Kimmy and Julie :: Family Journal

Jonathan’s 1st Birthday Celebration by Julie

A good job from Jericca - Pretty Frosting.

Jonathan boy in his birthday pyjamma and shoe.

Just a simple celebration at home with my sis and her kids. Besides the cake, we had KFC for supper.

All his! Nobody can touch the cake or spoon. Big boy already...

Presents time!

Yeah, all for me! And a special present, "First 100 Words" book from my friend, Philip.

It is not a grand one as many would have thought it would be for a child’s first birthday. We are so tempted to have one for Jonathan boy after seeing many parents out there were talking about and making plans for their child’s first birthday party. We think he’s too young to understand all the fun, perhaps we’ll consider a party for him next year when he knows better what birthday is all about. So long there is a cake with candle and Daddy, Mommy singing birthday song, Jonathan definitely a happy kid.

 

A Complete 12 Months by Julie

Everyone says time flies…Jonathan boy is one year old now. As I was swaddling him one night, I suddenly realized how big he is now. No longer the fragile baby I was holding 12 months ago. No longer can fit into my folded arms. From a 4kg baby to a 10kg boy. From 53cm to a height of 72cm. No longer a baby but toddler.  We are putting more efforts in nurturing him as he is understanding things-you-do and things-you-said. He is getting more demanding and starts to show his temperament so therefore our instructions have to be clear and more stern now. 

He could take one or two quick steps depending on his mood but has yet to walk or I can say refuse to walk. Whenever we hold his hands to guide him to walk, he gets agitated, pull his hands away, sit down and ask us to carry. This is call a “ho mia” (in Hockien) baby, an old aunty was telling me. Few days ago, I noticed that he has started crawling on four instead of combat crawling.

The spoon is his new interest now. There was once I brought him to shopping mall, he sat quietly in the stroller playing with the spoon without disturbing me or asking me to carry. He is most happy when you give him a spoon with a cup/bowl. Once, he refused to eat until I let him conquer the spoon. I only let him practise self-feeding occassionaly as I hate the mess after that.

He is excellent in sipping from straws and also feeding cup. He could now hold his bottle and feeding cup high up. Time to wean him off bottle? Perhaps I should start weaning him off pacifier? Or wean him off my breast? But that’s so convenient…I don’t have to carry milk bottles, milk powders and hot water everywhere I go.

Jonathan boy started to say “ma ma ma ma” or sometimes it sounded like “mum mum mum mum”. He is either referring to food, his pacifier or Mommy. So Mommy is the happy one now. Worth all the effort I’d put in for him. *Big grin*

Jonathan is ONE! by Julie

Happy Birthday, Jonathan boy!

You are a precious gift,
a bright blessing from God to Daddy & Mommy.
With joy we celebrate you,
with confidence we entrust you into God’s constant loving care.
And with faith we cling to His wise and wonderful plan for you.
One year passed by, we have seen how great is our God.

Always remember…
He calls you by name-
Jonathan, Jesus loves you so.
You are His beloved child,
the apple of His eyes,
the delight of His heart.
He shall be with you as you grow.
May He bless you in every way,
as you follow Him each day.
May He keep you in His sight,
from the rising of sun to the starry night.

Dotty Chickenpox by Julie

It started with some red bumps like pimples on his forehead last Wednesday.  Then on Thursday, out came one under his nose. I undressed him for his morning bath and noticed one blister below his belly button. Later in the day, I saw more on his back. When I came back from work on Friday, I saw few new ones on his face, neck and back of the ear. My sis confirmed that it is chickenpox but I didn’t want to believe her cause I just recover from some kind of cold sores due to viral infection which look alike chickenpox. Moreover, there is no sign of chickenpox symptom…no fever or itchiness and still so jovial.

We brought him to see the paediatrician to confirm the diagnosis. True enough what my sis said. It’s chickenpox or also known as varicella in medical terms which is caused by the varicella-zoster virus but thank God it’s just a mild one. And thank God he don’t scratch them nor behaving vague or uncomfortable.

Now, where he got the virus from? My brother-in-law got it first from don’t know where then my niece and followed by her sister. Then later I had the cold sores which doctor says it is not chickenpox but from the same family. I even went to see Chinese medical practitioner and he too said it is not chickenpox. I still breastfeed Jonathan and now he had got it from me I suppose. So that confirms that the cold sores I had earlier was chickenpox but my mom said I had it when I was a baby. So is this a second attack?

