Sentosa Fun

I meant to post this earlier, but didn't get the time to do it. Emma's been really active now, plus she's suddenly refusing to eat her cereals, preferring only her biscuits, so my time's really consumed with watching over her and feeding her, at times up to more than an hour! I do hope her fussiness with food is just a phase and not throughout her life, or else I'll have greater headaches later trying to conjure up new recipes for this fussy eater (she can't just eat biscuits all her life right?) =P

Anyway, back to the topic of this post. Roy booked a room at the Rasa Sentosa to celebrate my birthday as well as to enjoy some family time from 1-3 May. Emma had her very 1st swim in the pool and she loved the experience, so I'll try to bring her swimming more often (if I can =P). It was meant to be a free and easy trip, so we did not venture much of Sentosa. We ended up taking naps at the hotel (well, Emma needed the naps... and so do I... =P), swam a bit, relaxed over fish & foot reflexology, and "fishy-watched" at both the Underwater World and the Pink Dolphin Lagoon. Well, we can't be too adventurous when we have a baby on tow... plus, she's still too young to comprehend most of the sights and sounds there. =P

Some of our photos capturing Emma's many firsts:

Emma getting all ready for her 1st swim.

Posing in the pool with daddy.

Kicking and splashing in the water.

"Whee! This is fun!"

The lady at the next table playing with Emma during breakfast time.

Emma was really intrigued by the colours and fishes at the Underwater World. Her eyes were practically glued to the tanks.

Fish Reflexology! It was an interesting experience for both Roy & I, and I believe Emma was having fun watching those little fishes nibbling at mommy & daddy's feet too.

Munching on her biscuits during brunch... sigh, she did not eat much of her cereals... so vexing. =P

See the bits of biscuit strategically positioned below her mouth? We nicknamed her "dracula". hahahah

Burying her head on daddy's chest cos the sun's just too glaring. (We decided to take a short walk along the beach to the hotel & the Ergo carrier was getting a tad too warm for her... I had to pry her away from her daddy so as to prevent her from over-heating... her daddy obviously wanted to carry her longer... but in carrier? Not in this heat! =P)

Posing with mommy under the shade. Ok, my hair's rather messy from the breeze, but the main star is Emma, so I guess I don't really mind posting this photo. Look at her sweet smile. =)

Our last stop before leaving Sentosa - the Pink Dolphin Lagoon. Well, on hindsight, it wasn't a good idea to bring Emma there cos she absolutely had no clue over what was happening, and the weather was scorchingly hot there... but she did enjoy watching the people and playing with some really nice uncles from Korea. =P

THE "momzilla"

"momzillas"... our parenthood journey thus far has no lack of encounters with "momzillas", and most of the time (or all of the time), we take their comments with a pinch of salt, and move on without being too affected emotionally. But when it's a "momzilla" who's related to us (or at least me), it's a whole different issue, cos it's a lot more emotionally draining, and tiresome. This is especially so when THE "momzilla" in question makes snide remarks that are nothing less than 100% sarcastic to insinuate our (ade's and mine) lack of parental ability, just because she (along with many other "momzillas") thinks that our baby's not plump or "fat" by their "standards".

Yes, we acknowledge that Emma's slim, and is petite, and that she's at the bottom of the baby growth charts. BUT the fact remains, that our slim, petite and nimble Emma's healthy and developing just as well, and perhaps even better in some areas. She's got gleaming eyes that speak LIFE. She eats and drinks well. She has clear dietary preferences that surprises many adults. She is able to clap her hands confidently to make the loud CLAPPING sounds, and sings along with the music, laughs along with people... I've yet to find anything in her that suggests that she's under-nourished and under-developed, and that she's in urgent need of a "weight-gain" program!

And while I can let the remarks by "common momzillas" pass without me feeling angry, I found myself unable to do the same when confronted with snide sarcastic remarks from THE "momilla" who's related to us. It would be ok if she had been more constructive in going beyond giving snide remarks, and give suggestions and help out in taking care of Emma in a more practical way. To perhaps demonstrate that indeed there is something that can be done to help Emma gain more weight, and show that it (more weight gain) is better for Emma. But no. Nothing of that sort. Nothing beyond snide sarcastic remarks that wear us down emotionally. No explicit desire to want to help practically and constructively. Only explicit signs of reluctance at any physical "responsibility" in care-giving for Emma.

It's ok with us even if there's no other help in care-giving for Emma, for Ade and I are clear that Emma's entrusted in our care, and we are the appointed care-givers for Emma. We (ade and I) are accountable to God when it comes to Emma's life. BUT we're NOT about to then allow ourselves to be trampled on and be subjected to such sarcastic and snide remarks, especially if they come from people who're related to us and who are yet unwilling to participate in a practical and constructive manner. Talk is cheap. Period.

