Home Sweet Home

The mouse under the table

2009-11-05T07:11:00.001-08:00

He was having his snack-corn chip under the table. Why? Like other kids, he was afraid we would share his snack. Hehe. However, He asked us later, 'mama, you want some? Do you still want more?' in mandarin.

My first attempt of bread

2009-11-03T07:36:00.000-08:00

I had been wanting to make our own bread. But being a procrastinator, I didn't do it until last night, after having the mixer for 3 weeks. Hehe! Ivan likes raisin bread. I got this recipe from a friend. I changed the recipe a little, I didn't use egg. It still come out good. However, since it was my first time, the crust came out a bit hard, a little over-toast. I followed the instruction exactly on the temperature and time. I think I will cover the top with a pc of aluminium foil next time. Ok recipe will follow.

Bow to Amazon for our Kitchenaid Mixer

2009-10-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

I ordered from Amazon a Kitchenaid Mixer on Tuesday and received it by Fedex on Wednesday with no shipping charge. Muahahaha. A bow to Amazon. Great Service right? But after I ordered, John told me that http://www.newegg.com/ is shipping and tax-free. Duh! OkOk.. anyway, Now I can use our oven more often. John joked, lets see how often you will make something in a month. Ok.. let's see.

With this mixer, we can knead dough(pizza, cookies, bread, bao skin) which we used to do it with hands(yuckieee) hahahaha. Plus it is very energy consuming. That's why I seldom make. Not only that, we can make cakes. With an additional pc of accessory, we can make homemade noodle. Hehe. So useful. What I am going to make first, hmm.. I am still thinking.

Homemade Nasi Lemak

2009-10-15T10:37:00.000-07:00

Came home late yesterday at 9pm++ but still manage to make a simple nasi lemak meal as I have promised John. Hehe. So we ate our dinner at 10:30pm. Simple as we didn't have peanut, 'ikan bilis'. But we were still very contented. I told John, even with the sambal chili and hard boiled eggs, I can have 2 bowls of rice. Hehe.

Yummy! Hm... no coconut milk, very healthy. Hehe. John mixed brown and white rice.

I used shredded cabbage to replace onion. Hehe.

My little model

2009-09-29T21:47:00.001-07:00

I am ready to go on CatWalk. Plz turn on the music!

I am walking out. Clap.. clap.. plz clap...

I am turning...

tq tq... see ya...

Three-word Chant (三字經 - 第一篇 )

2009-09-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

If you don't know what he is reading, here is it in chinese.

人之初，性本善。
性相近，習相遠。
苟不教，性乃遷。
教之道，貴以專。

If you were chinese educated you will sure know this chant. I started to recite to Ivan not long ago, and last Saturday he could recite page 1 by himself.

So, what is 3-word chant? It was actually the well known ancient poem for kids. It educate kids to have good values like filial piety, propiety...etc to become a good person. As we know, kids are like a sponge before 5 years old, learning things very quick at this stage. So it is very important to teach them the good values and morals and let them understand so they can become decent persons as they grow. You might be wondering why we want to speak mandarin or chinese to him when we are leaving in the States. Ok the answer is because we dont want him to forget chinese after he goes to formal school. After he goes to pre-K, we are sure he will come home and speak english with us. And we are not worried that he will not speak english. We are worried that after we send him to school(4 years old) he will nto speak chinese at all. It is very common here to the ABC where their parents or family speak chinese to them but they answer in english. In another words, We don't want him to be a banana man. Hehehe!

You can find the whole poem here.

Can anyone tell me why my text is not aligned properly? You can see that the last words of every line are broken.

Al Oerter Recreation Center

2009-08-19T08:27:00.000-07:00

For $75 a year, you can swim, ice-skate, go gym, ball sports like squash and maybe some other I don't know yet, will you join? No question about it right? Not only that, seniors above 55 only pay $10 and kids under 17 are free. John has joined. I am going to join later too. I am sure you would ask why so cheap. It is by the New York City Department. We went there, everything looks new and clean. The indoor pool is Olympic-Sized and the ice rink is NHL regulated. Check it out here, Al Oerter Recreation Center.

