Blessings from Above

as always, christmas is the time of the year we enjoy the company of our extended family, indulge in good food and exchange gifts - this was done slightly earlier this year (on eve of x'mas eve) as we made plans to make it a little more special for little one.. our family was blessed with many gifts from loved ones and in return, we had a great time handing out gifts. :) on x'mas eve, we checked into the ritz to spend x'mas together as a family! coincidentally, we had to attend a wedding dinner on the same night on behalf of parents-in-law (who were away on holiday) at the same venue, which works out very well since we can save on the travelling time and catch up on some well-deserved sleep (for me, that is!). ritz is truly a 5-star hotel - we were greeted with a comfortable looking baby cot & baby toiletries was provided for little one. the room was extremely comfortable and had a fantastic view! well, what can i say? it was a wonderful 1st x'mas with our litt

from santarina claire... :)

I've been wanting to take little princess for a dip in the pool for some time now (ever since we received a cute little swimming costume for her first month party) but the weather was always not agreeable... and on two different days, God blessed us with great weather and i managed to bring claire for her first dip in the pool... i say she's a true water baby... a little apprehensive when i just put her into the pool and within seconds, she was totally at ease and enjoying herself! 29 November 2007: 1st dip in the pool see her happy & satisfied face after her first dip! 21 December 2007: the 2nd time i brought her to the pool - this time with her brand new float!

with the festive season around the corner, we have been going out quite a bit - mostly to catch up with friends and do last minute shopping... and thus, i managed to 'check out' a few of the nursing rooms available in the local malls and here's what i think of them... Suntec City (located at level 3, near toys'r'us and where all the 'baby shops' are) what i like: changing stations just beside the sink what i dislike: no privacy - nursing corner has no doors nor drapes Forum, Orchard (located at level 1, near the washrooms) what i like: the bright cheery colors, rather comfortable armchair for nursing what i dislike: aircon vent just above changing stations (blowing directly on baby) HDB Hub, Toa Payoh (located at level 2, near the washrooms) what i like: aesthetically appealing, nice comfortable armchair for nursing what i dislike: nowhere to put things @ the changing stations, nursing rooms are too small - cannot fit in my tiny aprica strol

my sleeping beauty! she now can go back to sitting position after crawling, walk holding furniture for support, bend her knees and sit after standing, say 'bear, ba, ma, ye, claire' (notice all the words rhyme!), climb over obstacles (namely me and dh), protest LOUDLY when you take away her toys, look for dog when we ask her 'where's chewy?', push our hands away when we try to feed her, use her tongue to prevent food from being pushed into her mouth... that's just some of the things i can remember off my head.

we have been really busy the last couple of weeks, for a couple of reasons: x'mas is around the corner and there was plenty of gift hunting to do... once the gift hunting was done, there was plenty of gift wrapping to do... its the time of the year that i send out greetings to my clients, to 'tell' them that i am still around (and in biz!) in addition, there was a x'mas party to prepare for (for claire's friends) & this year, i decided that i wanted to 'create' the x'mas ambience for my little princess (being her 1st x'mas)... so i spent some time planning and buying the appropriate decor for the festive mood. unfortunately, i was unable to cajole dh to get a x'mas tree for the house - his reason; we simply have no space and our little princess will probably 'eat' all the trinkets hanging off the tree (no doubt its true)... *sighz* but well, i did the best i can... what do you think? (dh promised that we'll buy a bigger house and

sorry i need 'release' my frustrations once more... about my domestic helper (NOT!!) i teach her to make spring roll and wantons; she makes spring roll with my wanton fillings i teach her to cook chicken curry and lontong (vegetable curry); she throws carrot into the chicken curry i teach her to make english and chinese tea; she puts SUGAR into the chinese tea i ask her to cook proper food to eat; she 'steals' cheezels and eat with her kopi! i say 'steal' not because i don't allow her to eat but because she had 'GUILTY' written all over her face when i came home one day and 'caught' her snacking on cheezels...