Recycle

This is what we do with the cardboard box from the IKEA bookcase.

Having Fun with IKEA EXPEDIT Bookcase

We brought home a 149X149cm EXPEDIT bookcase from IKEA on a trip to PJ last week. I was actually planning to buy this bookcase after browsing the IKEA website before our trip, and has planned how to carried the big thing all the way back to Penang. So when hubby had to attend a business dinner in PJ last Friday, we tagged along. This was how we carried the bookcase, hubby and I sitting at the front.

Ziyi was so curious when hubby started to assemble the bookcase, trying to help and watching very carefully.

Zihan was so bored in her playpen during the bookcase assembly. Hubby and ziyi was busy with the bookcase, and I was busy snapping pictures... :)

This is mine, "I'll help papa to put the screw.."

And she put it one by one. Despite several attempts asking her to stay away and let her dad do it.

Ziyi said, "PAPA NEED MY HELP"

And she wouldn't let us touch the bag of screws.

And she did put all the screw in places, while at the same time hubby and I was watching Astro AEC One million star singing competition...

And I said to hubby, "see, she is right, you really need her help" haha

She was so concentrated putting all the screws in places.

And tighten it.

Zihan was getting sleepy...

Finally the bookcase was ready... I let both girls in the selves and have fun for a while.

Ziyi inside the shelf.

And zihan too.

Hubby started to assembly the LEXMAN insert for the bookcase.

Zihan can played by herself for a long time, while ziyi kept putting small toys in for her.

Finally the bookcase was up against the wall. And ziyi started transferring the things from the old TROFAST shelf into the new bookcase. The bookshelf cost RM499 while the LEXMAN insert cost RM35 each. IKEA has so many add-ons to this simple bookcase that could easily add up to more than RM1000. Smart!

The NOW empty IKEA TROFAST shelf. I'm still thinking how to utilise this one.

"I am not a monster"

When the big one and small one finished their milk this morning, I jokingly said, "very good girls, big monster and little monster finished nennen"

Then ziyi said, "only meimei is the little monster, I am a girl"
Then I went on, "girl? big monster lah"

To my surprised, ziyi said" I got eyes, a nose, and a mouth TO TALK, I am not a monster"

Then she went on, "meimei is a little monster because meimei has no mouth" And zihan was on pacifier at that time...

One World Hotel, Petaling Jaya

I just came back from a night stay @ One World Hotel in PJ. It was our first time staying at this hotel. It cost RM345nett for a standard room. And I am happy with my overall experience there.

1119 was the room that we occupied.Very comfortable king size bed, that fits four of us. Luckily zihan didn't fall from the bed, I put a extra pillow on the floor just in case.

A few paintings hanging on the wall.
A generous amount of towels...

A complete set of amenities.

A few restaurants on premise.

Mini bar.

Complimentary in-house two bottles of mineral water.

We didn't utilize the bath robes, the ironing facilities, or the safety box either.

Personalized guest name on tv screen. I was impressed. Hubby should have checked in with my name, so I can see my name appear on TV screen as well... hohoho.

Zihan likes to rotate this chair around and around and around.

Zihan likes to go under the bedside table and amused herself.

Despite a constant reminder from me, it didn't stop zihan from climbing up the sofa again and again and again.

Zihan learned to walk by herself a lot when we were in the room. I also found out that she knew how to get down from the bed or sofa safely. I am still waiting for zihan to be able to walk independently. Right now, she is able to stand up by herself without any support and walk maximum 5 steps ahead... yey!!

Dear Zoo...

I wrote to the zoo to sent me a pet. They send me an..... ELEPHANT! He was too heavy. I sent hem back.

So they sent me a.... GIRAFFE.. He was too TALL. I sent him back.

So they sent me a... FROG.. He was too JUMPY. I sent him back.

So they sent me a... MONKEY. He was too NAUGHTY. I sent him back.

So they sent me a... SNAKE. He was too SCARY. I sent him back.

So they thought very hard, and sent me a.... DOG. He was PERFECT. I kept him.

"Dear Zoo" My old time favourite cloth book. We got it when ziyi was around 15 months.

