10 Months:

Andre loves the remote controls. Seriously, what's so fun with them?

But i heard, children loves to imitate adults. Probably, he sees dad and mum using it all the time, that's why he wants to follow as well.

Among all the remote controls, starhub is the most robust one, followed by the air-con one. Hitachi TV one is not bad, though the batteries had fell out once. How do I know? Because, my son performs the smash test and every opportunity he could. The lousiest is MIO TV, the interface has cracked and is holding on by a weak hinge.

10 Months: Daddy and mummy goes for mini honey moon in Phuket

休息是为了走更长的路. After 10 months, we decided to give ourselves a break to celebrate a belated wedding anniversary, to recharge our batteries and to celebrate dear's promotion. It has been a joy looking after Andre, but the adults need some time to ourselves too. And so.. off we go to Phuket.

Our jetstar plane at Changi Terminal One

We stayed at Hilton Arcadia Phuket for 3 days and 2 nights. Managed to redeem one night with mummy's points. The hotel is sprawling big and service was top-notched. Here's the view from our ocean deluxe room (We paid premium rates for it)

The room is truly luxurious.

Went to Patpong for the first night. Actually, nothing much about the place except for its raunchy night life. We had bbqed seafood there, not bad, but not that fanstastic either. But i like the thais warm hospitality. The food was quite cheap, maybe about S$10 per person for this?

2nd night, we walked in the direction to Kata beach. Found this cheap cheap place for dinner. cocktails were going for like S$2. Dinner was plain and simple. Dear's steak was so badly done though. Normally, i will go for well done steak, but this was barely chewable let alone swallowable. In the end, unsatisfied, i went to order Pad thai from another store. This again failed my expectations.

Wanted to go havoc on lobsters this time round. Phuket is too tourism centric now. Prices are rock high, so seeing one lobster cost S$100, i think forget it la..

On the last day, we went for a James Bond Island tour. It is beautiful and the waters are clear and light jade colour.

James Bond Island. Nothing much actually; its just a rock.

Our finale for the trip is at Phuket's poshest sea view restaurant, Baan Rim Pa. The food was good, but the staff kinda snobbish. I simply love the red curry with lycees. See the dazzling sunset?

Overall, it was a good trip. I had 2 massages, one at the up end spa at Hilton. They were having 50% off. So i opt for a full body scrub and swedish massage. The massuese was very good, beats those crappy road side stalls hands down anytime. I'm dreaming for the next massage. Hilton breakfast was good. We swam, lazed by the pool, splashed by the beach (I was almost washed away by the waves).

But Kevin and I are boring people, our topic only revolves around Andre. Much as we missed him, it was still a fabulous getaway, something we agree we should do once a year.

10 Months:

This picture is one of my favs to date, and i had this picture printed and pinned on my office cubicle, sent one to nai nai, and put it in my computer desktop both at home and at the office lap top. Just a random one, but what a happy picture isn't it (with a tinge of cheekiness)

Here's litte bub holding his father's office ID. Refusing to let go. And when we forcibly took it away, what a drama! Tears, Screams and Tantrums.

10 Months: Bens and Jerrys

We were there for wonderful ice-cream. But my gong kia is not very adventurous when it comes to food. In the end, i made an ice-cream mess out of his clothes. And got scolded by his dad.

10 Months: World Vision

This is the picture and report sent by our sponsored kid in Mongolia. Shirnenbold is coming 3 years old in November and is starting school in September. His parents are very warm and often asked about us in their letters.

10 Months: Mossies attack

Poor Andre got badly bitten by the mossies at po po's place. Called the NEA and they found a swarmed breeding ground at the rubbish chute. Darn the stupid management! How could they let this happen? Hope they get a whopping big fat fine. Some of the biites even swell up to a 10 cents size. When i'm at home, i could practically see the mossies buzzing by under my nose,let alone my poor baby who is there 10 hours a day.

10 Months: Its the YOG

Singapore is hosting the very 1st Youth Olympics Games. Not bad huh, for a country that has never been high profile in this area. Oh well, it is still an honor. The games started from Aug 14th to Aug 26th). Singapore did not to badly too , winning a few medals. Good job Singapore... This is the kind of confidence i like in my country... Cannot also say can!

