Saturday, August 30, 2008
Julian at 15 Months
Julian turned 15 months old on 28 August 2008. Some observations during the past month:
- Progressing well on the walking front. When he reaches a tricky terrain (e.g. steps going down), he would extend one of his hands in anticipation for some help. He loves climbing up stairs and riding on the escalator (with help getting on and off of course).
- He loves to open cupboard doors and drawers and taking things out. We have resorted to using large rubber bands to bind the cupboard door handles together.
- He is now saying certain words (or sounds) more consistently.
- He clasps his hands together when asked do "Amen"
- Three teeth are erupting (two pre-molars and one incisor) and causing lots of drooling. These make a total of 10 teeth.
- Maintaining three solid meals a day. At the babysitter's, he's still taking three milk feeds (with some expressed breast milk), usually only about 6oz each but often less. At home, he's still breastfed on demand.
- He has now learnt to drink from a straw.
- He is still made to fall asleep in the living room with some background music to ward off any other distracting noise. He is then brought into the bedroom to co-sleep with us. He wakes up once or twice a night to be pacified back to sleep, seldom taking a feed in the process.
- "Air-purh" for "apple" or "ball". Sometimes he will say only "purh" when referring to "ball".
- "Mmmm" for "moon".
- "Nana" for "banana". He likes to eat bananas but has only said this once or twice.
- At the carpark, we sometimes ask him, "Julian, where is the car?" He would point to a car and say "deh!". We're guessing that he's probably learnt to say "there" or he's pronouncing "car" as "deh".
[Julian's pre-molars]
[Julian drinking from a bottle with a straw]
Labels: Baby
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Eating at Edelweiss
Last Thursday (21 August 2008) saw us dining at Edelweiss Cafe on Armenian Street. To us, we just love the combination - quiet street, cosy cafe, and delicious food.
Edelweiss Cafe, besides serving Swiss and local delicacies, also houses a variety of antiques which will certainly transport the discerning diner to the era of mechanical clocks, manual ice shaving machines and giant tiffin carriers.
Angie and I ordered the pork belly (RM24), Swiss curry (RM20), a Bora Bora mocktail (pineapple juice and ginger ale) (RM12), and a cardamon coffee (RM5).
[Edelweiss pork belly: You can add some mustard to add a little zing to the nice smoked aroma]
[Swiss curry: A very mild creamy curry with delicate hints of Indian spices]
[Some antiques on display]
[Edelweiss Cafe]
They open Tuesdays to Fridays: 11am-3pm, 6.30pm-10pm, Saturdays 12-10pm, and Sundays 12-7pm. They are closed on Mondays.
If you are there for dinner around 7-ish, be on the lookout for a vagrant at the neighbouring shoplot. Curiously, he seemed to be busy filling plastic bags with water and hanging them on the pillars outside the shoplot. Eventually he emptied them on the floor seemingly to give it a wash. He also wipes the pillars of the shoplot.
Edelweiss Cafe, besides serving Swiss and local delicacies, also houses a variety of antiques which will certainly transport the discerning diner to the era of mechanical clocks, manual ice shaving machines and giant tiffin carriers.
Angie and I ordered the pork belly (RM24), Swiss curry (RM20), a Bora Bora mocktail (pineapple juice and ginger ale) (RM12), and a cardamon coffee (RM5).
[Edelweiss pork belly: You can add some mustard to add a little zing to the nice smoked aroma]
[Swiss curry: A very mild creamy curry with delicate hints of Indian spices]
[Some antiques on display]
[Edelweiss Cafe]
They open Tuesdays to Fridays: 11am-3pm, 6.30pm-10pm, Saturdays 12-10pm, and Sundays 12-7pm. They are closed on Mondays.
If you are there for dinner around 7-ish, be on the lookout for a vagrant at the neighbouring shoplot. Curiously, he seemed to be busy filling plastic bags with water and hanging them on the pillars outside the shoplot. Eventually he emptied them on the floor seemingly to give it a wash. He also wipes the pillars of the shoplot.
Last Packet of Promina
During our recent trip to Bali in May 2008, Julian decided that he did not want to eat the chicken cereal we brought along for him from Penang *pull hair*. Fortunately, the Matahari supermarket was just a 10-minute walk from the hotel where we stayed. So, we bought a variety of Promina and Sun brand cereals and instant porridge. We found that some of these were in convenient packets of one serving each - ideal for travelling and eating out.
They had interesting flavours too such as strawberry and apple, banana and strawberry, chocalate, banana and milk, and even Swiss chocolate. For the instant porridge (these did not require cooking - just add water!), Julian tried beef and brocolli, and chicken and corn.
Before we left Bali, we decided that we'd stock up on these lovely cereals and instant porridge. Unbeknownst to us, Papa also bought some. So, besides our clothes and toiletries, we had our suitcase stuffed full with sachets of cereals and instant porridge!
On our return, we discovered that Promina cereals are not available in Malaysia (the same company makes instant noodles which, incidentally, are available here). Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. On 9 August 2008, Julian had the last sachet of Promina cereal we brought back from Bali *sob, sob*.
[Last packet of Julian's Promina cereal, for now...]
They had interesting flavours too such as strawberry and apple, banana and strawberry, chocalate, banana and milk, and even Swiss chocolate. For the instant porridge (these did not require cooking - just add water!), Julian tried beef and brocolli, and chicken and corn.
Before we left Bali, we decided that we'd stock up on these lovely cereals and instant porridge. Unbeknownst to us, Papa also bought some. So, besides our clothes and toiletries, we had our suitcase stuffed full with sachets of cereals and instant porridge!
