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minibeanie is 1 year, 5 months & 4 days old

Fusilli & Meatball

My mantra is "crumbs are my new best friends". Even more so now when minibeanie's feeding himself 2 out of 3 meals a day.

Since he almost never uses a spoon, typical Asian food such as rice or porridge hardly makes its way into his mouth. Hence I like pasta or mashed potato because they offer a convenient 'vehicle' for other bits of food such as meat and vegetables. He manages a fair bit with these foods so I'm not too worried he's not getting enough. Besides, he gets regular snacks like bread with cream cheese ("cheesy toast") and banana. And did I mention that having him feed himself frees up 1 hour of my time? What can you do in an hour? PLENTY.

Read more about self-feeding in this post.


minibeanie is 1 year, 5 months & 1 day old

Christmas 2008

We decided to have a Christmas Eve lunch due to minibeanie's feeding schedule. Might as well because he woke up from his nap past 3pm and the turkey was just about done then.

The 4.6kg turkey took about 3 hours - much less than the 3.5-4 hours suggested by conventional cooking wisdom. And I'm glad I listened to my instincts because it'd have meant a tough chewy bird had I cooked it longer. (hmm, of course a meat thermometer and the fail-safe test of cutting it to see if the juices run clear helped ;) The salmon from Ikea didn't work as Gravad Lax because they were cut into 2cm portions and came without their skin. Well, I'd 2 jars of pickled herring* in the fridge so those would do as the fish platter :)

Here are a series of pictures leading from decorating the tree in early December to the Christmas Eve lunch.

My little helper...

... not

Christmas Stollen

Lots of puns surrounding this one ("It's stollen". "Oh no, who stole it?"). This Dresden stollen is buttery and laden with golden and dark raisins, currants, slivered almonds, candied orange peel & lemon zest. I would use less butter and more milk the next year though!

Christmas pyramid

This cost a little bomb but as it would stay in the family as a Christmas tradition for years, I thought it would be worth it. It was handcrafted in Erzgebirge, a mountainous town in Germany. Christmas pyramids, or the unpronounceable "Weihnachtspyramide", use the rising heat currents from candles to turn the impellers and the platform below. This particular pyramid was of the Nativity scene; unfortunately, baby Jesus in a manger was at the other end. See the little devil at one end of the platform? I couldn't resist getting that piece ;D Of the many Erzgebirge sculptors, I liked Christian Ulbricht's style best :) For those in Singapore, there was a fantastic collection of Christmas pyramids & nutcrackers at Das Erzgebirgen Haus(?) in Raffles City.

The Spread

Finns celebrate Christmas on the Eve. On the table, we had turkey, traditional potato and carrot casseroles, 2 types of pickled herring and a selection of salami (that I bought from Singapore!) accompanied with Danish blue cheese & French camembert. minibeanie was eating a piece of camembert in the picture above.... which was amazing because even some grown-ups in Finland wouldn't touch camembert.

Time to open the presents!!

First taste of chocolate

I got a box of Belgian truffles from minibeanie's mummi (my MIL, if anyone is wondering) and guess if minibeanie threw a tiny tandrum when he wanted to have a bite as well... I guess I could strike chocolate off the list of 'Things to withhold from minibeanie until as late as possible."

To everyone, may you have a blessed Christmas!


*I have to thank Ikea for making a Scandinavian Christmas possible. Besides pickled herring, they have made it possible to buy cloudberry jam and Glögi. ...Actually, I do know the wife of the Ikea guy who runs Ikea in this region. minibeanie & their 15 month old son are playmates. I think I'll invite them over this Christmas.


minibeanie is 1 year, 4 months, 4 weeks & 1 day old

Kitchen challenges

How exasperating. Salmon is totally out of stock at the supermarket so I ended up with frozen salmon from Ikea Which came pre-cut into portions And de-skinned.... so totally unsuitable for making Gravad Lax. So I've learnt my lesson. Buy a whole fillet next year and freeze it ahead. That's the problem with stuff in Chengdu/China. You NEVER know when certain items will be out of stock. A French import manager at Carrefour told me that he won't know when milk for instance is coming in because that's the way logistics go over here :# A common saying among the expats here is, if you see something you like in the supermarket, grab it. Because you don't know when you'll next see it again!

The turkey was great. It came delivered on the day and in the condition I wanted. This butchery is run by a foreign couple but just to be sure (since this is China) I asked if it was gutted and beheaded :D It's no laughing matter. Many times I'd bought whole chickens from supermarkets and they always still had their heads and worse, their entire system of internal organs intact. It's like these chickens were meant for a biology dissecting class rather than for the oven. I digress. So, our Christmas turkey is "cleaned of its guts and head etc. It is prepared to Western standards" end quote ;)


minibeanie is 1 year, 4 months & 4 weeks old

2 days to the EVE!

2 days to Christmas Eve! Where did the whole of December go??? It seemed like yesterday that I was looking forward to the Finnish Independence Day cum Christmas party on December 6. Then, I recalled rushing to make the dough for the Gingerbread men, baking them another day, making and freezing the Christmas casseroles, wrapping Christmas presents & mailing a couple of them out to the mothers east & west...... And I still haven't had time to make a Christmas Stollen which is a buttery bread with almonds & raisins sprinkled with icing sugar, the German answer to Italians' Panettone. Hmph!

Monday - buy salmon (hopefully, they'll have dill too!) to make Graavilohi/Gravad Lax, Finnish/Swedish salted salmon.

Tueday - a 4-5kg turkey to be delivered. Make the stuffing for the bird.

Wednesday - Roast the Big bird (don't let minibeanie hear that) for 4-5 hours.

Finally, sit down for a Christmas Eve dinner that can feed the whole school! And since there are only 2 adults and a little bean, it'll be a dinner followed by 3 lunches & 4 dinners :D Let's see how creative I can get with leftover turkey...


minibeanie is 1 year, 4 months, 3 weeks & 5 days old

Rendang for lunch

At 7 this morning, the babbling from the crib quickly degenerated into a crescendo of screeching. And so at 7:30, I made my way downstairs with minibeanie in toll. At least I think it was 7:30 because it was still pitch black outside; I'd slept barely 4 hours.

We had a party last night that began with lunch at 2pm and ended around midnight. We invited a couple of Hungarian friends over for mutton rendang, grilled lemongrass chicken and bread & butter pudding. minibeanie also had a friend over - 9-month old Viktoria. That's right. Finally, there was a representative of the fairer sex. Where are all the little girls??