Mom said when I was having chickenpox, I was so difficult. I didn’t allow my shirt to be changed and demanded for the same shirt. Poor mom was looking around shops to see if she can find the same shirt but none. Unlike me, Jonathan boy is being good to me. He is like his normal self. So, Darling, he doesn’t have my gene, ok?

The photo above was taken on the 3rd day. More and more bumps are coming out and his look is worse than what you are seeing here. They are all over his face, neck, body and legs. I spotted some on his scalp. He should be getting the vaccine in another month but the virus just couldn’t wait and choose to attack him now which is close to his birthday in the next few days. All his birthday photos will look “dotty” later. *Sigh* Good thing we didn’t plan to throw him a birthday party otherwise we have to call it off.

Will it leave a scar? Any remedies to clear the blister asap?

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Firefly by Julie

It was a last minute invitation from eldest sis to join her for an excursion to Kuala Selangor. It was 5 years ago the last time I was there with Darling and two other friends.

First, we stopped by Bukit Melawati since my parents haven’t been there before. I remembered on our previous trip, we boarded a tram to bring us up to the hill.  I don’t see anymore tram now but visitors drove all the way up. Kind of scary because the road is very narrow and parking space is very limited. Up on Bukit Melawati, you can see the Straits of Malacca and all that is left of the forts on Bukit Melawati is a couple of cannons and foundation stones. Jonathan boy was happy camwhoring with Gong Gong and Po Po.

 

Several families of Silver-Leafed Monkeys and Long-Tailed Macaques hang around here for peanut handouts from visitors.  What fascinated me this time is the Silver-leafed Monkeys which I don’t remember seeing them on my previous trip. The Silver-leafed babies have golden fur as compared with the adults of dull-ashen grey. As the young ones grow older, their hair will slowly changes colour to dull-ashen grey like the adult monkeys. So you will see some young ones having black hair on their head but the body with golden fur. The monkeys roam around freely and looks quite tame. They don’t attack the visitors but graciously waiting for food especially peanuts from the visitors. But we still have to be careful as they are wild and wild animals tend to be erratic sometimes. This was Jonathan’s first time seeing a real monkey from quite a near distance.

We then headed to a seafood restaurant to fill our stomach. Can’t remember the name of the restaurant but all restaurants in Kuala Selangor were full with people due to the public holiday. The waitress warned us that we have to wait for at least 1 - 2 hours for the food. Jonathan boy missed his late afternoon nap so he was quite cranky during dinner time. We finished our dinner at almost 9.00pm.

Lastly, the highlights of the excursion is watching the firefly colonies of Kampung Bukit Belimbing which lived on the berembang trees that grow along Kuala Selangor’s riverbanks. As expected, it was a long queue for tickets. It was a public holiday and the fireflies are best seen on the 1st - 3rd day of the lunar calendar when it is not a full moon. We have put on the safety jacket but there is no baby size.

We get on the boat only at almost 11.00pm.  By then not many fireflies flying around. I guess they are all too tired and has gone to bed.  The best time according to the boatman is around 8.00pm. I was so afraid that Jonathan will make a fuss on the boat but good little boy was behaving well. He did not get too excited over the flickering lights but whenever I asked him where is the light, he will point to the berembang trees which are full of the twinkling fireflies. The fireflies are rarely sighted nowadays. When I was young, we can still see at least one firely flying around our house.

We reached home at 1.00am. It was a good trip. For those you have never been there, you should before the fireflies extinct. But never go when the moon is full and bright and not on a public holiday unless you are the early birds.

Jonathan’s Meal #2 by Julie

Jonathan boy’s porridge on weekends has the most variety of ingredients as I have more time compare to working days where my time is limited.  And since Jonathan can chew quite well now, I decided to cut the potato into tiny cubes rather than grated potato. To add some colour to the porridge, I put in a cut of salmon. The porridge will turn out quite plain with just potato and salmon so I think some raisins will give a sweet-sour taste and additional colour to the porridge.

It turn up pretty good. The taste blended well. To avoid Jonathan boy from swallowing the whole raisin without chewing, I don’t mix the raisin with porridge on his spoon. I fed him raisin only so that he will chew and be able to taste the raisin. Otherwise, I mash the raisin a little and mix with the porridge. You can substitute raisins with red dates or wolfberry.

