My Mood Lifter

Over the months, I've taken many, many videos of Kenan, and there's one that I keep watching over and over again, especially when I'm down; it never fails to put a smile on my face. It also made me feel so thankful that we are living in this modern age blessed with modern technology and gadgets that allow us to  effortlessly capture the many beautiful moments around us.

Hope you've enjoyed this video clip!

We Are 'Model' Family!

We are on the cover of Ikea's catalogue!

Have we become models for the popular Swedish furniture company? Unfortunately, that's not the case, even though I think we look good enough... haha!  It happened that Ikea was offering free cover shoot, so I jumped at the chance to have our first family portrait taken.

Our photo session was scheduled on Sunday (12 Sep) at 3pm but we arrived a bit late. I was afraid that there might be many people and we may have to end up waiting a long while. Turned out there wasn't anyone before us and everything happened real fast - in about 10 minutes, it was all done and over. I think the team did a great job at scheduling.

During the shoot, a number of the staff, including the photographer, tried real hard to make Kenan smile and I found it quite amusing. Passersby also stopped and watched as the photo was being taken. Perhaps they found Kenan cute?

An hour late, we returned and got our copy of the personalised Ikea catalogue with our photo on the cover. I'll keep this and give it to Kenan when he is older. Thank you, Ikea, for this special gift, you've made our day!

And of course, I must also thank the forum mommy who informed us about the photo shoot! (if you're reading this, a big "thank you" to you!)

Munchkin Infant Spoons

When we started weaning Kenan, we got him the Pigeon's bowl and spoon set. It worked fine because he was just beginning to take semi-solids. Two months down the road, I felt that it's time he uses a bigger spoon, because he 'complains' when I feed him too slowly and I thought it would satisfy him if he gets a bigger mouthful. Furthermore, I also give him water using the spoon and bowl and it feels like forever to feed him all the water using the tiny Pigeon spoon.

Today, we happened to be in town to run some errands and decided to drop by Tangs to get Kenan a new spoon. The choices were very limited, but the Munchkin BPA-free infant spoons, which come in a pack of six ,caught my eyes. I bought one pack ($8.90) and immediately tried it out tonight. I got to say, I absolutely love using this spoon!

Here's what I like about the Munchkin spoon:

• Bright, cheerful colours - each of the six spoons comes in a different colour and their chirpy hues make feeding fun.
• Soft plastic tip - compared to the hard Pigeon spoon, I really love the soft plastic used by Munchkin. The packaging states that this is "gentle on the gum", which I believe is true after trying it out.
• Perfect size - the size of the tip is neither too small nor too big; it fits snuggly in Kenan's mouth.
• "Ergonomically-designed" handle - I agree that its handle is "comfortable to hold"; that of the  Pigeon spoon is a bit too narrow in comparison now.

Anyway, my husband asked why do I need to get six spoons. I thought that it's helpful to have some extras. Furthermore, they can easily double up as teether or toy. As Kenan is teething and bites almost everything he can get his hands on, it gives me ease of mind  knowing that he is chewing on something that won't hurt his gums. He is also at the stage where he likes to throw things off the high chair when I leave him in it to play, with this soft plastic spoon, I have no worries that it will dent my floor... haha!

Base on my first use of the Munchkin spoon, I'll rate it 4.5/5. I would like to give it a full score, but I always give room for improvements. For example, this spoon can't be sterilised using boiling water or steam steriliser. I know some mommies still sterilise cutleries and milk bottles even though their babies have turned six months or older, so this might be a concern if you want to get the Munchkin spoons.

Dimensions of Munchkin infant spoon: Length - 4.5cm, Width - 2.5cm, Full length: 17.5cm

Dimensions of Pigeon spoon: Length - 4.5cm, Width - 2cm, Full length: 15.5cm

For Future Generations

Yesterday, I brought Kenan to visit his grand-uncle. On the way back in the cab, I had an interesting conversation with the driver.

We were talking about the mid autumn festival and I sheepishly confessed that I don't know when the actual day is (because none of the calendars I have at home has the lunar calendar). Then he started telling me how he feels strongly that  his children should celebrate Chinese festivals and uphold traditions. Next comes the interesting bit - he told me he plans to do a CD or something equivalent to record his life events so that his children and grandchildren will remember him and the generations to come will know of their ancestry!

I thought that is a totally creative and brilliant idea. It got me thinking perhaps my hubby and I could do something similar. It will likely be a big project though - almost as good as trying to write your  autobiography. But I suppose it is something worth doing and a great project to work on during retirement! The more I think of it, the more cool the idea sounds!

Getting a Much Needed Break

The past few weeks have been real CRAZY. Was rushing several deadlines at the same time when Kenan started having a serious bout of constipation. That made him cranky and irritable. Because he was feeling uncomfortable, he wanted even more attention than ever before and refused to be left alone for long, not even when he was playing in the exersaucer, which I would leave in front of me when I work.

Then when he got better, I started having fever. Not only did it persist for over two days even though I was diligently popping panadol, the temperature actually went higher and passed 39 degree celsius on several occasions. Besides that, my throat was painful and there was even traces of blood in the phlegm I coughed out. That's when I decided to see the doctor and was told my tonsils were inflammed. "There's even pus on the left side," the doctor reported. She prescribed antibiotics and advised, "Finish the full course, if not, the inflammation will flare up again."

But I'm glad that I'm finally well and the bulk of my projects are completed. I'm also cutting down on the number of projects I take up so as to focus more time and energy on Kenan.

As I slowed my pace, it suddenly hit me how much my seven-and-a-half-month-old boy has grown.

Kenan now has four teeth, with the fifth one erupting. He makes a lot more different sounds now and shrieks in excitement or delight. When he wants to be carried or when we indicate to him that we are going to carry him up (saying "up up" or "抱抱"), he lifts both his hands.

And not so long ago, I was complaining that he couldn't roll around. But now, he is rolling so much that I wish he will stay still a bit more. Changing diapers has become a challenge and I can't imagine what happens when he starts crawling! When we change his clothes, he knows how to stretch his hands when we pull them through the sleeve holes.

Personality wise, he is beginning to exert his preferences, especially with food. When he enjoys something, he would sit still for us to feed him. If we feed him too slowly, he will complain by making lots of noise. Then when he finishes it, he will literally cry for more. If it's something he dislikes, depending on his mood, he may take a few mouths to please you, then turns his head away and refuses to eat anymore. On bad days, he will purse his lips tight and may even start crying if we try to get him to take more.

So I'm glad to have made the decision to take a break and put Kenan as my priority.

But meanwhile, I also wanted this break to catch up with things I enjoy doing, such as reading and updating this blog. However, I got a real treat when I decided to attend the Think Big! Entrepreneur Convention 2010 organised by Mediacorp and sponsored by Canon. Not only did I get the chance to network, I went away totally inspired by the five speakers who shared their entrepreneurial journeys. I hope someday, I'll have my own success story to share too!