This time last year….

This time last year (Nov 29), our bags were all packed, and off we went to the hospital. Can't believe how quickly a year has been!!

The nineth tooth is out

By the time Shane turns ONE, he would have 9 teeth! The bottom left molar just came out. I just realized his teeth had not been coming out in the correct order. Usually the top one would pop out before the bottom. Like his other tooth number 5,6,7,8, the bottom ones came out first too.... He sure loves opposites!

And he took his first steps (and seen by others)

So Shane took his first steps (in fact, it was 5 whole steps) today at class when he was chasing a toy! 

He actually took a couple of wobbly steps in the past (on 20 October) but no one saw it but me. So I was told that's not counted! Today he did it in front of 10 other moms and babies! Hi 5 for baby Shane!!

(Sadly, I didn't have my phone to capture that moment)

First Halloween

We went trick or treating with a few friends on Halloween. His first halloween… as a Lobster in a pot!

 The little lobster in a pot!

Trick or Treating with the Frog Prince & the fairy Bumble Bee 

My all time favorite photo of Z, Shane and our first pumpkin Wazowski

Little Monkey knows how to get off the bed now!

After teaching this little monkey how to get off the bed safely… he decided one morning (this morning!!) that he could do it by himself, and kept going up and down the bed all on his own. This video was taken at attempt #10 or so, after I managed to run to grab my phone to do a short video.

Weekend Getaway to Atlanta & Montgomery

Last weekend was fairly exciting for us. I've been home and hardly been going out since the little one was sick. With Z busy recruiting for a job next year, it's just been mostly Shane and I in the playpen or jumping on the bed. So yes I was looking forward to the weekend away!

It was our first domestic flight within the USA (yes I know, I've been here for like 14 months and I haven't really done domestic travel). With the baby and all that, I didn't quite know how it would all work out. So just a day before we flew, I realized I had to put Shane's name on the passenger list. Thankfully I called US Airways. There was no information or anywhere that said I had to do that. We also decided that we were going to rent a car seat and no stroller. After all, it was only a 3 days trip, and I'm sure Shane would much prefer to be carried than plop into his stroller.

We had an easy 2 hour flight (and Shane slept over an hour of that!). Plopped into the airport, easily rented a car from Enterprise and off we went straight to Alabama to visit Ben, Melody & their new princess Alyssa. I must say the car rental process was awesome. They were ultra efficient and the cars were really in good condition. Even the rental car seat was cleaned.

After 2.5 hours with a stop at Arby's for lunch, we finally arrived in Montgomery at the Staybridge Suites. Nice cozy place… cheap too! Then we headed over to see the new baby!

Uncle Ben says Hi!! 

Shane took a while to get used to the new environment, and eventually decided that he wanted to see Baby Alyssa. It's funny how he is attracted to babies smaller than him. I guess size matters! He would just stare at Alyssa especially when she was crying. Cute.

Always nice to have some home cooked meal. Even Shane had his steamed chicken, carrots and broccoli! For this trip, we got Shane a few pouches of baby food - both Ella's and Sprouts brand. He hated it so much that he went hungry the entire day. At dinner, he wallop the whole chicken breast, 1 whole carrot and 2 hand size broccoli tree.

The next morning, we headed over to the Dream Fields Pumpkin Patch. It's our first time at a pumpkin patch, so we had zero expectations. I must say it's really quite entertaining. Pig races, bouncy castles, hay rides, cow train, etc. If only Shane were 1-2 months older, I'm sure he would have enjoyed himself a lot more. (Plus, if he were not cranky and sleepy, he would be playing a lot more too).

The Pig Race!! Pretty cool. Never seen one in my life...

So that concluded our very short trip to Montgomery, Alabama.

We managed to sneak in another lunch meal with the Fus before heading out of Alabama. The drive back north to Atlanta seemed so much quicker than going there.

Hello Atlanta!

Checked into the Best Western Plus at Peachtree (terrible place to stay at - I did not like it at all). Then quickly took an evening stroll around the Olympic park. Thankfully we did a quick walk about that evening cos it rained almost all of the next morning.

We took the Studio Tours at the CNN building on Sunday morning. We had a tour guide named Becky. She was by far the most rude tour guide I've met. Maybe she was having a bad day, but it must have been pretty bad to snub a kid. There was this really inquisitive 10-ish year old kid who asked questions. They weren't dumb questions. She cute him off so many times, finished his sentences and gave very condescending answers. I thought that was pretty uncool of her. If that happened to my son, I would have phoned the network and directly complain to her boss' boss's boss. What's the point of asking "any questions?" if you don't feel like answering them? And the tour ended in 40 mins.. Wasn't it meant to be 55 minutes? Anyhow, I don't suppose I'll return for another tour ever again.

