Rice... *blush*]

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Meet Uncle Rashes!

Julian started having some rashes since last weekend (1 December 2007). It's quite bad on his cheeks while his nappy area had just a little bit. This is his first time meeting Uncle Rashes.

We don't quite know the cause. It's unlikely due to the solid food he's been taking because he's just taking rice cereal, and porridge with carrots and potatoes. Other possible causes - the "heat" (insufficient fluid intake with the solids?), or receiving too many kisses! :o).

Anyway, it seems to be subsiding a bit today.

Rashes
[Rashes, rashes go away!]

Bedak Sejuk
[Julian with "bedak sejuk" (cooling rice powder) on his face]

Friday, November 30, 2007

Julian at 6 Months

Julian is 6 months old this week (28 November 2007). He didn't put on as much weight as we had hoped he would. He weighed in at 7.3kg with clothes and diaper off. He weighed 7.2kg at 5 months but with clothes and diaper on. So, we estimated he only put on about 200gm over the past month. We will need to be more aggressive in feeding him his solids.

His weight "scare" aside, he is active and inquisitive. He has started to grab our spectacles and pull our hair when we carry him. He is also getting more and more "wriggly" and difficult to pin down when we want to change his clothes or diaper. He has also resorted to making other strange noises - one which we find very disturbing is a throaty vomitting sound (especially when he is on his tummy).

Last weekend, we took Julian to the apartment pool.

It's Cold!
[Brrr: Mummy... it's cccold...]

My Legs!
[My Legs! Where are they?!]

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Stand, Suck and Smell

Julian is now 3 days shy of turning 6 months old.

Currently he seems to enjoy some "supported" standing (for just a second or two only of course) and loves to suck his toe (a contortionist in the making?).

Julian standing
[I'm Still Standing: Hee hee... Mummy! Hee hee... it tickles!]

Toe sucking
[Delicious!: I recall a primary school friend singing "sungguh sedap sehingga menjilat kaki" (it's leg-licking good)]

Since starting him on the occasional rice cereal, we have noticed that his stool has started to have some lumpy bits and is now thicker. And good grief... the smell is horrible!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Julian's First Letter

Last Wednesday (14 November 2007), the postman delivered Julian's first unsolicited mail! Julian was thrilled. He couldn't resist grabbing it and putting it into his mouth. Mmm... absolutely delicious.

Examining envelope
[All Eyes On The Envelope: Julian examining his letter]

Envelope close-up
[A close-up of the envelope]

Contents
[The Contents: A photo frame and some baby diet advice]

Monday, November 12, 2007

Chikuma

Last Friday (9 November 2007), we had dinner at Chikuma, a Japanese restaurant at Gembira Parade, Greenlane. It was our belated birthday treat for Niq. It was our second visit there, the first time being just the night before with some friends from Catholic Engaged Encounter Penang.

They serve a wide variety of Japanese set meals as well as a la carte at very reasonable prices. Most of their set meals come with tofu and clam soup, steamed egg with mushroom, and watermelon slices. For this visit, Angie and I ordered the unadon set (RM17.80), yaki tori set (RM13.80), lidako (spicy baby octopus) (RM9.00), and California maki (RM7.00). Delicious!

Julian reading the menu
[Julian studying the menu: He said, "I-oh will-loh have-foh breast-toh milk-koh"]

Unadon
[Unadon Set]

Yaki Tori
[Yaki Tori Set]

Lidako
[Lidako]

California Maki
[California Maki]

On the way out, we asked the staff what "Chikuma" meant. It means "long-time friends" or something to that effect. Apparently, the proprietors are childhood friends.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Julian's Current Craze

Julian is almost 5 months and 2 weeks old. Currently, he likes to:
  • Refine his sky-diving skills
  • Lift his upper body with his arms
  • Hold his feet
  • Clench his gums (we suspect he is teething because he has started to get cranky these past 2 days)
  • Suck his index finger, especially
Sky-diving
[Advanced Sky-Diving]

Push up
[Baby Push Up: Hgnnahhh!]

Holding toes
[Tickling His Own Feet]

Clench gums
[Ngghhh...]

Suck finger
[I can put the rest in, too... want to see?]

Solid Start

On Tuesday (6 November 2007), Julian had his first taste of solid food. Our baby sitter gave him a little bit of mashed potatoes and carrots in the evening. Later that night, we prepared some very fine plain rice porridge.

First porridge
[Julian's First Porridge]

Boom Boom Ha Ha Ha

It's 12.20am, 8 November 2007. Tonight Julian is up unusually late - ushering in Deepavali. At around midnight, he saw his first of several fireworks displays from our balcony. He seemed fascinated seeing the bursts of lights. His reaction to all the loud booms? He burst into fits of laughter!

He got so excited, he's wide awake even now (12.30am)...

Laugh
[Boom Boom Ha Ha Ha...]

Sunday, November 04, 2007

I Don't Follow You

Julian sleeps with us on our bed because this facilitates breast feeding during the night. We find that all three of us get more sleep this way.

A few nights ago after being awakened during one of Julian's feeds, Bart started talking to Julian in his semi-conscious state. This was what he said:

"You know-ah Julian, Malaysia has the highest control tower... airport..."

"Julian-ah, there's something else Daddy want to tell you okay? You know the [mobile telco service provider] yellow man-ah? They say they'll follow you everywhere... you think can-ah?"

End of "transmission"... do you follow?