Learn and Play at Gymboree

2009-08-18T07:25:00.001-07:00

I am not the 'kiasu' type of mom but since they have free trial for the first time, why not give it a try and see if 'I' like it. Hahaha! Apparently he likes it so much but to me, I think it is too expensive. $99 for 4 classes, and each class 45 mins only. Ya they have gym time on weekdays but we work nobody is going to bring him there. So 45 mins costs $25. What they do mostly is play although the teacher also sing and have the kids do some simple work like, giving them an envelope and stamp and lead them to drop in the mailbox. Of course, the kids get to play in that friendly environment with other same age kids. Ok, after all, it is still costly. Hehehehe! Unless he is not going to daycare them I will consider. Ok we will save the money for 'Your baby can read' DVDs.

Pooh just poo poo

2009-08-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

The other day while Ivan was playing with his pooh in the living room, he suddenly ran into the bedroom and brought out his diaper. Yes! He wanted to wear it for pooh. I quickly snap a few pics..heheheeh..!

Happy Birthday My Little Piggy - Part 2

2009-08-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

On his birthday, it was a Tuesday. We didn't throw him any party..just ourselves at home. Bought a cake for him but he didn't eat(he is not a fan of cake, I wonder why). He loves the happy birthday song and blowing the candle and absolutely has no idea what these mean.

I wanted to blog about the day when he was born but I am just too tired now. It is 12:15am. I think I better go to sleep. The next blog will be our water park trip this Sunday and Camping next weekend. Hehe. Stay tune!

Calling M'sian Vegetarian in NY - Penang Asam Laksa

2009-08-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Do you know how long we haven't had Asam Laksa in the States? Years. When I found this paste in the Malaysia store I was soooo happy. I didn't even see this paste in Malaysia. After testing it, it didn't dissapoint us. If you want heavier taste, you add more paste and lemon. Both John and I were satisfied and going to have it again this evening. Heeeee! I also bought Vegetarian Sambal Belacan, also their new product. Junies, I know you are drooling already. Hahaha!

Happy Birthday My Little Piggy- Part 1

2009-08-03T11:32:00.001-07:00

Time flies. My boy is turning 2 this week. His grandaunties celebrated for him last week. On his birthday this Tuesday, I didn't plan to give him a party. Just ourselves at home with a cake. Hehe. Will blog part 2 later.

He couldn't wait to blow the candle.

A - Z

2009-07-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

We found another new progress of Ivan last night. Though not 100% successful yet but we are proud enough as he could do this before 2 yrs old. Hehe.

Before, He always paused at some points when reading A - Z. Last night, He only missed 3 letters. He could read from A to Z in sequence while I pointed to the letters except,

I- He read Y
M, N - paused a while as they sound alike, so he got confused.

We gave him a big applause and he gave us his proudest smile. ;)

Surprise!

2009-07-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned he would get me a point and shoort camera the day before. Yesterday, he skipped his lunch in the office and went out to buy it. In fact, he had been surveying online. So he got me this Canon PowerShot SD780, which I initially asked him to exchange because I thought it is too expensive. He kept telling me the cool part of this camera. I have checked on Nikon but he said Canon is still the best for point and shoot series. Yes, I am the frugal one in the family. Always try to spend as less as I can. Hehe. Anyhow, I accepted it. Otherwise no gift next time. I just thought about how much in Malaysia we may need to spend on this camera, I think I should feel blessed. Hahahaha!

Happy 5th Anniversary

2009-07-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, we have been married for 5 years. Not too long but not a short period either. During these years, there were happiness, sadness and quarrels of course. Hehe. Speaking positively, quarrel is a good thing as it makes couples understand each other more. He is not a romantic person(not that I am ). He always say he doesn't know what to buy me. No exception today. No gift, nothing but 2 pcs of cakes as requested by me!!! When I was feeding Ivan dinner this evening, I mentioned I need a small camera for myself and Ivan(unintentionally). I am not going to use his bulky SLR every time, plus the SLR doesn't have video. So he got the idea what to buy me for the anniversary now.