We rebuke those remarks that attempt to tear us down and wear us down. No way are we allowing such remarks to seep into our (including Emma's) spirit. No way are we allowing such negative remarks determine our destiny as God's children. We are defined by God's plan, His word, His heart. And we thank God that He is the one who's covering us even as we learn how to be good parents to Emma. We know who we are in God, and we know that Emma (and every one of us) is unique, and "fearfully and wonderfully made" by God.

In the midst of my frustration and anger at the remarks made by THE "momzilla", I'm also prompted in my spirit to forgive and love her. It's tough. Yet I know I have to. I really don't know how to, and I'm often at my wits end thinking of how to relate to THE "momzilla". This is one area that has "plagued" me for the bulk of my adulthood, and I'm praying hard for God's wisdom to know how to relate to her better, and grace to be able to speak to her without having my words covered with frustration and anger. Help me learn to love THE "momzilla", Lord.

sitting... crawling...

Emma's recovering from the last flu and she's now back to her active self. She's really growing up really fast and it's really amazing to see how she develops from day to day. I was just commenting to Roy last week that I saw her sitting up from her tummy down position, & we both thought it was just a fluke... but she did it again today... in fact, she did it a few more times and even started to crawl on all fours! Gosh, we've not started to baby-proof our place yet! I think we better start soon looking at how fast she's moving. =P


Sitting up from tummy position and down to tummy position again from sitting.


See her pouting lips? That's her favourite pose lately. She has been blowing bubbles a lot too.


Prior to her creeping and crawling, she has be scouting around on her bum. I found her out on the floor when she was previously on the mat when I returned from the bathroom.


"Peek-a-boo!"


"Hello!"

Hit by the bug... again...

We brought Emma for a flu jab last night in preparation for our Thailand trip, and this morning, she woke up coughing, sniffling and sneezing. Gosh, is it a side reaction from the jab? Or did she caught it from someone with a flu virus over the weekend? Hmm... praying for her speedy recovery. She's still active and playful, so obviously she's not too affected by her runny nose & cough.

Her appetite for solids has not been too good too (and it wasn't because she's unwell). It's a time-consuming affair trying to feed her cos she'll start refusing to eat after just a few spoonful. I've tried giving her a variety of things, but it's still not very successful in getting her to eat more than a few teaspoons. Even though I'm still worried about her weight gain, she does look very healthy and active... and she poos everyday... so I guess I'll just let her catch up on her weight in her own time... and just chill. =P

Just for fun 2

More fun pictures using the same photo. heheh =)

1) Model magazine cover


2) Modern Art Museum


3) Famous Museum Portrait


4) Paparazzi shot


5) Rubik cube


6) Sketch

Just for fun

Presenting...

1) Emma's famous museum portrait


2) Emma's magazine cover shot



and... 3) Emma's paparazzi shot

Yay, we're going to church camp!

Church camp is in June but Roy's office denied him from taking leave for any trips as he's on reserve for a 6-months deployment overseas at the time of church camp registration. I was initially thinking of going alone with Emma, but the huge logistics involved is enough to give me a headache (imagine the luggage-full of diapers & baby food)... so we temporarily put it at the back of our minds. Two nights ago, Roy's boss just confirmed that he's not needing to go for the deployment at all. This is definitely an answered prayer, cos I was also rather reluctant for him to be away for 6 whole months - Emma may not be able to recognize him when he gets back! Anyway, now that he's got the all clear to go, we spoke to our pastor and managed to get everything arranged within 24hrs! It'll be our very first church camp as a family together at Cha-Am. Yay!

As we need to get all our details in for the church camp admin by this Saturday, we had to get Emma's passport done ASAP... so off to the ICA we went.

Well, the last mugshot we took of Emma was quite a while ago, so I decided to take another one before we went down to ICA yesterday. At the advice of a friend, we went down to our neighbourhood mall's photo shop to take a picture since we can choose the best shots among the few that'll be taken. Our dear baby was asleep prior to reaching the shop, so she looked rather dazed... and fierce. =P


Fierce hor?

Anyway, I wasn't too pleased with the above photo because it's going to be on her passport! She'll be super embarrassed when she gets older! =P So we took another mugshot at the in-house photo company at ICA.


This looks much better right? I love how her eyes sparkle. heheh

Now, it's time to buy her a swimsuit... I jokingly told Jasmine that I may get the cute blue with yellow polka dotted one that she initially bought for Cherise (but had to return and settle for another pink one), so she could still see it whenever Emma wears it. Am I "mean" to Jasmine or what? =P I'll discuss this with Roy as he's more inclined towards getting a thermal swimsuit for Emma.

TV Addict?