Favourite Corner by Julie

I will usually accompany Jonathan on the bed during napping time or bed time. I’ll offer my breast to him for the last time of the day and hoping that he will go to sleep with a sweet dream. Occasionally, he will still be awake. With the pacifier in his mouth, he will toss here and there, rest his head on my chest, climb on me, until he finally in dreamland.

I was too busy with work in the office last week until I have no time to read blogs or even write a post on our Cyberhome which I normally do during lunch hour. So Saturday was a perfect day for me to catch up on blogs. I got hooked to the PC so I left Jonathan boy on the bed, hoping that he will fall asleep on his own. At times, I can hear clinking or banging sounds as he’s trying to reach out for things place on my side table. I will turn around to check on him so to ensure that he don’t go too near to the edge of the bed.

After some time, I can hear no more noises. I turned around and to my surprise, my boy has fallen asleep BUT in this position…

Lately, he loves to sleep at the corner of the bed. On some nights when I am too tired to watch him sleep, we will see him fallen asleep at the corner the next morning. Quite scary huh? But I’m all glad cause my boy is growing up. He no longer needs us to coax him to sleep.

Jonathan’s Meal #1 by Julie

While everyone is talking about Bento, I should start sharing on a baby’s meal. I’m a new mother and still learning and experimenting on what is best for a baby’s diet. Jonathan boy is my experiment. Glad to say that he will wallop all kinds of food except Avocado so far.

I’ve also shared in my previous post on how I prepare the porridge. Just dump everything in the ceramic pot.

So let’s see what is on Jonathan’s dinning table today.

Grated beetroot and florets of broccoli

Beets or beetroots contain a wonderful amount of calcium, potassium and even vitamin A.  Whereas, broccoli is very high in Vitamin C and is a great source of soluble fiber.

Stars of My Heart by Julie

Darling, showering us with his unconditional and neverending love, care and joy. A blessing from God for a perfect partner who complements my life. A role model Daddy to his children.

Jonathan boy, a precious gift from God, bringing joy and laughter to us. 99.9% says Jonathan boy looks like his Daddy. I’m so disappointed…after carrying him for 9 months and all I’ve got is Daddy’s look. Only his right eye resemble my eye. But to keep me happy, Darling say Jonathan boy got 100% of my character. Yeah….the stubborn and demanding character…but smart. Hehe…

But I’m glad Jonathan boy got his Daddy’s look. Darling has beautiful eyes with double eye-lid and nice eyebrows. My eyes are smaller and no double eye-lid! I hope he has Darling’s set of teeth too…sitting straight, side by side each other.

The above photo was taken when Jonathan is around 6 months old at Laguna Park in Klang by my sis’ with her SLR. The green background make the whole pic so outstanding and sharp, whatmore taken with a SLR. And here, the same photo appears in The Parenthood magazine of September ‘08 issue.

Yeap, it was selected as one of the consolation winner in the Stars of Pureen photo contest. This is the first time my entry is being selected in a photo contest. I have submitted a few photos previously but was unsuccessful.

Not wasting the opportunity, I’ve also submitted my niece’s photo in the Fiffy’s Happy Holiday photo contest. Her photo was being selected in the September ‘08 issue too! This 3+ years old cutie-chatter-box of my sis is a real beautiful and photogenic gal. Why I call her chatter box? She can talk and talk and talk. I love to challenge her speaking and thoughts by probing her with questions and giving her funny or unrealistic answers. This “evil” aunt just love to confuse her and I like the way she responded. Kid says the darndest things. But sometimes, she can really make your life up side down.

Our 11 months of Jonathan boy is turning 1 year old soon. His two lower incisor has erupted. That will be his 7th and 8th tooth.  He loves to play peek-a-boo with us. Whenever we say peek-a-boo, he will put his hand on his head or cover his eyes. From the peek-a-boo game, he now knows where is his head.

Me: Jonathan boy, where is your head?
Jonathan boy: *Put his hand on his head and smile*

Me: *Finished his porridge*  Good boy, Jonathan. No more…
Jonathan boy: Mo more ma…

Recently, I noticed a new trick from him. Imagine Superman flying in the air with one hand reaches out and the other tugging at his waist. With the same position, lie on your tummy and using your leg, glide to the front. That is how he chooses to crawl now! *Slap head*

Tag: A Lengthy One… by Julie

Ann tagged me with such a lengthy but interesting tag. Some really tested my memory.