Both children seemed to like each other. In fact, minibeanie even gave Viki his toy car, pointed out its parts to her & babbled in Babyish. Heh, I've a hunch somethings won't change even after 18 years ;)


minibeanie is 1 year, 4 months, 3 weeks & 4 days old

A Typical Day

Every evening when dada comes home at 7pm, it's crazy hour in the house. I'm glad someone is there to 'take over' because by 7, a) I'm usually cranky from hunger & tiredness; b) there's only this much running commentary I can give on making a meatloaf and c) I can't play ball or cars any longer :P

And if anyone wonders what minibeanie can be up to during the day, here's a typical example.

He loves playing in my larder. He takes out cans, jars, tupperware boxes, stacks them up, puts some away although more often than not, he leaves them strewn on the floor. Yes, there's a child-safety lock, but he loves to play there... So, as long as he's not hurting himself or breaking anything, I let him have his fun. One day, I filled a bowl with pasta destined for his lunch and guess what happened when I let him finger the twirly-whirly curious looking things?


Oh, and he has a really guilty look whenever he does something naughty. The most recent incident was yesterday when he was playing in the larder (again!). I turned round to check on him and lo and behold, he had that "opps" look. He had smashed 1 of my century eggs :D No biggie, I just need to cook it in an omelette or fry it with sliced green chillis Sichuan style.


minibeanie is 1 year, 4 months, 3 weeks & 3 days old

Self Feeding

Like going without the night feed, having minibeanie feed himself seems like a milestone to me. With the exception of oat porridge for breakfast, he'd been feeding himself lunch and dinner. He's still a total klutz at using his spoon; most times, he just gives up with the spoon and uses his trusty 10 fingers to do the job anyway.

We have the routine down to a pat. He'd bring his plate and bib to the dining table while I bring the rest: placemat, cup & his food in a separate bowl. Then, we would sit him down in his highchair, he puts on the bib himself and I proceed to arrange his plate, cup and placement and aportion half of his food into his bowl. From then on, I could leave him and he'd let me know when he wants a refill of his plate. Then when he's done, we have an "all-done" signal, he raises both hands in the air. At this point, I usually give him his share of fruits to avoid having to wash his hands a second time and besides, he usually picks up a few more pieces of broccoli or mash potato together with his strawberry or mandarin bits. Ha! cunning me...

Then, when he has his fill of fruits, we proceed to wash the grimy boy not just his hands & mouth but often times, his hair, nose & forehead. And once or twice, his pants need to be changed as well. How does one get pasta everywhere??

The morning milk feed

Last Saturday, I decided to make banana pancakes for brekkie. I guess the boys liked it.

Someone has morning hair

Playmates

"Play is a toddler's work." That's how "What to Expect the Toddler Years" puts it. So, in between preparing meals, feeding & cleaning after minibeanie and time for myself, I try to arrange play dates with a couple of toddlers around minibeanie's age. Usually, it's one-on-one at someone's home but on Wednesday, I arranged for a play date at an indoor playground with 2 friends living in the same condominium.

As it was 1030 on a weekday, it was deserted - which was great! I bought a 10-visit card for RMB60 (6 euros/SGD12). Great value, I thought. Inside the playground were tunnels, slides, trampoline, a ball room, 'cars' etc... and of course, everything is padded for clumsy or over-active children.

minibeanie is an apprehensive child. Just like seeing strangers for the first time, he takes time to warm up to a new environment. He takes things in slowly but once he's at ease, he can go crazy. I can't remember how many times I've to put a delicate vase beyond his inquisitive fingers at a friend's home or to stop him from destroying a neighbour's DVD player. Nonetheless, he's not overly destructive for a 16-month-old. ...I think. Anyway, here at the playground, he's free to run and climb to his heart's content.

And as for minibeanie's playmates, they are 13-month old Ryuichi and 14-month old Rasmus, Japanese and Finnish respectively. Good-natured Ryuichi's always grinning ear to ear and stocky Rasmus (13kg!) is a barrel who's always rolling out of the playground and into the department store. :) Children do not play together at this age. Instead, they acknowledge each other coolly and very occasionally, their paths literally cross when they want the same toy or as in Ryuichi and minibeanie's case, their cars collide.


ps. Oh, I've a confession to make... it was so fun getting into the ball room to 'help' the kids onto the slide or to play with the balls. It was just like when I was 8 at Ikea's ball room again! :D

minibeanie is 1 year, 4 months, 3 weeks & 2 days old

Busy bee

minibeanie has 2 finger puppets from our Silkair flights. One is a bee while the other is a Chinese man with a wide hat. We call the former, "Suzy the Busy Bee" while "Mr Tan" is the other moniker - a tongue-in-cheek reference to a friend who refers to himself as "Mr Tan of Boon Lay". Anyway, this is neither about the names we've christened minibeanie's toys or even about Suzy the Busy Bee...

December is a busy month. For the last week or so, I'd baked pumpkin pies for gatherings, tons of gingerbread cookies and vegetable casseroles that are traditional Finnish fare for the Christmas Eve dinner. And on top of everything, minibeanie is pushing his trolleys and cars into my feet, rearranging my larder and stacking the honey, baking powder & lentil boxes to form a precarious pyramid and generally making a mess.

He understands so much more now. All of a sudden, it appeared as if something clicked. He replies in the affirmative "Ugh" accompanied by a nod or every not so often, a shake of the head to indicate the negative. This afternoon I gave him his usual serving of fruit after lunch.

Do you like persimmon?

Ugh.

