Baby J is ONE!

Baby J @ 1 year old

It was baby J's 1st birthday according to the Lunar calendar yesterday and it also coincided with a Chinese deity's birthday (大伯公), so we went to a charity dinner in honor of him. Now at 1 year old, baby J is walking and almost running, babbling words such as "mama" which can either be referring to me or his grandma, "mum mum" which means he wants to eat whatever we are eating, "nan nan" which means he wants a bottle of milk and plenty of "woos" and "ahhs" and "bahs" which I have not figured out what they are.

Physically he is of normal weight and height, very close to the 50th percentile mark. But I think he's kind of a fast developer in terms of his mobility skills and also verbal skills. Both his big sister and brother didn't walk or babble words as early as he did and many other mothers are commenting that he is really fast, so I guess he is. Sometimes I think he's growing too fast! I kind of miss him when he was still suckling at my breasts and let me craddle him in my arms. I miss the special smell that only breast-feeding babies have and also the times when we both lied on my bed and he would suck at my breast until we both fell asleep. I felt so blissful!

Baby J's 1st overseas trip!

Baby J so happy to be on his 1st flight!

Hubby and baby J came along with me to Hong Kong on my business trip and we stayed over the weekend to meet up with friends. We took the early morning flight and had to grab baby J out of his cot and went on a taxi to the airport at 6am. He was still rather sleepy but he was such a good boy, no tantrums and no crying all the way to HK. I think he must have got used to the flying while in my tummy and thank God, the flight was relatively smooth despite us sitting at the back.

While I was at work, hubby had baby J all to himself and I guess he must have spent some good quality time with his baby. Then on Saturday while hubby was at his Beta Gamma Sigma Induction Ceremony at HKUST, baby J and I had a lunch date at the UC Bistro next to the hall. He was such a charming baby, the waitress couldn't stop playing with him and teasing him. Most of Ian's friends were also charmed by baby J and granduncle Leung was over the top happy to meet him too. Especially when he did the "kungxi kungxi" gesture and the "bye-bye" gesture. Over all despite not being able to shop much, it was a good trip with baby. I think we can do more trips with him again soon!

One thing new in HK was the "lo hei" aka Yusheng that the Maxim group of Chinese restaurants were promoting now. It's the first time that the Singapore tradition of eating Yusheng made its way into HK and we tried it of course! The salmon slices were thicker and more generous but the vegetables were cut a little too thick and they added some new vegetables not usually used in Singapore such as the purple cabbage.

Lo Hei in HK

Happy Dragon Year!

Happy Dragon Year!

Chinese New Year arrived really early this year! Slightly less than 1 month after Christmas and exactly one week after my birthday. We have so much fun and joy celebrating all the festivities this year with baby J! He was the little Santa and now he is the little Chinese emperor in this traditional Chinese costume. :)

I have gone crazy and bought 5 cheongsam for this Chinese New Year and have worn 2 pieces of it so far. I think I look good, not great but good enough and I am happy with it. I have stopped hoping that I will go back to my old size and opt to buy new dresses in new sizes. I think I will not go for another round of cool sculpting...let's not waste money. With me and my hubby's love for good food, I doubt I can slim down any further even with cool sculpting. So WTH! Happy New Year!

2012 - How will it be?

2012 got off on a rather good note for us, I think. Hubby will get his confirmation plus promotion this month and we are hoping that he will get a good package since he will be holding dual roles. My dream of retiring in 10~15 years may really come true sooner than I think? But what shall I do if I retire? I don't really know. Who knows what holds for us in the future anyway? I am happy for hubby and for what I have right now. Sometimes I get a little paranoid though...afraid that whatever I have now will be taken away from me...afraid that I can't be that lucky, afraid that I may use up my luck soon...Can luck be used up? It's crazy, I know...It's this fear that stopped me from buying that brand new BMW 520i and the Chanel handbag that I have been eyeing...Maybe I am just being rational, maybe it's just that I don't need another car yet and I definitely don't need a Chanel handbag. I am happy with a Prada.

Nevertheless, we will be looking for another car to replace our Mazda 3 soon as it is already coming to 8 years old this August. The 6th generation BMW 3 series will be launching in Singapore in February and we like the sport line version we saw on YouTube and if the price is right, we might get it? Another option for us is to get another pre-owned BMW, maybe a X5 or something, if the promotion coming this weekend is good. And that salesman from Audi has been contacting me since I tested the A6...we are spoilt on choices and the COE is coming down! Oh well...no hurry.

I will turn 41 this month and it's kind of scary...I remember I used to think that 40 something is old...Gosh! If I live to 80 years old which is approximately the average life span of women nowadays, I have already used up 50% of my time! I really have to plan well for the rest of my life and don't waste it anymore! Not that I have wasted my life so far, I think I have accomplished quite a lot considering that I already have 3 kids, 2 degrees and a well-paying job. The job part can improve though...I feel that I am rotting in my job...there is no challenge and nothing new to learn...I am not in top management and I don't get a chance to make any kind of decisions...Whatever I studied will only go to waste here in this job. *SIGH*

Hubby will be embarking into his career in his new roles, N will be attending Poly, D in Secondary 2 and baby J will turn 1. It will be an important year for all of them. Maybe I should just retreat into the background and play a supportive role to all of them instead. I don't need to embark on a new career, I don't need to be doing anything challenging, I am a wife and a mother, my hubby and my children should be the main focus of my life right now, not my job.

