Yam Cakes & Macademia Nut Chochip Cookies!

It's thunderstorming now. The kiddo's asleep. He woke up briefly, startled by the thunder and lightning. He opened his eyes big bigggg.. Then, realising that Mummy was lying beside him and patting him, he promptly decided that the weather was too good and fell right back to sleep. I just sneaked away from his bedroom.

Nowadays, we have naps and playtime during the day in Ethan's bedroom, surrounded by lotsa fun things - e.g. baby posters, wall stickers, lamaze play gym, ABC mat etc etc. And then, at night, he will sleep in Dad and Mom's room on our bed. I hope to wean him off slowly from sleeping on our bed but the fact that I nurse him to sleep doesn't give me the incentive to do the former. hahaha Lazy Mommy!

Yesterday, I made steamed yam cakes for our dinner and Alan's breakfast the following day. They turned out quite yummy, I must say! And because the servings were huge, Alan brought the cakes into the office to feed his staff this morning! hahaha

The day before, I also baked Macademia Nut and Choco Chip cookies for Alan and Jean. But sad to say, the hubby thinks they are 'as hard as doggie biscuits'!! (Ethan doesn't seem to think so though!)

IT'S MEESIAM MONDAY!

En made her fabulous meesiam today for dinner. It's my Mummy's recipe but too bad she's not here to cook it or it would have been tastier. :( But still it was good :)

Something Different

To continue in the theme of doing "something different", Alan and I and Ethan took a walk this morning in the neighbourhood. Actually, I had woken up at around 8am and toyed with the idea of going for a stroll for at least 15minutes... Then, the son and husband stirred and so I mooted the idea.


It was indeed a lovely experience. There were clouds in the sky and it wasn't hot at all. Jay Jay and Coco formed the entourage as well. I had slapped on mosquito repellent for Ethan as I know how vicious the mozzies are in this neighbourhood.


A few months ago, when Ethan was even "littler", ALan and I had taken him on a walk. We placed him in the stroller and immediately he started screaming his head off. Needless to say, our walk did not last very long. :P


Today was different though. Ethan squinted in the sunlight but did not protest as we placed him in the stroller. He proceeded to stone his way around the neighbourhood and after a few minutes, the movement of the stroller lulled him into a deep sleep again. hahaha. What a babe!


After the walk, Alan and I left to have bf at our usual coffeeshop. I decided to have toasted bread instead of my usual noodles. And then we went to TMC to pick up some items. Along the way there, Saw Hoon called and they wanted to pop over to bring us the toys they promised.


We hurried home and strawberry tea, strawberries and kiwis were served to our guests. :) We had a great time laughing over the videos of our previous Morib Beach day trip. :) The Tan family gave us a few wooden jigsaw puzzles, a toy lawn mower and also an 'egg'citing toy that sharpens the child's counting skills. They also gave me a book on what toys are useful ones to buy from the birth to two years of age of your child. Their son is a future doctor and their daughter is a future dentist... I think I shall get Ethan started on the toys in no time. hahahah. Joking lah.



In the evening, Ethan was all tired out and he fell asleep next to Daddy on the rocking sofa. How cute! hahaha

Avocado Milkshake :)

Today we did something special at home... we made AVOCADO MILKSHAKE!

Recipe for 2.5 big glasses of milkshake:

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados

some melted gula melaka (to taste)

500ml of milk

ice cubes

Method:

1. Blend the milk, avocados and gula melaka together.

2. Add in ice cubes and blend again.

3. Pour out and ENJOY!

Simple and tasty! :D

This evening, we went to Bangsar Shopping Centre to check out its new wing and at the same time to go to Pets Lovers Centre to buy dog food. However, there was NO Pets Lovers Centre there. How diappointing! We had originally learned that a branch was going to be opened at BSC in Dec 2009 but I guess they pulled out last minute! :(

Very unfortunate as that would have been a very good place, a near home, to buy dog food and the likes. Anyway, we roamed and roamed around and got some spices for my cooking of lamb curry tomorrow and then went into Cold Storage and picked up some sushi for dinner at home tonight.