Do you like apple?
Ugh.
Do you like banana?
Ugh.
Do you like strawberry?
Ugh.
[ok.... maybe he's just saying "ugh" to everything I ask]
Do you like bugabuga?
....{silence}.......[he looked at me before continuing to shove persimmon bits into his mouth]
[Yaaaaayy! so he does understand me after all!]



minibeanie is 1 year, 4 months & 6 days old

Tarzan

minibeanie is 16 months old today. While he has limited his verbal communication to grunts (and babble that only he could understand), it was amazing that we are nonetheless communicating. The grunt "ugh!" accompanied by a heave of the shoulder signified "yes" to the question I was asking. And if he really really wanted the banana/teddy bear cookie/watch Sesame Street, it would be a vapid bounce up & down :D

He's also keen to exert his growing independence by wanting to feed himself. Hence, I've adjusted my mindset on 2 fronts. #1, it's ridiculous to expect him to use a spoon - fine motor skills is still somewhere in the distance. So, he now feeds himself most of the time with both hands a la Tarzan. #2, the natural consequence is that he makes a royal mess each mealtime. (the Baby Bjorn rubber catch-all bib has paid itself back many times its Euro 11 investment!) I've therefore stopped being anal because I'm hoping that with all this practice he'll soon learn how to feed himself and besides, my capable Ayi, who comes 3 times a week, simply makes all the grease and crumbs vanish :)


On the Chengdu front, it has been nice. We visited a couple of hotpots recently. One of which was 粥底火锅 ; basically, instead of a broth, everything's cooked in a base of porridge. At the end of the meal, the porridge steeped full of flavours and nutrients is eaten. Wonderful... if not for the lack of baby chairs in the restaurant so I guess the chances of us heading back there is rather slim :P

We also tried a fancy restaurant, 8 Trees, owned by a Singaporean. It boasts of a good selection of wine and a menu with entries like foie gras etc. But we went for its selection of Singapore food - chicken rice in particular. It was good! ..... but they've only got the taste 90% right. The chicken was juicy and done just right. But the rice wasn't aromatic enough and the defining chili lacked that garlicky punch. It was ok by chengdu standards but at SGD44 (ok, we also had a Thai beef salad that was way off the mark & a glass of house red), it must be the most expensive chicken rice meal we had. Again, I don't think we'd return. Not just because of the chicken rice but because they didn't have baby chairs!!! What's with these restaurants?!

Eating out with a toddler has now made me view restaurants entirely different. Obviously, imho baby chairs should be de rigeur but if they've got baby-friendly utensils such as melamine plates, that's a huge plus. And a really big plus will be if they've a play area in the corner for parents who wish to indulge in a little coffee after the meal. No no, I don't mean parents drinking their coffee in the play area but little tykes being let loose there; thought I'd clarify that. And I'm already beginning to look at McDonalds' and KFC in a different light ;)


minibeanie is 1 year & 4 months old

Update: Bye bye night feeds & other developments

It was 9 days ago on November 6 when we went without night feeds. Most nights we slept through (hooray!) but there were some when he would still try to get something. Those times if the bottle of water doesn't help, we usually play possum when he cries until he falls asleep, not more than 5 minutes thankfully. I reckon that's 1 way how babies keep testing their boundaries & your resolve until they Get It. Consistency is key here. As my fav shrink, Dr Phil, says, children have to know with 100% predictability the consequences of their actions. Most times, parents cave in because it's the 'easier' route. And I know that because some nights I just think it will be easier to just give him some milk so that all of us get some sleep. But persevere, I must (and Yoda, I've become).

Then there have been other developments that signal that minibeanie is not a baby but a toddler by now :) He has begun playing with cars! He pushes them around making funny 'car' sounds :D So cool!

And speaking of toys, I bought minibeanie a picnic set of wooden tea cups, 'cut-able' fruits & cakes. I wondered if it was too 'girly' but dada said "why not, don't I drink tea?" Good point. This is another instance of the struggle against gender stereotypes. See 'Pink is for Boys'. Anyway, so I got 1 of Mother Garden's tea & picnic set that's all made of wood with drool worthy delicious yummy cakes, ice cream, doughnuts & fruits.

Honestly, I think I derived 90% of the joy in playing with the playset :D I think it is the little girl in me still who still goes ga-ga over cute pink tea cups. Anyone wants to play masak masak?

Muffin

Christmas is looming up and the temperature is already in the low teens and somehow that combination triggers this 'gotta-bake-something' streak in me. I've been making the occasional bread but somehow chives & potato bread just doesn't cut the sweet tooth in me :P And being the (grateful) recipient of a couple of pumpkin/blueberry cheesecake muffins recently from a friend only makes that little sweet tooth cry for more, along with my dentist I'm sure.

Hence I made a batch of banana-walnut & banana-choc-chips muffins from a basic muffin recipe.

Basic muffin recipe
300g/3cups self-raising flour
125g/0.75cup castor sugar
1.5cups buttermilk
2 eggs
150g butter, melted & cooled slightly

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Mix dry ingredients together & make a well in the center.
2. Whisk together liquids and pour into dry ingredients and mix gently until the mixture is just combined.
3. Add whatever fillings/flavours you want at this stage.
4. Spoon mixture into muffin cups and bake for 20-25min or until risen & golden.

* In this batch, I chopped about 2.5 large bananas into large chunks and pre-roast the chopped walnuts just a little. It made about 19 8cm large muffins. And obviously, since we can't eat all within 3 days, I froze half of them for an emergency sweet treat or when I have house guests over.

minibeanie likes the banana-choc-chip muffin

minibeanie is 1 year, 3 months, 2 weeks & 6 days old

Bye bye night feeds

We heard a horror tale of how a 3 year old would still be screaming for "maito!*" at 3am. I thought if we didn't do anything, that would be US 2 years down the road. And knowing how entrenched toddlers could be in their habits the older they become, I felt it was time to bite the bullet. It was all too easy to sail along and take the path of least resistance but like I said, better to tackle the issue now with a 15 month old than a 3 year old!

It has now been 3 nights since minibeanie got any milk at night. The first night happened rather accidentally or perhaps it was my subconscious that didn't allow me to get up when he fussed a little for his supper. It wasn't too bad; he fell asleep after a short while. Friday night (#2), dada got up at 2hour intervals to put the tutti back in when he fussed. Likewise, minibeanie fell asleep without much ado. Night #3 last night, Saturday, I got up about 3 times but thankfully he fell asleep quickly without much fussing.

Is this it? I hope we're training his little tummy not to expect food during the night. Despite the amount of milk he drinks some nights, I'm convinced it's more of a habit than real need. After all, he's now having 3 square meals & more a day so there's no need to wake up for food during the night. I know how it is, I get 'addicted' to a nightly mug of warm milk & half a cookie/muffin (that's bad, I know!) before bed myself... Here's to an uninterrupted night of sleep?

* milk, in Finnish

minibeanie is 1 year, 3 months & 2 weeks old

Serious play

We were on the party circuit yesterday. At 10am, it was a 2 year old's birthday party, then at 4 it was a 5 year old's pirate-themed birthday party. Thankfully they were both within our condominium compound. The first party consists of the playgroup from the International Women's Club. Toddlers ranging from the youngest at 13 months to the oldest, a set of 3 year old triplets (super mum!), roam the apartment. I say "roam" because at this age, they do not play cooperatively. Instead, they play independently or "parallel play" as child psychologists put it. So, tiny toddlers flit from room to room leaving trails of muffin crumbs for their mummies to find. And so I found minibeanie rummaging through a cupboard of intriguing papers when we had to leave.