Name: Julie
Sisters: 5
Brothers: None

Shoe size: 6 (5½ would be perfect)
Height : 157cm only

Where do you live: A place for BKT lover

Favourite
drinks: Milo ice
breakfast: Bread toast

Have you ever been on a plane? Yes
Swam in the ocean : No and hope never
Fallen asleep at school : Yes…blame it on the teacher
Broken someone’s heart: Yes
Fell off your chair : I don’t think so
Sat by the phone all night waiting for someone to call: Yes but I didn’t sat by the phone all night
Saved e-mails: Yes. I never delete work related emails. They are proof of documentation.

What is your room like : A mess!!

What’s right beside you: My baby! Jonathan wants to climb up my lap
What is the last thing you ate: Penang Asam Laksa

Ever had
chicken pox: Yes…lucky me it was when I’m a baby, so no scar
Sore throat: Of course!
Stitches: Yes but never regret
Broken nose: No

Do you
believe in love at first sight: No…exist only in movies
like picnics: Yes, yes, yes…

Who was the
last person you danced with: My Darling (when ar?)
last person who made you smile: Jonathan boy…only he can make me smile when I’m in anger 
person you last yelled at: My Darling…who else can I yell at to release my anger?

Today did you
Talk to someone you like: Of course lar…I’m not dumb
Kiss anyone: Yes, two most important man in my life
Get sick: No
Talk to an ex: No
Miss someone: Not yet
Eat: Still eating…munching tit-bits as I complete this tag

What is your best feeling in the world: Falling in love
Do you sleep with stuffed animals: Used to but now with two boys on bed, it all got kicked out!
What’s under your bed: Dust. I hope no dead cockroaches or lizards…eewww!
Who do you really hate: Opposite…(not referring to my neighbour)

What time is it now? 4.21pm

Random:
Is there a person who is on your mind now: My two guys
Do you want children: Yes. If not I would have Jonathan
Do you smile often: No…people would think that you are crazy
Do you like your hand-writing: Yes but I hope I can write better
Are your toe nails painted: Used to once a while but not now anymore
Whose bed other than yours would you rather sleep in: A luxurious hotel’s bed
What color shirt are you wearing now: White
What were you doing at 7:00 p.m. yesterday: Sleeping

I can’t wait till… : November…bonus time!
When did you cry last : Few weeks ago…pity that lady in the drama
Are you a friendly person: You say. Not me to judge
Do you have any pets: No but I wish for a big dog
Where is the person you have feelings for right now? Snoozing on my bed
Did the last person you hold hands with mean anything to you now? It has to mean something. He’s my son!

Do you sleep with the TV on? Used to but not possible now…the little one can’t sleep with any sound
Have you ever crawled through a window? When I’m little, playing hide-n-seek
Can you handle the truth? Test me if you want to know the answer
Are you too forgiving? Depending on situation and person

Are you closer to your mother or father? Mom
Who was the last person you cried in front of? No one. I was watching a sad drama series and shed tears quietly
How many people can you say you’ve really loved? Plenty. We should love one another, right?

Do you eat healthy? Haha…I must be telling lie if I say yes

Do you still have pictures of you & your ex? Is class group photo counted?
Have you ever cried because of something someone said to you? Yes
If you’re having a bad day, who are you most likely to go to? My Darling or Mom
Are you loud or quiet most of the time? Loud at home, quiet when I’m  outside
Are you confident? No

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
a. Working part-time while waiting for result
b. First year in Uni
c. Missing home
d. Sleep (it’s a everyday thing right?)
e. Searching for a partner

5 things on my to-do list today:
a. Finish this tag
b. Organize my room
c. Gardening
d. Complete some office work
e. Sleep

5 snacks I enjoy:
a. Green peas
b. Cheezels
c. Twisties
d. Chocolates with raisins
e. Fruits

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:
a. Resign from work (Yipee!!)
b. Pay off my loans
c. Buy a bungalow
d. Give some money to my parents
e. Save for future

5 of my bad habits:
a. Never like to switch off lights.
b. Blinking my eyes
c. Stubborn and get agitated very quickly
d. Procrastinate
e. Take cold drinks or sometimes tid-bits right after meal

I just feel like tagging Anything Lah!, Aunty Next Door, Heartstring of A new mommy on this. However, if you have yet to get tagged and feels like sharing it, please consider yourself tag, ok?