Kimmy and Julie :: Family Journal

Jonathan’s 1st Birthday Celebration

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

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!

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

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

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

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.

Jonathan’s Meal #1

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

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*

Malaysia International Fireworks Competition

Last year was the first year Malaysia hosted the Malaysia International Fireworks Competition (MIFC). It was back again this year.

This year, we only have the time to watch the grand finale on Friday, 29 August 2008 by team Spain (I hope I get it right). I was looking forward and was eagerly excited as I want to see Jonathan’s reaction towards the sounds and lights. I was 7+ months pregnant with Jonathan boy last year and as the fireworks were lit up and exploded high in the dark sky, this little unborn baby was kicking in my tummy. 

Jonathan boy is a rather timid baby. He is easily awaken by soft sound or light touch. He gets shock whenever he heard a sudden noise which is not really loud like the squeeking sound when opening the door. When we laughed out of a sudden, he gets frightened and will cry too. He’s getting much better as he grows older.

So, how was Jonathan boy doing throughout the whole fireworks display? Did he cry and distract the spectators?

Look at him! He was clinging to Darling so tightly. His cheek was “glued” to Darling’s chest. He dare not lift up his head and eyes. He was peeping at the sky and twiching his eyes everytime he heard the loud bang. But suprisingly, he did not cry or shudder which I thought he would. How to be a brave boy lar?

It is B.I.G but I am S.M.A.L.L

There was one day when my niece and I passed by Crocs in one of the shopping mall. She showed me the big Crocs on display in the shop and she said…”Wu Yi (5th Aunt), this shoe is so big hor? My mommy say we can even put Jonathan inside”.

One weekend, so happened my mom wanted to try on some Crocs’ footwear. My niece is so right. See… here’s Jonathan boy in Crocs. (p/s: I hope I won’t get summon by displaying Crocs pic here)

Mommy, you sure you bought the correct size for me?

This is definitely not a photo trick. He enjoyed it especially the strap. As usual, with his itchy teeth, he tried to bite the strap.

Later, we rented this stroller for Jonathan boy.

From the way he smiled (an old man smile), you know he enjoyed it especially the horn. But the stroller is still too big for him as he can’t even sit properly or he is short. Yup, I find him kinda shorter from other babies around his age. Our gene… *sigh*