I know this is a bad habit, but I've resorted to letting Emma watch TV (Baby Einstein DVDs) when I need to do my chores or eat my lunch. She's not contented to just sit on her rocker & just watch me. I'm also finding it an almost impossible task to take a decent shower without her screaming for attention after just a couple of minutes.

She'll usually just watch the DVDs intently with a slight frown (she's a rather intense little girl)... that was before she saw & heard this particular song in one of the DVDs. I chanced upon her laughing the very first time I played the DVD (the particular DVD teaches the different transportation modes by land, water and air). I guess she's amused by the puppets and the cute song about the bus. At this age, I never knew she can actually respond to what she watches. I'm actually pleasantly surprised this song can evoke such a happy response from her. heh... So now, that's her favourite song for the week. She'll squeal happily whenever this song appears. I took a video of her laughing and hand dancing away simply because she looked too adorable. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though that she'll not become a TV addict when she grows older. I guess I'll have to restrict the amount of time she watches TV when she's a bit older because it'll be inevitable for them to be exposed to the TV since it's a fixture in our living rooms, right?

Mystery

Something has been baffling us since Emma and I both got the flu - she suddenly hates taking bath. It's a battle trying to bathe her because as soon as her feet touches the water, she'll shriek and wail. We've tried many different ways and methods to wash her and we're reluctant to just sponge her because it's not a good enough method to clean her completely, especially in this hot and humid weather. It's a mystery why she would just hate the water so suddenly when just prior to the both of us falling sick, she was enjoying her baths, splishing and splashing in the water. Roy did not even have a chance to put her in the water during the weekend when I was too ill to bathe her (that was two weeks ago) - she'll scream and cry as if she's entering a pot of boiling oil. Sigh...

It wasn't getting any better when I took over last week. I'd tried changing the timings of the bath (from morning to afternoon to evening); we went down to the baby fair to buy some bath toys to place in the tub; I'd tried placing her on my lap and rinsing her with the cup; I'd tried showering her instead of putting her into the bathtub; I'd even tried feeding her while bathing her! Predictably, nothing works. Sigh...

Roy suspects that she might have a nightmare about water or she could have been traumatized by something 2 weeks ago (what did daddy do or not do? hmm... =P). In desperation, I goggled about this and found out that it could be a phase babies go through. I really do hope it's just a phase.

For the past few days, I've been praying before bathing her - for God to remove her anxiousness and her fear of water. Prayer works! This morning, I successfully bathed her without a cry from her even though she still looked slightly frightened when I first lowered her into the bathtub. She stayed in the water for quite a while playing with her toys & she even started to splash the water a bit. It's definitely a major improvement from last week and I'm ecstatic over the change. Let's hope it'll be better tomorrow and that she'll soon start to enjoy her bath again.

A complete disaster!

Emma has been rubbing her eyes rather frequently lately and I was initially quite puzzled why the constant rubbing - it is especially messy whenever she rubs her eyes/nose while eating her mushed porridge - spreading the goo all over her face. It only dawned on me this morning that it could be because of her hair. Her fringe is getting rather long and her hair is poking her eyes so I took the liberty of cutting her hair this afternoon. It should be relatively easy cutting baby's hair, right? (or so I thought)... wrong thinking... I placed Emma onto the bumbo chair, tore a hole in the newspaper and placed the newspaper over her head (like a bib) so as to prevent the snipped hair from poking her. What seemed easy in my mind was entirely the reverse in reality. I momentarily forgot that I'm dealing with an active baby with unpredictable movements. She moved her head so much that I snipped off too much... and too high.

It was a complete disaster and I ruined my daughter's hairstyle! Sigh...


Understandably, Roy wasn't too happy with my handiwork when I MMS'ed him this picture. I tried feebly to comb her hair to the side hoping that it'll at least look ok and will hide what I did. It didn't work obviously.


In my last desperate attempt, I took a cab to United Square to see if the baby hairdresser could salvage what I'd done. The end result is...

"Mommy, what have you done to my hair??"

She looks like Dora the explorer now. (sigh) =P


I've learnt my lesson... the next time I do attempt to cut her hair, I'll do it while she sleeps. =P

7 months old

Wow, Emma is 7 months old today. Time really flies. We (baby and I) were both down with viral infection this week. I started having food poisoning symptoms on Monday night, culminating into full blown vomiting on Friday (sigh, everything I ate went down the toilet bowl. I lost 2kgs after this ordeal.) Our princess started having runny nose on Wednesday, and the doctor said it may last for 3 weeks. Poor girl, the runny nose is causing her not to sleep well throughout the night. It was a tiring week for me, but Emma still looks fine and playful. In fact, she has progressed once again developmentally and is able to sit without support.

