5 teeth and others

in the past months, alan has learnt to do the following:

• point at people and things with his index finger;
• ask you to pay attention to him or pick up things for him with his index finger and making the "ah, ah, er, er" sound;
• scream when he doesn't get what he wants, especially at his dad and parental grandma;
• pretend to poo - sometimes he tries so hard to make it look real that a drop of poo would be squeezed out;
• cover his face with a blanket to play hide and seek.

and right now he's growing his fifth teeth.

this afternoon, we're going to our 2nd early education class.  and we're getting a vaccination and our monthly health check, too.  alan didn't cry, didn't even blink his eyes during last vaccination, let's see if he can keep it up.

retail therapy

i was feeling quite depressed, as i whined in my last post, so i decided to get some retail therapy yesterday.

i haven't shopped for ... i can't even remember how long.  i don't particularly enjoy walking from shop to shop, i get tired easily, and i don't like spending my hard-earned money either.  all in all, i'm not the typical girl who likes shopping.

but i needed to feel good.  i needed to do something for myself.  so i bought: 2 pairs of shoes (and got the 3rd pair for free), 1 set of pyjamas, 1 pair of pants, 1 pair of denim shorts, and 1 knitted cardigan.

the above is my first pair of shoes from united nude, which is called "helix lo".

and this is a pair of "block pump mid" in the light pink.

i wanted to get a pair of the "eamz pump", but they were all a bit too high, and not as practical if i was to run after alan in them (yes, i had this mind when choosing shoes).

and i got this third pair for free.  the shoes were not cheap, but well, let me forget about the price tag for once, please!

this is the cropped cardigan.  there're a few different ways to wear the collar and the knitted belt.  oh, the sleeves are full-length, but i just folded it when i wore it this morning because it was quite warm outside.

the pyjamas, pants and shorts are still eagerly awaiting for their turn to get some photo shoots.

am i too greedy?

being a mom 24/7 sometimes feels a bit too full-on.  well, i do feel guilty saying this out loud.  but i think it's healthier to be honest with myself instead of burying my them.

i have to consider what's best for my baby in everything i do, in every decision i make.  i can no longer run out the door during a fight with my husband, i cannot even shut the door to express my anger.  i have to live in my in-law's apartment against my wish because it's best my baby see his dad everyday...

sometimes i feel really really down.  i can't help it.  i hate living in this messy apartment, i hate not having my own space.  i do not even have a "home"!

but every time i point this out, bryan says, "you have such a good baby, you should be happy enough, you should be content.  what more do you want?"

yes, i am more than happy about my baby.  he's the best baby in the world.  but i am still an individual, am i not?

if i don't have alan, i wouldn't even give it a blink to break up with bryan when he forced me to live under others' roof.

i want to have my own home.  i do NOT want to live with in-laws.  i want to live in a better and cleaner apartment.  i want to toilet train my baby with a pedestal toilet and not a squatting type one...

and yet, am i too greedy?

beloved

i was holding alan in my arms and played the “pretend falling" game with him last night.  but i lost balance and did fall over.

i fell on my back.  my elbow was scratched and the back side of my head was hit, too.  but that was alright.  poor little alan's face hit the metal arm of a chair during the fall, and his face was bruised.

he did cry, but only for one or two minutes.

because he was in my arms!

i felt so loved.  here's the person who loves me, trusts me, believes in me the most in the whole world - my baby alan.

as long as i pick him up and hold him in my arms, alan would stop crying, no matter what caused him to be upset.

facing death

after reading about dan's dream on single dad laughing, i decided to also write down a dream i had two nights ago.

in my dream, i had the ability to foresee death's next victim in my dreams (yes, it's like "inception", in my second layer of dreams).  in my dream of dream, the next victim would be eaten by a huge group of leopard cats.  people from my primary school and junior highs started to die, one by one, accurately predicted by my dreams.  