It was quite different at the 4pm party. Raucous children behaved like well, children. They moved in a pack screeching. Yet somehow, the adults are able to sit serenely on the side having their tea, cakes & cheese. I discover that the one constant between the toddlers & children is the mess (big surprise there) ;)

I suppose the parties did minibeanie some good. I checked out Gymboree today with a friend with the purpose of letting minibeanie socialize with his own kind. Instead of clinging to the back of my jeans for the first 10 minutes like he did previously, he was all over the toys the instant I put him down. He had lots of fun with the indoor gym which he discovered all on his own accidentally. Yet somehow, "structured play" (which is what Gymboree is about, isn't it?) seems like an oxymoron to me. Play is supposed to be free of rules. And isn't 15 months a little too young to be in a classroom environment? As my main objective is for minibeanie to build socialization skills, (being the only kid at home can build a rather skewed view of the world) I think the weekly playgroup would be a much better avenue. The playgroup has the use of a preschool's classroom & playground (Etonhouse actually) and I heard that the classroom is well-stocked with toys & books. An added bonus is that we get to see the same kids & mums every week which allows for rapport to be built. This on its own is a huge advantage over Gymboree. And finally, each Gymboree session costs Y200 - that's a freaking 20 euros and S$40 each 45-minute session! I'm reluctant to be paying good money for play at 15 months.


minibeanie is 1 year, 3 months, 1 week old & 4 days old

Mormon boy

I couldn't bear to cut minibeanie's hair at the back of his head. Especially since they curl most adorably outwards so that his profile is that of the omega sign should anyone make a papercutting of this boy. But I had to. I had to because he perspires so much during play that it may be giving him a rash at the back of his neck. So during yesterday's bathtime, when we were splashing about in the tub, I cunningly whipped out my salon-grade scissors and made the first snip :(

I thought I did quite a good job until dada remarked the next morning that minibeanie has become a Mormon boy from Goldilocks. He also said something like... "pot head".


minibeanie is 1 year, 3 months & 2 days old

We're ok now

It was the most horrible 9 days. By the end of it, minibeanie had filled half of Chengdu's landfill with steaming loads of diapers, puked for 2 days, ran a fever for 4 days & lost a ton of weight. Meanwhile, DH & I took turns with the nasty virus. Just as I congratulated myself on escaping the bug, it was my turn to be hugging the toilet & shivering with fever. Crap. That too.

Thankfully, all is fine now. In the throes of it, we wondered several times if we ought to bring minibeanie to the hospital to be hydrated intravenously. This thought crossed our minds each time he gave an explosive encore in his diaper. It sounded just like someone squeezing the end of the Heinz ketchup bottle real hard with just a few drops to go. Any other times, it would be hilarious. But when it was 4:30am or when we'd just changed diaper #8 5 minutes ago, it was a sinking feeling. Not again.

His appetite has slowly returned which was a great relief. I do hope this is the last flu we get for a very long time!


minibeanie is 1 year, 2 months, 3 weeks & 4 days old

Photos! 相片! Kuvat!

Loads of pictures uploaded! :) Starting from A Day to Forget (9.22) ...

39.4

It was a horrible start to any day. I woke up to check on minibeanie's temperature (for he had been running a fever the past 1.5 days) at 7 in the morning and was shocked to read 39.4. That number jolted DH out of his sleep and we decided that a trip to the hospital was called for. We would normally have gotten him to the clinic but this being a weekend, it was closed.

I was dreading the hospital because it was after all a Chinese hospital; let's face it, Chengdu was not Beijing or Shanghai. My apprehension was fully justified on reaching the hospital. It was over run by people. Chaos reigned. I managed to locate the reception cum information desk by virtue of a nurse behind a counter being surrounded by hordes of pushing Chinese all asking questions at the same time. I managed to elbow in and finally got my question across and was then directed to a registration booth down the hallway. I registered, got a card for Y9 and was given a thermometer. After 5 agonizing minutes, we gave the thermometer back to the nurse and was told 38.1. There was a collective sigh of relief.

As it didn't seem like an ER situation, we were then directed to the "Children's clinic #1" - a room further down the hallway. We gave our form to the attending nurse who then lined it at the back of a row of forms by the window. This would be our queue. There were 2 doctors facing each other in the room. Little patients and their caregivers would be standing or sitting on the 2 stools facing the doctors.

Calm cannot be used to describe the scene in and outside of the clinic. There were simply too many people around compounded by screaming parents calling after their wayward shrieking kids, crying babies in obvious discomfort and the general population who must talk with raised voices.

We waited patiently for our turn (half an hour, I was told). About 2m behind us stood a security guard which was rather perculiar I thought. DH said it was because we were the only foreigners. minibeanie appeared to be in good spirits. He was entertained by dada's silly antics and the occasional teddy bear cookie, his all time favourite. It was such a relief that he seemed his normal self.

After half an hour or so, it was our turn. The doctor noted the symptoms, listened on the stethoscope, pried open a very reluctant baby's mouth and diagnosed it as upper respiratory infection. Over all, the lady doctor was professional. If she seemed brief it was because the clinic was run like a sausage operation in a non too pleasant environment. She seemed kindly enough and even switched to English when I was struggling with Chinese medical terms.

After that, we took the form with the scribbled prescription (it's a universal fact that doctor's handwriting is illegible!) and headed out to get our medication. First a visit to the cashier where I paid Y54, followed by another queue at the drug counter to get the fever and diarrhoea medications. Finally at 10, we spilled out of the hospital to a bright but slightly chilly day. Relief!


Today, minibeanie had fewer rummy tummy episodes compared to the past 2 days :) Let's pray that he's on the mend. We were told that diarrhoea could last for up to a week and the fever for 3-4 days. It's strange how we left Chengdu in t-shirts and shorts 2 weeks ago but return to long-sleeved fleece sweaters. Thanks to the change in temperatures, it's now the start of the flu season.


minibeanie is 1 year, 2 months, 2 weeks & 1 day old

Detour

We started the day of departure, Monday, at 0430. Got to the airport all bleary-eyed still and discovered that the flight had been delayed until 2330. Oh man! But it wasn't all bad. You see, we got to enjoy another day in Singapore! :D Air China put all of us up at Copthorne Orchid, a laid back hotel on the outskirts of Orchard Road. And so we checked in and to our surprise, we were given a suite (probably thanks to DH's Star Alliance gold card). We were given meal vouchers for all 3 meals which wasn't bad because we got to have great beef rendang, satay & seafood (the last seafood stop before Chengdu!).