Hair cuts

Alan and I took a short breather from Ethan tonight and went for our monthly haircut at Bill's. I finished tuition at around 530pm and fed Ethan for all of 2 minutes before Ening carted him away to bathe and we made a beeline for La'Mode.

We sat there for our hair wash and cut till 8pm! And then I went into MPH to exchange a book I had bought for Ethan which was torn and tattered inside :( After that, Alan and I had a Vietnamese dinner at the top floor of MVMM.

I ordered a set dinner of a prawn rice roll, beef phoa and a dessert of 3 layer shaved ice chendol. Alan ordered (mistakenly) a bowl of mixed beef phoa and a bowl of beef balls phoa. We polished everything off our plates / bowls / glass. Satisfied, we then went on our way home to a crying and fussing Ethan. :~( We saw this exhibition of Alice in Wonderland at the forum of Mid Valley Mega Mall. :D

Ethan @ Pantai Medical Centre

Good morning folks! It's a lovely Tuesday morning. ;) Today, Ethan's due for his second jab and this time we will be going to Doctor Yong Sin Chuen at Pantai Medical Centre. I'm a little jittery about the jab part but in anticipation of a new (and good - he came highly recommended on the expat forum) doctor. I also can't wait to get Ethan measured. It's been a long two months since the last time he was weighed and measured for length. hahaha You know (if you don't already), Moms always measure their success at parenthood of their newborns by their baby's weight and length. ahahhaha. Soon it will be the number of As they are getting in their report cards and the number of instruments they play and have mastered musically etc.. :P *sigh* Hence begins the mindless and completely meaningless race.

I will drop updates later (for the excited grannie to read). Tata for now.

1030pm:

Ethan's fast asleep from all the trauma. He hardly slept the whole day (although he woke up late at 10am this morning). We went to Pantai for our appointment with Dr Yong at 230pm. Unlike the Gleneagles doc, we did not have to wait very long (thank goodness~). After registering for Ethan as a new patient, we waited outside Dr Yong's clinic.

A nurse came to take Ethan's weight (6.02kg) and length (63.5cm) and then we waited outside the clinic again.

Doc Yong stood up to greet both Alan and myself and shook our hands sincerely. Immediately he put us at ease. He was also tremendously gentle with Ethan and very warm and caring. He proceeded to ask us for updates of Ethan's first 4 months on earth and was very detailed in his questioning and note-taking. He asked us developmental milestones of Ethan's, such as grasping of things / putting things into his mouth / flipping over etc etc. He was also concerned when we told him about Ethan's jaundice previously.

Then, he gave Ethan a general look-over and pronounced him healthy and well :) Although Ethan is still on the slightly small side, he reassured us that everything was normal and fine. :) After giving Ethan the oral drops for the Rotarvirus, I braced myself for the jab. It was over in no time. Ethan didn't even have time to react - I think he gave a short 3sec maximum cry and then it was over. hahaha. :) Brave Mummy did not even shed a tear this time~!

The Doc's clinic was plastered with lotsa big wall stickers and Ethan was tremendously entertained by the lion / tiger / elephant, giggling and exclaiming loudly to himself everytime I carried him near the stickers. hahaha Doc Yong was amused as well. hehehe.

Ethan's third vaccination jab is slated for 26th April 2010. :)

The Weekend in Short

Ethan looking at ants scamper by

Ethan watching tv with big bright eyes

Ethan bouncing on Daddy's lap

Last weekend was quite fulfilling. It all started on Friday 12 March 2010 evening when Alan came back home earlier than normal. It's great that he has moved his office. It's much nearer home and to get from Office to Home and vice versa, he can successfully avoid the common jams in KL.

We contemplated going out for the evening but luckily decided against it, even before he got home as a thunderstorm was brewing. We spent our evening indoors and watching a DVD. :)

Saturday 13 March 2010

I was zonked out after waking up as the night had been long and Ethan had been feeding. I've got to ask the doc tomorrow, during Ethan's checkup cum injection, whether or not it's time to start him on solids. I know some docs advocate introducing solids from as young as 4 months but in general, I think the average age to feed babies solid food is around 6 months of age.

Anyway, we had decided long ago to hit town and BUY BUY BUY. KL is having some massive sales and we decided to go to 1-Utama to shop. Parkson, the major departmental store was having a Mad About Kids sale and I wanted to look for a walker n etc for Ethan.

