Updates

Helping mummy with the ironing. He's ironing his muslin cloth. Don't worry, the iron is NOT turned on.

At Nandos waiting for food. He no longer can fit into most high-chairs comfortably.

Visiting Shean Wenn in London. They held hands on the way out of the restaurant.

His uncle visited us. The boy just wouldn't stop playing his uncle's Iphone's games.

Settling-in

There were 3 "settling-in-sessions" this week at nursery.

Tuesday- We were there for about 45 minutes. I filled in some forms and he explored the new toys and activities. I was given a list of things to be packed into his bag.He was reluctant to leave.

Wednesday-Bag all packed (spare clothes, nappies for poo-poo, hat, gloves, wellies, handphone (kidding), muslin cloth and water tumbler). Tobey double-checked to see that his muslin cloth and water tumbler is in before leaving. He loves wearing it. Kept saying "My going School, this my bag".

I was with him for 10 mins then made my exit. I told him that I am going to the supermarket opposite to do some shopping and will be back very soon to pick him up. At first, he whispered "Mummy stay here, sit-down next my". I told him that Ian (his key person) would be looking after him and pointed out at all the fresh paint readily available for painting. He went to the paint straight away. I was told me to come back after 45 mins. I went to the cafe in the supermarket, bought newspaper and some overpriced tea and was prepared to read in peace. Surprisingly, 2 of my friends were there too (they just came back from shopping and waiting to pick up their older kids from school), so I ended up chatting with them and looking at their purchases. Newspaper untouched.

When I went back, all the kids were all wrapped up and was playing at the nursery's playground. Ian told me that he didn't even ask for me. It took me another 10 mins to persuade him to go home.

Friday - 5 mins after bringing him in. I was told to exit for 1 hr 30 mins. Tobey said "No , mummy stay". Ouch! heart pain :( I pointed at all the soft play dough they just made and he said "kay" to me leaving. I went and bought some stuff, cooked dinner and tried to make some calls. I missed my boy. When I went to pick him up, I was told he was fine for the first hour. Then when the children and adults set-up the tables for teatime, he started crying and asked for me. Ian quickly got him his muslin cloth and tumbler. He calmed down. When I went to him, his face lighted up and he was seated with other kids around a table having his toast with butter and jam. His face was all red from all the crying. After making sure he hasn't got a temperature, I asked him why he cried he said "my tummy pain, my cry". He didn't ask to go for a wee at all. When we got home, he went for a big wee. So, I figured, he wasn't comfortable to ask to go for a wee in a new surrounding. Hence, he held it in until his tummy hurts.

So this coming Monday morning would be his first official session. Just Monday morning for now. He asked for his bag today so that he can go to school. I'll put a nappy on him then, until he's used to the place.

Nursery

Although his days are filled with a fair amount of playgroups and classes, I've always been around him. Now that he's old enough, we've enrolled him into nursery starting off just one morning a week and increase accordingly (probably up to 2 or 3 mornings a week). Reason being, I don't want him to miss out on the benefits of being away from me. I am hoping that he'll learn to fend for himself by himself amongst his peers. It's also so that he will be ahead of the game and ease into Pre-school easily this coming September (kiasuism :P). I've visited several nurseries within reasonable driving distance, but still settled for Sunflower Nursery which is just 5 mins walk from home (save petrol which is £1.119/litre now ~CRAZY! get to sleep in more, no traffic jams..etc).

So very soon, my baby will be going to "school". The big question is, what do I do with my free time? I hope to get back to work part-time if possible. Just have to leave it in God's hands. Who knows he might have other plans for me ;)

Crunchy peanut butter cookies

Ingredients

8 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp caster sugar (I used icing sugar instead for better texture)
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1 free-range egg yolk
50g/1¾oz butter, softened
icing sugar, for dusting

Method

Mix everything into a bowl. Mix with hand. Shape with dusting of flour. Bake 10 mins in preheated oven of 180 C.

Tobey was the main chef this time around. He's getting a hang of listening to the ingredients being read out and adding them into the mixing bowl accordingly. I mixed them with hand. He then shaped and sprinkled them with sugar strands (instead of icing sugar).

He decided to shape them to various sizes

Once it's baked and cooled, out came the coloured icing tubes for more decorating

Finally the taste test- "Mmm Nice, my make cookie nice"
(he then asked to save a few pieces for daddy)

Yam Pau

I didn't make this ..hahahahah (as if I can). It's from the Chinese supermarket frozen section. I am a total convert. Move aside Red Bean and Lotus. Make way for Yam Pau. Yummy!

