Half a decade gone by

Time flies again. It's been 5 years since we came back for the second time...it used to be:

Just the two of us - 2007

Then just the three of us - 2012

Now, there's FOUR of us -2013

Thanking and praising God for his provisions and blessings upon our lives thus far..

@34weeks

My stats:

Gained 3kg from 28weeks check. Total weight gain: 10kg

Baby gained 1.38kg from 28weeks check. Total weight gain: 2.38kg

So far:

- no swollen feet (yay)!

- no stretch marks (yay)!

- no need to get bigger clothes. Hehe

Preparations:

- bb stuffs done

- cot still not up yet

- hospital bag yet to be packed

Sara's reaction:

Awhile ok to have a sibling awhile she gets jealous. Normal I guess.

Hubby's reaction:

Excited but at the same time calm and composed. Hehe. Thinking of all the $$ that is going to be involved I guess. Hehe. 

Praise God bb is healthy and well... And I managed to control my weight better this time compared to the first pregnancy. :D

Letter to my 3-year-old

Dearest Darling Sara,

You have been such a blessing and joy in our lives. I really thank God that He has given you to us and we pray that as you grow, He grants us wisdom in being your earthly parents.

In many ways, since you were born, you have always been special to us. Docs have commented how strong-willed you were since you were 6 mo and I really thank God that He has seen us through these 3 years to bring you up well.

As much as we tried our very best to do be our best as parents, we hope one day as you grow older, you will understand why Mummy disciplines you in a certain way. So that you won't be a spoilt brat. And because Mummy wants you to be an independant child.

You have grown and matured so much in the recent months. Even that's what Aunty Shirley observed. :)
You sometimes make us feel like smacking you but at the same time, you can be so adorable, the most well-mannered kid I can ask for.

I pray that as you grow, you will grow in love, peace, joy and faith and that you will grow to be a Godly woman of God.

I love you mummy's darling girl. :)

@ week 20 (#2)

Hello all!
Long time no updates... Been busy with the house renoworks and that too, have not updated the other blog.

The last post was more on updates for Sara, in which I'm also kinda busy preparing for a small party in school for her. But the best part is, I can do everything online! Woohoo! Except for the balloons I have to pick-up myself because the delivery cost is much more than the balloons itself. Hehehe.

So here is my 20th week picture:
Slightly bigger.. Tummy grew exponentially after the 18-19th week. Hehe.

Managed to get a video of baby moving inside. It was really so nice to see bb inside. Not much chances during Sara's time. Hehehe. Hello babes! Doc said bb is very active! PTL!

Mummy's weight: 61.9kg (~+1.5kg)

At the time I'm writing now, already 21weeks, I'm at least (+3kg already) - boohoo!

Baby's weight: Not sure... but should be around 360g, 26cm? Didn't measure during the checkup and I forgot all about it. 

I have started wearing a mix of maternity clothes already. Went shopping at H&M Mama ranges and the clothes are super comfy!!

Here's one, for just $24.90!

Very comfy and the pants are super nice and comfy.. and prices are not expensive unlike other maternity clothes range. :)

How do I feel these days? I feel much better now than in the 1st trimester. More energetic, able to do more stuffs, but since tummy is getting bigger, it is quite difficult to bathe Sara these days. And thus, the job has been handed over to Daddy. :)

Daddy has been helping me alot these days. Especially with handling Sara (and her tantrums and disciplining her) and also her well being. :) Not only that, he helps me with the laundry as well, which I am much appreciative. Thanks, darl!

Overall, I just want to thank God over and over again for the good health and stress-free pregnancy (minus the minor discomforts) this time around. It would be so difficult if I have very bad nausea, backaches and what not as some of my friends do, and are complaining about... though some of them are mothers-to-be. :) Maybe that's why they said the 2nd one is always EASIER. hehehe. Praise the Lord!

Baby has been kicking very, very, very actively, since 14 weeks it started off with flutters.. now it's super-kicks. Hehehe. Or sometimes I can feel baby somersaulting. And yes, we are keeping the gender unknown to all (except for close friends) as long as we can. :)

Till now, me signing off, have a great weekend ahead!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

Chinese New Year came and went. It flew too quick and as I write now, I am actually down with a very bad flu. :(

Sara learnt a few CNY wishes and phrases from school. Which I thought it was pretty smart of her that she can memorise so many words. More videos on my FB.


Leaving you with some pics of Sara and us during CNY.

Another chapter....2013!