All of us bundled into the car at around 11am and headed for 1-U. ALan was craving for Nonya food so we went to our usual haunt, The Peranakan Place at Level 2. We realised it had been refurbished and it looked much classier and we quite excited to enjoy the good food it served again.

Unfortunately, we were very let down. The standard of their fare had plummeted. We ordered 5 dishes to share - Devil's Curry, Sambal Belachan Kangkong, Lala Egg, a Nonya Braised Toufu and sambal prawns.All the dishes were found wanting. :( I think my hot barley water was the saving grace. ;p

After the gastronomical disappointment, we suffered another disappointment. The baby/kiddo section in Parkson, 1-U was sooooooooo pathetic. :P It did not house many brands, to begin with. And also did not have a baby walker section. *sigh* We browsed and went away with 2 bottles of baby wash and a packet of wet wipes ONLY. My goodness.

MPH was next door and I proceeded to renew my membership for RM20. Alan bought me the book I had been wanting to get (Diary of a TaxiDriver) and I bought Ethan a couple of pop-up books etc more (remember my ambition to fill up his bookshelf??!) Alan also clamoured for molten chocolate cake / muffins and so we bought 500 Cupcakes and Muffins book for their recipes.

By then, my body was aching as the stroller had been empty and my arms laddened with "little" Ethan. We proceeded to the baby nursing / changing room to feed Ethan who was fussing. Wow. Impressive! I didn't take a picture but let me describe...

There is a lcd tv inside the room and a play table and chairs to entertain the toddlers whilst mommy feeds, coupled with a sitting area for the daddies. Inside, there is a line of changing cushions and bins for babies' soiled diapers to be changed. Further in, there are 3 or 4 nursing rooms. Each brightly coloured and decorated with wall stickers. Also, (and I don't know why but it's a nice touch), there is a cradle bouncer in each room. This is so far, the best nursing room in KL! *claps*

After Ethan was satisfied and partially falling asleep, I changed his diaper and then all of us proceeded to the shops to look for MORE CLOTHES for Ethan. hahaha His wardrobe is overflowing with clothes but he is certainly outgrowing more and more.

Finally, in F.O.S. (Alan calls it full of $ht), I found some great deals. I bought altogether 6 rompers for Ethan. 4 at 2 for Rm20 and a pair at 2 for Rm16. Yay. They will last him beyond 6months and are longer than most of his current ones now. Ethan's Baju from F.O.S. (RM56 in all)

Thirsty and exhausted by now, we decided that Juicewerks was a better option than Coffeebean because it was healthier. It was certainly pretty pricey though and 3 drinks (one for the maid too) came up to be RM25+. Wow. Health indeed comes with a price. hahahaha. Resting in Mama's arms in Juicewerks

Home welcomed us with opened arms when we arrived at around 4pm and the two furry ones were extremely relieved to be let out of their cages.

Sunday 14 March 2010

We woke up at around 10am, amazed by how let it was. Quickly, Alan made a phone call to our local butcher to order some pork. We were going to have a home-made steamboat tonite! :D

Ethan was left in the care of En and we headed to the market and the supermarket to pick up the usual and more. Someone Someone had requested for me to bake bake bake so I picked up a few more items in lieu of this. Butter, amazingly had gone up by Rm2/ slab!

Anyway, after we left TMC and dropped the stuff off at home, we headed to (where else but) our usual Sunday brunch place for (what else but) fishhead beehoon soup. The only thing about eating this so regularly, I can say is that at least it's health food! hahaa. Our best friend had not opened to our disgust (it was already 1pm) and we could not do an exchange of our purchases. :(

We went into Desa Sri Kota to buy ladles for the steamboat as well as a few other items then headed home for me to take a quick shower and then feed and be with Ethan. I had a luxurious 1.5hour nap with him - I had been suffering from a sleep deficet and I had needed a power nap desperately. Alan had his "Me Time" and had a good time with his RC cars. After that, he proceeded to prepare the stock etc for our steamboat dinner.

At approximately 630pm, we started on our steamboat and had a tremendously enjoyable and delicious meal. :D