(Right now, she's reaching for my laptop while sitting up). I'm going to grab as much rest as I can for now... Alrite Emma, time to meet the zzzz monster together while daddy buys breakfast for sick mommy. (Roy has been doing great taking care of the both of us while we were under the weather. =D)

Caught in the act

Remember my earlier post on her doing her acrobatic stunts? Well, she did it again this morning and to top it off, her toe was in her mouth! I couldn't stop laughing! LOL!! But, I think I should discourage her from sucking her toes. I mean, it's not a good habit to have, plus, it wouldn't look too pretty for a girl to have her toe in her mouth, right? Hmm... We were out shopping last Saturday with her in her stroller. I was just wondering why we were drawing smiles and laughters from people walking past us until a Malay couple we met in the lift joked and said, "ah, kungfu!" She was holding her legs wide apart, in the air!! (Just like in the video. But she one-upped herself this morning - legs up, no hands) hahahah. Maybe we should consider enrolling her in gymnastics classes? She may one day earn a medal and make Singapore proud. heehee.

Say "ah"

Emma's rolling left, right, front and back on our queen-sized bed now, so I thought I would just update a bit. Yes, she's getting all wriggly now, pivoting 360 degrees on her tummy & flipping like nobody's business. She's also preferring to sit or stand with support, protesting when she's on her back or tummy for too long. I chanced upon her managing to sit without support while playing her toy drum, but that was just a fleeting moment. She's still more comfortable sitting with her arms as support. She did it for a full 2 minutes today! Yes, I timed her. =D


I found another use for the pacifier - instead of letting it collect dust on the shelf, it can be used as a teether! haha...


I was pleasantly surprised this morning too while feeding baby some rice cereal - she started saying "ah" and opening her mouth each time she wants more food. My baby's starting to communicate to me more, besides just crying. I'm one proud mommy. =D


(Emma looking happy after her lunch. Taken a few days ago)

Teething?

Emma has been chomping onto whatever she can lay her hands on: her teethers (thank God she likes them, but she'll still do the "pretend-to-bite-on-teether, but-actually-sucking-her-fingers" gimmick), her toys, the highchair tray, the bumboo seat, me, and the latest... Big Bird! I think she must be teething and her first tooth may pop out anytime soon (well, in the next 2 months or so I think).

Here's a video of her chomping down on Big Bird (I was trying my very best not to laugh out loud)... poor Big Bird. =P

Adorable moments

Since Roy'd assembled the IKEA highchair, I thought it would be nice to feed Emma from her highchair this morning instead of her rocker. This is to also let her get used to sitting on the highchair for meals. Well, I put her on the highchair and went about preparing her breakfast in the kitchen... look what I found when I went back to the living room? She's resting her head on the tray! She looked too adorable for me to resist a "Kodak" moment... and she was still at this pose even after I went hunting for a camera! hahaha... I think she's trying to reach for her legs - that has been her habit lately. =P

She's easily tickled nowadays too. She has been laughing at the slightest thing - she laughed when she first saw me with a shower cap; she'll laugh when we lift her off her feet into the air; she'll also laugh when I take her off her bed and put her on her tummy, even when just a minute ago, she was wailing - that's because she does not want to go to sleep yet. I was feeding her after her late morning nap & she did something naughty... so I gave her a look and said "hmm?" Check out her response. It really makes me wonder if I'm still able to pull a straight face & still discipline her the next time she does something naughty. But right now, she's just too adorable for me to "scold" her. I'll just enjoy these adorable moments as much as I can for now. =D

You just can't fool her

I tried introducing the Heinz diluted apple juice to Emma this morning, but she would rather drink water than the apple juice - gave her trademark "want-to-puke" face whenever she tasted apple juice. =P (the apple juice was in her sippy cup initially, but the volume remained unchanged, so I've got to spoon feed her instead. haha)

Oops, her protests are getting louder by the minute. She's wanting to nap... I'll just post the video for you to enjoy.

Snapshots from a typical day

Here're some pictures of a typical day in Emma Joy's life... (all taken today. heh =D)


We're thinking of going to the church camp & realised that Emma needs to have her passport done, so I decided to take a mugshot of her when she woke up. She was looking dazed and confused in this picture. hahaha


Complaining while waiting for mommy to finish washing up in the morning.

I tried putting her in her cot or playmat while I go about doing my chores, but she'll usually start to cry within a few minutes. To buy me more time, I'll just put her in her rocker and let her watch me instead. I'll play peek-a-boo with her while doing my chores until she starts complaining. =P


Emma, the acrobat, while eating her breakfast. She has learnt how to suck her toes! (horrors!)

Since her rice cereal debut, I've let her try Heinz's Organic Baby Vegetables (sweet potato, potato, sweet corn, & carrot) & Heinz's Pumpkin and Sweet Corn puree. The first time she tried the baby veg puree, she gave a want-to-puke face. I had to mix the puree into the rice cereal before she's willing to swallow it. She loves the pumpkin & sweet corn puree though. =)


Still doing her acrobatic stunts even after mommy took off her socks (which is sticky with puree and rice cereal... yucky yucks.)