Chapter #1:
Sara is now 2 yrs and 9 months plus. She is definitely growing i.e in terms of physical growth and mental growth.

At this current moment she is now between 15-16kg (!) and stands at 95-96cm tall. Indeed, everyone says she is tall for her age.

Mentally, just a few months settling down here in a span of 5 months, she has certainly matured. In her child-like thinking, her logical and witty mind and quick-to-response/ impromptu minds. There were many times when hubby and I get so surprised with her actions, her response and her wittiness that I am not able to put everything in writing. But this is quite a classic which must be put into writing.

Daddy was driving the car a little fast:
S: Daddy, why are you driving like a crazy man? Later the policeman will come and catch you, ya know.
Lol!

Growing too fast, she is now venturing into the phase of "Whys". :D

Leaving you with a little picture of my little Miss, after Sunday school, not too long ago. :)

And.. another chapter of our life is about to be added in! (This explains the long absence from my blog updates)


Presenting to you, Baby! Scan shows at 8weeks into the pregnancy. 2cm long and heartbeat was seen clearly. Sara managed to catch a glimpse of this and of course, it followed with a trail of, "What's this?", Whys", etc...

Me, at almost 9 weeks pregnant. Those are fats from the 1st pregnancy, not bump!

Hehehe. How's the feeling like being pregnant all over again? Contrary to my first pregnancy, I had no forms of severe nausea or vomitting throughout my first trimester till now... Okok. I'm only 11weeks and 2 days pregnant as I blog this post.. But previously, I was having terrible vomitting at week 6 during my 1st pregnancy. It was that bad.

For this time around, besides the tiredness/ lethargicness during the first few weeks (I slept when Sara slept), it's better right now. At least I could stay up from 9pm to 11pm now. Hehehe.

Other than that, tummy now feels bloated after meal. Terrible feeling. Appetite? Quite ok, though some days I can't stand the smell of fish, or anchovies or all those fishy smell. And as usual, I need to eat spicy stuffs just the same as previously to keep down my nausea. I also noticed more headaches this time around. It took me almost 2 weeks to be totally ok to keep off my tea every mornings or once a day habit.

Trying to keep my diet as healthy as possible, and not to overeat like the previous pregnancy. Target to only put on 10kg for this pregnancy. Possible? I suppose so, if I can continue to keep away from sweet stuffs like cakes, ice-cream and DURIANS! (oh no!).

And yes, we've decided to give birth here in the lion city. So the headache continues in search of confinement lady, the logistics, and nanny of course!

Chapter #3:

Our nest. Yes, tentatively, we can only get our keys on 14th March. And only then we can deal more with contractors and all. So far, nothing firm planned on the renovations yet. Sigh. But all the same, am excited to move to our own place.. a place we can call home. And in future, Sara won't have to refer her house to Sara's house in Malacca, but she will also have a house in Spore. Yay!

Updates!

Yeah, it's been almost a month since my last updates.

Alot of things happened in between. The house stuffs, (yup, first appt next week!) hopefully no more hiccups in the whole process.

Then, it was Sara's bout of eczema issue. Awhile it came, awhile it went off, so hubby brought her to see the specialist at Orchard Paragon. On treatment for her eczema and praying that she will be completely healed soon.

Then she also had her bout of diarrheoa. No one could understand why. But it's like off and on. Not sure because of the food she is taking outside. Hehehe. Teacher says she eats a lot. :/

Then at the same time, we're looking forward to Christmas! The long hols! And of course, a blessed new year, 2013!.

Exciting news awaits!

A roof over our heads

Yay, first step done. Next, to proceed with the subsequent steps.

Thank God for His provisions. Not only it was a fair price, but we got it pretty quick. Only at the 4th house of viewing.

And what followed through the series of events and drama that happened in just that 1-2 days before we booked it.

:)
Sara can finally step in and say, this is "Sara's house".

@29 months and growing...

Snapshots of Sara's conversations...

10-Sep:

Sara was wearing my watch, (AS:Aunty Shirley)
AS: Wow, who's watch r u wearing,Sara?
Sara: Sara's watch.
AS: Are u sure it's Sara's watch?
Me: Sara, cannot lie right? Are u sure u r wearing Sara's watch?
AS: What happens when u lie, Sara?
Sara: Mummy smack u.
AS: So who's watch are u wearing?
Sara: Mummy's watch. *grins*
:D

11-Sep:

Sara: Where's Aunty Linda?
Daddy: Sleeping alrdy.
Sara came near to my face: Sleep edi ah? So tired ah? Aunty Linda cook cook and cook, so tired ah?
Mummy and Daddy: Lol! (its so hilarious some more with the tone that she used!)

