Christmas Tree

Our Christmas tree is up already! One difference this year is that the tree had to be placed in a corner and behind the coffee table so that Elyssa can't get to it.

And another difference is that we have our very own Christmas singer this year :)

"Jingle BELLS, Jingle BELLS, Jingle All the Way....."

"Applause please. Thank you, Thank You"

8 Random Things About Me

I've been tagged by 2ma. Thanks for this!

Here are 8 Random things about me -

1. I'm quite tall at 170 cm. Growing up, I hated being tall and I used to hunch my shoulders to appear shorter.
2. I've got a hopeless sense of direction. During my audit days I wasted lots of time (and petrol!) being lost.
3. I love sour and spicy food.
4. Before Elyssa, I didn't know how to change a diaper.
5. I've been to Bali three times.
6. I almost made it to the top of Mt Kinabalu 2 years ago but had to turn back due to bad weather. So, conquering the peak is something I want to achieve one day.
7. I only learnt how to swallow pills when I got pregnant with Elyssa.
8. I love coffee - the way it smells, the way it tastes and the way it makes me feel !

Tag Rules:
1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their 8 things and post these rules
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose 8 people to get tagged and list their name
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged and to read your blog

The next 8 that I will tag:
1. Leona
2. Rodney
3. Irene
4. Shooi
5. Fussy Mum
6. Barbara
7. Chin Nee

HUFFF and PUFFF

I bought some books for Elyssa recently as I read somewhere that it's never t0o early to start a bed-time reading routine. Apparently it's a good way to encourage kids to like books and its a good bonding exercise.

I started with the book "3 Little Pigs" about a week ago. When I first read it (in an animated tone, of course!) I think she didn't quite understand what was going on cos she continued whatever she was doing then. So I used my fingers to point to the words as I read, just to indicate to her that I was using the book. That finally got her attention. But then she started to grab the pages to put into her mouth. That's my greedy gal!

I did it again on the 2nd night and I was so tickled that she laughed out loud when I said in my big bad wolf voice - "I'll HUFFF and I'll PUFFF and I'll BLOW your house down". I repeated that line a few times and each time was rewarded with her laughter. Hubby said the same thing while rocking her left and right, and she laughed out even louder. That was such a joyful time. Whatever stress I had that day just melted away.

Since then, I've been reading to her every night. The other phrases that she likes are:
"LITTLE Pigs, LITTLE Pigs. Let me in" - Big Bad Wolf voice
"No. Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin " - Little Pig voice

but her favourite is still the "I'll HUFFFFF and I'll PUFFFFF and I'll BLOW your house down".

This nightly reading time is now something hubby and I look forward to every day :)

Nestle Rusk

We just bought our first packet of baby rusk - Nestle (cos that's the only brand available at our nearby Mydin) and banana flavour (cos that's the only flavour which comes with a free plastic container...)

I was really curious to see her reaction to the rusk. She has always been good when it comes to new types of food, but this was the first exposure to a hard piece of biscuit. I broke off a small piece first. She gummed that piece and looked a little surprised when it dissolved in her mouth. She seemed to like it though and kept opening her mouth for more.

Keh kehh... to gauge how interested she was, I asked hubby to keep his hand stationary. So instead of moving the rusk to her mouth, she had to move her mouth towards the rusk. Just a small little "test" which she passed with flying colours! Confirmed once again that I have a greedy little princess :)

She finished the first small piece quite quickly. So we decided to let her eat the remaining rusk by herself. Her first attempt at self-feeding!

A bit uncoordinated at first -

Then, she got more comfortable with the rusk and started to hold with both hands -

And really enjoyed eating the rusk /feeding herself -

Though it got a little messy at the end -

Well, I'm glad that it was a successful exposure to rusk :)

New Things

We went shopping whole of Saturday came back exhausted and with a stroller full of shopping bags. I bought a simple top, hubby bought some socks and the rest of the loot was for none other than the little princess!

What we bought for her-



1. VTech Elephant Stacking Wheel - RM 79.90
2. Bruin Busy Wheeler - RM 26.95
3. Nattou Baby Elephant with Clip - RM 29.95
4. FurReal Baby Lion toy - RM 20.00
5. Pigeon Training Cup - RM 27.00
6. 3 Usborne Story books - RM 23.80 for 3
( Goldilocks & the 3 Bears, 3 Little Pigs, the Little Red Hen)


Elyssa posing with her new things -

"Mine, all mine....! "

After taking the photos, I logged on to my computer and was glued to Facebook for a while. She didn't fuss so I just assumed that she was happy playing with her new toys.