Drinking water from the sippy cup. Emma's getting quite efficient with that.



Playing with her toys.


Playing with the Sesame Street playgym while sitting on the Bumboo.


Flipping and tummy time in her cot after a change of diapers.


Afternoon nap time after listening to mommy read a bible story in both English & Mandarin.
(she loves listening to stories & will get excited just seeing me holding the book)


Trying out eating dinner in the Ikea highchair.

... and bath time! (censored, so no pictures. ha!)

Innocent laughters

I love the holidays, cos I'll usually be freed up to do my own stuff when Roy's around to carry Emma. Right now, baby Emma's sleeping in Roy's arms, so I'm free to blog once again! =)

I love watching Emma laugh and smile. It's the innocence behind the laughters that just lifts your spirits and melts any heart. Despite me being so sleep deprived, watching her smile and laugh just makes my day... and I know this sleep-deprived-ness is just a phase and a small part of watching my darling little girl grow. Before I know it, I'll be sleep-deprived worrying about her coming home late from her dates (I shudder at that thought).

Anyway, here's a video clip of Roy playing with Emma. (pardon the grainy quality of all my videos. They're all taken with my phone camera). Enjoy laughing along with her. =D

"Who looks like who?" II

5 months ago, we did a poll to find out whether Emma looks like Ade or I when we were both babies. Many felt Emma looked like the baby-me then.

After watching her grow over these few months, I'm actually convinced that Emma takes a lot more after Ade (**WHEW** hahahaha!). I've always felt that Emma looked more like Ade since she was born. Her big almond-shaped eyes, her dainty mouth, and her ears are like replicates of Ade's. Hehehe. See for yourself and I'm sure u'll agree with me.

Today's the first day of Chinese Lunar New Year 08, and surprisingly, Emma didn't cry as much as we thought she would when we visited my mom, and relatives, and in-laws. We thank God that she allowed many of them to carry her, after she's warmed up to the environment and people of course. =)

Blessed CNY to everyone!

Trying out solids

Roy's Ergo-carrying Emma to buy breakfast now, so i'm free to post. heheh (I'm supposed to be resting from my lack of sleep from Emma's night feeding & my unexplainable tummy pain... maybe I ate something wrong... but I just can't get back to sleep. So I'll just blog a bit instead. =P)

Emma had her first taste of rice cereals since last Thursday and she loves it! I initially wanted to wait till she's after 6 months to introduce solids, but her PD mentioned it's okay to start now as she's able to hold her head rather well. I'm suspecting she prefers eating solids to drinking milk because of her slow weight gain on milk alone... and now, looking at her response to the rice cereal, my suspicions may just be right. Hopefully she'll catch up on the weight department by 2 years old. =P

Check out the video of her 1st taste of rice cereal. Now, she practically gobbles down every mouthful & will make a lot of noise if I'm a bit too slow. She has learned how to drink water from a spoon too! =D (I've got to let her drink from the spoon because she treats the bottle as a toy and would not drink from it, sigh...)

Arrgh!

I know it has been a while since I made an entry because I've been rather busy taking care of Emma. But I need to get this off my chest and rant a bit here (now that Emma's asleep). Well, I’m usually a fairly easy-going person who’s always quite open to other people’s comments and feedback; in fact, my best friends had been telling me that I do allow others to sometimes even “climb all over me". I’m usually fine with that and I'll just allow myself to be subjected to criticisms if I see a greater good out of those criticisms, even when they're not justifiable in reflecting who I am and what I do… however, this time round, I’m feeling quite mad.

I am really upset over other people’s insensitive comments that I’m too anxious over Emma. Come on, I’m her mother, and I’m just responding to her needs! At almost 6 months, I should be able to tell from her body language and cries whether she’s tired, hungry or just simply wants a cuddle, right? All babies communicate by crying and they cry because they’ve got a need to be met. By responding to her cries promptly, I’m NOT displaying anxiousness, but rather I am showing her that I am there for her and I will try to meet her needs. In fact, I’ll gladly let other people carry her whenever I can so that I can take a break myself. However, I’ll most probably take over when I think she really needs me. In fact, people have commented that Emma is very well behaved from the fact that she’s able to sit quietly in her rocker and stroller for extended periods of time. I agree with them wholeheartedly! But then, when they hear her cry (she does have a loud voice), they'll sing a different tune.