Why?

It has started.

"Why turn off tap mummy?"
"Why wipe hands mummy?"
"Why not climb mummy?"

I find it quite amazing for now. I am sure I'll sing a different tune once he goes on overdrive.

Pretend Play & 2 1/2 yrs old Developmental Checks

We couldn't find a dentist toy set (there goes the early retirement dream for SK).So this Doctor one would do. Actually, he's been using shoelaces, ribbons, ties and any bit of string as stethoscope to check our heart beat. That is on top of our daily temperature check with the digital ear thermometer. As expected he was ecstatic when we handed him a plastic briefcase filled with a stethoscope, a syringe, 2 medicine bottles, an otoscope (to look into ear canals), a thermometer, a clipboard, a "knee knocker" and a cute pair of spectacle frame. It's the first thing he plays with everyday.

I role play with him using different scenarios. He loves it.

For example:

I play the Dr siting at the desk . He comes into the clinic on his red race car and ask for a check-up. I check his heart beat whilst he takes deep breaths. Then I check his ears and knocks his knee, where he'll pretend to move his leg after each knock. Very dramatic. Lastly, I place the thermometer under his armpit and declares that he has a temperature and needs an injection! I'll extract some medicine from a bottle and an injection is given to his bum and he'll go "ouch!". That calls for some pain medication for the pain :P. He'll then shakes my hand and hops onto his car and zooms off into his kitchen. 2 Seconds later. He'll be back to return his empty bottle of medicine for me recycle.

Today we went for his 2 1/2 years old developmental check. He met all the milestones/ should haves. Showed no nerves whatsoever when being observed playing with the tea set, building blocks, threading toys and such. Infact, he impressed me. How come he never concentrated that well at home. Tsk. Long story short, the health visitor were charmed beyond words. She commented that he looks really healthy and confident. We discussed about him still asking for a nappy to do his big business and then goes into hiding (usually the hallway) to be alone and will only reappear and ask us to "please wash poo away" once he's done. I am going to try out her suggestion.

Hello 2010

2009 is when...

...We newly moved to our new home in Cambourne, where we made many good friends.
...SK settled into his new company
...My parents, SK's parents and my auntie&uncle visited us from back home
...We went home to Malaysia for a holiday

and the best part is that we saw Tobey grew into a fabulous boy that he is now. All we wish for 2010 is for him to continue growing into the happy, healthy, confident, assertive and loving person we wish for him to be.

Happy New Year everyone. May this year brings you added happiness and contentment, the fortune that your are looking for, be surrounded by good people, and good health to enjoy them all.

Pan Mee

I was feeling really lethargic one evening. So I decided to pull myself together and do something interesting in the kitchen. I made Pan Mee for the first time. It's not my favourite, but Tobey liked it back in Malaysia. It took me 2 hours. Kneading and rolling of the noodle took most of the time. I really ought to get that special pasta/noodle machine.

Anyways, here it is...

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Just kidding...it's more like this

Actually, I am pretty proud of my humble bowl of Pan Mee. Although it's not much of a looker, but the taste is there. SK asked me how come the noodle looked like belts.Tsk! If only they sell that potato leaves here, then the garnishing would look more complete.

Christmas 2009

a beautiful rainbow on our way back

We went up to Birmingham for 2 nights to celebrate Christmas with BIL and his partner, Ann. Plus also to 'hit the sales' on Boxing day...hehe...We stayed in BIL's hotel and had steamboat as Christmas Dinner.

Ann with BIL and our little Christmas spread.

Tobey with his uncle. He calls him "tup-tup" (instead of "Suk-Suk")

Gone were the days where we would leave the hotel at 6 am and speedwalk for 10 minutes, making sure we are the first customers at Next. Now, (or rather after being parents) we value our sleep more. Furthermore, there was no way we could compete with the younger generation of today. They lined up outside Next (in the cold) since 4am. Doors opened at 7am. Cheesin(spoken like a true oldie ;P). We started at 10 am and by 3pm, Tobey was too bothered by the massive crowd, so we went back to the room for him to rest. Instead, he happily spent the next hour or so playing with everything electronic in the room.