15-Sep:

Me: Go and eat ur banana, Sara.
Sara: Cannot, I got cough. Got cough cannot eat banana. I no cough dy, can eat banana.

Sara, I asked you to throw your pampers in the dustbin but why did you put it on the floor and close the sliding door?
- There got a lot of lizards and cockroaches.

16-Sep:

A better week with much lesser tantrums and cryings. Prays that it gets better day by day. Thank You Lord!

After selecting Tom n Jerry in her youtube list, she announced while patting her chest, "My favourite." #wheredidshelearntthatfrom?!

17-Sep:

Time to get a card for her! Sara@2yo and 5mo (23-Sep)

Daddy: Jesus is in your?
Sara: stomach, in my stomach.
Haha. Fail! Lol!

19-Sep:

Talking about Mummy's work badge.

It's Sara's, see, S-A-R-A. (Spelling it out!)

20-Sep:

Saw a policeman on the road, Me: See, later the policeman asks why arent u wearing your belt?
Sara: I donno... *grins*

21-Sep:

I was wondering what was she singing.."Mari kita bersatu... Pura." Oh no! Need to repeat Negaraku every morning for her alrdy!

Short break, Mummy got her Iphone5!!!

 Feels super light! And loving the bigger screen but not too big a screen like the S3. :) The wait was worthwhile.

 

 

22-Sep:

Daddy asked me if I taught her nonsense. I asked why? He said a couple of nights ago she said this to him, "Daddy botakhead". LOL!!! Well, he shld ask Sara's Ahma abt it.

To test if Sara knows what is botakhead, Daddy asked her if Sara is botakhead. She said, "No, Sara got alot of hair."
Daddy: ...

 

Sara just loves frog legs, where we had it in a restaurant in Segamat.

 

 

23-Sep:

A for apple, B for boy,(goes on). ...M for monkey, N... Err for for... O first ok?
Daddy and Mummy: ....

 

Singing in the car otw back, "I love u, u love me, we're happy family, with a knick-knack.." Huh? Sara, wrong song!

 

Sara turned 2yo and 5 months two days ago. And ppl think she is alrdy 4yo. Haha.

 

25-Sep:

Sara, knowing limited Chinese, from "Liang zi lao hu" song, today, her teacher said, "Bu yao bao!". She answered, "Bao de kuai". Lol!!! Teacher cant help laughing.

 

26-Sep:

On a super rainy day, Sara woke up and said,"I want to go to school." She did her routine and even chose a pretty dress. Reached school, no signs of wailing or screaming and bawling. Teachers praised her and by then I saw her tearing alrdy. But she wiped it off and pulled her bag in quietly. Mummy's so proud of u. Keep it up! #mylifehaschanged

 

 

She cant wait to go to school the next morning that she insisted on wearing her uniform. #shefinallychangedwithlotsaresistance

 

 

27-Sep:

This morning's scenario: I dont want to go to school.
So she didnt wear her uniform either. But, reaching school, no tears! She pressed the bell, asked for her bag and walked in straight without even saying Bye. :)

 

The best news for Mummy:

Thank God it's Friday. Indeed, many things to be thankful for! Co just announced we can work from home for at least three days per month, staggered working hrs and even part-time employment! Though not much compared to others, but it's a good start rite?!

Lao shi, qing zhe, xiao peng you, qing zhe, da jia qing zhe fan. She was mumbling something to that effect. Only the father understands. Haha.

Settling In..

It's gonne be 4 weeks since we moved here. It was a bit messy and also rushed for us.

At the 2nd week: It has suddenly dawned on Sara that she misses Malacca. Each morning when she doesn't want to go to school, she would say she wants to go to Kimpoh's house, or Mama's house. :( Very sad. However, she is doing well in school, despite her cries (which are pretty normal to us because she behaves this way in Malacca too).

And also, Sara was down with cough, flu and fever in just 2 weeks here. I am glad, she managed to recover quickly and is back to her active self again.

We went back last weekend, with in laws as they came to fetch and send us back to Spore. We still have not gotten our ride yet. Thanks to them, but I somehow felt very tired too. My flu became worse on Wed and on Friday, I took MC again. In total, I was on MC for three days last week.

As I'm writing, I'm still not fully recovered yet. Sigh. The whole week, hubs has been doing car-hunting. Qiute tiring for him too. He is also adjusting to the workload that is given to him.