This is zihan last month, smiling cheekily at the camera. Sometimes she can make this funny expression when I pointed my camera at her.

Pig Princess

Ziyi asked me to tie her finger with a ribbon, and so I did. I wasn't paying attention to her until I saw this......

Ohlala.... She said the wrist rattle is her "watch", then the ribbon on her finger is her "ring", and the pig headband is her "crown", and her dad's badge from some exhibition as her "necklace", and she declared herself as a "pig princess"... I almost choke... haha

Red Rashes No More

After 3 nights mild fever last week, red rashes started to appear on zihan's face and body. I wasn't too concern initially. I thought it must be heat rashes that appear after the fever. Because last time when ziyi was a baby, similar rashes appear on her body after fever. But after the second day, the rashes didn't disappear, and hubby was very concerned that it could be "chut phiak" (forgive me as I don't know this term in English) So we brought zihan to her pediatrician.

After a few questions, the doctor told me that it could be something something rashes. I just couldn't brought up the name the doctor told me until now. He told us that was a "ke phiak", it was further characterized by a small lump at the lower back of the head. Yes, I felt the small lump there. No medicine was prescribed, only Vitamin C. He told us the rashes will dissapear after 4 days.

Red rashes all over zihan's body 3 days ago...

Tadaa.... no more rashes for these two days, and zihan was back to her normal appetite yesterday, after a few days being a fussy eater.

I must make sure to check on the doctor's door about the name of the rashes next time during zihan's immunisation schedule.

Number FIVE or Number TWO

Whenever ziyi didn't listen to me lately, I will ask her, "Do you want a number FIVE or number TWO?" and she would answer "NO" and quickly follow my order.

Number FIVE represent a smack with a hand with FIVE fingers. I would usually asked her, "Do you want number FIVE on your phiku (ass) or on your legs?" If she answered "legs", then I would gently land a smack on her legs. Then she will obediently listen to me.


Number TWO stands for a pinch with TWO fingers. I would use this for a naughtier act. And ziyi would immediately understand what I mean and quickly listen to me. She knows that I mean what I said.

I found that using number TWO and number FIVE has a little bit less stress than a smack or pinch. I like the humour when I am using that.

I don't know how long my number TWO and number FIVE will work. I sure need to come up with something new very soon.

Carseat Upgrade

I bought a new car seat for ziyi during mothercare sales last week. When I saw the promotional leaflets that Graco Nautilus was having a 30% + 10% off, I immediately called up the store and reserved the car seat as they only have 1 in stock. It was about RM700+ after discount. This car seat comes with a cup holder, looks comfortable with 5 way safety harness and adjustable headrest, which can be used for a few more years, before converted into a booster seat. Zihan gets to sit in ziyi's Evenflo leather car seat which I bought from Takashimaya babyfair in Singapore when I was pregnant with ziyi. I think it cost about SGD390 after 70% discount. It was a compulsive purchase as I didn't know much about infant carseat at that time. I like the fact that it's leather and it's reclineable to almost sleeping position.

We are planning to go to Singapore by car in two weeks time to attend my hubby's niece wedding. This will be the first time for zihan travel all the way from Penang to Singapore by car, and the second time for ziyi. The carseat would surely kept them safe and still.

A Visit to Billion Supermarket

When I want to do some groceries shopping, I would first think of JUSCO, because it's new and pretty close to my place and to accumulate the member's points, or CAREFOUR after I read it's promotional leaflets, or TESCO for it's late night shopping. Seldom did I think of going to BILLION until today.

BILLION is a local supermarket which I like to shop for it's many varieties of local produce or other snacks that we seldom see at other BIG supermarkets. I think one thing that I don't like about BILLION is that a lot of its popular items like Milo has a shorter time span before the best before date. The Milo that I purchased today has a best before date until March 2010, it's was RM6.90 for a 450 gram packet.

