Blessings from Above

she loves the barney cake (actually she chose it) with her two cheeky cousins with my sis aka her godma family photo (incomplete) serving cake to her godma since Barney cannot be the main lead in the main party, I decided to order a small cake featuring him and his friends for our family celebration - my sis' two boys are in afternoon session so they all cannot join us on the actual day and thus a separate celebration. it was nothing fanciful, just a simple cake cutting and present opening session at my parents' place... (in case you are wondering, two 'men' are missing - my BIL has evening classes and dh was away for reservist training) anyway, i think kids enjoy their birthdays tremendously since they are in the limelight (okay, maybe not all kids - some are shy by nature and only like to be surrounded by familiar faces) - Claire is definitely one of them. :) she keeps chanting... birthday cake, happy birthday to me, open presents... etc.

since li'l one's birthday is just over a week away, she has started receiving birthday presents... first one was from dear daddy (kitchen set from toys'r'us) & the 2nd one is from aunty audrey who flew the present all the way from OZ, together with some supplies of rafferty garden! thank you aunty audrey! have a safe & fun trip to africa!

and more presents! is it any wonder that children enjoy festive seasons? while they may not understand the true meaning of x'mas yet, who can resist ripping off wrappers to reveal the surprises within? dd loves chanting 'new toys, new toys' non-stop nowadays... the 1st two presents that dd received this year... see how happy li'l one is with her presents! more presents = more smiles... photo with x'mas tree at grandma's house

me! what?!?! another year has gone by again!?!? some of you have been asking... so here it is - my present from dh this year (he thinks i've been hoarding his for too long! keke...) don't ask me why its in orange - its not my fav. color - i'd blame it on dh's habit of buying presents last minute... tsk tsk! *how abt a digital SLR next year (or maybe as a push present for our next baby)* wink, wink! :) photos from my 'celebratory dinner @ mingles la brassarie - big splash ' using the new camera yummy lobster pasta - unfortunately the lobster is tiny so its more like crayfish! li'l princess part of our celebration this time round - she was sleeping in my sarong sling same time last year so no photo for comparison!

finally got the photos for princess' party (from my friend) - unfortunately there aren't many. :(   I also added a couple of photos that we took after the party... and if i can find a way to convert the video, i'll upload the video clip as well. :)

we're left with 1 week to prepare for our little angel's 1st birthday party - so much to do and so little time! her birthday dress has arrived from US, together with her present from grandaunt (with a handwritten note to boot! see below... thank you grandaunt!)... i'm still waiting for the balance balloons to arrive though. :( today is little angel's birthday according to the lunar calendar and according to traditions, she should be fed 'mee sua' to symbolise eating real food and be seated within a circle of objects including wallet (rich!), ruler (teacher), pen (scholar), calculator (accountant), stethoscope (doctor) and so on... the 1st object picked up by the baby is supposed to be his/her future. if you are interested, read more . early this morning, i went to the market to buy chicken drumstick and 'mee sua' to cook for my little princess. i boiled the broth with chicken drumstick, minced chicken, onion, celery, carrot, broccoli, scallops and re...

i bought dh a bicycle for x'mas - hoping that he will go out there and get more exercise. i also hope that daddy and baby can spend more quality time together - since dh's idea of 'playing with baby' is daddy read newspaper, baby play beside daddy - so i fitted a child seat on the bicycle. however, our little princess is too tiny so i had to run alongside with the bicycle to 'catch' her in case she falls. here are the photos of dh, baby and new bicycle. :) notice how stress baby looks on her 1st bicycle ride? side note: baby's 1st tooth finally erupted today!

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... :)

we've had our domestic helper around for more than six months now... and unfortunately, most of the time, she's not much help. she's more of a domestic cleaner to me and i personally think we are better off just hiring a part-time cleaner coming in once or twice a week. i'm sure its hard to imagine how 'unhappy' i am to have help at home since domestic helpers have been living with me ever since i was a little gal (i was brought up by the likes of them) and i have been 'the maid' at home for my dh for the past four years. on most days, our helper makes my blood boil, especially when i have to give her instructions to do something... let me give you some examples. "Sri, cook rice" - she prepares fried rice "What would you like to drink, Sir?", Sir says packet drink: green color - she takes the yellow one. "Steam fish" - she cuts the pomfret vertically and makes soup "Sri, take out the pot" - she takes o...

time really flies... i spent the last eight weeks changing diapers, nursing and playing with my dear gal. i have four more weeks before i 'officially' have to start work and i'm so not looking forward to it! princess is starting to be a lot more fun... she sleeps less but for longer stretches, cries less and smiles more. i still continue to wake up every two hours at night because my body (namely, my breasts) TELLS ME to. its just impossible to stay asleep when your breasts feel rock hard and start leaking milk! in addition, my impending return to work brings on the question "who is going to look after princess?". that has kept me up for several nights. yes, we have a helper now but i'm not about to leave princess in the care of a stranger (yes, i still consider her as such because she has only been with us for a month). the original plan was to leave princess and the helper with my MIL... looking at how things are now, i'd say that's not quite poss...

even before i've finalised the details for princess claire's full month party, truckloads of gifts have arrived (ok, i'm exaggerating, not truckloads but definitely plenty!). indeed, we are blessed and loved by many and we are so glad! of course, some of the good gifts are courtesy of claire's grandparents' popularity. here are some of them... not forgetting loads of red packets! thank you all! Party Details 1) Buffet Dinner on 06 May 2007, 6pm 2) Buffet Lunch on 13 May 2007, 12 noon 3) Buffet Dinner on 13 May 2007, 6pm warning: gatecrashers will not be entertained! if you want to be invited, send me an email . i'll consider. :)

yes, thanksgiving is still a long way from now but as i sit and enjoy the new love in my life, i can't help but feel blessed. so today, i'm going to give thanks to the many wonderful people in my life. i give thanks mostly to the Lord, for a relatively easy pregnancy. i did not suffer all the discomfort associated with being pregnant. in the first trimester, i was just mostly tired. i slept through the first few weeks - never actually 'suffering' from nauseousness, morning sickness or the likes of it - i just hate my regular toothpaste. in the second trimester, i had more energy. i spent my days shopping and preparing for the arrival of my love. i ate and slept well. in the third trimester, things slowed down for me - i worked lesser but smarter. work was smooth sailing at most times. i give thanks for not putting on too much weight and whatever i gained mostly went to my new love. i give thanks to birthing a healthy and beautiful baby. i give thanks that i suffered n...

since i'm already into my 37th week, here's an update on my purchases and my wish list. i've bought most of the things that i'll need (or rather, that our princess will need) and here are the remaining items that i've yet to buy: - Britax Royale (which will be a gift from Claire's grandparents) - Medela Pump-in-Style Advanced Breast Pump (available @ all major stores) - BabyRock Carry Sling (from babejoy.com) - Bumper playmat (from babejoy.com) - Environmentally friendly diapers (from bumwear.com) - toys for her stroller (learning curve/lamaze, tiny love, gund, etc...) - bedtime storybooks (eric carle, karen katz, etc... ) can i also add what i would NOT like to receive?? - Brands Essence of Chicken (I get nose bleeds each time I attempt to drink that) - DOM (don't like the taste) - Milk Bottles, Clothes (unless they are equivalent to Carters or GAP! Princess has an image to uphold! :P) so you can see, we are more or less ready for princess' arrival. i...