5 years ago, we registered on July 15th. Had reception both in NY and Malaysia(a yr later). I still remember both receptions were prepared in a very short period(which I regret) hehe. Anyway, can't complain much after 5 years. And we should to look forward, not looking backward.

And talking about anniversary, here I copy this from a friend's blog. You know who I meant. Haha. Ok let's see, 5th anniversary - wood marriage, meaning our marriage should be as solid as wood. I do like to thank him for being there for me when I need him and his shoulder, at least he is willing to cook when I am not well. ;)

一周年称纸婚，最初结合薄如纸。
二周年称杨婚，象杨树叶子一样飘动。
三周年称皮婚，象皮革一样有点韧性。
四周年称丝婚，紧紧地缠在一起。
五周年称木婚，已经如同木质样坚硬。
六周年称铁婚，夫妻感情牢固如铁。
七周年称铜婚，比铁坚韧而不易生锈。
八周年称陶婚，如陶瓷样坚硬美丽。
九周年称柳婚，如垂柳样摇摆不折。
十周年称锡婚，象锡器柔韧不易破碎。
十一周年称钢婚，象钢样坚硬不锈。
十二周年称链婚，象铁链样扣一起。
十三周年称花边婚，不但坚韧而且很美。
十四周年称象牙婚，时间越久越晶透美丽。
十五周年称水晶婚，透明晶澈而光彩夺目。
二十周年称搪瓷婚，光滑无瑕但需防跌。
二十五周年称银婚，婚姻恒久第一大庆。
三十周年称珍珠婚，美丽珍贵使人艳羡。
三十五周年称珊瑚婚，嫣红而宝贵。
四十周年称红宝石婚，更名贵难得。
五十周年称金婚，婚姻恒久第二大庆。
五十五周年称翡翠婚，如同无价之宝。
六十周年称钻石婚，人生难得最隆重庆典。

This is the english version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_anniversary

No pics taken today as he is too tired today. Another word, lazy. Sorry friend, who has been waiting desperately to see my new hair. Hahahaaha.

Victorian Garden in Central Park

2009-07-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

We brought Ivan to this park last Saturday. Decided at the last minutes because it was supposed to rain that day but it turned out hot and sunny. We have our friend, Jackie along too. After the play, I think he is still too small to enjoy the rides. He liked them, but not crazy about them. Hehe. The weather made us uneasy, it was HOT.

Day Care - Day #4

2009-06-17T06:28:00.000-07:00

Today, is Ivan's 4th day to the day care. He still cry when we leave him. *sob sob*. This morning when he woke up, lying on the bed, I said, 'Let's go to school.' He shaked his head, waved his hand and said no no no. Reluctantly, he went out with us. On our way to the day care, I asked him, 'Where are we going?' He said, 'gai gai.' I said, 'No, we are going to school.' He immediately turned grumpy and yelled nooo noo. I am sure this is normal to a new kid to a new place. But this was what happened on his first day there:

On the first day, he cried a while after we left and looked for mama of course. The whole day I only called the teacher once to make sure he was ok. In the evening before I left my work, my sister called me and said he came home with scar on his face. What?!! First day already fight with kids!!! Ok calm down, this was what happened. According to the teacher, Ivan snatched a toy from a girl who is a little bigger than him. The girl beat(scratched) his face. When the teacher noticed this, it was already too late. They quickly cleaned and sterillized his wound. He didn't cry. I called the teacher at night, she apologized for what happened. I didn't blame her as I know this is normal in day care. But I asked her to cut that girl's nail.