So for 2012, my resolution is to be a better wife and mother, to spend more time enjoying life with my family in various ways that we all enjoy.  

Reflections

2011 has been a rather fruitful year for me. Baby J is born, I attained MBA, bought a 3000cc BMW 125i coupe and hubby found a new job. On the other hand, my beloved Sai Baba passed away this year, so my wish of bringing my hubby and baby to see him in India will not be fulfilled. Nevertheless, HE will still be in my heart and life. I will continue to live my life following his teachings as much as I can.

While 2011 has been good for me, it has not been a very good year for many around the globe. The tsunami and radiation crisis in Japan, the earthquake in New Zealand, the floods in Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand...The company that I have been working in for the last 10 years has been badly affected too! The March tsunami destroyed one of our factories in Miyagi Prefecture and then the Thailand floods destroyed our factory in Navanakorn Industrial Park which is one of the most important oversea factories and threw our distribution and logistics into chaos. I was deployed to help evacuate all the stocks at our sales office's warehouse in Navanakorn right before the flood water entered the area and saved the company of approximately US$5,000,000 worth of stocks. The weeks after the evacuation of the stocks into Singapore were tough, my staff and I had to work really hard to stock them in as well as to deliver them to our customers. The efforts were all worth it though as I think our bonus for the year was unexpectedly good. We were, or rather I was expecting the company to pay only the minimum but it turned out good despite the losses the company made for the first time in its history in Singapore....So, 2011 ended really well for me.

Regrets...Hmm...let me see...that I could not lose all the pregnancy weight that I have gained in 2011? I am still weighing a hefty 61kg and my waist is 31 inches! But to be truly honest, I have not put in my best efforts really as I have not tried dieting which is too depressing for me. I have resorted to Cool Sculpting instead. I don't see any results yet as it has been just 2 weeks after the procedure...I should expect to see the effect in 1~2 months. By the way, although it was stated as a non-invasive and painless way to lose fats, it was rather painful for 1 week after the procedure! It was not exactly unbearable but it was definitely painful, not just discomfort! Anyway, I would rather bear with the pain than to diet...I may just do a 3~5 days of detoxifying diet though after Chinese New Year.
  

Baby J's first Christmas

Merry Christmas!

This year we celebrated baby J's first Christmas as well as our first Christmas at home since coming back from Hong Kong. We had so many presents under our Christmas tree! Not all of them for baby J though as my sister-in-law's children also brought their presents to put under our Christmas tree. So fun! It's their very first Christmas tree too! And baby J was the start of the party with his Santa costume!

Hubby was happiest as his brother and wife who were rare guests also made it for the party! We had such a feast! Look at our dining table! We had salmon sashimi, sushi platter, honey baked ham, BBQ pork ribs, roasted chicken, German sausages, mashed potatoes, marbled baby potatoes, a Vietnamese salad and Lasagna made by BIL and also an assortment of complimenting salads. Not to forget, we had sparkling rose wine for the adults and sparkling juices for the kids. We also had an ice cream logcake for desert and some coconut rum!

Our dining table full of food!



I would love to make this an annual affair and my family tradition. Now, I need a bigger house with a bigger living room for a bigger Christmas tree!!

Sentosa Holidays

It's the time of the year when I have absolutely no mood for work. My battery has literally depleted and I am just looking forward to staying at home, be with the family, lay around and have some good food. Well, we did just that last weekend, spending 3 days 2 nights at Sentosa. We stayed at the Amara Sanctuary and went to Universal Studio mainly. We would have done much more if not for the rain though, such as bringing baby J for his 1st swim and all...However, the rain didn't stop us from having some good food and riding on all the exciting rides.

The 1st day at Sentosa, we went walking around some parts of the island and played the Luge. It's our 3rd or 4th time playing the Luge? I think I'm done with the Luge for a long time...not as exciting as I remembered it before...On the 2nd day, we went to Universal Studio right after breakfast and rode the Transformers 1st. It was exciting, like we were really in the movie! Then the rain started pouring down...but it was a good thing as the queues for the rides at the Human and Cyclone disappeared. We went on the rides without having to queue at all! The Cyclone was a little too exciting for me...or was it the breakfast? I had to close my eyes a couple of times when it went upside down and twisting around...I almost threw up my breakfast! I'm really impressed! Just a couple of years ago, we had to go overseas for all these exciting rides and fun but now, we have all of them right here in Singapore! A weekend stay at Sentosa is as good as going overseas without the hassle of having to take the flight and all. Well, all the fun doesn't come cheap though. All in all, 3 days 2 nights for 6 adults and 1 baby cost me approximately S$2,500. How much will it cost to go to Bintan or Malaysia? Maybe our next option will be holidays in Malaysia?