All in all, Sara's routine for this week (it gets pretty much better everyday, in her sense her tantrums):

*Mornings (7am++): Once Daddy and Mummy is ready, we will wake her up. Sometimes she wakes up on her own, wanting Mummy to carry.

*We then quickly pick her up and go off. (if there is time, will change her, or if she poos, will clean her and etc). We catch a bus outside the place. About 7 minutes to the MRT station. There, we wait for the company provided bus at 7.37am.

*We hop on the bus and we reach company by 7.50am. Usually we have breakfast in the cafeteria first before sending Sara to school which is just opposite the cafeteria. But these 2 days, we drop her off at school first before eating else she always make a fuss of not wanting to go to school as she can see it from the cafeteria. :)

*We have 2 buses with 2 pick up timings. So as much as I want to always pick her up on the 5.40pm bus, it's pretty rushed for me, so we take the 6.10pm. I pick her up before 6pm usually. I hope this can continue. Else, I can't bear to pick her up later than this. If we take the 5.40pm bus, we will take the train back after they drop us at MRT. Sometimes, not easy task to balance a 14kg toddler in your arms and 2 bags on you in a train. But I've mastered it. Muahaha. We should reach by 6 to 6.05pm. Else, if later, will be by 6.30pm.

*Then I quickly feed Sara her dinner, she has some fruits, watch some tvs or play with the Ipad, and I usually off the lights between 8.30-9pm. Most of the time, she will snooze before 9pm. :)

As time passes by, so far for this week, her tantrums and crankiness before bed time was much better. No cries or screaming or shouting. A vast difference between this week and last week. Mummy's proud of you gal.

And yes, good news, we just confirmed our ride! Hoping to get it by this weekend. Till, then, Happy Malaysia Day, everyone!

A New Chapter of Life

Sorry for the long absence, but it's due to a lot of arrangements, moving up and down as we were actually moving...

Back to the Lion City. Why? I think it's because of many reasons and also God given and timely opportunities.

And so here we are, blessed to be in the same company and also Sara's daycare is in the same company's premises, but in the other plant.

Here are some of the pictures that we took prior to moving back here:

 

Having brekkie with Jess and lil Ellie who is back from Oz-land!

 

Getting a haircut before we left... :)

 

Finally! A stroller that Mummy wanted. Lightweight. :)

 

Following Mummy on her first day of work, taking the company's bus!

 

Her first day of school - full day! (22-Aug-2012)

 

In just a week, Daddy bought her two sets of puzzles cause she practically memorized the pieces!

 She just loves to spell!

 

 Happy at the swing!

Holidays

Too bad, that we have to decide not to bring Sara for our holidays next week to Phuket.
Calculated too many safety risks for toddlers, though we also read reviews otherwise.

And I feel so bad because I have been telling her that Sara is going to sit on aeroplane. And she seems so excited about it and she keeps on saying, "Sit aeroplane, not scared!" While beating her chest. :)

Oh dear girl, probably when you are older, ok?

Gonna miss my little miss next week. :(

Preparing...

Yes, it has been made official, at least to my colleagues and to those around me. And my colleagues, were, generally surprised. I was the last to come in and the first to leave. And so they started asking if I wanted to have dinner or lunch? Crabs or prawns? Hehehe.

And with that, somehow, I don't feel anxious, maybe because we all know that He is in control.

As such, my only worry is that Sara will adapt to the changes soonest possible. We have already told her that she has to go to school in Spore, and she seemed excited about it. I hope it will continue this way.

Praying also for her health and immune system to be boosted up so that she will not fall sick easily.

Till then, we can only hope and pray that He provides the best for us when we are there. We are literally just leaving everything into His hands and plans. Yay!

Till then, TGIF!

Soon...

Things are looking to be more firm. In the process of negotiation and ensuring the terms and conditions are met.

Just praying that God will provide when we are there. House, car, Sara's well-being.

Meantime, we are looking forward to our new adventure.

Till then...

counting the days

Yes, Sara's gonna be 26 months come end of this week.. and as I just last weighed her, she's already touching the 14kg mark.

One thing I really thank my aunt for taking real good care of Sara, especially in her food and her well-being. I made the right choice to come back, because being a first time mom, you don't know much about taking care of babies. And though I was with Sara till 7 months before I went back to the workforce, I still felt that I was also a full time mum.... after work that is.