We got caught in a downpour after the tours, so with a rain poncho, we made a dash back to the hotel. Chilled out for a bit, then checked out and headed to Atlantic Station to meet Jerry! My ACJC friend whom I haven't met in 15 years!!

With Jerry & his son Levi!

We almost missed out flight out of Atlanta (it would have been so disastrous since Z had interviews the next day). Someone please remind us next time… that we have to be at the airport 60 mins before flight departure for Atlanta flights, and not 45 minutes. Thankfully we had done an online check in and also had a baby and was thus allowed the pre-checked queue

Another weekend just went by… It was different, we had fun meeting old friends. Awesome.

A New Baby Merc

So earlier this month, we came home to a surprise present from Uncle Andy & Aunty Carrie. A bright blue Little Tikes toy car. (And Grandpa Gong Gong calls it the Merc).

We took it out to our little back yard for a little spin, and that was pretty much it. Today, mummy decided that cars are not meant for indoor use (in our tiny house), so together with grandma popo, we took the little man out for a ride!

  Papa enjoying his glass of wine while driving the Little Man

  Little Man on his first Road Tip around the Hood

Happy Little Man!!!

Self Play

This is what the little boy does when he plays on his own….

"Puppy puppy… Giraffe, Remote Control, Balls, Puppy, Chair, Phone, Diapers, Puppy, Aircon Vent… Puppy!"

Papa play time

One of my favorite is to watch baby and papa having fun…

Teeth #8 is out!

As I was brushing his teeth this morning, I felt another tooth! Hooray.

These days, he's been jabbing Sophie's leg to the back of his gums.... I think maybe the molars are on the way out too.

Crawl Crawl Crawl away….

I wouldn't say I enjoy Wharton events very much… (because with an active baby, how would you socialize??). Anyhow, today, we were at the Wharton Asia Club BBQ event and Shane was happily crawling on the lawns on 2116 Chestnut St Apartment. I really love the lawn. Clean, plus the grass feels and looks real, and very evenly trimmed.

Shane had so much fun crawling up and down and all around.

So there was this other kid at the event who had a toy. That kid did not want to share his toy with Shane. So… what went through my mind at that moment was…
1. How do I teach my baby to share things with others in the future?
2. How do I teach my baby to react to scenarios like these?

Parenting is tough… I guess I will have to figure this out along the way. But it's something I will have to keep in mind while teaching this little man all about life. It's just not fair. =)

My favorite Website thus far

Being in the USA has made me so much more conscious about the crap we eat and use. I guess this all started when we first read an article on the type of "bad" products in America due to less stringent regulations. There are so many product ingredients that are banned by the EU, and yet they are still sold on shelves across the USA. So recently I came across this website that has quite a few interesting 'good' stuff and the blog posts are fairly educational too. I signed up for the emails and the first article email I received was on infant formula (which was a very good read and I recommend this to all moms.)

Anyhow, this is the link: http://gimmethegoodstuff.org

Teeth #7 is out

Hooray! Number 7 is the top left tooth that broke out today.

Poopy Business - The Potty & the Toilet Seat

Note: this post may have TMI. So you can stop reading after the first line!

When we saw the little man trying so hard to poop while he was sitting on the high chair, grandma said "just get him a potty". I guess all the poo was just squished together in the diapers and this made fresh ones more difficult to come out. My first dilemma was... Should I get a potty or a child seat (the type where it's place over the regular toilet bowl). Well, since they were not all that pricy, I decided to buy both.

Potty shopping!!!

So what we realized after trying him on a few potties. 

1. There must be a grip for him to hold

2. It can't be too short (yes I know he'll grow. But for starts, it's to get him used to sitting and not standing up immediately.)

3. It needs a back rest - just in case he decides to lean backward

4. 2 piece preferably so it's a lot easier washing it.

It probably took about a week or so for the little man to sit on the potty and poop… Naturally, when he's done…. all he wants to do is crawl away (doesn't matter if there are bits sticking out of his buttocks)

Cleaning the baby up was relatively easy because the poop pieces were mostly in pieces instead of smeared all over his butt cheeks. And because I left his dirty diapers in the potty while he was going about his business, I didn't really have to do a big clean of the potty. Just a simple rinse would suffice.

As for the toilet seat, it was awesome for when he did his big poo poo without the potty and it was all a mess after. We have this bidet handspray in our bath room toilet that we use to clean him up.

The only downside was that the water we use is toilet water (still potable water!!) and is usually cold. So chances of having baby pee is very high after a wash.

