A great end to 2012

We ended 2012 with a big bang with 2 mini parties at our house - A steamboat-teppanyaki party for hubby's friends on 30 Dec, and a western fare (pizza, pasta, baked potato) cookout for my friends on 31 Dec. It was uber tiring, especially for hubby, who had to clean up and mop the floor after all the fanfare. What was I doing? Yeah, entertaining the 'lil one of course, no easy than all the cleaning!

His friends

Testing sil's DSLR on P

She's captivated by the flash

Nah, she didn't like the flash

Hubby's friend managed to get this great shot of her

P's latest hobby - rolling on the floor

Now let's try rolling on the mat

A group picture

My friends

Teaching P to jump

123, jump!

Christmas 2012

How was your Christmas? I didn't get a chance to blog about it till now, but I thought I should still do it in case I want to look back on what I did next time.

We started Christmas morning by going to Thomson Plaza for Han's breakfast. P ate plenty of sausages and eggs, then we brought her to NTUC for her favourite activity: Roam freely and touch to her heart's content. Our favourite word at NTUC is 'No'. While we shopped for groceries, P did several heart stopping moves - Grabbing various glass jars (jams/sauce etc.) when we took our eyes off her, and it rendered immediate intervention before I had to pay for damages on Christmas. I could swear we were wiping off cold sweat when we left the supermarket.

Lunch was at one of hubby's aunt's house, which was just a 5 min drive away. P was initially quite overwhelmed by the crowd, and kept wanting to stick to me. She ate plenty from the pot-luck feast, and still coveted my food when it was MY turn to eat. Pretty soon, 2 of her cousins (hubby's cousin's kids) who are around the same age as her came, but she wasn't that keen to engage with them. This is strange since she usually take to kids very well. Hubby's aunt played a video of her own wedding (some 24 years ago), and it showed hubby putting on a guitar performance (he was about 3 then). It was hilarious, and the whole family laughed together. P really does resemble hubby when he was young.

A pic taken before going to grandaunt's place

P took her long overdue nap when we got home, and it lasted about 1.5 hours. By the time she woke up, it was time to set off again, this time to my sil's house. It's the 1st time that P entered my sil's house. We've been there a couple of times for bbq, but P has never set foot in her place till now. She was very interested in the Christmas tree, and had fun rolling on their parquet flooring (which I don't understand why rolling on a hard floor is fun/comfortable). We also found out she likes cherry tomatoes from the salad bowl, and kept asking for more.

Presents time! Mostly for P and only 1 for us. P got a magnetic doodle board from grandma, a Disney piano toy from sil, a toy camera and photo album from her godma. She gave her attention to these toys for about 10 min, then it's back to rolling on the parquet floor -_-. We played Guitar Heroes, and P seems to want a part of the action. The only role she is suitable for is to dance to the music, but she went around trying to get her hands on our instruments, haha. We left sil's house at about 9 pm, and drove past the Christmas lightings at Orchard Road. A great end to 2012 Christmas.

Another Christmas present: Half-completed Spray n Rescue Truck

Christmas Eve 2012

Hubby attempted to cut P's fringe today, and it turned out like that. My mil was totally horrified when she saw P. She had bought a nice dress for P to wear to mass, and it was as if P's haircut spoiled her plans.

Before

After

Attended the children's Christmas mass this evening. We arrived about 45 min before mass to get the front seats on the second floor, so P can look down at the children's play. She turned out to be quite a handful later, and I regretted coming for the long mass.

After mass ended, we headed back to my MIL's place for dinner. We had ribs and pineapple rice and popiah. It ended off with a log cake from Bengawan Solo and here's P smiling after a spoonful of cake.

I have just finished setting up her Christmas present - A Hello Kitty Kitchen set and a MG Shabu Shabu set. Hubby is in the living room now, trying to set up her fire truck. The instructions and parts look too mind boggling, so I left it to him to figure out.