I am content with the fact that all babies are different. Some babies are angel babies who’re not fussy and can sleep through the night. Emma, though well behaved at times, has her moods, and she is still waking up quite often in the night (especially after her bout of illness). I am not complaining because I've learnt not to compare with other babies. My little girl is unique in her own ways. She is definitely not someone who'll flash an easy smile, and she hates big movements and loud noises. She is an observer and she’ll only warm up to selective people whom she’s comfortable with. I think most of us are like that too. We have selective people whom we’re comfortable with and we wouldn’t like strangers to step within our comfort zones. To illustrate, if we do not like to be disturbed when we’re tired or hungry, what makes you think my baby will be responsive to you when she's tired or hungry? The only response she'll give is to cry. I have a problem with people who I’d warned not to touch her cheeks, to go near her, or to "coo-chi-coo" her, but still do it anyway despite my warnings. I am not disallowing them to go near my baby; it is just that I am able to tell what her mood is at that point in time because I’ve spent far more time with her than them with her. If she’s not in the mood for it, don’t risk it if you do not want her to cry. If she’s not ready for you yet, she’s not ready for you. Period. Even I sometimes do not succeed in soliciting a response from her when she’s not in the mood for it. So, wouldn’t it then be really strange if she performs for strangers she meets infrequently instead?

Come to think of it, it took me quite a while to build a bond with Emma too. I remembered her wailing lots when I tried to carry her or bathe her in her 1st month, so Roy was tasked to bathe her ever since the confinement lady left. I only took over from him last month when Roy’s increased work responsibilities prevented him from coming home early… Now, she only wants me to bathe her. =P (she's one smart little girl)

what a feisty little gal

Emma's been showing a lot more character nowadays.

• when she's not in the mood to sleep, she won't sleep! she won't lie on the bed, and she'll make lots of noise until she's lifted off the bed. She can be carried, placed in the rocker, laid on her play-mat, laid on the sofa. Anywhere BUT the bed. To her, "Bed = sleep". Period. And when she's not in the mood to sleep, BED is NOT an option for her.

• when she prefers to lie on her right side to nurse, it must be the right side (and vice versa). Else, Princess of "Wails" will test the limits of your ear-drums.

• when she's bored, or if no one's tending to her for tooo long a time, little Princess will show u what persistence means, until such time when the Princess is attended to.

• yet amidst all that, when she's in the right mood, one can never imagine what she's capable of doing to make one laugh.
  

For now, we've observed that she's one who'd observe pple in any environment, and will only open up and interact when she got to know the person(s) better. For those of u who're familiar with the MBTI, on the Extrovert-Introvert scale, I think Emma's 45% Extroverted-55% Introverted. I also think she probably perceives through "Sensing".

Well, it's just 5 months now, and we sure are looking forward to watch Emma grow. This is a wonderful journey for Ade and I. Sehr wunderbar!

A New Year of New Beginnings

can't believe that it's 2008! The past year, and even the year before, simply went by in a blink of an eye. Time sure waits for no man, and if we aren't aware or vigilant, the year would've passed us by and we'd wasted precious time.

2008 - A year of New Beginnings, so went the exhortation during last night's Watchnight service. I couldn't agree more. New Beginnings for Ade and I as we step into the new year as new parents to our newborn daughter. New Beginnings for me in my work, as I assume new (and increased) responsibilities in my new office, and possibly a career "transition" away from home for a considerable amount of time in 2008.

Much to look forward to. Which means even much more for me to be vigilant, be aware of what God's gonna do in my life this year, and all the more important for me to acknowledge God in my 2008 sojourn in this earth, and learn (all over again) to trust in Him for His leading, moulding, protection, and providence through this year of transition.

Blessed new year everyone!

Emma's first Christmas... Emma's first fever...

yes yes.. Emma was down with slight fever on Christmas morning. Her temperature hovered at 37.3 ^oC, and at some points hit 37.8 ^oC. Coupled with a slight runny nose and itchy throat, I'm sure Emma didn't enjoy the feeling. I guess the I passed the bug to her. argh! I was down with fever on Sat night and was wasted the whole Sun. Felt much better on Mon, but even then, I've refrained from physical contact with Emma, and even wore face mask during the times I've to carry her. Yet the persistent bug hit our precious little daughter.

It sure was an experience for Ade and I. Our very first experience caring for a sick child. But Emma was such a fighter through it all, smiling and chuckling away whenever she's awake, despite the cold cloth that's placed on her forehead to keep the temperature at bay. We only gave Emma a dose of infant paracetamol medicine, and thank God for strengthening Emma throughout, for her temperature went down below 36.7 ^oC. That was certainly a relief for Ade and I.