Merly

Lyo

The 2 mascots are kinda cute, isn't it

10 Months: Education

When you have a kid, your home just looks different

10 Months: Marina Barrage

Decided to check out the park after seeing so many beautiful pictures posted by friends in facebook. On the way there, little munchkin wanted to gum on this seseme street book. And this is the result when we tried to take the book away...

At the beautiful city reservoir

Next time, we bring a kite there to fly okie?

Little bub has his dinner...

While dad and mum takes a couple shot together

10 months: Teething

Here's a nice picture of the estimated time of eruption for baby teeth.

Bottom 2 (Central incisor)
Upper 2 (Canine aka cuspid)

It's been a tough month for Andre. 4 teeth erupting. But Andre took it well with no fever. Touch wood! Notice the strange thing? Andre's upper canine teeth appeared first! This is unusual because these are not supposed to appear until he is 18 months old. And the upper 2 front teeth has not appeared yet. I guess if by dec they are not here, Andre has to sing "All i want for Xmas is my 2 front teeth, my 2 front teeth...." Meanwhile, he has to live the title of baby vampire.

But this boy is very gentlemenly so far. I have heard of some babies who can't wait to sink their teeth into their parents. Not Andre, he will gum at everything except people's hands. I guess he knows they are dirty and full of bacteria.

Did a quick search online, though there wasn't much information on baby's canine teeth cutting first, it seems to be very normal and that those who had went on to have normal adult teeth. I'm not worried about that at the moment, but thought that i will look for a pd dentist to have a check up. I've tried to use one of those finger toothbrush to clean baby's teeth. But he simply refuse to. And he takes his milk every evening and falls asleep immediately. i pray that his teeth still remains ok. Heard that if the sugar remains in his mouth while he sleeps, might cause premature tooth decay! EEks! Scary thoughts!

Baby teething is a major baby development milestone. The timetable of teething is different for each baby, although the vast majority will begin the teething process around the same age and the appearance of teeth will usually follow a certain order.
The appearance of milk teeth is the precursor to weaning; a physical manifestation of a child's burgeoning independence. Most children sail through the whole process but for some it can be a distressing and painful time. Many parents can feel helpless and somewhat taken by surprise when their baby begins to cut its first teeth. Understanding the physical changes and anticipating when, and how, is the key to helping your baby.
Stage 1. Teething discomfort can start well before teeth even come through - your baby is born with a set of 20 teeth hidden beneath the gums. Just before they erupt you should be able to feel the indentations of the teeth by running your finger along your baby's gums.
Stage 2. Usually, when your baby is between seven to twelve months old, the first four front teeth erupt through the gums. These teeth are called the incisors. It is usually the upper two teeth that emerge first. Although they look cute, and make every parents heart flutter when seen for the first time, they can hurt as they come through.
Stage 3. The appearance of the first molars usually takes place when the child is between thirteen and nineteen months old. The first molars sit just behind the canine teeth.
Stage 4. Somewhere between sixteen to twenty-two months of age, the canine teeth emerge - however, the first molar teeth can appear before the canines.
Stage 5. The second molars are just about always the last to emerge. This occurs around twenty-five to thirty-three months of age. These are the largest of the teeth; some children find the emergence of these to be the most painful.
During each stage of teething your baby will want different aids in soothing its discomfort. Cooling hot gums during stage one is a great relief, whereas finding the best object to chomp down on is preferred for the remaining stages. To ease hot gums you can purchase teething gels or simply give your child a pacifier or ring that has been cooled in the fridge. If you want to give your child a nursing ring to ease discomfort, you may need to purchase different types for each stage of teething. You can easily find these in most baby retail stores. Read the back of the packaging to tell if the ring is suitable for your child's teething needs - during early teething you'll want a teething ring that your child can chew its front teeth on, but during the final stages of teething, you'll want to purchase one that is most suitable for the back teeth.
Finally, your child will be in possession of all its teeth and you can then rest easy. Or can you? Just when your child has got all its milk teeth (deciduous teeth) it will start loosing them again, to be replaced by adult teeth. The first teeth to fall out are usually the front four teeth; this starts around the child's sixth to eight birthday. The rest of the other teeth fall out in pretty much the same order as the appeared; front teeth first, second molars last.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Five-Stages-Of-Teething&id=308739

