She speaks our language! “NO!”

Too early for NO?

Chinese new year cookies

It will never be missed out during the joyful occasion of chinese new year. Here’s my beloved pineapple tarts. NOthing beats a cup of hot tea and pineapple tarts.

Especially love the floral pattern. Spring is blossoming with LOVE ^_^

Under renovation

Currently, some corners and parts of my house are undergoing some minor/major renovations. My room is undergoing some pipe-leaking maintenance and we’ve moved out to another room. With that, it means our wedding photo has to come down to stay temporary on the floor. In front of some door.

Wedding photo on the floor

Yea, do you see something?

There goes the creativity of a 15 months toddler...

The pure hearted

Amazed by 2 stickers at 15 months old!

Singapore trip 28 Dec 09-03 Jan 10

Here are some pending photos from the Singapore trip with husband.

At Hotel Re's lobby

Our portrait

Husband, Me, Joanne, Yang's elder sis, Jodie (with flowers) and Yang. Yang flew from Kuching to Singapore on the day to propose by surprise to Jodie on 1/1/10

Raffles City

Christmas decor right outside Raffles City

Always amazed by the bright colored decor balls ^_^ So Chrismassy

The meaning of being pregnant

I had a short conversation with a church brother yesterday in the cry room. Since I was interested to take up Disciple II class again after I abandoned it half way through when I was in Perth, I asked him for the class commencement date and he replied me it would be after Chinese new year. I was more than excited to reply him yes and I want to complete it very much this time round. I asked for ‘permission’ from husband, eagerly hoping he would give me a green light to go ahead with the plan.
Dear husband reminded me, “How can you take it this year when you’re going into labor soon. How about the one month confinement and expected 2-3 months down the track when we all will be very occupied with baby businesses?!”
Believe me. I didn’t mean to TOTALLY forget that I am 5 months pregnant when I first enquire about it.

Dong dong chiang?

I know, the title looks a bit funny but that’s from Chinese’s tradition of the sound made from hitting the drums for the lion dance. It has been another fruitful year of 2009 and i can see how time flies when i look at myself in the mirror (wrinkles la of course..hehe)! I am getting more ‘yellow‘ hence the 黃臉婆 and i actually come to realise that i’m going to be a mother of two soon. To count my blessings from my Father God:

1. I have 2 kids before i touch down on that big 30.

2. 不愁吃不愁穿，感恩啊

3. I am married to the most decent man on Earth. Thank you for the great life time partner, Father.

4. 婆媳紛爭 never really exist between my parents in law and me, unlike what people complain the most.

5. I have my parents who love me a lot and two siblings who are great to be around with.

6. Now, i have my own 小康之家.

7. Most importantly, I know very well God is with me, answering my every prayer and leading me and my family all the way, every day, throughout the years.

New year is always a time to count your blessings. Have you count yours?

23 Jan 2010 at home

I’m a happy mom!

The wonders of detail scanning..

Baby no.2 officially reached gestation age of 20 weeks and 6 days on 27th Jan 2010 (yesterday), that is 5 months plus. As scheduled, i went to do my every-pregnancy-routined-detail-scan with a very capable (not to mention being smart and tall and well built, haha) doctor at Kuching Specialist Hospital. Thank God things go well with baby no.2 and by the end of the checking, the smart doctor gives my baby a 95% for being so well behaved and healthy! Doctor told me not to expect any doctor to give me any higher mark than that since no one can really “guarantees” how one will turn out to be. So, there, my baby scores the highest mark in the room. Being the only one in the room, that is.

Now, for those who doesn’t know what the detail scanning is about, i shall briefly go through the procedures with you all here. I shall emit the medical terms because, really, if i know them i wouldn’t be doing what i am doing right now. ^_^

First of all, it all starts with the checking of shape and size of the head skull and make sure the skin surrounding the head is developing well. Any openings will be considered abnormal. Then, the fluid, cerebrum and other little parts in the brain are checked for their existence and ensure they’re suffice in quantity (the ultrasound machine does the job really well!). Then, doctor ensures that ears are present and well developed. Move downward to the neck all the way to the end of the spinal cord (the backbones). This one is extremely important too to make sure there’s NO opening seen because if there is, anything in the body might be squeezed out or anything outside will go in so NO GOOD! And if really it happens, it is a major operation as well. So young pregnant mothers must ensure they take folic acid every single day throughout the pregnancy so that to minimize the chance of development of defected spinal cord and backbones. Doctor will then check the tummy of the baby to make sure all the organs stay intact and are present in correct positions, muscles to separate the diaphragm and the heart are developed, livers, stomach, blood flows in and out of the organs are all checked into very fine details. Heart is checked for all the 4 chambers and no opening between the wall of the chambers and that blood flows in and out of the 4 chambers have to be in the correct orders.