Then the 2nd and 3rd day, he also cried when we passed him to the teacher. on the 3rd day, I was mentioning about going to school and he said no. I asked him why. He said,'jie jie da da' (sister beats). The same day, after i got home from work, I asked him how was school, he replied, 'jie jei da da' *_*

Honestly, if I have a choice, I wanna stay home and take care of him. But sometimes we just have to sacrify something. But I do hope that things can be worked out so that I can stay home to take care of him. ok.. Let's see what we can do. Meanwhile, this is what we have to sacrify.

I didn't take any pics of him with the scar and now it is gone already. ;)

Home Salon

2009-05-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

Ah jek(My BIL) couldn't stand his sweaty head so he trimmed his hair last week. Ivan never resisted having his hair trimmed. When my bil and my sister took out the clipper, he said, 'yao'(want), 'jien'(cut) and sat there obediently to have his hair trimmed as you can see from the second video. The first video shows how frightened he is of hair, even his own hair. He would say 'ang zhang' (dirty). Hahahaha!

Standard of Cleanliness

2009-05-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, when my sister was carrying Ivan into the bathtub to shower, he saw a strand of hair in the bath tub, he declined to go in and guess what he said. He said, 'ang zhang' (dirty in mandarin), no no, no no'. My sister and John said he inherits this habit of cleanliness from me. Haha. I thought I am not that picky ok! Maybe he saw me picking up hair from the floor, and I have taught him the word 'ang zhang' from the dust on the window, from his no. 2 and oh ya.. from the rubbish on the floor. I don't know how he relates hair with 'ang zhang'. Hehe. But as we can see, he is one picky boy about cleanliness. I hope he will outgrow this. I mean being clean is good. But not overdoing it until people are afraid of you. Ok boy?!

My standard of cleanliess is higher in food. When I prepare food, I will make sure it is clean because it goes into your body. Plus food nowadays is not that natural anymore as more preservative, pesticide, chemicals are used. I am just trying to lessen the intake of these chemicals as they will harm your body in the long run. @_@

A meaningful phrase

2009-04-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

Someone asked a predecessor of ours about why he never scold and correct his juniors when they make mistake or do something wrong. He replied, "I am still learning and have no right to correct others". He is so humble and gentle all the time. He uses his virtues to teach instead of harsh words.

Often, we will look at other people's wrongdoing and point our finger at them. And often, we dislike so and so because they misbehave, because they do something aweful to us. But did we ever realize that we will make mistake too. We, as human beings always cannot see and admit our own faults. And we have habits of blaming and judging people. If everyone can cultivate this, I am sure we can achieve the Great Harmony very soon. This of course need a lot of effort, to reflect ourselves and repent. But I am sure if we have strong will and the right mindset, we can achieve this perhaps in just one split of second. So, what is your wisdom?

Pics at 20-month old

2009-04-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

The reason I have been MIA for almost a month? I was out of town for the past 2 weekends for personal business. Was away from Ivan and hubby. What about weekdays? I don't know. I was just not in the mood of blogging.. hahahaha. Anyway, here are some updates and pics.

My sister has been babysitting Ivan since 2 weeks ago as my aunt is no longer helping us. But it is just for a about 1 - 2 months. After that we plan to send him to daycare. We have found one but yet to decide.

Ok.. let's talk about my 20-month old. At 20-month old, I was told he has a strong personality where he knows what he wants and what he doesn't like. My friend who spent an afternoon with him told me that he behaves bigger than toddler. However, sometimes he possess fear of being separated. Another word, he has separation anxiety. But sometimes he is ok. He fears of some particular small thing that look 'horrible', he fears of 'Thomas Train'. Can you believe this? Almost all kids love Thomas. When he sees Thomas, he will pad his chest and say 'papa'. I think Thomas' HUGE eyes are the culprit. When he sees some horrible-looking stuff that block his way, he will wave his finger and say, 'No! No!' and order us to take it away. Hehe.

He can say quite a number of words but all single words. Still no short sentence yet. His version of 'I love you' is 'I -ph-you', 'bus'- he says 'butt'. Whenever he sees big vehicle, like truck, he also address 'butt'.