one night, myself was eaten by the cats and i knew that it was my turn.  i also knew that death would only focus on killing you for the month i had the dream, so if i could survive this month - which was september, the month of my birthday - i would be able to live on.  i also knew that death was only able to "take" you away if you were alone.  with those in mind, i tried to stick with others.  

first, i went shopping with my dad, helping him choose a medium sized jacket.  he told me at the end of our shopping trip, "well, don't worry, it's already 28 september, just a few more days.  you'll be alright."  by the way, 28/9 was my birthday.

next, i was walking on the street with a girl from my primary school class.  i was grabbing her tee and wasn't going to let go as i told her, "i won't let you go, as death will come take me if i'm alone."  but i was very tired trying to stay awake all month, and finally i fell asleep.  

i was in bed, covered by a mosquito nest.  i suddenly felt death approaching from my right hand side.  i pretended to be asleep and when i felt that he was on my bedside table, i raised suddenly and hit him with my right elbow.  then i turned around to face him.  i saw his face - it was very skinny, white, old and winkled.  i then swung my right arm at him with full force to punch him in the face.  he said angrily without moving his lips, "how dare you fighting me!"

then i woke up.

my living doll

when I was a child, I would do anything to have a living doll, or a living teddy bear, one that would talk to me, play with me, hug me and love me back as much as I love him (or her).

now I have alan.   he's my dream come true!

keeping our family intact

anything can happen with a broken family.  anything.  really.  no matter how impossible it may seem, but it can happen.

both coming from broken families, bryan and i must do our very best to keep our own family intact.

climbing

alan's had his "baby kindom" for only a few days, and he's already trying to climb out.

instruction says it can keep babies of up to 2 years of age securely inside.  well... i hope that's ture, but...

fruity rice with chicken and apricot

i made this for alan yesterday.  it was so delicious!  i wished i had made more, so i could have some myself.

what you need:
1 tsp olive oil; 1/2 small onion; 2 dried apricots; 1 tbsp chicken breast or thigh meat; 1 tomato, seeded, skinned, and chopped; 2 tsp sultanas, 1/4 tsp rosemary; 1/4 chopped garlic; 2 tbsp baby rice; some water

let's cook:
1. heat the oil in a small pan and add the onion and fry until soft;
2. mix in the chicken, apricot, sultanas and tomato;
3. add the rosemary, garlic and water; bring to boil for 10 minutes, stir occasionally to prevent sticking;
4. allow to cool, then puree the mixture in a liquidizer;
5. reheat the mixture in a small pan, add the baby rice, and bring to boil for another 5 to 10 minutes; stir to mix and prevent sticking.

nutrition:
calcium, protein, multi vitamins

i modified the original recipe from "organic baby & toddler cookbook" by lizzie vann of baby organix, to suit what i can find in the supermarkets in china.  you may want to have a look at their website to more delicious foods for your kids.

three teeth

grandpa and alan are spending some quality time together this weekend.

actually, great-grandpa just called today, and i told him that alan now has 3 teeth.  great-grandpa was very surprised!  three teeth in one and a half month?  wow,  how fast the teeth pop out!  he said.

well, yes.  alan's first teeth was the front left one on the lower gum, followed by the one on the right.  his third tooth is just starting to come out now.  it's the left front one on the upper gum.

alan's baby kingdom

this is alan's baby kingdom, dad built it for us last night.

there're only a few bear servants at the moment, but we plan to introduce some knights, cooks, and well perhaps a princess, too.

the hello guesture

alan learnt to do the "hello" gesture last night.

can you see that?  and that's grandma wearing a mask because she had a bit of a cough.