The placenta, the adequacy of liquor/amniotic fluid, blood flows in and out of the placenta through the umbilical cords, position of the placenta are all to be checked. Then, all the limbs are scanned for well development and doctor will measure the femur length (the thigh bone) to estimate the size and weight of the baby and from it, to plot on the growth chart whether or not the baby is under-developed or advance in the development thus doctor can predict (from the chart), by the time of labor, how big and heavy the baby will be. To me, these are all too amazing. I learn so much just from the scan. As for my baby no.2, the physical development is advanced by 1 week! =P Doctor predicted that if i continue my eating regime and lifestyle until labor, i’m gonna have another 3.4++kgs baby!! Another heavy and long baby to be expected. Hahah!

Baby’s face is then checked for two eye sockets, nose bridge, two nostrils, upper and lower lips (make sure no cleft lip presents). After all the scanning done in black and white, he then let me see the baby in 4D (in sepia color tone and the baby is moving at the same time) on the monitor. It’s all so clear and vivid in front of my eyes. He also took some 3D “photos” for me to keep in my album. Awww~I can’t wait to see my baby no.2 now, well, not now. Hopefully in another 17 weeks when it’s the time.

Of course, the whole detail scan learning process is too much for me to grasp just within 45 minutes and i’m gonna miss some of the things he told me. He told me something about “no notching found” and that means blood flows from my body to the placenta (should be the placenta if i’m not wrong) are good! That means baby is getting enough nutrients to grow and grow and GROW! Happy big baby.

I’m all too glad now to be sure that my baby is healthy (and happy..i know because of the kicks all the time). And doctor also said that since he can give 95% normal and healthy to baby at this time, the baby will NOT become abnormal after i go home or anytime up until delivery. The baby has developed everything he/she needs to have and from now on, he/she will just grow in size for that healthy chubby fats to fit in.

Mommy, daddy and jie jie wait for you, my dear. Stay healthy and happy and keep those kicks coming in! ^_^

New year resolution: Give birth to one more child

As clear as it’s written on the title, I have to made this a good resolution this year. With no turning back (and i do not wish for it neither), this baby no.2 of mine is going to due soon (first half of 2010)! I say it ’soon’ because time hasn’t been leaving any footprints behind so far after we did the new year countdown like 19 days ago in Singapore (on a yacht on Marina Bay). Without realising, half of January had gone and i haven’t really start one blog post yet (you can sense that i’m very guilty right now, right?). So here I am with my second blog post for 2010.

Updating you all with Chloe’s development progress for a bit. Since 17th December 2009, she has started her walking milestone! She set off with a lot of falls here and there but eventually, after 2 weeks practising non-stop by herself, she manages to walk properly with minimal falls. We bring her to walk around in the church, socialize with other kiddies in Sunday school, let her walk along the ‘kaki lima‘ and she totally loves walking by now. She loves to walk within the house and starts to look for the one she looks for.

With a walking kiddy at home, i everyone needs to pay extra attention on her. We have to check on her whereabouts every few minutes or else we’ll end up finding her chewing insects on the floor that she finds in some corners or playing with toilet bowl lid in the bathroom. Things are easier with her walking but life’s getting more hectic looking around for her. I would say there are pros and cons of a walking kiddy.

As for myself, i’m physically doing okay so far. Nothing much to grumble about this pregnancy apart from the morning sickness in first trimester, which i did not experience much at all during my first pregnancy. I still need plenty of rest at home during the noon after i’m done with office chores during the morning.

And now, i really need to slam myself to bed before i doze off in front of the laptop. Shall get back to my blog more regularly. Fingers crossed.