Last weekend, while I was away, my sister brought him to meet his buddy, Ryan. Now let the pics tell the rest. Some pics were taken at home when the temprature changed from 50/60F to 90F.

Daddy's artwork

2009-04-08T06:49:00.001-07:00

The other day when I got home from work, I saw his camera and tripod in the living room. I thought, 'wow.. he finally had the mood to do this.' I had been asking him to take some studio alike pics. And after a week of reminding, he finally worked on it last night. Hehe. There was another set of pics with me and him. Will post later. :)

Bye-bye

2009-03-31T07:37:00.000-07:00

Ivan just learned to say bye-bye not long ago, about 2 weeks I think. Previously, he would just wave when we say bye to him.

Every morning, he wakes up at time when we are about to leave for work. Then I will carry him to my aunt in her bedroom. Then we kiss and wave bye-bye. Sometimes he is not willing to let me go. But most of the time he is happy.

This morning, he woke up earlier than us(he woke us up) and asked for milk. I made him his milk and let him drink on our bed. I did my brushing and washing in the bathroom. After he finished his milk, he came out from the bedroom and said 'bye-bye daddy', I asked, ' How about mama?'. He continued, 'bye-bye mama' and walked into my aunt's bedroom. So Sweet...!! :) See.. he is not attached to me in the morning.. but at night after I get home.. My goodness... mama here mama there.. and stick to me like glue.

p/s: His bye-bye is 1st bye-3rd sound, 2nd bye-2nd sound if you have learned chinese before.

Malaysia Food Store

2009-03-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

There is a Malaysian store selling M'sian snack and food in our town. We seldom go there. Only when we need something special, we will stop by. Last week, we wanted to buy Ribena(heard from friend that they sell this) for my little prince. So I asked the king to bring us there and at the same time do some shopping(it is in a small mall). When we were there, the first item I took was of course the Ribena.

Then as I walked further in trying to see what new products they have and what I like, SOMETHING CAUGHT MY EYES. *Blink* Something I like so much and didn't have for so long. When I went back to Malaysia years ago, I brought back about a dozen of them. Haha. You may have it everyday back home. It is not any special to you. What is it? Haha.. look...

I miss 'nga bou yee min', 'gong fu men yee min', 'giong ngap min'(ginger duck yee min), it costs $2.35 here. My sister in M'sia said 'wahh!! RM7 something wo, here can buy 3 loafs already'. Mrs. Yeoh.. we don't earn ringgit here so it is ok la.

They also have a lot of our childhood snacks like Mimi, O-ya, Mamee, Twisty, Mr.Potato, ..they also have 100-Plus, Shandy, and so many other I can't remember their names now. Literally, we were like shopping in Malaysia. Heee. The 'si tao poh' gave Ivan a small pack of Mamee. I didn't allow him to take it because it has chicken powder in it. He cried so I had to grab something else to him, which is........

Apollo Wafer dengan krim susu. He loves it.

Brushing Teeth

2009-03-11T21:48:00.000-07:00

First Sign of Spring???

2009-03-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

I was late on this post. Should have posted last Saturday when these pics were taken. Reasons? Busy...tired..yaya..whatever right? Haha. OkOk what's this about? Last Friday, the temperature was about 30-40F. It went up to almost 70F on Saturday. We were so happy and thought Spring was finally here. It dropped to 40 something again this week and it has been gloomy the past few days. We brought Ivan to the park on the sunny day and he enjoyed so much until he didn't want to leave. Heee. Here are some pics in the park.

What do you think he was doing? He was so shy being with some bigger kids. :P

"Ouh..ouh?"

He didn't dare to slide down by himself.

I was still with my puffy jacket on Friday. And look what I wore on Saturday. Hee.

He wanted to climb up the slide.