Haha, life has certainly change after P came along. We used to just sleep through Christmas eve, and not bother too much about the occasion. With my family, it's worse coz they don't even celebrate Christmas. Now that we have P, every occasion becomes more exciting and interesting. I definitely feel more Christmas vibes this year, compared to last year when she was just 4 months old.

Tung Lok Seafood

Sis' birthday falls on 26 Dec, and dad's on 31 Dec. My grandparents' birthday had also passed recently, so I decided to hold a joint celebration for all of them at Tung Lok Seafood, Orchard Central. My mil had been there previously, and kept commenting how good their ala carte buffet was. We used to frequent the ala carte buffet at Pearl River Palace restaurant at Suntec Convention Center last time, but it closed down already, so we've been on the lookout for an ala carte buffet.

Tung Lok Seafood is located on L11 of Orchard Central, and a series of long escalators can bring you from L1 right up to L11. Parking was full when we got there, so hubby asked me to go ahead with P first, while he search for a parking lot. The setting of the restaurant was just what I expected, not too atas but decor was ok. The food order was sent in shortly after we arrive.

Food was quite good. Hubby was exceptionally pleased with their salmon sashimi and we really ate a fair lot. Some food options only allowed 1 portion per table (clams, chilli crab, fish maw soup), but they only did well for the clams. Fish maw soup was so-so but the crab was really mediocre. If I were to go back, I'll skip these dishes altogether. They did really well on the fish and the prawns, and we ordered second helpings. There was a deep fried marbled goby (2nd helpings), garlic red tilapia (steamed), drunken prawns (2nd helpings) and their fried rice was pretty good too. Cereal prawn was so-so.

Service was also quite good. Our tea was refilled periodically, and they came with new plates quite frequently. The food didn't take long to arrive, so overall it was a good experience. Bill came up to $339 for 7 adults and 1 baby. I didn't think we even ate $300 worth of food, but well, you usually lose in a buffet unless you have a table of young army guys.

My grandparents were very happy to see P, who happens to be their 1st great grandchild. They are really getting on in age so I really appreciate the time I spend with them. How often can you have 4 generations at the same dinner table?

After dinner, we tried to make our way to Somerset 313 (where hubby parked his car), but was greeted with a construction pathway teeming with so many people that it was impossible to get through. We took a detour via the back of Orchard Central and in the process check out the X'mas fair they were having. For once, P decides she doesn't want to be carried, and kept struggling to come down as walk herself. Hubby was kept busy trying to prevent her from touching the 'hazards' (lightings, escalators, exhibits etc), great exercise after a heavy meal haha.

It's finally X'mas eve tomorrow. Finally time to prepare her presents.
 

Papa Jon & Ms Itchy-hand, touching everything in sight

Santa Claus The Musical

Yes, I survived the company year end event!! Dinner at High Society wasn't very eventful, except we found out that P is afraid of Santa Claus. The event organizer we were working with managed to get the star of the musical (Santa Claus) to make a short appearance at our dinner. P was totally petrified when he walked in and made a short intro. She clambered on me for security, and my mind was all on the possibility of her crying through the musical later when Santa makes his stage appearance.

Food was ok, but they took too much time to serve the main course. Dessert was supposed to be our choice of cupcake from their cupcake counter, but we were running out of time do I suspected my boss gave them instructions to serve the same cupcake to everyone. I think we got the hazelnut one, which was a bit hard but very nice and rich. We gave out goodie bags to the children, and vouchers to the employees and that pretty much rounded up Part I.

Part II was the musical itself. To be honest, it's the first time myself and hubby attended such musicals and we were feeling quite out of place. The Grand Theater is situated on L1, one floor above High Society. There was a long q at the ladies next to the Theater, so you really have to buffer some time. The musical would be 2 hour long with a 25 min intercession.