Here's my baby in the midst of his phone 'conversations'

I did managed to sneak out for some alone shopping time when both father and son were asleep. That was really good.

Snowy 18th Dec'09

Promised SK I'll bring the boy out to build a snowman. Early in the morning, Tobey came to me and went "Mummy,wake up! snoremen snoreball please please please! My brush teeth!" (he willingly went and brushed his teeth). So after breakfast, we ventured out into the -2 c with a mission. I lost my gloves, so had to put on my kitchen mittens to build it. Even with them, I can only manage a tiny one before my hands went numb. Here are several pics, especially for his family back home who misses him :)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Everyone. God Bless.

Fortnight of Fun and Food

It was a good holiday. Malaysia is still as vibrant, except for higher food prices, more elevated highways, increase in the number of sky scrappers and trendy restaurants/cafes/hang-out areas.

At Pavilion KL

We met up with many relatives from KL and Penang. Attended two weddings. Met up with friends. Went to pasar malams, mamak stall (day and night), took the LRT to get to Petaling Street, visited the shopping centres and restaurants. We left Tobey with the in-laws some of the times. So SK and I actually had alot of fun kidding around and trying to act like a non-married couple on dates. Managed to get myself a chinese watercolour scroll for my stairway too (for those who knows me, you can imagine how ecstatic I am to have finally got my hands on one that I like). Food wise, we made it a point to be very objective this time around. We tried to say NO to repeats and to 2nd best. That's how we managed to eat everything on the list. From durian to crab, mee goreng to fruit rojak, from Shanghainese noodle to Japanese buffet.

Say hi to "Poon Choi" at Jeff Lee, Sungai Buloh market square

Back to Tobey

The down:

Whenever he's not in an air-conditioned room, he sweat-ed. Mozzies seems to prefer his firm flesh to our flabs. A week into the trip, he had a temperature for 2 days. Hovered around 38-39 c. Normally back in UK, I would just treat it with over the shelves children medicine. But I was worried about Dengue and such, being in Malaysia. The first children clinic we visited was rubbish. The woman doctor was such an irritant. Spoke to us with a condescending tone and as if we were irresponsible teenage parents. Then she went on to prescribed antibiotics for a viral throat infection.Classic. The antibiotic was too strong and caused his tummy to be gassy. We then brought him to Megah Specialist Medical Centre. Met a fantastic pediatrician, Dr. Lam. He told us his throat infection was so mild, it need not to be treated in the first place. The wind medication he prescribed eradicated the air in his tummy straight away. By day 3, Tobey is back to his usual self.

The ups:

FIL put him on the front seat of his bike and rode around the neighbourhood. He was even allowed to handle the acceleration(the throttle) at times. Oh boy, the boy was over the moon and couldn't stop talking about it. About how he went on the "up-downs" (road bumps) and how the bike sounded like.

Tobey on daddy's new bike

He helped in picking the young coconuts from the tree in front of the house

This is his current trademark smile for the camera

and walked to pasar tani/malam. During the walk to pasar malam, he used a torchlight to shine everything along the way, the drain, the pavement, etc. Of course there were the trips to the malls.

Natural smile :)

SK spoilt him rotten with coin-operated rides and toys. Whenever we are out on our own, we ended up always thinking of the boy and buying him gifts. We noticed that decent toys cost much more in m'sia compared to the UK.Something that we bought for £40 is priced at almost RM400. I wonder how on earth a person working in Malaysia (those on average income) be able to afford them! No wonder toys of "lesser quality" (flimsy) has a market there). It's really unfair to say the least. Having said that, from what we observed in shopping malls and restaurants, many MANY Malaysian must be earning waaaaaaay above average.
He loves looking at puppies through the windows and shouting "down Chili down!" ,"puppy mum-mum!", etc. he got to sample many Malaysian dishes for the first time too. His favourites are "Pan mee" ,"Hor Fun","Roti Telur". and "Big prawn". His first request after landing was "Yeh-yeh, Big prawn please!" hehehe.

At Canton-I, One Utama

Sagano, Renaissance Hotel

Both set of granparents really showered him with love and attention. It' so sad that he's living so far away from them.

I thank God that the flight to and from was relatively easy on us and Tobey. We felt rejuvenated and are glad to be back home.

