A touch of nostalgia

Went to Mildred's for breakfast on Saturday, she had a lantern waiting for Nat. The cellophane paper kind, reminds me of my childhood when my Amah would buy me and Swana those kinds of lanterns...those were the days.


Speaking of nostalgia, the other day I watched the Snorkels cartoon on TV, I miss all the programmes we used to watch. I remember the Wuzzles and this raccoon cartoon, and My Little Pony. Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake were among my favourites and I get to relive everything through Nat and Gigi. They still sell Care Bears at Tangs and Gap has a range of t-shirts bearing old cartoons.



Saturday evening was spent visiting Puni's new home. She moved in a couple of months ago and invited us over for dinner, along with Kannaki and Chris. Nat took a while to warm up but pretty soon was tearing books off Nikesh's shelves and playing with all his toys!

The house itself was nicely done, pretty spacious and I think they got a good deal considering what condos and houses cost nowadays. However, I don't know why my friends like to live in Woodlands...so bloody far. Always joke with Jane that must bring passport!





Brought Nat shoe-shopping on Sunday afternoon at ViVo, managed to 'ketuk' her father for 2 pairs...ha ha. Whilst having tea at Cedele, we heard the infectious beat of drums and I brought Nat to see where the sound was coming from. Turned out to be a mini-band of drummer boys marching through the mall, so me and Nat followed. She loved it, was bopping in my arms.


I couldn't resist buying this romper last Friday from Raffles Place, it was like a sign to me! Even if Nike turns out to be a girl, she can still wear blue.


BTW, I think Bath and Body Works do too good a job in replicating floral smells. Everytime I wear a certain moisturiser, I get 'bugged' by these little yellow flies called hover flies, or flower flies. This morning, I had to keep swatting them away while sitting at the bus-stop, the guy next to me must have been thinking I didn't shower. LOL!

Switcheroo

I couldn't decide what to eat for lunch today but at the last minute was inspired to takeaway some mee rebus. Found a stall nearby and paid for my purchase, but just as I was walking away, I noticed people sitting around eating mee rebus from another stall, and the gravy looked better so I contemplated buying a second packet to conduct a taste test.

In the end, I decided to try their mee siam instead. And that's how I landed up doing a switcheroo during lunch, alternating between mee rebus and mee siam every few mouthfuls. Am I a glut or what?


I think this pregnancy brings out the klutz in me, lately I've been tripping a lot plus I just ripped half my left thumbnail while innocently pulling my chair towards my desk. Ow ow ow.

Gigi is officially 1 and Nat is 19 months

Gigi officially turned 1 last Friday and we had a mini-celebration at Membina with the immediate family and some of the cousins, like Kaelash and Kavitah who brought their respective kids.

Ananya's too little to play, but Nat and Gigi got to interact with Riley. I think Nat was in awe of her, it's so cute to see her reaching out to make friends, offering Riley a Care Bear keychain and later the 3 of them hung out in the ball-filled playpen.





Mummy kept changing Gigi's outfits, finally settling on a gorgeous M&S floral dress that made her look all princessy.


At 1 she can already walk, and sometimes run. And she's learnt how to say 'eye', 'ma-mum' and 'milk'...anything that makes getting food easier! She's still a whiney brat, inseperable from her pacifier and still not a single tooth as yet!

She couldn't wait to get her hands on her birthday cake, which was a yummy Pulut Hitam concoction from Pine Garden. She grabbed at it before we could add the candles, ruining the words 'Happy 1st birthday darling Gigi'. She only ruined the 'darling' so I did some minor plastic surgery and voila, the cake is saved!






It being the 4th also meant Nat is another month older. At 19 months, she's quite a little chatterbox, forming short sentences like, "No more sun", "Mama's shoes", "Mummy's knee". She still loves to dance and whenever she meets new people, we make her show off her dancing.



Nat's lost some weight after her recent run of stomach flu and she's a fussier eater than ever. Now she'll ask for 'black, black' during all her meals - meaning she wants dark soya sauce added. She's a colourist, cannot eat white food!

She likes to lick things on purpose, despite being warned. She'll give a defiant look and pretend to lick a toy or the wall while still maintaining eye contact. Have tried the naughty corner a couple of times, but she never stays still there.

She's super loving with Gigi, reaching out to hug her all the time, I think she's going to be a really good elder sister to Nike. She might even be handy around the house, like yesterday at Ben's place she voluntarily took the feather duster to wipe some areas!


Everytime I put makeup, she grabs my cosmetics from the table. So this morning I gave her a new brush so she can pretend along with me. I really ought to catch her on video, but she clams up whenever I whip out the camera.