"hello, baby alan."  "hello, mommy." ...

here alan and his grandma were having a big laugh together!  ha ha ha ha!

dear alan in autumn

it's getting cold now.  and we put on a long-sleeve top, a pair of long pants, and a pair of mommy-knitted socks!

just want to share a few new pictures of alan,

and his mommy.

my first birthday with alan

these photos aren't very good due to the lack of natural light, but i want to share them with you anyway.  they were taken a while ago, on my birthday night, 28 september 2010.  

it was my first birthday with alan!

he had a tiny bit of my cake, too.

alan's new hat

i've knitted alan a new hat.  it's the candy can pattern from Itty-Bitty Hats: cute and cuddly caps to knit for babies and toddlers.

i wish i could take better pictures of him.  my camera is so old and is really bad at capturing motions.

at 8 months of age, alan's head is already measuring 47cm.  haha!

first teeth

yesterday morning, 24 september 2010, alan's first teeth popped out!

he pulled my finger into his mouth to chew as usual, and yesterday, i felt something different, something sharp!

i'm still breastfeeding him, so i hope he doesn't bite...

what? playing with bras already?

do you see what alan was so happy playing?  em...  it's embarrassing to tell, because his favorite toy yesterday evening was, my step-mom's bra!  and see the hand in front of him that's holding the bra?  that's my grandma.  they were playing my step-mom's bra together.

when i asked my grandma, "why do you let him play with bras?"  my grandma replied, "it's early education, it'll be very useful."  i was totally speechless.

alan's first word

yesterday, 16 september 2010, alan said his first word.

he said, "baobao, baobao", which meant "baby" in chinese.

we've been calling him "baobao" since his birth.

when will he say "mama"?

we eat and we read

alan loves food!

not only does he eat every puree i cook for him, he stares at adult's food every time we eat - breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks.

i was having my plum and he demanded to taste it.  it was a bit sour, but alan didn't seem to mind at all.  my grandma found it very funny that alan loved food so much.

here's some of the books we're reading.  all chinese so far, but i'm getting him these two english books from amazon.com: "the very hungry caterpillar" and "brown bear, brown bear, what do you see".

they have very good customer reviews on amazon.  i'll be collecting my books from the post office tomorrow.  can't wait!

tough alan & his cheesy fish cake dinner

yesterday, alan let me cut his fingernails when awake.  it was the first time he let me cut his nails when being awake!  he didn't struggle or even move much, he just looked at the nail clipper as if it was a toy.  so good!

can you see the drop of tear just below his lower eyelid?  

that's because he fell backwards and his head landed on the glazed tile floor.  i didn't pick him up right away.  a boy has to be strong.

  

a big smile soon returned to our chubby face!  that's right, alan's a tough boy!

this is what alan had for dinner last night - cheesy fish cake

ingredients:

1/2 potato, 1 tbsp cheddar cheese, 2 tbsp fish, 1/4 onion, 2 tsp olive oil, some water

how to make it:

1. finely chop everything;

2. heat the olive oil in a small pan;

3. add the onions, simmer for 5 minutes;

4. add potato, fish and water, and cook for 10-15 minutes;

5. turn off the heat, and add the cheese, stir to mix;

6. pureed using a liquidizer.

nutrition:

calcium, vitamin c, vitamin b6, omega 3 & 6

alan loves fish.

apple porridge

this morning, alan had apple porridge for breakfast.  he loved it and finished his meal in no time at all!

what you need:
1 apple, 3 tbsp oats, 1 egg yoke, and some water

how to make it:
puree and mix everything together in a liquidizer, and cook the mixture slightly. that's it, done.

nutrition:
it's got plenty of dietary fiber, vitamin c, vitamin b, minerals (esp. lots of manganese) and protein.

some variations:
sometimes we use 1 tsp of sultana instead of egg yoke.  it's a bit sweeter with the sultana.

"an apple a day, keeps the doctors away."  yeah!

let's blog about being together

i was having a facial at a local salon the other day, and somehow i started chatting with the girls about being a mom and raising baby alan.  it seems i do have some “expertise" on this topic!

so i decided to blog about being a mom and being with alan.  it should be fun.

for starters, if i want to be in the photo with alan, it's more often than not that i have to hold the camera myself.  em... wonder why...

and here alan was caught grabbing his great-grandpa's mouth (and nose, too).   doesn't he look a bit startled, "oh sugar, mommy caught me being naughty!"