My 9month old baby!

Shane turns 9 months today. We are so very excited because that's 3/4 of a year old! 

Over the last 2 weeks, it seems like he's suddenly caught up with his developmental milestones and surpassing them too. It's like one day, he decided to start crawling. 2 days later he's tarted standing and walking (assisted). Just this morning we woke up to find baby Shane standing up between us. Somehow, he managed to get up  with nothing to grip on. And he's also learnt to sit down slowly instead of plopping down on his bum. Very very proud of my little one (which parents wouldn't be proud of their kid...).

Baby Shane is now starting to like most of his toys (I used to think I had wasted my money on a lot of his toys. But now that I see him actually playing with them, I feel that it's all worth every penny spent!) and he's definitely taking a liking to the new car he's got!

9m growth spurt

I guess Shane just had his 9m growth spurt. I haven't woken up more than twice during the night for a long time. Last night I was up every hour feeding him. How did I do it last time when he was much younger? It's so tiring. 

During the day, he had cereal for breakfast with one slice of bread. Lunch was one chicken thigh with carrots, spinach and potatoes. Dinner was a meatball with a whole large peach for desserts. All that food and he could still have milk 8 times last night? Where did all those food go!

Off to New Jersey with the Grandparents

So we finished our stint in NYC for the summer, and now we are back in Philadelphia for another year till Z finishes his MBA. Made a last 2 day dash to New Jersey for some family fun with the grandparents.

In the morning, we packed the baby and all into the car and off we went. Our first destination was Cape May, which is almost the most southern tip of New Jersey.

Lunch was spent at the Washington Street Mall 

There after, we headed to the lighthouse at Cape May. Since Shane was fussing a little, we didn't get much chance to hang around there. So it was pretty much a touch and go.

We took a 1 hour drive along the coast up to Atlantic City where we spent the night at Caesars. It was a really nice hotel and there was a sweet deal at $100 (all taxes inclusive).

As usual, Shane really likes checking out his beds…

We didn't really have a plan for the day, so we just walked along the boardwalk, and down the pier shops. Plopped down at Mortons for some really nice steak and desserts (they do a really mean chocolate soufflé).

We took a nice evening stroll and then called it a day. There isn't really much to do at Atlantic City with the exception of gambling and shopping at the outlet mall. Anyhow this was meant to be a relaxing 2 days trip after our hectic move back from NYC.

Back to Crib

Yesterday night, we tried having Shane back in his crib. But to get him to stay in there, we had to remove the front bit of the crib and then stuff pillows between the gap between the crib and the bed. We also had to use a small rope to tie the crib to the bed.

Putting him to sleep was a bit of a challenge as all he wanted to do was stand up using the rails (even though he was extremely tired). So after many attempts of pulling him and lying him flat, I managed to get him to sleep. Guess how long that took? 1 whole hour. Ended up going to bed at 1030pm. 

Photo Album Part 2 - Shane 5-8 months

My summer project is done!
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Long Island, NY

We realized we hadn't done very much regional sightseeing of New York in our 10 weeks here. So on our last weekend, off we went (with the grandparents who barely arrived) to Long Island.

Yes Long Island is kinda long. So we didn't manage to make it all the way to the end with a cranky baby on board. Nevertheless we did manage a couple of places (at a very slow pace). All activities we did basically depended on whether the baby was tired, happy, cranky or just fussy.

First stop was Sagamore Hill - the home of Theodore Roosevelt. 

Well since I'm not American and have never studies American history, it was a very interesting experience for me just visiting the museum and readings about all that he's done and achieved. Sadly, his home was closed for restoration, so it was fenced off.

Then we went to Oyster Bay cove for a really good lunch at Canterburys grill. Seafood galore!

We really wanted to go to one of those pick-your-own farms but most were located at the other end of Long Island. Baby Shane was really cranky then so we had no choice but to head to an organic farm (not a PYO yet as it's still off season). Got some really juicy Japanese plums and white peach and a bag if yellow cherry tomatoes which tasted so so good.

And on the way back, we stopped by point lookout for a lookout. A nice roam in the park and some fresh air for Shane.

Along the way back to Manhattan, we stopped by Brooklyn for some Asian food. It's been a while since we had SEAsian food. Rendang Island serves a really mean Sambal Stingray... Soo good.

Baby learns new things

Over the past week since my mum and dad arrived from Singapore, Shane has learnt to do quite a few things all at once.

Just 2 days ago (22 Aug - which makes him 8 Months & 22 days old), Shane started to crawl with his hands. Previously, he would just rock at once spot and crawl on his tummy.