And we were at a camp when I tried to leave Sara at the kids church, but she insisted that I went in with her and held on my hands. The teacher asked me if I was a full time mummy. I wondered why she asked me that. I said, no, I'm NOT a full time mum. She said it's quite weird for Sara to be so attached to me because usually for kids whose mum is not full time, they are not so attached. Well, she's attached alright. Once I take her back from aunt's place after work, she sticks to me like a leech until she sleeps.

And weekends, she's with us all the time. So that's why she sticks to us like crazy. And though aunt takes care of her, but most of the time when Sara gets really sick (like fever for more than a day or high fever), I will be the one taking leave to attend to her and also to send her to the clinic.

Also, aunt makes sure that Sara is always "pumped" up. By hook of by crook, she will try all kinds of ways to make sure Sara finishes her 1.5 bowl of meal. Even when Sara throws a tantrum. :( Else, aunt will usually wait for me to pick her up and makes sure I feed her till finish. Either that, I will bring back the porridge to feed her. Of late, we saw Sara's appetite increasing, despite the amount of solids she's taking in. We have to increase her milk on normal times, 7-8oz (previously 6 oz) and before she sleeps, 10-11 oz!).

And yes, so I hope to continue on with this routine even when we are away and also when I have my #2 (not in the plan yet :P).

Looking forward to a new beginning.... AGAIN... yes.. AGAIN...

What's up doc?

Hehe. Been busy lately and also tired after work.

Well, let's see what happened.. we were in Fraser's Hill for church camp. It was good. I was really blessed by the humble experiences of the speaker. It did hit us that life is not all about what we know. Indeed, we should really learn to rely on God for providence, after all, He is Jehovah Jireh!

 Sara bitten by huge mozzies in Frasers!

 At Sunday school class

In her little Laotian dress that her kungkung bought for her.

It was indeed a short break that we all needed. The cool air, the environment and also the sharing of the Word.

**************



Anyway, looking forward to changes in our lives ahead! Till then, I just believe that God never failed us and when we thought it's the end, He made it the begining. All we needed to do was just to GIVE UP and let go. *phew*. Thank You Lord!



Bla Bla Bla

Hoila!

I'm back, after a tiring weekend in the Lion City. Things might not turn out the way we want to, but nevertheless, I was grateful for the opportunity given.

And it was another milestone for Sara. She is soooo talkative now and her vocab proabably increased more over the weekend. She practically knows everything that we say and do, and even the things around us, we are surprised she knows it too.

We were staying over at a friend's place and this friend brought home a little kitten a couple of weeks ago. Just before this, Sara was terrified of cats. But she got better as the days went by. And by the end of 4 days there, she even plucked up the courage to carry and "sayang" the kitten! Bravo, my little one!

The first day, and she was still shy.

 Before we went home, she held the kitten! yay! So proud of her!

Once we got home, we found our tv was not showing up. The screen just went black out and we could only hear the audio. Sara kept asking "Where? Where?". We ended up with the Ipad so that she can sit still while I feed her dinner.

Hubby took this opportunity to be an engineer this time, disassembled the tv and trying to fix things up.



If the repair is gonna cost much, then another reason for a new tv. But then again, probably not so soon. After we settle down, I guess.

Till then, till the next update in our family.. :)

Travel-ing

We have been traveling... yes. Alot.
So here are some of the updates:

We were in Penang, end of Nov.

Pretty decors at Straits Quay, a new happening place in Penang...

Sara's first time on the ferry... :)

Too tired! LOL

The famous Ayer Itam asam laksa at the market!! Slurp!

Next up, Spore, in Mid Dec.

 Brightly colored streets! Love the decor and Sara was blur I think with all the lights.

Hello, Kitty!

@ TCC, family pic at the Christmas tree.. :)

Of course not to mention the good Jap food we had. Hehehe.

Till then, we will be in Malacca for Christmas. Blessed Christmas, all!



Updates!

It's been a while since I last blogged. Too busy with work and also things have been happening.

It started off with Hubby's prolonged flu, and then Sara started showing her reallll tantrums. That took the energy out of me. Phew.

Anyway, things are better at home now, and I planned a little suprise birthday dinner for hubby. He was shocked, of course as he didn't expect his bestie to be down from KL, and our Spore friends to be around too. All in all, I just love the cake the most. :P

And then, we had lunches and dinner with Liza, and dinner with Pastor J at a Korean restaurant! I really love Korean and was looking for a good one in Melaka, and we sort of found it! Yums! The kimchi soup in the hot pot was a real treat. Thanks, Pastor for the dinner and also the recommendation. :)