I was surprised to see that the regular items that I bought was a lot cheaper at BILLION. I bought 3 packs of wee wee drypers @ RM34+ each at CAREFOUR yesterday, and it was on promotion price, and two days before I saw the same items was selling @ RM40+ at JUSCO. Guess how much I saw at BILLION, it was RM31.90. Cheh! Thought I was so clever and save a lot by buying 3 big packs from CAREFOUR, only to find out that I could save another RM9 from BILLION. NO! I didn't buy anymore to save extra, but I bought Huggies Ultra mega jumbo packs @ RM40.90, which I think is very cheap, because the same item was selling at around RM50 at other BIG supermarkets. I also got a pack of DRYPANTZ @! RM29.90.

But for formula milk, it's cheaper at the local baby shops that I buy regularly from. I bought Pediasure 1.8kg @ RM106.50 each from the baby shop yesterday, and BILLION was selling at RM110.90 for the same thing.

So now I would know where to go next time I do my groceries shopping. I better stop now before I start sounding like one of those supermarket promoters.

Maid Heaven

It's a trend that a lot of young children in Indonesia has a designated maid. It's more known as "SUSTER", which is a specialized maid in caring young children.

This is a typical Sunday at one of the chargeable indoor children playground in one of the prestige mall in Jakarta, Plaza Indonesia. The "suster" are those who dress in a nurse type uniform. How many "suster" can you spot in the picture below?One would often find the maids or the "suster" are the ones who carry the young children during outings than the mother themselves. The maid or "suster" would usually carry the children in a well known Indonesian type carrier that we called "sarong". It's a long piece of cloth, usually with batik prints, and tied up around the shoulder to make a pouch for the baby like the picture below.

Below is another typical young kids birthday party in Indonesia. When one invite the child, they might as well include the guest's maid in the list. Most of the people I know, just couldn't live without a maid and a "suster" to care for each of their young children.
When I was in Jakarta, I was glad to enjoyed the privilege of having maids. My youngest aunt and her daughter were more than happy to have zihan with them. So, zihan was staying with them at their house for most of the nights during our visits to Jakarta, while ziyi prefer to stick with me. It gave me a lot of quality time with my grandpa and relatives, and "ME TIME" with my friends. I also sneaked out to have my hair cut, and have my rotten tooth extracted.

This is my youngest aunty's daughter carrying zihan in a pouch.

And my aunty's maid who loves zihan very much.

Having a "suster" is like having a big privilege for me which I enjoyed once in a while. I think I would plan to visit Jakarta more often next year. I don't think I can handle a maid living with me on my own, there was just too many troubles and consequences that I need to face. Just like the picture below.....

It was ziyi asking my grandpa's maid to help her wear her socks and shoes. She was very well aware how to use the maid to her benefits, which is something I don't want her to get used to. She know how to wear socks and shoes on her own pretty well, but just couldn't be bothered.

Another Purchase

Just bought a set of DVD from winktolearn.com... sigh.. another online shopping in the middle of the night.

It has been months since I have a eye on this DVD sets program on speaking and reading Chinese and English. And since I decided not to enrolled ziyi in a preschool next year, I hope my spending of SGD189 on the DVD could produce some results for the three of us. Ziyi, Zihan, and myself, since I have a very minimum Chinese background.

Zihan Having Mild Fever

It has been two nights zihan having mild fever. I didn't use thermometer to measure her temperature this time, I only feel around her forehead, neck, arm, and legs. I know that it's still below 39 degree Celsius. I use paracetamol suppository from the doctor prescription last time. It's easier for me rather than feeding her liquid Panadol.

Zihan woke up this morning around 6am, I felt that she was quite warm, so I thought of giving her another suppository. When I removed her diaper, I found out that the last suppository wasn't properly inserted. *slap forehead*. No wonder she had trouble sleeping soundly. So I inserted a new suppository for her.

Hopefully she recover very very soon....

Eventful Trip

Celebrating my grandpa birthday in Jakarta on November 5, 2009. Grandpa was posing a picture with all his daughters and his only son.

Then I flew to Medan to pay respect for my father's 3rd year of passing away. I usually schedule the 13th of November every year to go back to Medan for this occasion.

Then my mummy's birthday on the 18 November 2009. She was posing with her 2 elder grandchildren.

And half expected event, the arrival of my second nephew on the 11 November at 1.05am. Just in time for me to hold him the next day...