Yesterday (23 Aug), Shane stood up by himself unassisted (which he already previously did)…. but this time around, he stood by himself for quite a long while without falling back down on his bum. Whoo hoo!!

And today, he has learnt to clap his hands! Last time his two hands would miss each other when he tries to clap...

That was quite a lot of new things in the last few days. I think he progresses a lot more when the grandparents are here. These days, SHane has gotten 10 times more active than he was about a month ago. I know his active nature will only start to get worse… and soon, i will have to start chasing him around.

Tired… but really fun times!

First Clap on his own

Today (@ 8months 24 days) I caught baby clapping on his own. Whoo hoo!!

Phthalates

Today while shopping online, I came across the Prop65 warning (for Californian residents only) for something that I was about to purchase... Out of curiosity, I decided to click on it because I wonder what made Californians so special that there is a special warning out there for them.

Prop 65 – important information for California residents

To our California customers, in accordance with Proposition 65, we issue the following warning: "This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, or birth defects or other reproductive harm."

Gasp! Yes I have seen this label warning in the past while shopping at Ace Hardware in Dubai. Now... If I am going to buy toys, I am definitely going to scrutinize the material. So here's some of the information I read from the site kidscompanion.com that has a pretty good layman explanation of phthalates and what it does to you...

What are phthalate?

They are used to make PVC which enables flexibility in plastic products (ie. bend without breaking)

How do phthalate a enter the body? 
Phthalates generally enter the body via inhalation or absorption. While the phthalates in most PVC does not constitute a health risk, phthalates can leach out of soft vinyl when the products are sucked or chewed, migrating into the body through the saliva and creating a health risk.  When items containing phthalates are subjected to heat, like microwave ovens or from the sun, or as these items get older it accelerates their escape from the plastics.

Phthalates are also lipophilic, or attracted to fats. Fat present in blood can actually draw them out of IV bags, for example, and carry them into the body. 

Common phthalates, which may come in handy for checking labels:

• DBP (dibutyl phthalate)

• DNOP (di-n-octyl phthalate)

• DiNP (diisononyl phthalate)

• DEP (diethyl phthalate)

• BBzP (benzyl butyl phthalate)

• DEHP (di 2-ethylhexl phthalate)

• DiDP (diisodecyl phthalate)

• DnHP (di-n-hexyl phthalate)

• DMP (dimethyl phthalate)

• DnOP (di-n-octylphthalate)

• Bisphenol A (BPA) is another plasticizer.

*Most of these materials are from kidscompanion.com

The effects of overexposure to phthalates are mostly on wikipedia... so I'm not going to write them all out here. This is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthalate
Another good link is : http://www.babycenter.com/0_phthalates-what-you-need-to-know_3647067.bc

So.... first things... I went to check a few of the ingredients of items we have in the house that may have phthalates.
Thankfully, I buy my shampoo products from Wholefoods... so phew to that. But a few of the baby products which we have (but haven't used yet) have phthalates. So we know where these will land up!

DBP in Johnson's baby lotion - thankfully, this was a sample pack. We didn't use this more because it had Red33 Colouring in it.

So, today's task was to go around the house to checked most of Shane's toys... For some of these, I threw some packaging away... but the toys that mostly have plastic in them, if I can't find anywhere that says phthalate free (like his walker), I will definitely keep my eye on them and make sure he doesn't chew on them. Fisher Price toys doesn't really indicate if the toys are phthalate free, and I read on several blogs that Fisher Price refuses to release information when asked. My conclusion - they aren't.

I guess we can't be living in a world that is 100% phthalate free. But where possible, and if I can help it and find suitable alternatives, I would at least give it a try to avoid.

Album for Shane's first 4 months

Shane by Janice | Make Your Own Book

Tooth #6 is out

This morning, another tooth popped out again... A grand total of 6 teeth now!!

Legs and more Legs!

Shane is almost 8 months old this week and he's standing up a lot on his own.

On Monday, he was at the public library sharing a book with other kids... And today he held his hands in the pool and he learned to take a few steps in the water. Exciting times (maybe not so exciting when he starts running around with me trying to catch him).

Mr Nice Guy food truck

I saw a long queue today, and being Singaporean... Long queue = Good Food.

Since I had nothing on, I joined in the queue. It didn't take as long as I expected... Just about 15 mins.

I had no idea what sliders were, though I guessed it was some form of sandwich. So that was an interesting surprise for me...

The menu was pretty simple (yes I like simple). I ordered the bacon cheese slider box. $12.

Surprise! So now I know what a slider is... It's like a mini burger.

The verdict...