Didn't do much the whole weekend, except look at cars with Swana and Kevin, who passed his driving test on the first attempt, on the morning of Gigi's birthday. They eventually agreed on one they liked and made a booking after test-driving it. Unfortunately it's sold out for the moment, so they have to wait a few months before they can get their hands on it. But here's a clue, it's French too. They must have been in a Frenchie kind of mood, since they left for Paris via Amsterdam last night. Sigh, Paris...

Constant craving

Erm, confession time.

Some of you might have noticed comments from me on Facebook talking about instant noodles and special fried bee hoon...well, the truth is these were all cravings. Why am I having cravings? Because I have a Greek bun in the oven, that's why!

I know some people are pantang about letting the world know so early, but I am just pre-empting premature fat comments because I'm eating like there's no tomorrow...every 2 hours in fact so I think I will start showing very soon, even though Baby Nike is no larger than a jellybean. Anyway, second time round, no need to be shy lah! Plus I have already informed my boss and close family so word is bound to start spreading soon.

I had drafted some blog entries earlier and just published them, so if you want to know the details, read these:

Aug 14 - Here we go again!
Aug 19 - A blip on the screen
Aug 28 - Sucks to be me

Had a scan on Monday at KK at 8 weeks, Nike is 1.5 cm and due date adjusted to Apr 12. So far so good, so fingers crossed. Dr Siow pointed out the buds of the limbs just starting to grow, but I could barely make them out on the grainy screen but was convinced I saw a tiny little alien face staring back at me.


After the appointment, I was in the mood for Thomson Plaza's special fried bee hoon and Nick drove all the way there only for it to be sold out. Fortunately for me, the kind hubby went back on Wednesday afternoon when he had some time off and brought home 3 packets!


My problem now is that when I have a craving, I need instant gratification. But somehow when I actually bite into whatever I craved, it's not as fulfilling as anticipated...maybe because of the lack of after-taste I am currently experiencing.

The best bit of all this is that I get to parade all my maternity clothes again, that's the part I am most looking forward to at the moment! Can't wait to get fat!

Gigi's 1st Birthday Party

Gigi celebrated her 1st birthday today, almost a week ahead of schedule since the actual day falls on a Friday. Swana and Kevin booked the restaurant Spizzico for 70 people but it was mainly an adult party.





On the menu was prosciutto with melon, rocket salad, assorted pizzas, fried calamari, spaghetti, lasagna, mushroom soup, tiramisu etc. The restaurant was most accommodating and hospitable and I think everyone enjoyed the food.



Jamie and Vel chipped in to decorate the place with lovely pink floral arrangements and whilst setting up, a car and a lorry had an accident right in front of us. I heard the bang but missed the actual collision.



There was some entertainment for the kids in the form of Sweetheart the Clown whose deft fingers churned out balloon sculptures in seconds. Even Gigi appeared to be enthralled by a talking pink bird!





The chocolate cake was courtesy of the restaurant and not long after the cake-cutting, Gigi and Nat conked out on their respective strollers. Headed to Membina after the party where Aunty Mok, Selena and Isabelle joined us. It was nice to see Isabelle interacting with her little cousins, we should make more of an effort to see her.




Gigi has yet to open her presents, waiting for the actual day. But Ann got her the colourful balls and they've transformed her playpen into a ballzone. Problem is, that Gigi and Nat love throwing the balls out resulting in balls all over the living room floor!

Picnic with the Godparents

Since Nick was occupied all weekend with the NATAS fair, Ben and Wendy offered to bring the munchkin out today to the Botanical Gardens, her very first picnic. They made sandwiches, and brought coffee, tea and juice and we parked our butts on the grassy field in front of the Symphony stage.




At one point it threatened to rain, but thankfully the weather held up. Don't think Nat really understood what a picnic was but she had fun soaking the sun, and seeing the fish and squirrels. She munched on cereal and biscuits and after about an hour or so, we packed up and decided to hit Vivo in search of shoes for Wendy.

On the way out, Nat got to pet a dog, I think that's another first for her. She was hesitant but the owner was patient.



At Vivo, we hunted high and low for shoes, and finally I found a store that had a wide selection. Wendy bought a Nike pair in the end, it was actually from the kids section but they had her size...was tempted to get the baby version Nat tried, but no point spending $55 on a shoe she will outgrow in months.


Nat liked to play with the shoes on display though, she started removing them from the shelves and attempted to try them on. Later on, she displayed her tomboy side by pretending to ride a Batman bike. Biker chick in the making?