Bye bye pacifier

2009-03-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, while hubby was away, I thought it is time to do this. I decided to ween Ivan off his pacifier. What did I use? Hehe. I used black pepper. The first day was Saturday. I sprinkled his paci with black pepper, it scared him away and of course he didn't want it. I put the paci with black pepper on the kitchen counter top. Then at night before he went to bed, as usual, he played with me on the bed for a a while before he slept. He didn't want to sleep for so long but kept pointing outside. He wanted me to bring him out to the kitchen. He knew he couldn't have the paci, he didn't dare to ask for it, but he pointed to this and that, played with this and that, open the fridge, and finally wanted me to put him sitting on the counter top besides the paci. He played with the paper towel, the water container, the rice cooker. He then used the paper towel holder to hit the paci so the black pepper fell off(don't know whether he did it on purpose or not). When he saw no more black dirt on it, he put the paci into his mouth quickly. After about 3 sec, he took it out and showed me that look(the look when we eat something really spicy) Haha. Since then he didn't dare to suck anymore.

The next day, Sunday night, he was also very cranky. He cried and cried, didn't want to sleep either. I know he was missing something because he kept wanting me to bring him to the kitchen. He finally slept after hubby got home and put him to sleep.

Monday night, he got very cranky also. But we just have to be firm. It is Thursday today and he is doing fine without the paci. It has been 6 days without it. Hehe. Ocassionally, he still wants the paci during day time, but my aunt also try to convince him that he doesn't need it anymore. These 2 days he is doing pretty good, not cranky anymore.

I think it is better to ween him off it earlier. The later the more difficult. All in all, I don't want to wipe his saliva on his chin everytime he sucks it. The saliva makes his chin itchy. He doesn't scratch his chin anymore which he used to do. So it is a good thing. Yay!

Tag: #6 folder and #6 photo

2009-02-28T21:51:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Jenny a few days ago. Didn't have time to do it until now after Ivan went to bed and it is Sunday tomorrow, plus hubby is not home this weekend. Hahahaha. So what I need to do is:

***Rules***
1. Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures.
2. Go to the 6th Folder and then pick the 6th Picture.
3. Post it on your bloggy and tell the story that goes with the picture.
4. Tag 5 other glorious peoples to do the same thing and leave a comment on their bloggy tellin’them ’bout it

After I arranged my pics folders, this is what I have in my 6th folder. The folders were not arranged according to the dates they were taken. My Windows doesn't have this option.

Ok.. that day, was the day we got our new car, back in April 2008. This pic was taken in the car dealer's place. While waiting for the procedures and paper work to be done, I took my cell phone to snap a few pics. We made the decision on the same day to purchase the car. Hahaha. Just like when we bought our first used car in 2003, it wasn't a very pretty car, a 1996 Nissan Altima, but we just said yes. I also do not know why we trust people so easily. Nevertheless, that old car is still behaving well. My sister and BIL drove that old car from NY to Minnesota 2 months ago. Ok back to the new car, we wanted to buy a new one for so long and hubby had been doing research on the prices and models. So when the dealer told us they have the model we wanted, we went to see and decided to buy on the same day. Without paying a penny, we drove the new car home. Not that we don't have to pay, we went back few days later to give them the down payment. Ok.. let's talk about the father and son here, father of course would give the prettiest smile, but Ivan looked funny right? Hehehe.

Ok now, my turn to tag people. I do not have 5 people to tag. I have other friends who are using space.com for their blog. I just realized I can't add them in my blog list. Anyway, I still have 4 here.

1. Adrian Tai

2. Dean Arif

3. Carolyn Mak

4. Zoe Wong

Have fun ya!!!!!!

Pretty Name Stickers

2009-02-25T21:29:00.000-08:00

Something to share and promote here. Hehe. If you have kids, it is a good idea to stick these cute stickers on their belongings so they won't lose them or mix up with other kids' belongings. It is waterproof and dishwasher safe. It is not my business but my sister's. If you think you might need these, please visit http://gloriassticker.blogspot.com . All information is in there. Thank you, thank you!!! After all, it is not expensive.