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Mizi Bistro

Last Saturday (27 October 2007) saw us having dinner at Mizi Bistro at the New World Park Penang (corner of Burmah Road and Swatow Lane). It's a nice cosy place. The owners also manage another outlet called JL Gourmet Cafe in Prangin Mall.

Their set menu is priced at RM16.90 per set. We ordered 2 sets. For the drink we had iced lemon tea and hot peach tea; for the soup we had their signature mushroom soup and baked French onion soup; for the main course we had Chicken Normandy (apple-filled chicken breast) and Ballotine of Chicken "Nelson" (chicken stuffed with cheese and crabstick); and for the dessert it was ice-cream (all-you-can-fill on a shallow ice-cream glass, one serving only per person).

The food is not bad although the portion of the main course is a little bit on the small side. The all-you-can-fill ice-crea is an interesting concept and there's quite a variety of flavours to choose from :o).

Onion Soup
[Baked French Onion Soup: There's a piece of bread floating at the top]

Mushroom Soup
[Mushroom Soup]

Chicken Normandy
[Chicken Normandy]

Ballotine of Chicken
[Ballotin of Chicken "Nelson"]

Ice-Cream
[All-You-Can-Fill Ice-Cream]

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Julian at 5 Months

Julian turned 5 months on Sunday (28 October 2007). His grip on things is firmer now so he's able to put things in his mouth for a longer period ;-)

Julian's teether
[Julian and his teether]

He had an appointment with Auntie Nurse yesterday for a check-up and a jab. He now weighs 7.2kg (at 4 months he was 6.8kg), and is now 67cm in length (at 3 months he was 60cm).

Gym #1
[Julian and his gym]

Gym #2
[Julian and his yet another gym]

Hold toes
[Julian holding his toes]

Pay the Postie

You may already realise that we are now Posties for PayPerPost. Our post on the air ambulance service was our first post. It has since been approved and we are just waiting to get paid... *money eyes* *blink blink*

We learnt about PayPerPost from reading other blogger friends' sponsored posts. It sounded like an interesting business model. After hearing that they earn money in the process, we kinda got "itchy". "Why not give it a try", we thought. After all, we've got nothing to loose right? We still have our day-jobs. Earning some extra while indulging in our blogging hobby only makes it more fun.

What's so great about
PayPerPost?
  • It's fun! Some posting opportunities are real interesting eye openers.
  • It allows you to be creative! It puts you in the shoes of the advertising people. It gives you the experience of writing catchy ads.
  • You get paid! In US Dollars mind you :o)
When you sign up for PayPerPost, you can respond to "opportunities" (topics/products/services) provided by the sponsors. When you see an opportunity that you can write about and you like the amount being offered, you then make a reservation. After writing your blog post about the opportunity and submitting details about your post, the post then enters an evaluation phase. When your post is approved, then it's good news because after a stipulated time period, you get paid :o). Easy!

What are we going to do with the money? Well, we don't expect to be millionaires but a few US Dollars *convert, convert* goes a long way to pay for a nice fancy dinner once in a while, or to buy clothes and toys for Julian. Yes, the fact that it's "extra" money makes it fun!

We don't know if we'll ever go PayPerPost Direct. This is another mode where we get to determine the price a sponsor has to pay us for writing. Hmm... we'll see how our regular posting goes first :o).

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Cake for Bunnies

Some weeks back (3 October 2007) I found the opportunity to indulge in another baking project. This time it was a carrot cake. I was quite surprised at how simple it was to make. The cake was successful but it got 'downgraded' as a result of my experiment with the topping. Thought I would skip the regular cream cheese topping and try a lemon icing glace since we had a lemon lying around. Bad idea. Or maybe I poured in too much lemon juice. We ended up eating carrot cake with vitamin C!

Baking is a luxury these days... so is blogging.

Carrot cake
[Vitamin C-rich carrot cake]

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Ant Attack

We had an ant problem in our bedroom last week which saw ants coming from 2 or 3 different nests zooming in on Julian's milk-stained linen. They were even all over a rosary we placed on our bed - talk about "holy ants". We slept in the living room for 2 nights.

The solution? We bought a small sachet of ant poison from the mini market and we sprinkled the granules (they looked like biscuit crumbs) at three or four locations where the ants were running around.

The ants seem to love those granules. They don't die immediately though. Something happens to them after half a day or so. The ants never returned to finish off the rest of the crumbs.

Ants
[The ants enjoying their last meal]

By the way,
Lucia blogged about Malam Bangsa Malaysia which will be held in Penang. For details, please visit this link.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Suri Yothai

Last Tuesday (16 October 2007), we had dinner at a Thai restaurant called Suri Yothai in Gelugor. If you're coming from the Penang Bridge heading towards Greenlane, it's on the left side of the road somewhere between Maybank and the Mobil petrol station.

The restaurant's interior was clean and comfortable but a little noisy because of the traffic on the main road.

Food wise, it's not too bad and the price is about the same as other Thai restaurants in Penang. We tried sambal kangkong (RM5.80), fried curry powder squid (RM8.80), and red curry chicken (RM9.80).

Suri Yothai
[Suri Yothai Restaurant]

Dip
[Cucumber and Long Beans with Sambal Dip]

Fried Curry Powder Squid
[Fried Curry Powder Squid]

Sambal Kangkong
[Sambal Kangkong]

Red Curry Chicken
[Red Curry Chicken]