The start of the musical saw a jaw-dropping P. She was totally overwhelmed with the action, and stayed on her booster seat almost all the way. The only time she strayed was when Santa appeared from the side door. She jumped onto me, but was content to go back to her booster seat after she got used to the sight of Santa. The energetic dancing, the dazzling lights, the characters (especially the penguins) all appealed to P. It entertained her so much that I was able to sit next to get comfortably and not worry about her usual 'can't stay in one place' antics.

Intercession soon came, and we headed out with the intention of doing a diaper change for P. To my dismay, there isn't any baby changing facility in the restrooms. I checked with a staff and they said they don't have any, but she offered a 'crying room' to us, which can be found when you enter Door 5. It's on the right of the entrance to Door 5.

With mama during intercession

With papa during intercession

Second part of the musical didn't seem as exciting as the first part. P still watched the action though, and her good behaviour is really worth praising. I prayed for her good behaviour and I got it, yay! About 15 min before the show ends, the corner of my eye caught P nodding off. Yes, the 'lil one is truly tired already. I cradled her and she slept amidst the loud sound effects and clapping of the audience.

With the success of this musical, I might seriously consider paying good money to bring P for future ones. Today also marks P's 16 months. You're really growing fast my dear!

X'mas came early, no way!

Hubby went for his lessons yesterday evening, leaving me to handle the 'lil one alone. She ate plenty of yogis, asked for water, played with my wedding photos and photo desk calendar. Very busy indeed.

After I bathed her, I went to the kitchen to make her a bottle of gripe water. She stayed in her playroom and I could hear her struggling to get something, and getting frustrated. I couldn't find the spoon that I usually use to measure the amount of gripe water, and through SMS found out from hubby he threw it away coz he didn't know I used that medicine spoon, and it kept felling into the sink -_-. Noise of her frustration continued till I fgured out the gripe water, and I went in to check on her.

P had her hands on a box in a Takashimaya paper bag. Yes, it's a Hello Kitty kitchen playset I got for her sometime back and intended to open it only on X'mas day. It wasn't wrapped coz I figured she doesn't know the significance of wrapping paper (or rather unwrapping a present) yet. She saw me and asked for help by pointing insistently to the box, outright implying that I should open it for her immediately. I told her 'No' and her face fell, sign of impending meltdown. I took the box out of the paperbag just to show her, and she pointed to it and ask me to open again. No, my 'lil one, let's wait till X'mas, just 5 days away.

I walked to my room and she valiantly tried to lift the box and follow behind me. Took me awhile to distract her from the playset...

Hubby and I will be busy on X'mas eve. There's a Little Tikes Spray and Rescue truck that is also meant as a X'mas present for P, and that will be assembled by hubby on X'mas eve. I will be unpacking that kitchen set and cleaning it, together with the remaining 2 boxes of Mother Garden playset (which I'll probably just open 1 first).

And oh, the world didn't end today, so Santa will be kept busy as well.

'Mama' and 'Papa'

P is finally able to call 'Mama' and 'Papa' on cue, although sometimes she acts like she didn't hear us. Hubby is so so happy, and always tell me that the way she calls 'Papa' is soooooooooo cute.

She will be 16 months old tomorrow, and I'll be bringing hubby and her to my company's year end event at MBS. Programme will be dinner at High Society, followed by a 2.5 hour Santa Claus the Musical. I highly doubt that P will sit through the musical, but I really hope she doesn't throw a tantrum or disturb other colleagues. Good thing is I have hubby around to help, so we're praying for best behavior from the 'lil one.

I went shopping with my boss yesterday to get some gifts for the year end event. It was great, and I feel really at ease with her. My greatest gain in 2012 is really my current job. Great colleagues, great boss and great work-life balance! Thank god for everything bestowed on us this year :)

Attipas Toddler Walking Shoes

I recently bought 2 pairs of Attipas shoes from Thelittleonesinmylife. What's unique about these shoes is that the colored portion is made of socks material, whereas the bottom is just like any shoe, making it a combination of prewalker and normal shoes to aid the transition. These shoes are made in Korea, and so so comfy! Aesthetics wise, I haven't had anyone who didn't gush at how adorable it is. The shoes are also machine washable, but since my washing machine has a bad record of destroying my clothes, I'll probably do handwash for now and see how quickly it will dry.