Home Sweet Home

The Air Asia flight QZ8074 from Medan to Penang yesterday was very smooth. I came back by myself with ziyi and zihan, and it's also the very first time zihan slept all the way from take off till landing... approximately 45 minutes flight.

Ziyi was as usual, the sleeping queen, sleeping from the check in time till the plane landed at Penang airport. I have one stroller with me till the boarding gate by the airplane side. I would carry zihan in a babybjorn baby carrier while I push sleeping ziyi in the stroller. The air crew would then help me carry sleeping ziyi from the stroller up the airplane stairs to our seat number.

The flight was unusually quiet yesterday, I think less than 20% occupancy. I hope Air Asia is not going to cut it's Penang Medan route. I like the departure time which is late in the afternoon.

The Beginning of My Worry

CHEEKY FACE ZIHAN.... love you so much...

Yei... it 6.24am now.. and zihan didn't wake up in the middle of the night after she went to bed at around 12midnight... byebye jet lag...

Instant Mie Goreng @ 5am

It has been crazy. Just as I thought I hit the jackpot bingo of getting over this jet lag thing, my little one woke up again at 2am and couldn't sleep until 4am just now.

So here I am, unable to sleep on my own as I was feeling hungry, I cooked up a pack of instant mie goreng, AGAIN, for the second night. I have been having meals in these odd hours after coming back from Paris.

The three of us (me and my 2 daughters) were waking up at 2pm, having breakfast at 3pm and having lunch at 9pm. And eventhough the kids were having their milk at midnight just before they slept, the youngest one still couldn't adjust herself yet. I think ziyi might get over the jetlag by tomorrow as she didn't wake up in the middle of the night just now.

This is the first time I've been to someplace with a big time difference, I hope things will get back to normal when I travel to Jakarta next week. Yes, it's time to visit my grandfather again and to celebrate his birthday, then I will fly to my hometown Medan to pay respect to my late father for the 3rd year and to celebrate my mother's birthday as well. I am glad they all fall in about the same time, that I only need to book my air ticket once.

Good Morning to you! and Good night to me!

I Couldn't Sleep

It's already 3 nights after I return from Europe, and I find myself hard to adjust to the local time. I was awake whole night yesterday till the sunrise, and was having supper at 4am....

It was a great trip as we walked our way everyday around the city of Barcelona, Madrid, and Paris. The toughest part was my flight from Penang to Barcelona with Singapore airline Boeing 777 midnight flight and arriving 7am the next morning. It was a nightmare as I couldn't sleep due to several turbulence and buckle seatbelt called, and zihan's constant waking up. At the end I totally lost my appetite for the next few days with fully bloated tummy... luckily we stayed in an apartment, and we can cooked light porridge...

Both ziyi and zihan are also having jet lag... they were sleeping late and waking late past lunch time. And ziyi had a fever as soon as we touched down to my home sweet home. I think it could be due to weather difference. Today ziyi is a lot better, I put her on antibiotics as she complained earache few days ago...

I still have lots of unpacking to do, lots of pics to sort out. We took like thousands of pictures in those two weeks duration. And I still need to sleep and rest to recover. It's funny that we could accomplished a lot during our trip, we went out during lunch time till night time, we walked and see a lots of things, but 24 hours doesn't seem enough once I get home....

Zihan @ 37.5 Degree Celcius

Zihan woke up to a slight fever this morning, it was around 37.5 degree Celsius. After she finished 210ml of Enfagrow A+, I gave her Panadol. And zihan was particularly fussy, and I have to carry and while typing up my post.

I would usually wait and see if the fever go beyond 38 to 38.5 degree Celsius before I gave her Panadol, only give her cold compress around the neck and head. But we are leaving for Europe in 4 days, and I am not gonna take any chances. I might bring her to doctor tomorrow if she doesn't get better.

Could it be the chickenpox injection she took 3 days ago? But the doctor told me it won't cause any fever, even if it does, it will only show FOURTEEN days after the injection, today is only day four.

My New Toy

I have been wanting a new DSLR camera for quite some time. I made my decision to purchase latest Nikon for beginner level yesterday, the NIKON D3000. For RM2389, I get the body, the standard lens, 4GB Toshiba memory disc, tripod, carrying case, lens protective cover, and extra battery.

Few months ago, I was actually thinking of getting the D5000 model which come with video recording functions, which was about RM1000 more expensive than the model I got. I decided I don't really need the video recording function.

I now have a new toy to bring with us to our trip next week.... Hopefully we can all stand the bulkiness and take great pictures... Thank you hubby... so I guess this is my belated birthday present or belated valentine present or belated anniversary present? :)

Ziyi First Swim Lesson

When my mother came over, I usually stay with her @ her apartment in Penang. There is a private swimming pool which I seldom utilized. Since ziyi is already 3 years old, and she likes to play with water so much, I want her to learn some basics of swimming and safety. I expect her to be able to float by herself in deep water. I am glad to find a swimming instructor who is able to give a one on one lesson, and paid per lesson basis, and who is willing to come over to our apartment's swimming pool. Lesson 1: The weather was a bit windy with not much sun that morning. The instructor was guiding her through the water all the time. By the end of the lesson, there was a 6 year old girl who is already able to swim by herself. Ziyi was so excited that she made a few near attempts to dive herself into deep pool when she see the other girl in there. This is one of the reason I started her on swim lesson. She is uncontrollable when she see other kids around in the pool.

I was also having a relaxing time with zihan, who also loves to splash water with both hands. This float just gets on her way and prevent her small arms to reach to the water to splash.

Lesson 2: The weather was super hot. Before we enter swimming pool, I told ziyi, "Ahyoo.. so hot, how to swim?". She just replied, "Already put sunblock, can swim maaa..." The weather and my laziness are the main reasons that I seldom bring my kids to the swimming pool. I cancelled my swimming intention when the weather is too hot, too windy, too cloudy, raining cats and dogs, or when I am too tired, too sleepy....

Ziyi with her baby arm floats... which didn't give her the confident to let go of herself into the water, because it cannot support her full weight... I am going to get her a new one for the next lesson.

Black and White.... Ziyi got sun tanned after an hour in the swimming pool.

When I forgot to bring stoller....

Ziyi and Scratch Knee

During our cruise, my mother realized that ziyi's knee has a light scratch and asked me to have a look a it. It's just a little scratch, so I took an alcohol swab to clean it and apply manuka honey active 15+, before I stick the Betadine antiseptic bandage. She was very reluctant and scream and tried to push my hands away from her scratch knee. She was acting like she just came out from a major operation and was unable to walk or came down from the bed. I have to wait for her slowly, yes.. very slowly to move down from the bed into the bathroom to brush her teeth and washed up. She just came back from the ship childcare centre, so I need to make sure she was all cleaned up before she went to bed. She refused to have shower, so I just washed everything else except that scratch.

Ziyi with her hurtful knee, and using her hands to protect us from going near it... She was behaving like it was the most painful thing in the world.... but you know what happened before she realized the scratch?

I think she fell down inside the childcare centre and nobody realized, so when I went to pick her up, I also didn't realized myself because she was so over active and went to the next door arcade to play some more.....

And she was climbing up the highchair by herself and get hold of the toy gun....

And ran around and settled for a while here....

Then she started to climb up again ....

....in a very un-girly manners...and played for a while in this ship one...
And we even walked down to deck 8 to have a look at the pictures. She was so happy and running around then... see her mouth... it was from the all-you-can-eat strawberry flavor ice cream party inside the childcare...

So the scratch on her knee was already there all the time she went up and down playing in the game arcade... We all just couldn't stop laughing at her silly act....

Activities Onboard Superstar Virgo Cruise

It was packed and full of passengers on the Friday and Sunday cruise last week. While waiting for the line, we decided to take a little stroll at the Vivocity shopping centre right next door.

It was my brother pushing sleeping ziyi back to the cruise centre after our shopping.

Yes!! finally we get our passport and cabin cards...

First thing that I always do when I get on the ship is to check their "Star Navigator" to see what activities around the ship for the day, and planned my day accordingly...

The first night on the cruise we brought ziyi to the "Galaxy of the Stars" where there was a band performing. She loves the spotlights and the music and slowly but surely moved onto the centre of the stage and started to dance ala ziyi style... :)

Then we went to the show on the Gala night. We went there early to choose the best seat. Balcony card holders can choose to sit on the upper deck, and I do prefer ziyi to sit on the upper deck because she can have a better view and won't disturb passenger in the front row as ziyi cannot sit still and likes to move around all the time.

I regreted that I brought her to this show where she learned the sexy girls flashing butts with only thongs and super mini skirt to the audience...

Ziyi with my youngest brother in the children swimming pool. This is the first time ziyi played on the water slide while getting more confident with the float in the swimming pool.

This is my favourite moment on the ship. There is usually an outdoor band in the adult swimming pool area in the afternoon at the start of the cruise where there are singing, dancing and fun activities. I enjoyed the music, fresh air, and watching people walking pass by...

There was a singing competition going with the contestants from the casino VIP members last Saturday. There were even a panel of judges. It was quite amusing watching mostly aunties and uncles singing... Ziyi was at the childcare centre while I was watching the show.

The arcade on deck 10. Ziyi likes to come and play in this area, without tokens or coins of course. She is too small to understand and enjoy the games, only a waste of my money.. hehe. Can you spotted ziyi at the far end. My threat to leave her alone was ignored. So I just have to be patient and wait until she was willing to follow me back to the cabin.

Line dancing. Ziyi had a very long concentration span on this activity, where she followed the instructions with all the other passenger from the beginning right till the end. I think it lasted for 30 minutes.

The "Charlie Childcare Centre" where ziyi spend about 6 hours inside, with 3 hours straight at one of the time. This is the first time ziyi went solo without me. She is yet have to start school at the beginning of next year. It cost SGD15 per hour for children 1 to 4 years old, and SGD10 for children 5 to 12 years old. I thought it was only SGD 8 and SGD 6 respectively a couple years ago... :)

There is usually an "Open House" at the beginnging of every cruise where parents and children are invited inside the childcare centre free of charge. All the other time is chargeable and parents are unable to go inside at all.

We went to watched the "ANITA SARAWAK" singing show. I never know this artist before. She is a great singer and entertainer with great body for her age. That was the last part of the show where she made everyone stand up and dance to the "Celebration" song. I was lazily sitting on the chair carrying zihan before ziyi insisted everyone of us to stand up and clapped our hands as per requested...

My relatives rent a Jenga games from the "Activity Centre". It was free for the first 2 hours (i think) with deposit which is returnable when we return the game. Ziyi also know how to play this game because she watched my sister in law played this before months ago.

View of Penang from our cabin. It's finally a week and it's time for me to disembark and come back to my home sweet home.

A bath rope can also occupied zihan for quite a long time while we waited for our passport clearance.

Inside the tender boat. My sleeping princess ziyi was in her deep slumber all the way till she reached home which is another one hour drive back across penang bridge.

I am glad my mother was around to help me with the kids. This is a view from the Penang Jetty where we got down from the tender boat. The cruise ship was too big that it has to be anchored far away safely from the jetty.

While I am in Singapore...

We went to Orchard Rd Paragon shopping centre for lunch at my favourite restaurant Sushi Tei. There were 5 of us, my mother, my brother, and my 2 girls. Ziyi was so excited to get to play on the tiny merry-go-around at the Paragon Playground. This is the first time I agreed to insert the $2 to make it move... since zihan can also get to enjoy and play.... don't waste money since it's so expensive...

The Barney ride, SGD1....

Ziyi entertained zihan while we shopped around... I didn't quite in the mood for shopping.. because I hate to carry the shopping around..... with 2 kids, it's just not very convenient to make any purchase...

We went to MUJI to get some sweets. Ziyi insisted that she wanted the marshmallow, and she was so impatiently holding up the pack of marshmallow at the cashier while squeezing and squeezing the package. My mother told her that she can only choose one out of so many choices, and it took her a long time to make her final decision on the marshmallow. So she wasn't going to put it back even if I told her so....

I just found out that there was a NEW shopping centre called ION...

Ziyi was walking quite a lot from Paragon shopping centre up to here next to Wisma Atria, before she finally gave up and request to sit down on the stroller.... and I have to put up my sling to carry zihan,.... ziyi immediately fell asleep after a short push in the stroller...

The food court at the basement.. called FOOD OPERA.... hearing the name is already quite grand... there were lots of varieties of food to choose from...

The children toilet. I couldn't resist snapping some pictures of the toilet because it was just too grand and clean...

Singapore Airline office was relocated in this shopping centre at the top floor...

Ziyi having macarons..... My brother bought a mixture of six pieces of SGD12...To be honest, I didn't like it, it was too sweet. My brother and my mother also think the same. This is the first time we tried macarons.... It was from TWG Tea counter... even the mooncake sample that I tried, I found it too sweet...

One of my fantasy shop with lots of small figurines. I like window shopping in this shop....

Ziyi in front of a florist shop, with a giant flower arrangement ready to be send to the grand opening of CHRISTIAN DIOR....

We decided to have dinner at one of the Chinese restaurant at the top floor. My hand was so itchy that I have to snap this picture of this private room... so grand... I am so sua pa kao... (jungle monkey)

We were the first customers... but the place was quickly packed.

The restaurant menu.... it was of high quality paper...

My shark fin soup SGD38, about 75gram worth of shark fins... it was nice, and different style to other many types of shark fin soup that I tried before. That was zihan first time tasting shark fin, and she had a big bowl of rice with it...

My brother inside the elevator of Ion shopping centre...

Eye catching....

On the way to taxi stand. Coming to this shopping centre is like entering a 5+star hotels, most staff I saw were wearing black suits, there was even a guy wearing proper uniform at the taxi stand to help us with our things and stroller....

Cruising

I just got out from the cruise with my mother, ziyi and zihan. We shared a balcony room, the 4 of us...... That was the arrangement that I made for zihan, I prefer to confined a small space for her to wonder around rather than to request for a baby cot. Instead, I requested 2 additional blankets to spread on the floor during sleep time, and 6 additional pillows to cover the hard surfaces and sharp corners...

I just found out that zihan likes water, she will splish splash both her hands all the time, she even protested when I take her out.... I took both girls to swimming 2 times, while my mother waiting for us at the side.... Taking both girls to swim certainly takes up a lot of time, both girls just have to wait for their turn when it's time to clean up and shower afterwards.....

The much awaited menu for the gala dinner.

I was trying to push ziyi and carry zihan around before the gala dinner, so that both of them sleep while I could enjoy the dinner..... Too bad.... BOTH of them could not fall asleep....

The show that kept ziyi awake for the night...

Taking pictures while waiting for disembarkation....

I am now in Singapore until I join the cruise again on Friday and Sunday then back in Penang on Monday..... I need some sleep.... I can hardly have ME time while on cruise because ziyi is just too excited about everything....

3 Years 3 Months Ziyi

Ziyi is now almost 100cm, around 15kg+ ( I think). I haven't weigh her for a while. She is still on Pediasure complete vanilla flavor 3 times a day, 150ml each in a bottle. 1.8kg tin packing is around RM108. Ziyi is very particular about her milk, she can differentiate her Pediasure from other brand of milk. A month ago, I tried to switch her milk to Enfagrow A+, but end up she was drinking her milk super slow, about 30 mins. Then I tried Mamil gold, step 3 and step 4, with this one, the bottle still remain at 150ml an hour later, even though she put the bottle teat in her mouth all the time... So, zihan gets to try and finished different kind of milk, luckily her little sister is not as picky about milk brand.

She still likes playground very much, especially there are other kids around. She can make a friendly gesture, and a moment later I already found her playing and chasing with other kids ...

This is her latest passport photo. We brought her to take this picture because she needs to submit the latest picture to the immigration and attached in her passport. I love this picture very much. Her facial expression in this pictures just make me want to have a look at it again and again and again...

Occasionally, she likes to play with this babysling from Peekaroobaby and carry her "botak" (bald) baby around...

Ziyi is getting better in going up and down the escalator...

She is particularly fascinated about make-up....

Sometimes, she eats very fast.. but most of the time, I need to hold my patience in waiting for her to finish her rice...

Ziyi likes to play balls, big or small, and throw into a bucket.. like playing basketball... and she will shout, "Hooray.. I winner I winner.." when the ball she threw landed inside the bucket... and she would insist that her dad or me to play along as well...

Once in a blue moon, she can really tidy up the bed....

Whenever she went to the garden, she will picked her grandma flowers and give the flowers to everyone....

Ziyi still sits nicely and safely whenever we go out in a car....

Sometimes she can arranges all the pillow in a way and claim the territory as her playground..

Ziyi and me in our favourite Italian restaurant... that was the first time we seat outdoor, and I totally enjoyed the view.... Ziyi likes to eat spaghetti, with lots and lots of Parmesans cheese.
The studio shoot that we took couple of months ago....

Steaming Steamboat

Last Sunday we went to have steamboat. It was one of the most satisfying steamboat for both of us, and zihan.. perhaps? Ziyi was asleep all the way in the stroller.

Zihan was getting impatient when waiting for the food to arrive. She played and bite the plastic bib. This was the first time I let zihan wear a plastic bib hand down from ziyi...
For RM50, we actually got 4 big plate of seafood combination, there were one medium size white pomfret, 2 medium size crab, about 8 medium size prawns, and 1 big plate of meatball and fish ball combinations, dried sotong, chicken meat, and crab sticks. We also side order cintan mie, and a big plate of spinach.
I think zihan had about 8 fishballs and cuttlefish balls, 2 slices of white pomfret, one prawn, one slice of chicken and some cabbage, and some cintan mie... She got to play with the raw lettuce when she had enough and hubby and I still continued eating....

It was very enjoyable dinner while ziyi was sleeping for the full 2 hours, otherwise she will wonder around and became a very demanding girl before we finish eating...

A pacifier, plastic spoon, plastic bowl, or raw lettuce and spinach would kept zihan occupied when we finish off eating... Zihan was also sitting on the high chair for 2 hours while she gets to eat and play...

A takeaway for ziyi.....

We finished off everything, everything was so fresh.... It was Sunday and the restaurant was packed. The restaurant actually have a separate air-con section of "chu char" and non air-con section for steamboat...

My favourite snack

I seldom eat snacks, because once I munch on my favourite snacks, I know I don't have the ability to control my intake, I will not stop munching before it finishes. So since I know my bad habits, I am very selective in buying snacks. Snacks doesn't come cheap and it'll only add extra calories and fat to our bodies.

My old time favourite would be this Japanese Calbee potato sticks salad flavor. I must admit, once I munch, I cannot stop, and one pack is usually not enough. It cost RM7.99 each from Cold Storage. I bought 3 packs. This Calbee potato sticks have a very short life span, from the date of production to the best before date is only 3 months, so the Cold Storage won't even have it in stock sometimes. I can save the money for other things....

Zihan @ 13 months

Weight 9kg+, height: , drinks EnfagrowA+ 3 times a day @ 150ml each. Zihan usually takes one 2 hours nap. I am still carrying her in a sling and rock her to sleep during nap time and night time.

Zihan @ on of the kopitiam in Penang... (cannot remember which one)

Zihan at Penang airport on the day my mother flight to Hongkong by Cathay Pacific got delayed by 6 hours.

Zihan @ one of gettogether lunch by surname ONG association @ CRC restaurant in Penang. This is the picture I took before the food arrive, see her grumpy face.... but once the appetizer arrived, zihan was happily eating right to the dessert.

Zihan's first visit to Kek Lok Si Temple in Penang.

She likes her Barney book, will giggle when I read to her...

She is able to sit down on her high chair during the entire meal, provided she gets to eat from the appetizer right to the dessert...

Zihan @ her cousin birthday dinner...

Mummy ran out of toys to kept her occupied while the adults were busy chatting, and food finished. So she gets to play with the restaurant's plastic glass.

Zihan is now learning to cruise while her hands hold onto something.... I can't wait the day she is able to walk on her own, last time ziyi started to walk @ 15 months.

Zihan can also concentrated in playing her toys for a very long time, she is particularly fascinated with those purple colour round plastic block, and will only choose and take the purple one out of so many others blocks.

Zihan and me taken by ziyi. Luckily ziyi started to use my handphone to take pictures, so I can see more of my face in the picture... ;)