I didn't quite like the slider. It was a bit dry, and the only thing I could really taste was the tomato ketchup. The bun was a tad too dry. The 3 sliders were definitely filling though they look like they won't be. Perhaps the fries filled me up. The fries were amazing though... One of the best fries... It's the semi crispy and semi soggy fries which may not be favored by many... But I love it.

My ratings:

Food: 3.5/5 

Price: 3.5/5

Would I return.... Hmm maybe not, unless I only want some fries.

And Shane stood up for the first time....

Today, Shane stood up for a whole 5 minutes at the library... I guess when there's other kids around, he gets peer pressured!! lol.

Weekend #6 in NYC

Can't believe another 3 more weekends and we are back in philadelphia!!! Our time in NYC has just zoomed by just like that!

This weekend was by far the most interesting one for us (but probably not for baby Shane). So after our failed brunch (Link: Barca Nolita) we headed for better food at the Brooklyn Smorgasbord. There were 60 vendors this weekend... so we had plenty of choices for our limited stomach. There were really long lines of people queuing from things like Ramen Burger to Ice Cream Sandwiches.

In the end, we decided to try the Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Waffles and the Ice Cream Sandwich. We noticed the pricing goes according to how long the queue is. So BFC initially did not have a queue, and the chicken & waffles cost $9. But when we returned, there was a queue, and it cost $10!! Same goes for the ice cream sandwich. The price increased from $5 to $6 in a matter of 20 mins when we were there.

Finally it was Z's turn to get his fried chicken & waffles!!

Fried Chicken & Waffles has been our favourite since we discovered this combination through Clinton Street Bakery

Ho Ho Ho... Christmas came early. This was really good!!! Ice cream sandwich!!

We really like 

Sunday was our rest day.... We met with some friends at Central Park and had our afternoon picnic lunch at the Great Lawn. Finally found an infant swing in New York City!! Woo hoo!! So this playground is near the 81st street West entrance just before the Great Lawn.

Baby & Papa enjoying an afternoon on the grass!

Swing higher and faster!!

Barca Nolita

A few weekends ago, we spotted the deal on pulsd.com for Barca. So we bought one deal voucher and used it last Saturday.

Here is what the description of the brunch reads:

In our never ending quest to bring you a luxe brunch experience for less, we head to heart of Nolita and the recently opened Barca Restaurant, led by culinary genius Jake Abbott.
Grab this $29 pulse (a $172 value) and enjoy a bottomless brunch for two with some Mediterranean flair. Included in your brunch are any 2 items in the brunch or sandwich menu, plus unlimited drinks for two people.
And we're not talking just any drinks. Take your pick from the fabulous four - unlimited Mimosas, unlimited Red Wine Sangria, unlimited White Wine Sangria and unlimited Rose Sangria.

Well.. I guess the value would be $172 if you really drink a lot!! And there's really just Mimosas and Sangaria. But they have three types of alcohol mixes for the Sangarias - Red, White & Rose.

 

So we walked into the restaurant at 1230pm and there were only 2 people in there who were finishing up. They do not have baby chairs... (First fail for the restaurant- not family friendly). So we sat with the little one on the chair. 

Our next issue with the restaurant is.... The brunch menu is super limited. 5 items... We ordered the tortilla and the short rib sandwich.

The food took an aweful long time (say 30 mins) to arrive considering there was probably only 1 other table there. Anyhow, we had our drinks first. The Sangrias were nothing special at all... We could make better ones at home. But the prickly pear mimosa was quite nice.

Then the food came. We were shocked at how small the portions were (ok it looks large in the zoomed photos). The short ribs sandwich came in a little plate (yes those butter roll sized plates). For $15?! Ok I know it's a Spanish restaurant.... But I did not order from the tapas menu, I ordered from the brunch menu. Charge me more, and give me portions that can actually fill me up! Walking out of the restaurant feeling like u spent a lot of money and still hungry feels just wrong. The amount of meat was smaller than my palm... and I don't have large hands. One positive... The meat was not bad (but the experience just ruined it)

 The size of this plate is a breakfast butter roll plate.

The Tortilla... Well, look at the picture below... Where is the tortilla? The Spanish omelette was really dry, and small. You could finish that in two mouthful. The bread side was not bad though. Again.... Was that worth $15? No way.

Overall, the $29 felt totally not worth any penny. Each drink cost $14 and you pay taxes and tips based on the original value. So we ended up paying another $35 over the original $29. For $64... And still having a growling tummy.... I would be pretty pissed off if I had to pay full price for such average food.

Food: 3/5

Price: 1/5

Service: 3.5/5

Well, I'm sure I won't be back...

After this we decided to head to the Williamsburg Smogasburg. Check out the next post!!!