Well, I looked down after a while and realised that she wasn't playing with her new toys, but was fascinated with something else -

"This bottle is interesting"

5 minutes later -

"This is a fun toy"

10 minutes later -

"This toy is the best"

Hmmmm..... mebbe we should just stay away from Toys 'r Us for a while...

7 months old

Another month has passed and Elyssa is 7 months old today!

"Big smile for my 7 month old birthday"

"Must show of my Michelin hands"

About her:

1. Weight - 9.2kg

2. She can crawl very fast now, especially is she sees something that she wants. Quite a few times, I saw her crawl swiftly to her 2+ year old cousin Justin koko then grab whatever toy that was in his hand. This girl can be really aggressive!

3. New food items that have been introduced to her - green peas, pumpkin, purple cabbage, "kei chi" and yoghurt. Fruits that I've let her licked (to tease her tastebuds) - apple, orange, dragon fruit, papaya, banana, pink guava and pomelo. Not surprisingly, she just loved everything.

4. Likes to pull herself up to standing position

5. Doesn't like to sleep. If she has her way, she'll just play all day.

6. Still can't sleep through the night, despite much "training" from mummy and daddy.

7. Prefers plastic items over soft toys.

Standing Up (Back View)

Here's more photos of Elyssa standing up - back view this time! I snapped these photos last night.

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Nowadays, I've got to be extra careful when she goes near the sofa as most of the time, she'll try to pull herself up. Quite dangerous since there's no proper grip (unlike her baby cot) for her. Rescued her head from hitting the floor a couple of times already. Gotta really watch her like a hawk!

Standing Up

" Look mummy, I can stand"

"The view up here is better!"

This is quite a belated post, as I took this photo of Elyssa standing up in her baby cot about 2 weeks ago. Ke keh... but better late than never!

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At that time the photo was taken, she couldn't get into the standing position by herself but could stay there if I pull her up. These days she can pull herself up already. No more leaving her alone in the playpen during a nappy change these days. I don't think that she can actually climb out yet but after the incident where she fell from the bed, I've gotten more paranoid.

Playing with my DSLR

Taa daaa....... here's the first DSLR photo in my blog.
I really, really like this photo of her :)

Fever

Elyssa just had her first encounter with fever. She woke us up by crying at 3am. Nothing unusual but hubby and I were shocked that her whole body was very warm. We took her temperature using the ear thermometer and it showed 38.2 degrees. Second and third reading was about 37.7 degrees. We knew that it was higher than normal but didn’t know whether that was considered very high for a baby. I started to frantically (and part groggily) search through the parenting books. One book mentioned that 38 degrees was confirmed fever but not dangerous. But then I got worried when another book mentioned about deviation between ear and a more accurate rectal temperature.

She was very warm and thoughts of fever affecting the brain came to us. To be safe hubby said better to bring her to a doctor. So at around 3.30 am we bundled Elyssa into the car to the nearby 24 hour GP. Was relieved when the doc said not to worry. He said that we should only be worried if the temperature reaches 39 degrees. Also, he pointed out she was starting to sweat which was a good sign. But he did advise us to bring her back for a rectal suppository if she was still feverish around 7am. He gave her a dosage of syrup which was supposed to make her sleep better.

Upon reaching home, I tried to nurse Elyssa to sleep. She suckled then fussed, suckled than fussed. (but I was very relieved that her fever seemed to have subsided) At 5am I gave up and asked hubby to make her formula. She immediately gulped down 6 ounces then fell asleep shortly after. She only woke up at around 10.30am.

Luckily no more fever after that and she went back to her normal self. Phew!

My DSLR

I finally bought my DSLR! I've been thinking about it for some time : whether to get a better digital camera to replace my old Olympus or to get an oh-so-bulky DSLR. Finally decided on the later so that I can get better shots of my little princess.

The next big dilemma was of course what brand and model. That was an even more difficult decision. In the end, it was down to Canon 1000D or Nikon D60. Final decision was Canon as it fit into my main criteria - low entry price (just in case I get bored with this new hobby) with the option of upgrading lenses and whatnot accessories later. (apparently for Nikon, better lenses are only compatible for D80 model onwards. D80 costs RM3k plus which is beyond my budget.

So I dragged hubby and Elyssa along with me to Low Yat Plaza last weekend. Final damage to my pocket was RM 2,080 for the Canon 1000D, 4 GB 60x memory card, camera bag, tripod, lens protector and LCD protector sheet.

I tried to read the manual on Sunday night, and it could have easily been french!! I tried again last night and nearly fell asleep. Keh kehh... I think I need to get a photography book with colour pages.