On our return, we discovered that Promina cereals are not available in Malaysia (the same company makes instant noodles which, incidentally, are available here). Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. On 9 August 2008, Julian had the last sachet of Promina cereal we brought back from Bali *sob, sob*.
[Last packet of Julian's Promina cereal, for now...]
Baby Tucker from Down Under
Yee Yee arrived from Australia on 6 August 2008 for a holiday and brought lots of goodies for Julian.
[Heinz baby bickies]
[Heinz baby cereals]
[Rafferty's Garden: Baby's bolognese with macaroni, banana and blueberry muesli, and sweet potato and lamb casserole]
[Heinz baby bickies]
[Heinz baby cereals]
[Rafferty's Garden: Baby's bolognese with macaroni, banana and blueberry muesli, and sweet potato and lamb casserole]
Bonk, Bump and Bruise
Julian has been actively walking around, often quite recklessly. On 5 August 2008, while at the baby sitter's, he knocked his head against a wall. A "castle" or "bungalow" developed on his forehead. Ouch!
Almost 3 weeks later, there's still a faint bluish-green mark where the swelling was.
[Julian showing off his "real estate"]
[Julian not very happy with his "purchase"]
Almost 3 weeks later, there's still a faint bluish-green mark where the swelling was.
[Julian showing off his "real estate"]
[Julian not very happy with his "purchase"]
Labels: Baby
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Early Inertia
Recently we introduced Julian to some kiddie rides. He was quite contented sitting in the machines, playing with the steering wheel, or the like. We never actually got the machines to move (one attempt failed - the machine 'ate' our money!) until last Sunday, 3 August 2008, when we took Julian to Gurney Plaza. Julian was on the jeep and as soon as it started moving, he wanted to be taken out! We tried to encourage him to enjoy the ride but he simply couldn't accept the 'change' in his toy. We had to move him to another stationary machine. He was even hesitant about going back into the jeep after it had stopped!
Well, we're not complaining. Daddy & Mummy can $ee $ome $aving$ here! ;-)
[Julian having a go on the Jumbo]
[Julian happy with the stationary Jeep]
[Game in a tree: A video game housed in a hollowed-out fibreglass tree]
Well, we're not complaining. Daddy & Mummy can $ee $ome $aving$ here! ;-)
[Julian having a go on the Jumbo]
[Julian happy with the stationary Jeep]
[Game in a tree: A video game housed in a hollowed-out fibreglass tree]
Labels: Baby
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Howling Hairxperience
2 August 2008 saw Julian at the barber for his first commercial crop.
It was late morning when we arrived at the Brothers Hair Saloon in Sungai Dua. Since all the barbers were occupied, Julian observed other patrons getting their haircuts. When his turn came, Julian sat on Mummy's lap and things went well in the beginning. Then, he decided that he didn't like the buzzing sound of the shaver and started fretting. He was fine when the barber switched to the scissors to do some trimming. Even then, he was fidgetty. In the end, we had the barber's apprentice and Daddy trying to distract him long enough for the poor young barber to earn his keep - RM5.
[Buzz... buzz... so far so good until...]
[... reinforcements had to be called in]
[I made it! Yay!]
It was late morning when we arrived at the Brothers Hair Saloon in Sungai Dua. Since all the barbers were occupied, Julian observed other patrons getting their haircuts. When his turn came, Julian sat on Mummy's lap and things went well in the beginning. Then, he decided that he didn't like the buzzing sound of the shaver and started fretting. He was fine when the barber switched to the scissors to do some trimming. Even then, he was fidgetty. In the end, we had the barber's apprentice and Daddy trying to distract him long enough for the poor young barber to earn his keep - RM5.
[Buzz... buzz... so far so good until...]
[... reinforcements had to be called in]
[I made it! Yay!]
Labels: Baby
Friday, August 01, 2008
Julian at 14 Months
Julian turned 14 months old on 28 July 2008. Some observations during the past month:
[Julian riding horsey on Mummy's back]
[Julian roaming around the apartment lobby]
[Child proofing: The cushions are to prevent him from meddling with the drawers. The four pieces of masking tape on the TV is to disguise the TV's main switch. Daddy pretty smart, eh?]
[Julian dozing off with Klaus Bear (from Germany)]
- He is now walking more often and pretty steadily. He kneels or crawls only when playing with his toys.
- Now that he is walking, he loves to touch anything within his reach. Usually, these are the things that we don't want him to touch, e.g. the trash can, electrical switches, toilet seat, etc.
- Can make actions for the nursery rhymes "Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, bakers man" and "Twinkle, twinkle, little star", i.e. clap or pat, prick his palm, put his hands on his chest and raise his hands in the air.
- Facinated by moving toys with sound. He frets when the toy is shut off, not because it doesn't move anymore but more because it becomes silent.
- He can shake his head, sometimes for no reason (quite cute because he sometimes blinks his eyes when he does this), and sometimes to indicate "no". When he doesn't want anymore cereal, he shakes his head to prevent us from shoving anymore into his mouth.
- Loves to press buttons, i.e. TV switches, and remote control and handphone buttons.
- Plays with the different ringtones on our Nokia handphones. When he hears the rooster's "cockle-doodle-doo" tone, he tries to imitate it but turns out sounding like a squeel.
[Julian riding horsey on Mummy's back]
[Julian roaming around the apartment lobby]
[Child proofing: The cushions are to prevent him from meddling with the drawers. The four pieces of masking tape on the TV is to disguise the TV's main switch. Daddy pretty smart, eh?]
[Julian dozing off with Klaus Bear (from Germany)]
Labels: Baby