A big 'thank you" to all of Emma's uncles, aunties and friends who've been praying for her recovery. Thank God that Ade was still well, and didn't fall ill even though Emma and I were both under the weather at the same time. =)

Christmas Eve one yr ago.. and now...

a year ago.... on Christmas eve 2006
1) my godson Joseph prophesied that Ade and I would have children
2) our friends teased Ade that she's pregnant

a yr since then.... on Christmas eve 2007.. we're blessed parents of a little joyful Emma Joy Foo... (no pun intended.. hahaha).

we can only stand amazed at how God orchestrated everything... =)

a busy and tiring end to an eventful year

Dec has always been my favourite time of each year, cos for one, it's really nice and cool, which "polar bears" like me who're stuck in hot and humid Singapore would really appreciate. Never mind the wet weather, I just love it to be nice and cool... =)

I love Dec also cos it's Christmas, and a time when I can share the joy of the Lord with friends. A time when church is abuzz with outreach presentations, to minister to people, whom God loves dearly. This year is no different. It has always been fun to experience God working in and through everyone who're involved in the presentation. Yes there are times when it's very stressful with the little time left to rehearse and prepare before Christmas, and sometimes it's tiring. No joke. But there's always this sense of gratitude for the chance to partner God and be a part of His ministry to reach out to people out there. I can't wait to see how God's gonna move this coming weekend. I'm sure it's gonna be amazing!

This year-end, I'm feeling a lot more tired than previous years. I sat down and thought about it, and found myself feeling tired from work. Even though it's year-end, when people usually wind down a little from a year's worth of often highly-stressed and high-tempo work. Not for me though. I found myself working past 6pm a few nights, sometimes till 7pm, all without realising it until Dearie called to ask me if I was on the way home. I feel bad. Going home late means Dearie has to wait a little longer before she can take a little break and have her dinner properly without having to tend to Emma. Going home late means Emma would've to wait a little longer for her warm bath, which'll eat into her sleeping time, and I'm sure parents would know what happens when babies are put through activities when they're tired. Yeps, that's right, they get really cranky and it's a whole lot more effort needed to sooth them down and put them to sleep. Going home late means less time with Dearie and Emma. Sigh...

Anyway, yes, I feel tired. I feel drained. I wished there was more support at work. I do feel a tad lonely at work. I do wish there can be more friends around in the work place. Argh! If not for the morning prayers when I wake up, or when I drive to work, I'm sure I wouldn't have gone through each day in the office with the right frame of mind, and to give my all as if unto the Lord, and live my life the way that Paul exhorted us to (Col 3:23-24). I'm sure I'd have thrown in the towel by now if not for God's strength that undergirded me all this while. I'm physically tired, but I'm thankful within, thankful that I've got a God whose love surpasses all things.

Indeed I'm thankful. I'm thankful for Emma, I'm thankful for Dearie. Dearie and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary on 12 Dec, and of course I took leave that day. This time, we had Emma to celebrate our anniversary with us. It was a pleasant day for us as a family. Went for lunch at Paragon, shopped at Paragon, Tangs, Taka, and had dinner at Paragon. We were amazed ourselves at how we were able to go out for such a long time. And Emma was such a dear throughout, blissfully sitting in her stroller, sleeping or just observing her surroundings as we went around, and only fussing a little whenever it's time to feed. We really thank God for good nursing rooms.

Well, such times cannot go by without having Dearie's favourite Jap food. We tried out the Shimbashi Soba restaurant in Paragon, and we loved the food there. Salmon sashimi was superb, and it was so good that we ordered more than one plate of it. The soba was nice and fresh too. Emma did fuss a little then, so Dearie had to sling her while eating her food. But I must say that Dearie has mastered the art of baby-slinging really well. *clap clap clap*

It was a wonderful day out, and I relish such times with Dearie and Emma. How nice it'd be if I could spend 24 hrs each day with them, and not be bogged down by work. Ha. I can imagine God's face even as He hears these thoughts of mine. He must be saying "tsk tsk.. now now Roy.. stay faithful in where I'm placing you in this season..."

Yes, Lord.. I hear You... loud and clear, amen!

can't wait!

Ade and I are just enjoying every moment of Emma's growing up.. her cackles, her attempts to join in the conversations (as many would have heard when she was next to me during one of the discussions in the recent ministry's leaders' summit), her attempts to sing-along with impromptu songs by Ade and I.. there's always something new to see each day..

I guess that's how God sees us as His children as well, always ready to catch something new from us in our responses to the journeys that He prepares for us purposefully each day. I know He can't wait for us to discover new giftings, new experiences that builds our character, just as parents can't wait for their very own children to discover their giftings and abilities. That's a nice thought, to know that God's with us every moment of the day, watching over us in our sojourn in this world. I pray that I'll know Him more each day as well, and live my life worthy of the Lord, and please Him in every way. Col 1:10 comes to mind.