Whenever I buy shoes for P, my concern will be the fitting at the front and whether it is too tight for her toes. If you can see from the picture below, this worry of mine is unfounded as the toe area is super broad, and her toes can do all the wiggling they want. Unfortunately, these shoes were only discovered recently, and P is already on the largest size available (XL).

It will be tough for other shoes to match up to the convenience and aesthetics of Attipas. 

Here's P wearing her blue pair and trying to put on her red pair

At Takashimaya toy department

Her red pair of Attipas. At United Square waiting for the live show.



Bubbling at AMK Hub

AMK Hub is having lots of Christmas activities. There's a Christmas area at B1, and where the decors are outside the mall, they have bubble and foamy 'snow' sessions,

Bubbles really work wonders at bringing out the smiles and laughter in children. All of them were so excited! P tried to chase some bubbles but they always pop before she reached them. I think she gave up after a while, and turned her attention to a girl beside her. She held out her hand for a handshake, went up close to the girl and babble some stuff, then proceeded to dance wildly in front of the girl. Funny and cute to watch!

Play area at B1

Her sense of humour

A post dedicated to my LOL baby. She has a weird sense of humour, haha.

Thomas and Friends Live Show

Today is the last run of Thomas and Friends live show at Takashimaya. Since hubby has soccer plans, I decided to bring P to check out the show. We arrived too early, and I decided to go search for a lunch place. Most of the eating places were crowded, and when I saw empty seats at Mignon's, I jumped at it. Unfortunately, they took pretty long to serve the food, and it wasn't fantastic. I still managed to finish 10 min before the show start, but when I rushed to the show area, I saw their staff holding up signs saying all seats have been taken. Awww!

Activated Plan B as I noticed the second floor is still relatively empty. And so we watched the show from L2. P refused to stand on her own and watch the show through the glass pane, so it was a painful 20 min or so for me, have to carry her and watch above the railing. Luckily, she enjoyed the show, dancing and clapping to the music. That makes the aching arms worth.

Cooking for her furry friends

Need I say more? P is having lots of fun with her Mother Garden Bento set. We often see her placing ingredients into the bowl, giving several hard stirs and sending ingredients flying across the room. She also found it very entertaining to 'feed' me and hubby, not only her play food, but it also extends to her puffs or yogi snacks.

Her appetite seems to be growing too. Take tonight for example. She was kind of grumpy and kept going to the kitchen at about 5.30pm, so I decided to warm a pouch of Super Salmon for her to eat. Hubby went out to get McDonald's while I fed her. Gave her a pack of organic juice after her meal, and she got distracted by hubby coming home, so she finished about half. While we ate our dinner, she insisted on having fries. Hubby gave her one after another that I believe she ate at least one-third of a packet. She must have been thirsty, so she finished up the rest of her juice. About an hour later, she started going to the kitchen again, and kept pointing to her fm tin. After several piteous cries, hubby made her a bottle of milk. We thought that was the end of it, but when I opened the fridge to get a drink, she went straight for her puffs, insisting that I pour some out for her. It took 2 servings before she finally stopped eating. Oh yeah, all that food has to go somewhere, and she soon let us know where, and a massive one at that.

I dunno how she can eat and eat non stop man. The bad thing about it is I caught her trying to consume her MG play food. Even after numerous reprimands, she still do it once I take my eyes off her. It sure looks good enough to eat eh?

Water playground Katong 112

I'll let the pics do most of the talking, but P didn't seem to like the sprays of water. It might be because the water's too cold for her comfort, so she shy away of the sprays and spend most of her time chasing a red ball in the non water area. I really like the place though, hope I can bring her back another time when she's much braver.