Baby shower & Birthday party

I'm exhausted. This had been such a hectic weekend that I'm going to need this coming week to rest. On Saturday, my friends threw me a baby shower party. It was wonderful - lots of good food, nice presents, good gossip ;) and even better company. And today, Sunday, it is Alexander's 2nd birthday. And even though I didn't go the whole she-bang like last year's bash, there was still plenty of work baking the cake, making the hors d'oeuvres and decorating etc...

Oh yes, the cake. I decided on a race course design because minibeanie is a petrol-head. He loved it! He didn't seem to have much appetite for the cake but the toy cars on the cake? Those are all he wanted. Assembling the cake was a cinch (& pretty fun for the parents!) but baking the 2 sponges was a huge challenge that took up most of my Saturday. The first attempt went to the freezer because it didn't rise much (I'd use them for a future dessert), the second attempt with a different technique was much better, and because I needed TWO sponge cakes, I'd to bake another one. But the third attempt was a disaster. It went straight into the bin without reaching the oven. Finally, at 10pm Saturday, the fourth and final sponge cake was baked. Thankfully, this one went well.
The birthday tea party went well. I'd invited the same friends in my baby shower; this time the boys joined the party as well :)



minibeanie is 2 years old!!!
microbeanie is 32 weeks 4 days in utero

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

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

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!!!

Big Party planning

In exactly a week's time, minibeanie will be a year old! What a milestone! :) I still can't believe he will be leaving babyhood so soon. Already, he is displaying traits of toddlerhood by exercising his independence and will (usually at nap & mealtimes ;) Hmph, and a couple of months ago, I was wishing he would grow up - what, and leave the pliant & easy-going baby behind?

But we must move on ;) Preparations for the Big Party have been well underway. Not to shock folks who don't know me, I've made my excel sheets on guest list, menu => grocery shopping list, party supply order etc... :D About the latter, faced with the limited choice in Chengdu, I'd turned to Partypro.com. It was great! I'd to curb the shopping fanatic in me and not get party plates, hats, napkins, decorations for his 2nd, 3rd birthdays, our 5th, 10th anniversaries, Christmas.... you get the idea. It wasn't so much the cost of the items that prohibited this hitherto hidden streak in me (I pride myself on being a prudent spender), it was the darn shipping cost! To sum it up, the total damage was USD199, with USD59 being the shipping :P Happily, I'd gotten a friend/neighbour to share in the booty, a friend who lives to shop and has 2 little boys' birthdays to plan ;)

I just wish I've my dear friends from Singapore and Finland to share in the day.


minibeanie is 11 months, 3 weeks & 2 days old

Crystal Ball

I'm beginning to get an idea of what lies ahead. If an 8 month old can be as rambunctious & curious as minibeanie, the toddler years will be anything but a walk in the park. Everyday, he burns off gadzillion calories by crawling, stumbling, standing, falling all over his rattles, playmat & me. Where does he get all that energy? Amazing stuff those broccoli, tofu, peas, pumpkin, cheese & apples. Anyway. If he can still be confined (barely) to a playpen or bed, what mischief will he be up to when he's up & running??

Meanwhile, before he's able to spin out of control like a hurricane, I'm his pillar of support (literally) when he pulls himself up, his soft place to fall on (especially when he falls on my midsection) and an endless source of curiosity when he sticks a wet finger into my ear or nostril.

Last Saturday, we had a sneak peek of what lies ahead at a 1 year old's birthday party. Fun ;) Here, DH looked like he would very much like a big slice of cake.


minibeanie is 8 months, 2 weeks & 6 days old

Cigars & Curry

DH finally had his '10 toes' party tonight. It's a tradition in Finland that when a baby's born, the dad invites his male friends to a party to celebrate a further loss of freedom. No, I'm kidding. It's of course to celebrate his joy at the new addition to the family and what better way than to have a party with sauna & cigars.

Anyhow, I made a Huge pot of chicken curry & a chocolate cake with warm choc sauce for his party. And I know he brought from our collection, champagne, cognac, a French red & a Hungarian dessert wine at the very least.

Not to be outdone, I had a hen party of my own :D 2 girlfriends came over to have a curry lunch but instead of cognac, we had excellent jasmine tea with mooncakes. It was a great way to spend an afternoon.

By the way, to be politically correct, those cigars were made of chocolate.

minibeanie is 1 month, 3 weeks & 6 days old