10 Months: 2nd time to Royce Kids Gym at Liang Court

Okie, my conclusion is... This place is darn EXPENSIVE. Brought along Adelle for play today (Her mummy has brought her 2 elder siblings to watch the YOG), and for her entry, it is $22 because she is not a member! Phew! The place was not crowded, probably because it was a weekday and also maybe parents are playing it safe as the HFMD is rather high nowadays. Though it was quiet, at exactly one hour, we were asked to leave. Naturally, the kids were disappointed as they hadn't had their kick. For Adelle, this place is a little too junior for her (she's 3 by the way)... besides playing with dolls and cooking (which she already has at home), there is nothing much new for her to experience. Looking at this, i probably wouldn't enroll Andre for a 2nd year. He doesn't seem so excited after the 2nd trip.

Started off Sailing Sailing..
Adelle chopping up some strawberry cake. Its a tough one... so she ended up pulling the velcro apart.

Poor Andre thought it was a jumperoo ... was jumping and jumping, but did not get the BOING... Can see he was pretty disappointed, cos he tried again and again. But there weren't any jumperoos around. Too bad son..

(on a side note, this exersaucer was very dirty. In the grooves of the gadgets, i could see layers of dried dust.. Yucks.. But this was perhaps the only equipment Andre enjoyed most that day, tracing the bumble bee from left to right and vice versa)

OK, pushing the cart again...

Knock knock, who's there? Nobody's inside, except for a frightful looking Barney

Adelle at the slides

Final conclusion, this place looks good on pictures.. colour and variety .. But the actual place get boring after a while. Not too sure on toys cleanliness, but there are many toys there, do you expect the staff to clean every nick, groove and detail like we do at home? From what i see, cleaning these toys are so much harder than the typical gym equipment where the structures are bigger and more basic. These toys are suitable for babies and at this age, they drool and gum on anything their little hands can grab.

Well, I'll probably return.. to make the $50 upfront a little more worth it. But i won't recommend anyone else to join. We have cheaper, better options out there.

By the way, they have price tags on all their equipment. I can't help think its another money grubbing establishment.

10 Months

10 Months: Rocker

Mummy tooked out her tools and assembled the rocker for Andre today. Come on, mom is an engineer, this stuff is no sweat for her. Andre could figure out almostly immediately that he can get a little thrill from moving forward and backward. And then he bawled when we removed him prematurely from the toy. This boy is starting to be very aware of his surroundings and rights.

10 Months: ION Orchard at night

10 Months:

"I'm serious about driving. The SLK yesterday was kid's stuff, now let me show you the real thing"

10 Months: Royce Baby Gym

It's National day today! Happy 45th birthday to our beloved country. May the country be blessed with peace, and people with prosperity, low taxes, more baby bonuses etc etc... Most importantly, a fair and wise government. I looked at the neighbouring countries around us, and sometimes i can't help thinking how blessed we are. Yeah, we are an expensive place to live in, but then there is a price to pay for the peace right ...

On Andre's Throne

We checked out Royce Baby Gym today. It's expensive. Membership for a year is $50 and $12 per entry subsequent, limited to 1 hour of play. Most gyms i know don't have a membership fee. Fdigets don't even restrict the timing. What really sets this place different is instead of the usual climb, dangle and slide equipment, this place is toys theme instead. Toys galore for the little bubs.

Andre on a swing

A little parachute swing which Andre enjoyed for a little while.

Ball pit with balls of different sizes and textures

Here are shelves of toys

Walking with the aid of a supermarket cart

On a SLK

On a boat swing

Mummy and baby took a slide together (see background) .. and then mummy demonstrated how to crawl through the tunnel which baby promptly followed. Clever boy!

Keyboard time

And lastly on a sailing boat