The delay definitely had a silver lining for we got to run some last minute errands & had a last piece of kaya toast & kopi at Ya Kun - where we caught minibeanie's grandmother sneaking out despite her earlier claims of flu!

But it hadn't been easy since returning to Chengdu. I'd a slight flu and minibeanie had rummy tummy. 9 poopy diapers today so far. The last one happened just as we were about to turn in. It's now past 2 after all the brouhaha.


minibeanie is 1 year, 2 months & 2 weeks old

Bye Singapore!

We'll have to wake up tomorrow morning at a most inhumane hour - half past four. sigh* Trust Air China to pay for the cheapest timeslot at Changi.

It had been a very enjoyable trip. We met up with friends whom I hadn't seen in ages - Sharon, RJ bunch (Rhu, Mari, Jazz, WeeLin), sky (it's her initials...she's not really called Sky like some girls who are called "Milk" or something..serious!).


We got to do lots of fun stuff like bringing minibeanie to the Underwater World. Despite his young age, I think he knew what was going on. For some reason, he reached for dada to be carried and he gripped dada really hard when he saw particularly large fish & rays swimming above him. And today, typical of so many Singaporean parents on a Sunday, we brought him to a center that will hopefully enhance/increase his intellectual prowess ;) And so we went for a trial lesson at Kindermusik at Tanglin Mall. 45 minutes of singing, dancing & playing on musical instruments. Admittedly, I think the mums got more of a workout what with prancing & swinging 10kg babies. But will I pay good money for that weekly 45 minutes? In the end, I don't think so. It's nothing like what I haven't been doing at home - banging on drums (a wooden spatula and an overturned pot on my kitchen floor!), silly dancing with dada, marching to the mummy calvary's 'trumpet & drums' etc. And if it's for the company of other same age babies, we've neighbours.

Are we done yet?

Oh, and of course the marvellous food! We had a mental checklist of our favourite local food to be checked off such as Hokkien prawn mee, satay, fish head beehoon, nasi padang and uncountable cups of kopi (coffee) & kaya toasts. Of course, Indian cuisine was also high on our list. We'd great Punjab food at Race Course Road and masala thosai & onion bhaji at Saravana Bhavan. And today, we visited what's unofficially Little Burma at Peninsula Plaza. At the basement and third floor are lots of Burmese eateries thronged with Burmese workers on their day off.

minibeanie's first ride

And of course, shopping! This time, we are carting back tons of organic foodstuffs & milk. Geeesh, what else is contaminated in China. Who knows? We're sorry to be leaving clean & green Singapore. With 4 hours to sleep, I think it's time to turn in!


minibeanie is 1 year, 2 months, 1 week old & 3 days old

A Memorable Night to Forget

A memorable night for F1 fans and for Singapore but one to forget for Ferrari. What can I say that hasn't already been said?

Great fun and company. We went with Rhu & David, the former whom I've known half a lifetime ago (fancy that!) and whom I've gone for lessons on tennis, makeup, pottery & dancing ... among other crazy stuff like abseiling. So yeah, it was fun especially when we were all decked out in red on race-day :D

It's all Nelson Piquet's fault. Massa was leading and Kimi was steadily catching up on Hamilton. Then Piquet just had to lose it (again!) and as everyone know, the chain of events that happened made this the most disastrous race of Ferrari ever. [If you don't know what I'm talking about, which planet are u from?] It's of small consolation that Kimi holds the lap record.

A poster night for Singapore. Singapore was decked out in style. The skyline was breathtaking and the organization of the F1 was done in true Singapore fashion - well executed and meticulous. All in, much kudos. But does it have to be so bright? :D Yes, it's for the safety of the drivers but after all the touting of being able to see the glow of the disc brakes, the track was lit as bright as day.

Gotta get a bigger flag next year. I was waving a 25x20cm Finnish flag. It felt puny. I resolve to get the materials and get a tailor in Chengdu to make me a much larger one that's at least 4 times the current one :P Then I bought face paint and painted mini Finnish flags on our cheeks. Glad that DH went along with this craziness of mine :D [nope, those flags won't be much bigger next year ;) we also discovered that I'm a better artist than DH]

An obviously drunk Finn 4 rows behind us had a flag that was nearly 1.2m across. Before the race began, he yelled his war cry, "Sweden sucks!"


minibeanie is 1 year, 2 months & 5 days old

Sushi & garlic rice

We are extremely proud (& relieved) that minibeanie has been receptive of new food. He had his first sushi a few days ago at Sushi Tei when I met up with grandma for lunch. I had packed his usual lunch along - pork & beef porridge with french beans, sweet potato, spiced with loads of garlic & coriander. Honestly, I thought it was really tasty (don't all mums out there?) but I suppose since it was:
1) salt-less and
2) it's still porridge however disguised,
minibeanie wasn't too hot about it. Nonetheless because of the late hour at 2 in the afternoon, he ate most of it. Then I placed a piece of rolled sushi with unagi (bbq eel) on a plate in front of him. He grabbed it like he would any new curio and put it into his mouth. And that was it. I couldn't pry his hands away from his mouth even when I'd to put on his catch-all Baby Björn bib.

For the next 15 min or so, he happily ate 1 piece of sushi after another. By the 4th piece, he started picking out grains of rice in his bib to give to me. All right then, when he starts playing with his food, that's a cue that he's full. And as expected, I'd to turn him upside down to brush off the sticky Japanese rice that speckled his pants and entire high chair ;D (Someone should invent a machine that sucks rice/crumbs/mushy-half-chewed-on biscuit... mash/sand/cereal from toddlers!)

We also had success with grilled fish & rice when we had our dinner at Manhattan Fish Market. Granted, it was fried garlic rice. It was no wonder then he has turned his nose up at the boring, bland & mushy fare I'd been been offering. In some way, this is a milestone for me - as a provider & gatekeeper to what goes into his tummy. He's not so much a little baby now but a little boy curious about new flavours & textures. Oh, and those 8 front teeth he has so far are not to be underestimated.


minibeanie is 1 year, 2 months & 4 days old

my 1st wheels?

We stumbled upon a great toy shop on the upper floor of Ngee Ann City aptly called The Better Toy Shop. Tons of great quality toys that would tickle even the heart of a jaded adult. None of those silly TMNT or Mattel's anorexic Barbies, what a nice change!

minibeanie was bubbling over with ecstatic excitement that only a toddler could express. Here was a full set of Brio train tracks, there was that humongous stuffed bunny that was twice his height & another huge doggie perched high on the shelf... ooh, and those carts and cars that just beg to be driven! And so, he busied himself with getting in & out of the cars in the 'showroom' while I was busy clearing up the trail of destruction he left behind :D

Baby-ism III

You know you've stayed at home too long with your baby when you feel weird closing your door to the toilet.


minibeanie is 1 year & 2 months old

F1 Fever

I'm officially gripped by the F1 fever :) I know I was looking forward to the race on Sunday but I'd no idea by how much. It became apparent today when there was a remote chance of seeing Kimi Räikkonen. He was to make a public appearance at a Tag Heure media event at a mall. As expected, there were throngs of people with cameras packed shoulder to shoulder waiting & hoping to catch a glimpse of the reigning Formula One world champion.... blond blue-eyed cutie... I've become a groupie!

Kimi on söpöliini!!! If I could just get his attention to sign my flag, kato täällä! Kiiiiiiimmmiiiiii! :D

ps. a chap standing beside me kept his promise & sent me a great pic of Kimi ...I'd forgotten to bring our camera :P

minibeanie is 1 year, 1 month, 4 weeks & 2 days old

A day to forget

[This is a gripe about the #!%@^! things that went wrong today. Please click here if you want something happy ;) ]

I should have touched down in SG but instead, I'm back at home. The reason for this was that minibeanie needed a paper ticket to board while his mummy dearest had an e-ticket. And since a)these tickets had been issued 6 freaking months ago, b) DH did not bring home any paper ticket recently, c) his secretary who had helped to change our return date last week did not mention anything about a paper-ticket until 2 hours before my departure time (which by then is way too late) & d) a call to Silkair in the morning confirmed that "oh, no other documents beside passport is necessary"... Then what did I find in the airport?? no paper ticket, no boarding pass. Nevermind that it's in the system or the fact that he's a baby - who doesn't even need a seat JUST a box on the wall.

Ok, so I finally decided to buy a ticket for him only to remember that I only had RMB200 with me and no credit card (lost my wallet a few days ago). Freaking hell.Got the airport staff to pull out my luggage from the cargo hull to check if a wad of Singapore related cards in my luggage contained a credit card and someone from DH's office to come down with some slush funds. Nada from my luggage. And by the time, DH's colleague arrived, the immigration counter had CLOSED. Yes, this is the first time I've heard of immigration/customs closing - don't they stay open all the time? Well, ok, this is China. Just like someone would actually put toxic substances into milk, there are different rules and mindsets here.

minibeanie having a field day with my open luggage. Oh nevermind....

Tomorrow, I'm going to raise a ruckus at the Silkair office again for their f*-ing bureaucracy and the inept staff who gave out erroneous information. Tonight, it calls for a greasy pizza.

To Singapore

We'd be heading to Singapore tomorrow! Miraculously, DH got a working trip that coincided with the Formula 1 Grand Prix giving us a roof over our heads :>

More to come...


minibeanie is 1 year, 1 month, 3 weeks & 6 days old

Me-Time

Our visitors left on Monday. I've to admit it was rather nice having them around especially my MIL. She had been a great help with minibeanie - feeding, talking & playing with him and even did the morning shift giving his dead-as-logs parents much needed sleep at 7 in the morning.

And for the first time ever, I left minibeanie to the care of someone else other than DH. No one has seemed competent before :P In spite of the pangs of guilt I felt when I stepped out of the house in my gym gear, I've to admit it was nice having some "me-time". That's one drawback of being a SAHM, it's so easy losing oneself. And I always remember what my favourite shrink, Dr. Phil, say, "if you don't take care of mom, no-one's going to take care of the little kids & big kid (alright, not exactly in those words)... you can't run on empty." Ok, I only slip out when he's napping and only for 1.5 hours tops but it's a start. Thus, a couple of days ago, I asked my Ayi if she could come an additional half a day - hopefully, that would enable me to hit the gym twice a week or run the odd errand :)

The weather is also getting cooler. Most days do not feel summery anymore. In fact, it was rather chilly yesterday even in the afternoon! We were invited to a friend's place for what was probably the end-of-season BBQ last Saturday. Hmm, nothing like some char-grilled meat & sausages!


minibeanie is 1 year, 1 month, 3 weeks & 1 day old

Stack

On the feeding front, I'm hugely relieved to say that after the first day, minibeanie has now gotten used to eating from his high chair sans Elmo & co. Yes overall, he may eat a little bit less than he may have eaten with Sesame Street on tv but that's ok. My motto right now is, if he's hungry he'll eat. Better to cultivate a good eating habit right now.

And lately, he has gotten the hang of stacking things. (I didn't know it was such a milestone BMb*!) For a long time, his primary joy is in knocking down towers - the higher the better! Now, his little fingers are tentatively clasping the block and clumsily putting it on top of another. Apparently, fine motor skills still have some way to go ;) This afternoon, he even placed his shoe on top of the other. Encouraged by his success, he moved on to his dada's shoes - arrrgh, no!!

* BMb = Before minibeanie


minibeanie is 1 year, 1 month, 2 weeks & 5 days old

Mealtimes are such adventures for parents and toddlers. If only toddlers can be reasoned or bribed! Lately, I realized I've gotten minibeanie into a really bad habit - he NEEDS Sesame Street to stay sitted in his rocker in order to finish his bowl of food. I'm not sure that's a good thing because firstly, toddlers shouldn't be watching much tv to begin with, even if it's educational. Then, what really made me take issue with it is when I read that when kids go into that 'video mode' with transfixed eyes glazed over, they are not really consciously eating. This 'unconscious' eating may lead to over-eating in the future and I don't wish minibeanie to be a broad bean. So then, it was cold turkey on 2 fronts today. First, no Sesame Street and second, we migrated to the high chair which had been used only occasionally before.

As expected, today's lunch & dinner were torturous. I couldn't get him to take more than 5 spoons before he'd squirm, turn his head away and cry to be let out of his prison. No point feeding him then, so down he went. Not long later, he would realize that he was hungry so up he went into the chair again. This would happen for 3-4 times - up, down, up, down, up, down.... until we were both exhausted. Finally, I decided that lunch/dinner was over. A friend with 2 boys once said, children won't starve themselves to death ;)

The little angel despite everything

minibeanie is 1 year, 1 month, 2 weeks & 1 day old

Visitors in Chengdu

It's been a week since MIL's arrival. She came with DH's cousin who also acted as a translator. So far, things have turned out better than expected - they haven't been too shocked culturally and neither have we killed each other :D

In the past week, we've probably exhausted all our usual restaurant haunts (which also goes to show how many we know). Hotpot, Sichuan, Cantonese/Sichuan, Japanese Tonkatsu, American, more Sichuan.... I've even ordered home delivery from the down-to-earth local eatery just round the block which they seemed to like. And to my delight, they have even taken to dumplings (饺子) eaten with vinegar & soy sauce. This is evidenced by them actually buying a pack of frozen dumplings from the corner convenience shop for lunch on their accord!

Nonetheless, a fix of Western food is always a nice reprive. Last night, I made roast beef & roasted vegetables a la Italiano for dinner and judging by the mood & second helpings, it was a welcomed change.

Last Saturday, we decided to do some touristy stuff so we rented a car & driver who took us to the nearest panda facility in Chengdu. Despite a couple of marked enclosures on the map, there was basically only 1 enclosure within the entire park where those adorable bears were found. Sigh. That aside, the pandas were awfully cute. How can anyone think otherwise? Those pear-shaped lumbering frames especially when they are sitting are the epitome of huggable, squeezable cuteness. But what stole our hearts that afternoon were the tiny hapless cubs in the nursery and the dude who lounged in the 'jacuzzi' for ages while silly tourists gawked & clicked pictures.

Today, we went to the WangJiangLou (望江楼) park right across the river from where we stay. We call it the bamboo park because of its clusters of tall, willowy bamboo. [It is DH & minibeanie's fav haunt on weekend mornings, mainly because mummy usually (ok, make it always :D) decides to sleep in on weekends. Usually, DH parks themselves in 1 of the few tea gardens there, have his favourite 竹叶青 green tea and read his book if minibeanie allows it.] Anyway, so all of us went there today, had our teas in a tea garden by the river and altogether had a nice walk even though it got rather sweaty at the end.



minibeanie is 1 year, 1 month & 2 weeks old

Guilty of mischief

And here's the incriminating evidence.



minibeanie is 1 year, 1 month & 4 days old

Sights

6 months in Chengdu and we still haven't been to any sights :D I was about to say we haven't gone out of Chengdu city then I realized we haven't even seen Tianfu Square, Chengdu's equivalent to Tiananmen Square. (Ok, it's not as significant or impressive but at least it has Mao's statue!) So, in a way I'm looking forward to my MIL's coming because then we have a reason to go somewhere.

Unfortunately, places that take more than 3 hours are out of the question, and that includes the travelling time. But besides a couple a couple of nice, peaceful bamboo parks, swan lakes & tea houses in the city, we are intending to hit the Panda Breeding center. Hopefully, the pandas won't be too sleepy when we're there.


minibeanie is 1 year & 1 month old

A matter of taste

While minibeanie can't be persuaded to try drinking from a cup, he has been very receptive of new foods :) Thank God!

His first birthday had been like an invisible line for me. Now he's technically able to eat everything we eat. Foods which had been advised against for allergy reasons are now off the list - egg whites, tomatoes, honey (still holding off on this one..) etc. Thus, these are what I'd been cooking up for minibeanie. So far, he'd loved all of them!

• noodles in pork broth with meatballs, pumpkin & cauliflower
• alphabet pasta with meatballs & pumpkin in a tomato sauce
• chicken breast in pork broth with peas, pumpkin, potato, onion & garlic
• Aloo Gobi, an Indian vegetarian dish of cauliflower & potato

Aloo Gobi had been an afterthought when I was making Chicken Briyani with Aloo Gobi as a side dish. Then I thought there was nothing in there that he couldn't have so I cooked it sans sel, then reserved a portion of it to be frozen in little cubes. I can't believe it still, this little guy is trying real Indian cuisine with the full works - cumin, mustard seeds, tumeric, garam masala (itself a blend of cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, nutmeg) & chili.

My goal is to introduce a diet as wide ranging in taste as possible without comprising on nutrition. While he may choose to prefer burgers & crispy chicken in future (I draw the line at fastfood though), he will have a palate that's not restricted to the blandness of typical baby porridge.

I think I'll make some maple syrup cookies for minibeanie now.... [in Cookie Monster's voice] I knows it, u knows it, DH will eat most cookies.


minibeanie is 1 year, 3 weeks & 3 days old

C is for Cup... not for now

After 5 days of the "offer cup, push away with pudgy hand" dance, I decided I'd give it a rest and take up the bottle weaning challenge a few weeks later. Did I start too late? After all, babies are creatures of habit, at least where minibeanie is concerned. And the more entrenched a habit/thingy is in a baby's life, the more resistance he's going to put up to change.

Well, at least I got him to accept cow's milk without much ado. In fact, he is totally impartial to it. In fact, some days when I didn't have formula milk ready, I'd just pour milk from our carton. So, that's a relief :)

Speaking of which, weaning the tutti (Finnish for pacifier) isn't something I'm looking forward to at all. Currently, he needs it to fall asleep and I'm not ready to go without sleep for a week :P Hence, the current strategy is to wait until he's 2 or 3 or at least until he knows baby pandas. The game plan is to bring him to the zoo/panda breeding center and say, "look, the baby panda needs your tutti & we will give your tutti to the panda, ok?..." Then a few days later, he'll receive a thank-you card from the baby panda ;) So there.

Rise & Shine

As recounted by DH,

"oh man this morning I got up at 7 when he was saying "kakka* kakka kakka" :D The problem was not the 7am time, it was the HUGE back-poop! biggest I've seen. Even his shoulders and upper arms had some by the time I carried him to the sink...

After I first used the sink, then gave him a quick standing shower in the tub (sans hair), and put new clothes on, I had to clean the mess in the 2 rooms..

-I had to wash the baby changer's top and mat
-even the _underside_ of my bathroom's sink had 'kakka' handprints!!

Then off to feed him. He finished all porridge like a good boy and 120ml milk too. By the time he was happy and back in his bed, it was 08:11 and I just managed to rush out to the bus :P geesh.."

* kakka = poop in Finnish. It's the 3rd word minibeanie has said after dada & down; and the 1st Finnish word.

minibeanie is 1 year, 2 weeks & 2 days old

Happy Birthday Singapore!

Happy 43rd Birthday, Singapore :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O67SyJiyzY (Thanks Mari for sending me the link)

minibeanie is 1 year & 2 weeks old

C is for cup

Day 3 of Cup Training

It's not going well at all. minibeanie for some reason hates the cup! He wouldn't even attempt to drink from it. Still, there had been progress, however slight. For the first 2 days, he wouldn't bring the spout to his mouth - today he did and made a motion to drink but stopped short when the cup was tilted. It's driving me nuts! Still, I must persevere :P


minibeanie is 1 year, 1 week & 5 days old

Pink is for boys

I was certain I didn't want to be a parent who enforce gender stereotypes. But like so many rules, such as no tv before the age of 2 as recommended by pediatricians, they are turned on their heads once we actually confront them.

Recently, in the bid to wean minibeanie from the bottle, I was trawling taobao.com for suitable Tupperware training cups. Alright...Tupperware isn't exactly known for kiddo stuff but I did hear from a friend with 2 boys who had used it when transitioning from the bottle. And so coming back to the issue. I found a suitable package with a 200ml cup (the perfect size that's not too large) with a lid on the spout. I was adamant it wouldn't be a sippy cup because research had shown there would be further problems when transitioning to a real cup. It came in blue and, of course, pink. And as it was a March package, supplies were running awfully low.

My first inclination was to go with blue. For some reason, it proved really difficult finding blue stocks (more boys in China?). Then, I turned the assumption on its head - why am I limiting my selection to blue? Honestly, I find the pink package more cheery than the muted blue. There was an internal struggle that lasted for half a day (hahah, see what I'm preoccupied with? :D ) before deciding that I wouldn't put minibeanie into a preconceived culturally influenced mold. Why can't little boys wear pink? Or big boys either? ;) In the past, I'd bought minibeanie a Ralph Lauren pink polo shirt. I also know of a 3 year-old precocious boy who would consciously pick out bright coloured clothes for himself, even pink ones. So, pink it is :)

Why do we put little children into straight jackets of colour conventions? I remembered having a hard time choosing 'nice' clothes for minibeanie in Finland. Little boys' fashion palate seems limited to browns, blues and greens - all of which can be somber and dull, imho.

For the sake of an academic discussion, the current idea that "pink is for girls & blue is for boys" didn't come about until mid 20th century. In fact, an American newspaper "The Sunday Sentinal" wrote on March 29, 1914,

"If you like the color note on the little one's garments, use pink for the boy and blue for the girl, if you are a follower of convention."

And in the Ladies Home Journal, June, 1918,

"There has been a great diversity of opinion on the subject, but the generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl. The reason is that pink being a more decided and stronger color is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl."

So what changed the trend? According to a website "Gender Specific Colors", by the 1930s, pink had already become associated with girls. This was demonstrated by the NAZIs use of a pink triangle to identify homosexuals. (The NAZIs had a complex system of colour and symbol coding such as the yellow star of David to identify Jews.



minibeanie is 1 year & 6 days old

Taking a walk

I can't begin to imagine how strange and fascinating everything must be for minibeanie. At probably 80cm tall, everything must feel loomingly huge. At this height, one will be up close & personal with the doggies, the leaf on the ground and the teeny ladybug in that shrub. What does he think of all these strange and exciting things?

He now points at everything that fascinates him. He squeals with joy at the sight of a doggie, but that's easy to decipher. Most times though, he squeals and points with an majestic air but we've no idea what has captured his attention or imagination. Is it the bin or perhaps it's the clock? We can only affirm whatever he points at with a 'knowing', "yes, that's right darling baby."


minibeanie is 1 year & 4 days old

Big Party: Happy 1st Birthday!

The little tyke is a year old! Where did all those months go? I can't believe he's officially no longer a baby :(

Saturday, July 26th, went really well. The food was on the table without too much delay, the weather held up (mostly) during our lunch at the poolside bbq area, the guests were amiable and the presents were fun. Most importantly, it actually appeared as if minibeanie knew what was going on and was on his best behaviour! Well, given that he'd normally cry when approached by enthusiastic strangers, DH & I were hugely surprised when he didn't whimper once during the whole party :) In fact, he sat in his high chair in a lordly fashion presiding over the entire singing and cake cutting ceremony. Then he made a royal mess by squishing his creamy mouse cake with both hands and smeared his high chair (& bits of my hair) with cream. Ok, since that was a very special day, all was forgiven quickly. minibeanie even got some concessions that mummy wouldn't even consider on normal days - he got away with sticks of chocolate biscuits when offered by Auntie Bernadett. All's well :)



But here's a behind-the-scenes story of the party.

Truth is, party planning started a month ago with planning the menu, shopping (stuff in Chengdu has a tendency to be stocked out so buy-&-freeze is the best strategy) and ordering party paraphernalia from the States.

T minus 14 days, I baked the tomato flavoured foccacia and Tuscan olive bread and froze them. T minus 3 days, I made the chocolate and peperonico cupcakes. T minus 2 days, the sour cream was made with the yoghurt machine (can't find sour cream here) and 2 fillings for the Finnish sandwich cake, voileipakakku. T minus 1 day, the pasta and Waldorf salads were made, the sour cream and salsa dips for the chips were made and the voileipakakku was assembled. Finally, on the day itself (T), icing and decorating the voileipakakku, icing the cupcakes, thawing and heating up the focaccia and bread, tweaking the salads to taste and generally a 101 things before everything's deemed fit for presentation.

On the table was an antipasti plate (black & green olives, salami milano & bresaola), cheese platter (danish blue, camembert & gouda), bread basket (tomato focaccia, tuscan olive bread, Finnish rye crackers & salted plain crackers for the cheese), Waldorf salad, pasta salad & ham & egg voileipakakku. For dessert at our apartment, the birthday cake from Breadtalk, an assortment of cookies, chocolate & peperoncino cupcakes and a selection of teas and coffee.

Phew, I was glad I managed to pull off the party! It would have been impossible if it wasn't for the help of my Ayi and a friend who popped by.

The next morning

minibeanie is 1 year old!!!