anyway, I am getting ambivalent regarding Emma's growth... one part of me wants her to stay the cutesy little baby that she is now so that I can cuddle her and pat her to sleep on my shoulder everytime.. yet another part of me can't wait to see how God's gonna mould Emma into a woman of God, especially after I saw this video on GodTube.. =)

talking abt "can't wait", this year is surely a year of multiplication within families... so many of our friends have either just had newborns, or going to have newborns by the end of 2007... and we just found out that another close couple-friend of ours from church is also expecting! We're so excited for them... God is surely serious about multiplication. =)
[ok, in case u're wondering, Ade and I aren't thinking too much abt another child (yet), cos' we're happy enjoying Emma at this juncture.. we'll see what God has in store for our family in the days to come.. heh]

swarmed

Daddy here's swarmed.. almost totally swarmed by the things I've got to uncover as I take over my new portfolio, address the past issues, try to get conversations with other units/offices going again, while still trying to find his footing in the midst of the ongoing work in his new office... well, it isn't really a new office, but it's a little kinda like home-coming as that was where I once worked as a staff officer 4 yrs back... It's amazing how time flies... well, it's a challenging period of time, and I've gotta keep reminding myself to die to self, and commit the day's work to the Lord every morning. So far, I can testify that God's grace is really at work in and through me, and He's been renewing me every minute of the day. I've just realised that I've taken on another role in my life now, and that is the role of a boss. Not an easy role to fulfill cos the things I say, and do, are under even greater scrutiny by more pple, some of whom are more than a decade younger than I am, and whose experience during their stint here will depend on the kind of work culture I set for the office, and how I walk as a leader. It's a challenging journey ahead of me in my worklife, but I know at the end of the day, I've got God on my side. That's enough to give me the confidence and assurance, knowing that I've got the best counsel and advisor whom I can turn to at work.

All said, busy schedule at work makes the day shorter, which means I don't have to seemingly wait too long before I see my two darlings (my wifey and little baby) at home. A simplest of smile from Emma in the evening just makes my day, no matter how crappy and difficult the work hours may be. I'm thankful to God for this blessing of a child, and for watching over Ade during her pregnancy, especially during the fragile early stages of pregnancy. I'm just thankful. So so so so thankful.

Ah, Emma had her 2nd jab last evening. We were wondering if she would cry since she's able to see a lot better than the last time she had her first jab. Well, lo and behold, she didn't cry when she had the jab. Only a little yelp when the doctor kinda pinched her buttocks to get more flesh for the needle to poke through. But she did cry later on, when she was orally administered with the Rotavirus vaccine. I guess it didn't taste too good, and yeps, there she went waaaaaa-ing away. But that in itself was a blessing, cos in her cries, the vaccine was inevitably swallowed and not a drop was spitted out and wasted. *wink*

We're monitoring her temperature just in case she develops a fever, but thank God so far, her temperature only hit 37.5 degrees celsius twice, and each time the temperature dropped shortly after Ade took the temperature. Other than that, Emma's still the cheery little baby, who's slowly beginning to enjoy singing along with Ade, and making gurgling noises when I do the nose-to-nose rub with her. We're just amazed at how God is moulding Emma each day. Oh btw, Emma's still not very big, but she has gained weight! She's abt 4.45kg now. I knew that Emma's growing fine. She's just petite... at least for now she is petite... =)

Tummy time

Tummy time's always fun for both Emma and I... I guess more so for me as I watch how she lifts her head & support her weight with her arms. Just yesterday, Emma managed to flip from her tummy to her back. She only did it once, so I thought it could be just a one time thingy. However, she did it again today and I've got a video to prove it! Yay! She's so cute when she landed on her back. When she did it yesterday, there was a look of shock in her face... but, it's a different story today though. =)

Tongue in cheek

Emma's tongue seemed rather white, possibly either from the calcium deposits from the milk, or it could be milk thrush? Hmm... i hope it's not the latter or else we'll both have to be on medication... anyway, after hearing from a friend that we've got to clean her tongue regularly to prevent thick crust from forming on the surface of her tongue, we've decided to use the baby toothbrush to brush the white, yukky stuff away rather than just using a cloth. To cut the long story short, it wasn't really successful as Emma decided to start playing and biting on the rubber toothbrush with my finger attached to it. She sure has a strong bite. =P Check out the video. Anyone any tips on how to clean her tongue properly?

Growth spurts???

Prior to this week, Emma has been sleeping around 4-5hrs at night, and before I could shout out hooray, she started to revert back to every 3 hours beginning of this week. Last night was the ultimate, she was demanding feed every hour!!! (and was perpetually latched on during the day apart from those happy, alert moments) I do hope this is a sign of a growth spurt and not a habitual night waking routine. =P

Am really exhausted from the lack of sleep... ZZzzzz....

Who looks like who? Part 2

This is a follow-up to the "Who looks like who?" poll.

The Sims, the Ows, and the Lohs have tried it out and we thought it'd be fun to use it to see who Emma looks like.. hahaha

joyful laughing baby

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting