Making poo

Squirt has just been supremely hyper – he is mobile, he is energetic and he is quick! He perspires a lot as he is constantly on the move, and hardly ever takes a break when he gets some floor time.

But as busy a baby that he is, he slows down every now and then, and I caught him catching a breather the other day while pulling all sorts of funny expressions…

Ready

Steady

Go!

He had this faraway look in his eyes, in full concentration as he pulled the classic Poop- Making Face expression. It amused me to no end that I just had to snap the picture. 

As soon as he was done, he went scooting round again. He was a little upset that I picked him up to get him changed (what do you mean I have to get off the floor!), but as soon as he realised that he had a clean diaper, he was all smiley  again.

All in a day's work, people. All in the day's work.

Hot and bothered

The weather hasn’t been a whole lot of fun these days. It has been humid and sweltering hot, with temperatures as high as 39 degrees Celsius in the day.

Every step is laborious and one cannot walk the streets without breaking up a bucketful of sweat. I can feel myself melting away in the hot sun, and weather like this makes me supremely irritable, bothered and easily agitated.

The hot season is well and alive…and April, usually the hottest month of the year, has yet to come.They say it is going to get worse, with forecasted temperature hitting as high as 43 degrees Celsius.

Bleahh! I am NOT liking the weather very much.

Earth Hour

Two Saturdays ago, the world observed Earth Hour as people around the globe turned off their lights at 8.30pm local time for a whole hour.

The entire Bangkok did not plunge into total darkness – almost every building had their lights burning bright. However, here in our residence, we made it a point to join in the cause by lighting candles for several hours.  Ironically, we couldn’t find any lighters lying around, so I had to use the fire from the stove to light our tea-lights!

I stumbled upon this article here on iconic landmarks which had plunged into darkness during Earth Hour. The before-and-after effect is quite cool. Read the article here.

Meantime, here’s a reminder to think a little bit more about the environment – let’s just once in a while, please give a crap and not wait for the annual Earth Hour to happen.

Eavesdropping Spud

While we were driving to the kids’ swimming class on our usual Saturday morning, we heard Spud chiding her little brother from the backseat.

Spud (in a somewhat stern voice): No, Squirt. NO swimming for you today.

Both me and Silver Bullet looked at each other;we both had a really puzzled look on our face, not quite understanding what it was all about. I then turned my head and gently interjected with a, “Why, Spud? Why can’t Squirt go swimming?”

Spud: Squirt throw the toy. Toy on the floor.

Looking down on the floor, I realised that Squirt has indeed threw all of his toys on the floor of the car.

We can’t help but burst into laughter. Spud was just mimicking us – after all, we tend to always warn her of the privileges she’s going to lose if she continues to throw her things for no reason in the midst of her temper tantrums.

In this case, it was a little difficult to explain to her that Squirt was just doing it because that’s what a 9 month old baby does…

And here's a shot of our two little monkeys at the back of the car. Sometimes we hear the both of them laughing and cackling, mostly with each other. We would have no idea what was so funny, but apparently these two kids can already entertain each other.

At least there has been no fights. Well..not yet.

Ode to the departed

Exactly a month ago to the day, I sent a private message to an old friend right after I read her Facebook status update that went, “Still miss her. Emotionally painful.”

I didn’t know what that meant, and while I read the replies to the update, nothing had clicked in my head at that time.  Knowing that she would always reply my messages, I didn’t think anything of it and waited patiently for the reply to come. I then forgot about it.

Today, exactly a month later, I received a reply – but not in the way that I had expected.  The message had come from her husband whom I had known from a long, long time ago, informing me that his wife had passed on from a sudden illness.  She was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer sometime in December last year, and had passed away peacefully on 9^th January 2013. It was her husband who wrote the status update.

The news shocked me. I had to re-read everything he wrote several times before the message actually sunk in. Tears immediately rolled down my cheeks and I had to compose myself before I could even write a reply. I thought I would be seeing her again for Hari Raya this year, and looking forward to give her a big, fat hug. I had missed her.  It was hard to believe that she was gone …and that for a good six months since I last “chatted” with her, I didn’t send her a message to even say hi. I didn’t get the chance to say my goodbye.

Her name was Vicky Tan aka Vicvanvinkle, and even though we were never so close, she had always been a dear friend of mine. I first knew her when I started out my professional career way back in 1998. I was a newbie in the department, and she was the receptionist.

We lost touch for many years later after we both left the company (at separate times). Somehow, through the grapevine and years later, she got in touch with me again. I think I still have her first “getting in touch” email in my inbox!

We corresponded via email, and then through Facebook. I always  made it a point to try meet up with her whenever I am back in Singapore, and continued our correspondence every now and then.  She would be one of my mom’s regular Hari Raya visitors, and like us, she was a foodie! She introduced me to a fabulous brand of satay, and made me a convert to an instant satay product – something I swore I would never do.  She was also one of the few avid readers of my blog.

I will always remember her as someone so positive, easy going, funny and full of life. She lived simple and did not care for anything material. She worked “just because” – in her words, to occupy her time more than anything else. She did not like stress and was happy to do simple jobs. She was always smiling. Most of all, she was one of the most sincere and sweetest person I have ever met. She was a very nice lady.

We never hung out often, Vic and I – but we had some sort of kindred spirit, so to speak.  She was easy to talk to and her friendly nature was just contagious. For years we kept up communication, and every year, she would always remember my birthday, without fail.

Vic was an amazing person,  I am utterly shaken with the fact that she had been gone for a while now. This would have to be my goodbye - and it breaks my heart to know that I’ll never see her again in this life.

This one is for your my friend. Thank you for your friendship, your kind words, your thoughts. Thank you for the memory and thank you for your random musing which in one way or another contributed to some of the posts on my blog. Thank you for being a part of my life. 

Goodbye my dear friend, Vic. It was such a great honour to know you and you certainly will be missed. I am sure that you are now in a better place and looking down upon us. May your soul rest in peace.

In loving memory of a dear friend, Vicky Tan.

Obsessed with wedges

Wedges are my absolute favourite footwear of all time. I don’t quite know where the love of wedges began, but for as long as I remember I have been almost obsessed with them since I started working.

I just like them – they give me the extra inches that I need (I’m really quite katek*!), they are almost always fashionable, they are versatile and most of all, can be quite comfortable.

I am extremely picky about the “right” type of wedges that I like and would wear, and so, unfortunately for me, nice wedges by my standard have been quite a rare find in Thailand.

I am always on the lookout for wedges, and if I like what I see, it does not take me too long to buy them.

Here’s my latest find:

Cost: 1,300 Baht

From: Random shop at SCB Park Plaza

*katek: short

Superhero Day

When we received yet another letter from school to please allow Spud to come to school – this time, in a superhero costume for their Superhero theme activity, I had to scratch my head.

Firstly, superhero characters are mainly for boys. Secondly, a girl super heroine is either tacky or just too girly. Hell! I cannot even think of a girl superheroine without having Wonder Woman, Cat Woman or Power Puff Girls coming to mind! Big nay. Thirdly, I don’t even know any other Superheroes besides the usual Superman, Spiderman, Batman (Does Wolverine count??) and just where do I get such costume at such a short notice?

Sharing my sentiments with one of my colleagues, he offered his suggestion that I could make a costume for Spud. He suggested that I could use a small blanket as a cape (nice thought!), make her makeshift armour for her arms out of cardboard boxes and then do a simple logo to be pasted on her chest. He then added another sentence that had me burst out into laughter - make her wear her underwear on the outside.

I could deal with the makeshift arm armour and silly logo and all, but for the life of me, I cannot, cannot make my child go to school with her wearing her underwear on the outside.

Although I admit to entertaining the suggestion in my head for a little bit and thought that it was quite funny, I felt like it was quite a cruel thing to do. Not only would I be making my little girl wear her underwear on the outside if I ever choose to do it, but she would also have to wear that while walking to school! While the thought made me chuckle at the hilarity of it all, the image had me shaking my head at the same time.

Bless my colleague – the idea was quite original, but the thought of letting my daughter wear her undies on the outside in the name of being a superhero is just not done.  I don't think I could bring myself to subject my little child to such an embarrassment at such a young age. 

I opted to hunt for a superhero T-shirt at one of the make shift tent- market near my office and found this...

This Spiderman outfit came with a web-looking thing that looks like a pair of wings. It only cost me 50 baht - and she does not have to wear her underwear outside of her pants.

Furby crazy

The Furby craze has been trending in Thailand in the recent months.  From memory, I seem to recall the existence of what used-to-be-a-cute creature for a 5 year old from years and years ago; possibly it hit the market right about the time when I was barely 10 years old. I recognized that it was cute, but I never really did have any affinity to Furby. (or my parents just weren;t rich enough to buy me one)

But this Furby craze took over my office by storm. My (younger) Thai colleagues whose average age ranges from 25-29 years ol have all been swooning over this furry thing. While a handful of us are working and typing away vigorously at our desks trying to concentrate the tasks at hand, these kids play with Furby. They learn Furbish and they speak Furbish, and from the corner of where I am sitting, I could hear giggles and strange sounding baby-babbles, only to discover that Furby was having some strange conversations with my human colleagues.

What an odd thing! I would have thought that Furby are for kids below 10 years old, but apparently in Thailand, specifically in my office, those of the older age group are so into them that they all are willing to learn an alien language.

What I find more intriguing is the fact that the craze has gone so over the top that the Science Ministry had even issued a warning to parents about Furby. The warnings are highlighted as these:

International Anti-Ageing Medicine Institute director Dr Krissada Sirampuch said seven impacts of kids playing with high-tech toys including the cute, furry Furby robotic toy were;

1. Children become so obsessed with the toy that they lose the ability to interact with people around them or become hostile to society.

2. Children become overly attached to the toy, causing them to pay less attention in class if they take it to school.

3. Children enjoy playing with the toy until past their bedtime, causing them to sleep late, which affects their body's ability to produce growth hormone.

4. Children obsessed with virtual pet or tablet games might assume that violently treating real small pets is all right because the animals won't really die and can be "fixed", as in toys or games.

5. Children playing alone with toys could develop the habit of talking to themselves, which could slow down their speech and brain development. Because children's brains can't differentiate real voices from artificial ones, they may start to copy the toy's voice and speak like a cartoon character.

6. Children playing with toys all day might refuse to play sports or run around outdoors with other kids. This could affect their playing skills, which are important in the development of muscles and the brain. They could also become passive and overweight, or even sick from flu, cold, allergies and Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.

Mind you, this is an official news report, and an official document – a warning serious enough to make it into the news!

My brains on the other hand, is struggling to make some sense of the warnings issued because it made me wonder if someone wrote this up as a serious joke and trying to play mind games with me as somehow my not-so-smart brain is not able to make the connections! For the 5 warnings above, my take is to just take the damn Furby away from the kids so they won't get overtly attached to the toys or play with it till past bedtime.

And 25 year olds playing with Furby and diligently learning Furbish -  I mean, what did I miss here?!

Amazing Thailand. This country has really gone furby-crazy.

Original article of the above can be found here.

Inside-out Duplo Jello

Inspired by a posting I stumbled upon to make Duplo Jellos several months back, I finally got on my arse and bought a packet of agar-agar powder in my bid to surprise Spud (and her friends who were coming over for a weekend play date) with edible duplos.

I was revved up. I made them in 3 flavours – melon, strawberry and orange and coloured them with food colouring accordingly. I then took the instructions for what it was and spent half an hour in the kitchen to boil some water, dissolve the sugar and the agar-agar powder as well as meticulously cleaned 31 pieces of Duplos to make those jellos…

…only to realise later that I had made them inside out! Gahhh!!!

I guess I was simple-minded. The instruction looked so straightforward and easy that it did not cross my mind that the Duplo Jello idea I nicked of a Facebook posting could have pointed to a Duplo Jello MOULD I should be buying should before even I begin to attempt making a Duplo-like jello. Big Duh!

I should have realised that sooner, but like I said, I was simple-minded. And after slaving through 31 pieces of Duplos in trying to get those darn jellos out, I felt cheated and stupid. 

Spud was amused, and enjoyed licking the jellified jellos while they were still in the duplos, but she did not enjoy eating them. I thought the texture was a little hard, too. I was so impressed with my jello skills that I forgot to serve them to the girls when they came over for a play date the next day. (I binned them soon after) They didn't miss much - they seemed to be contented watching Finding Nemo while wearing identical-looking bows on their head, thanks to one of the moms. 

My only consolation is that at least the majority of the duplo pieces are now finally being washed thoroughly. They have even been sterilized and are safe for babies and toddlers to stick them in the mouths again.

Spud's prediction

“It’s going to rain, Mama!”  Spud exclaimed while looking up to the sky as we walked out of the apartment building.

I looked up and while I thought that the morning was not as bright as the previous days, it wasn’t as dark either. There were no dark clouds and there was no wind; and it did not appear like it was going to rain anytime soon. In fact, it was way too bloody hot to even expect a drop of rain.

But I replied with a, “Really? You think it’s going to rain?”

And to that, Spud replied with a confident, “Yes!” .  To which I replied, “I’m not so sure – I don’t think so though, it is way too hot for rain. Quite unlikely, I think.”

We then walked on, and halfway to her school, Spud decided that she has had enough of walking and wanted me to carry her.  The weather today was extremely humid, and by the time I dropped her off in school, I was perspiring like crazy!

Already almost drenched in my own perspiration, I continued walking to my office. And just about halfway there, the rain came pouring down without any warning. Big, giant droplets of rain, too! I was walking in a wide open space with no access to any nearby shelter.  I had no brolly and I had nowhere to run and hide.

As I let out my biggest sigh, I quickened my pace and resigned myself to getting wet from a flash-rain that came from nowhere.

There then came a realization: Spud has been right about the rain after all – and, I should have probably listened to her!

The rain pretty much stopped the moment I stepped into my office building. Figures.

Life to her years

Quite a while back, I stumbled upon a neat site of one Dad’s tips for adding life to a daughter’s years.

I particularly find his anecdotal quotes captioned in the pictures he published moving, if not downright hilarious.

This is what he says about himself on his "Life to Her Years" blog:

They say that father and daughter will always have that special bond. And I have a sneaking suspicion that, for Silver Bullet and Spud, it has only just begun.

Wait. I lied; that special bond started more than 2 years ago. And with pictures like this, it could only get better from here.

A doting father with a big,red bow on his head and all in the name of amusing his offspring couldn't be more appealing. Well...at least I think so!

Conversation with a prude

People can be such a prude sometimes. 

Below was a conversation I had in a meeting with a certain expat colleague after I contacted him for research information based on his field of expertise.And, after pouring through tons of documents, with him blabbering to me a research that was in Swedish, he practically shirked his responsibility and blew me off:

It went like this:

Me: Great! Can you please put all of these things together into a presentation deck. (No question mark here as it was a statement posed as a question)

Expat colleague (very curtly) : NOPE.

Me (raising an eye-brow, and clearly very unimpressed at the unexpected reply): And why NOT.

Expat colleague: Because I'm busy

Me (sarcastically): RIGHT.

And then he rattled off that he is currently looking for someone for his team to specifically handle "such request", and that for now I'll have to do make do (myself ) with what he has given me because he has yet to hire anyone. I had to bite my tongue from commenting in retaliation with , "Screw you. What do you think I do all day - twiddling my thumb while assholes like you get busy to make yourself look so important while dodging work?!" 

If not for my professionalism (ahem!) and me mentally telling myself not to fly off the handle, I would have bitch-slap him, pick him up like I would pick a roach and throw him off the 24th floor.

There certainly was no argument in my mind that it was clearly his job  - it is his area of expertise.  Yet being the atypical total expat prick that he is, he just flatly refused because he was "busy".

Guess what expat man, so are we!And I can make better use of my time by not having to deal with time wasters like you!

I then politely told him that he needed to find someone to do the job and quite quickly, he started to arrow someone else.

You know what -  I absolutely HATE working with people like that. And, all I wanted to do was to just do my job. These pests seem to have it so easy while they let other people pick up their shit.

Like I said, people can be such prudes.

Yes,I know - life isn't fair. And sometimes, you have to blame (nice) people like me let an asshole like him get away with things. I guess I could have been a bitch, but I choose not to.

Sigh.

Holland vs Netherlands

The confusion all duly explained in less than 4 mere minutes.

My only comment on this one is that I think the commentator was speaking too fast...way too fast! Enjoy.

Calvin & Hobbes

As Calvin says it, THBPPTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Natural wonder: Pink Lakes

Somewhere in Western Australia, there lies a pink lake called Lake Hillier. Word has it that the colour is a flamboyant rose pink. The colour is permanent and does not alter even when it is taken into a container.

Source: Google images

Now contrary to what I have said before on something along the lines of "the sight of anything pink is enough to make my eyeballs roll to the back of its sockets in a nano second as the dopamine in my brains plummeted to the lowest low, while my body pelted out goose bumps all over me", I'll say that this one is an exception.

Not that I'm taking back my words -  I still don't like anything pink -  but this one caught my attention simply because it happens to be the wonder of nature. THIS one is an exception because it is unusual, and even though it was founded in 1812, it is something which I have not been aware of, before I stumbled upon an article. (Link: Here)

It is such a lovely sight this. With the rainbow captured in the background, it makes for such a brilliant sight to behold. It makes me want to visit this place!

As I googled more on this subject, I found out there there are 7 other pink lakes, with most located in Australia itself. Nature is simply too amazing for words.

is a lake on Middle Island, the largest of the islands and islets that make up the Recherche Archipelago - See more at: http://www.theworldgeography.com/2012/11/pink-lakes.html#sthash.QgTJBiew.dpuf

is a lake on Middle Island, the largest of the islands and islets that make up the Recherche Archipelago - See more at: http://www.theworldgeography.com/2012/11/pink-lakes.html#sthash.QgTJBiew.dpuf

is a lake on Middle Island, the largest of the islands and islets that make up the Recherche Archipelago - See more at: http://www.theworldgeography.com/2012/11/pink-lakes.html#sthash.QgTJBiew.dpuf

When "elevating"

Another one of those "to-do" list that cracks me up:

Oh boy! I like #1 and #3 the best.

Reminds me of a somewhat almost-similar post I had on a "to do list".

Singapore's rat race

Recently I stumbled upon an article (and for the life of me, cannot remember which one!), which took me to a link that has information on an average wage of a Singaporean by age. That means, the chart sorts of give you an idea on the pay prospects of the type of occupation one has in Singapore.

The link is here.

And an example of an output based on selected occupation is captured here:

I may be completely off, but I seem to recall that these numbers are looking quite the same from almost 8 years ago when I left Singapore to work in Thailand. If my believe is true, then there has been no increase in salaries island-wide despite having a natural inflation in the last few years. With the rising cost of living in Singapore, I found these numbers to be quite scary. 

Unless you live or ever lived in Singapore, I don't think anyone can get a clear picture of how the average Singaporeans (my parents and brother included) struggle to make ends meet with their "token of salary" after all the deductions that has to be made. Disposable income is greatly reduced, and sometimes non-existent. Cars and housing prices have become extremely unaffordable, and with the current appalling public transport situation - claimed to be the world class at one point - the place has become a joke. The poor are getting poorer, and the middle-class are strapped for cash.

My mom has always mentioned that in Singapore, you need to be rich to be sick. One can't afford to be sick because of the prolonged medical treatment required which the Medisave (savings from provident fund) can't quite cover. In her words, it is much more affordable to die as soon as possible because you cut back on expenses. If you are not in the top 20% pay bracket, then you work till you die. Being sick is not an option as the opportunity cost to not being able to work is a greater burden than anything else, even if you don't have to support your kids anymore.

I guess they have purposely left out the ministers' pay from their study here as it would have gone completely off the charts.

The thought of ever going back home to Singapore is becoming very unappealing.

 

The devil you know

Seen on the streets of Bangkok:

I have also seen a Mercedes Benz's famous emblem attached to an ordinary Toyota sometime back, but did not get the chance to snap a picture of it.

Welcome to Thailand!

Sneak Preview

A sneak preview of a recent family photography session with Silver Bullet's immediate family members when they were in town last month to celebrate my mom-in-law's birthday are looking promising:

I love the candid expressions captured here and I can't wait to see the rest of the output.

Eavesdropping Spud

So there is a saying that goes, " Scars remind us of where we have been" and looking at a still visible 3.5-inch scar on my leg from a cat scratch, I was being reminded of yet another of Spud's antic that I thought is worth a post:

“You OK, Mama? Oh, oh..oh no. It’s scratch. It’s itchy,” says she as she examined a fresh gash accidentally left behind by Fudge on my leg. Then she went, “It’s ok, mama. It’s ok. Only a scratch,” and tried to kiss it.

After which, she went to Fudge and went, “Fudge, why you scratch Mama. Mama itchy. Why you scratch, Fudge?”  and she went on and on and on, cornering the poor little feline into one of the shelves.

Isn't that the sweetest thing, or what!

Related post(s):
Eavesdropping Spud I
Eavesdropping Spud II

Deja poo

This one has become my favourite new word of the day:

Just brilliant!

God of death: Yama

One of the most brilliant ads I have seen in a long, long time. Tongue-in-cheek Indian humour, one which deserves a big applause for originality.

Origin: India.

Spud's first hand-painting

More than 2.5 weeks post Valentine's Day - a day which our family don't hype too much about - I stumbled upon this painting in one of our cupboards while I was searching for other things:

OK, I'm biased, but isn't that just the cutest thing!

I then took it out of the cupboard and showed it to Silver Bullet - funny that neither of us had seen that before - and as I beamed away, we thanked Spud for making us such an interesting card. I then asked her about it, and she gleefully took it from me and showed me how she did it.

She then immediately dropped the card on the floor and went on her hands and feet, just to demonstrate to me how she had done it while trying to verbally explain to me what she had done.. It may have been more than 2 weeks, but her memory is pretty amazing!

It didn't not take her too long to explain to me that the red patches were ink prints from her hands, and the green "stems" were done using her feet.

We may not be the biggest advocate of celebrating Valentine's Day just because it is so commercial, but this is one of those V-Day cards that is worth a post.

Not to mention that this would be one of those first paintings worthy of a frame on its own.

Thank you, Spud. We love you too.

Everything Australian

These were apparently posted on an Australian Tourism Website and the answers are the actual responses by the website officials, who obviously have a great sense of humour (not to mention a low tolerance threshold for cretins!)

Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia ? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? ( UK).
 

A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.
__________________________________________________

Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? ( USA )
 

A:Depends how much you've been drinking.
__________________________________________________

Q:I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? ( Sweden )
 

A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.
__________________________________________________

Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in Australia ? Can you send me a list of them in Brisbane , Cairns , Townsville and Hervey Bay ? ( UK )
 

A: What did your last slave die of?
__________________________________________________

Q:Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia ? ( USA )
 

A: A-Fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe .Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not... Oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.
__________________________________________________

Q:Which direction is North in Australia ? ( USA )

A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.
_________________________________________________

Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia ? ( UK )
 

A:Why? Just use your fingers like we do...
__________________________________________________

Q:Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? ( USA )

A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is ...Oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.
__________________________________________________

Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia ? ( UK )
 

A: You are a British politician, right?
__________________________________________________

Q:Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? ( Germany )

A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter/gatherers.Milk is illegal.
__________________________________________________

Q:Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake serum. ( USA )

A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from..All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.
__________________________________________________

Q:I have a question about a famous animal in Australia , but I forget its name. It's a kind of bear and lives in trees. ( USA )

A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them.You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
__________________________________________________

Q:I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia ? (USA )

A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.
__________________________________________________

Q:Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia ? ( France )

A: Only at Christmas.
__________________________________________________

Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? ( USA )

A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first

__________________________________________________

Oh how I love their sense of humour!:)

9 months

Our 9 month old Squirt is nothing but a busy, busy baby. He is so busy that when we try to pick him up to feed him his milk, he cries, screams and wrestles us up in protest because he does not want to be kept away from the floor; even if he has not fed in the last 3 hours!.  It would usually take us several tries to make him drink his milk, and even so, it has been quite a struggle as this little fella gets so distracted so easily. Urrrgghhh!

This must be the most annoying, not to mention tiring age there has to be in terms of baby development  - he is mobile, constantly on the go, cries bloody murder if left in the playpen, grabbing everything that is within his reach, determined to do whatever it is that he wants to do, sometimes don't really know what he wants, and left us wondering and guessing what he exactly wants.

Squirt's our little bulldozer - he bulldozes his way through by clambering over obstacles without any hesitations. He is now walking around while holding onto furniture and walls, and even letting go momentarily while trying to stand without support (verdict: fail! Not there yet). There really c.a.n.n.o.t be ONE second where he is not being watched as he is getting too quick for us.

These days, the house is also getting noisier and livelier than usual as we see the two kids interacting. Squirt loves chasing Spud on all fours, and Spud loves teasing him and running away from him while laughing her head off. As silly as they look, they both end up laughing wildly - giving another reason for Squirt to not want to feed when the time comes! He is walking (supported!) like a champ these days; in fact, he is practically running being supported with both hands.

Like Spud, teeth seems to come a little late for Squirt. 9 months and still nothing. And I reckon, those tiny little teeth are probably going to cut through when we are up in the air on the way to Europe; promising us of another memorable journey on a plane. Oh joy!

Related post(s):
Spud's 9 months update