Savoury Cheese and Onion muffins

Another cooking lesson with Tobey. This time we made several savoury muffins for breakfast. I made these using (enough for 7 big muffins)

10 tbsp self-raising flour
5 tbsp semolina flour (makes the muffin softer in the inside
3/4 mug of mozarella cheese
1/2 mug of fried onions (I got mine from the salad counter in the local supermarket)
1 medium egg
1/2 a mug of goat's milk (that's what in my fridge, I am sure cow's milk will do fine)
1/2 a bowl of frozen peas
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Mix everything together until you reach a gluey or "dollopy" consistency. Add more flour or milk if needed. Spoon them into muffin cases and bake at 200 C for around 20 mins (or when the top is crusty and brownish). Eat them whilst they're still warm...

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The other day I stir-fried these soya beans with garlic and chinese sausage for dinner. It's our first time eating fresh soya beans. SK stared at it for quite sometime before even touching it...they turned out to be quite tasty :)

Tobey at 2 years 5 months old

Tobey with one of the pumpkins from the garden.

With mommy ...

With Daddy at The Waffles Company

Conversation clips:

Mommy(M): Let's brush teeth.
Tobey(T): Yes, big nen-nen dirty teeth, YUCKS!

T: Didi, where are you?Mimi, where's daddy?
M: Pom-Pom-ming(showering)
T: Daddy dirty, YUCKS!

T: Mimi, HELP! (his friends where piling cushions onto him and tried to sit on him)
M:Stop boys!
T: (Tobey emerged from the mountain of cushions before mommy got to him..) AAArgh! (pushes one 3YO away and said..) No! Go away! Bad!

I was immensely proud that he stood-up and defended himself.

B0b The Builder Live C0ncert

Today Tobey went for his first live concert. The Bob The Builder one..hehe.. He went with his good friend Ethan. It's around 1 hour and 20 minutes show, with a 20 minutes break in the middle. Tobey managed to stand/sit still for the first 30 minutes. The storyline was about Bob and Wendy trying to build a recycling centre in Sunflower Valley. And all the other characters (Spud, Dizzy, Scoop, Mr. Pickle, etc.) helped.
After that he got really restless and got down to loiter around the theatre floor. Good thing was, he wasn't alone, there were other toddlers loitering alongside him. They mostly went to the foot of the stage to dance nearer to the characters which was really cute to watch.
For the parents, well, I bet most of us must have yawned at least once in during the show. If only there's a Handy Manny or Special Agent Oso concert. I am sure Tobey would enjoy it even more.

Mr. Wind

Tobey walked into his garden. Noticed his goalpost being blown down. He looked up to the sky and said "NO wind, NO!. Naughty!"

Spotted!

Today we attended a lovely luncheon held by another Malaysian mommy at her house. The guest list were 6 mommies and their kids. It was so much fun for Tobey, it was like a mini-playgroup, but only consisted of his favourite familiar friends which he plays with all the time. Her parents cooked the yummiest curry chicken. Her live-in nanny did all the cleaning-up, hence leaving her to mingle with us. We had so much laughter between us girls! So good for the soul. In such a short time in this village, I am already blessed with a group of such awesome girlfriends! Each and everyone of them are so sincere and special in their own way. I really thank God for them :)

After several hours, most of us proceeded to Camb0urne Children Centre 1st anniversary Party. There was cake cutting (yummy not overly sweet cake baked by a famous nearby village baker), various art & craft activities and also puppet shows and performances.

Look how happy they were! Tobey is at the left most

Tobey enjoyed painting the giant paper house, the singing and the cutting of papers using REAL scissors.
I was browsing the advertising board and saw Tobey in one of the promotional pictures!

I remember that day, he was fascinated by a plastic baby shark in the tank. He must have been 18-19 months old.

He was so shattered when we got home after some grocery shopping, he actually dozed off on the floor for 20 minutes, whilst watching TV.

Side updates:

Over the weekend, we sent my aunt and uncle off to the airport. Since we were in London, we dropped by Chinatown for lunch at a Taiwanese restaurant and bought ourselves some moon cakes.
I got Tobey a Buzz Lightyear T-shirt last week. He chose it himself over another Toy Story 2 T-shirt. He acted like the character Buzz once the T-shirt in on him, such as pressing buttons on the T-shirt and launches his arms into flying mode. So funny.

Here's my little Buzz lightyear playing with playdoh.

and I can't resist posting this last pic up..hehehe...

my handsome little cyclist

That's all for now folks!