Roti Canai

2009-02-25T21:23:00.000-08:00

Besides 'loh mai kai' (sticky rice), roti canai is his favorite food too. We just found out about this few days ago when John was having roti canai for breakfast. John said he ate almost a piece. And later that day, we were having 'dunch' (lunch at 4pm) at one of our favorite vege restaurant. John ordered vege prawn noodle soup, and I ordered 'chao kueh teow', yes! we get to eat malaysian dishes as the chef is a Malaysian. Since both our orders were spicy, we ordered a pc of roti canai for him as snack because he already had lunch. He enjoyed it so much. He couldn't wait and used his hand. Hehehehe! I know both 'loh mai kai' and 'roti canai' are not healthy for kids, but once a while only especially on weekend when we eat out.

Some nice pics

2009-02-19T20:00:00.000-08:00

It is one of my hubby's hobbies - photographing. These pics were taken with his new camera(paid by his company, managed by him, he said). When he brought back that camera, I scolded him, "Why did u buy another one?" Only after he showed me his company check, I shut up. But seriously, at this economy, why buy something so expensive. Anyway, aren't these pics pretty?

=

Happy Birthday Daddy

2009-02-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

It was my dear hubby's birthday 2 days after V-Day. Every year, he will receive a 2-in-1 present from me. No exception this year. I had no idea what to get him at the beginning. And while the day was approaching, I got the idea from someone(I think it was my sister) that we needed a GPS. Thus, I thought I should get him a GPS system. I never thought that we would need a GPS because Google Map and Mapquest are so efficient. However, we got lost twice during our recent short trips with Mapquest direction printed in our hands.

I was off that day as it was the President's Day. So I decided to cook a few dishes for his big day. They were just simple dishes. No delicacy. Nothing fancy.

Green tea cake, from a Korean bakery

And, his birthday present

Fish Fish

2009-02-14T20:41:00.000-08:00

Ivan is playing a 4-yr old game. Remember this fishing game we used to play when we were small. After few weeks of 'training', he finally got his first fish by himself.. hehehehe. Plus he was sick too. You can tell from his face. Fever+cough+flu. *Sigh*

Tonight's supper

2009-02-02T22:19:00.000-08:00

Tonight, after I got home at 11 something. I had 2 bowls of soup and some left over dinner(I already had dinner). And then I had this craving for maggie mee. So I cooked a pack and share with John. I just realized I didn't add an egg(Maggie mee without egg is just like ... arggh.. just like missing something). Anyway, finished the noodle and it is 1:25am, I am still up blogging. Haha. Here is my vegetarian instant noodle - maggie brand found in NY.

First Day of Moo Moo Year

2009-01-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

On the First day of CNY, we went bai nian at 3 places. At my friend's place, we had steamboat(yeah steamboat again, and still not sick of it), fried Turnip or raddish cake(remember those in pasar malam one? miss so much) and Fried nian gao with yam and sweet potato. Yum Yum. Then visited ivan's babysitter, and lastly another friend and family. Ivan didn't get to nap so he was very cranky later in the evening. And we were of course TIRED cuz I slept at 4am on CNY eve. Anyway, I am better than some people who had to work on CNY. Hehe. Went back to work on the 2nd day of CNY.

Ivan's CNY costume, bought from chinatown. And he looked so serious.

Fried nian gao and fat gou.

Fried Raddish cake. I made the raddish cake. Cecillia fried it.

All in Red. Hehe.

Our good friend, Cecillia's place.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

2009-01-22T08:44:00.001-08:00

Here's wishing everyone a healthy, joyous, peaceful and prosperous OX year! 'mooooo...mooo...'

Somebody hurts himself

2009-01-21T19:56:00.000-08:00

Look at the wound. It looks alright now. The other day when he hurt himself, it was bleeding. I also have no idea how he hurt himself. I was in the kitchen and suddenly heard him scream. I quickly ran out and saw him crying and holding a screw driver from the drawer, which John already set a child-proof lock. I guess he hurt himself when he pulled the screw driver from the drawer. I didn't notice the wound until a minute later. Was so heart-sick when I saw his chin bleeding. I immediately clean his wound and wrapped it with bandage.

New Babysitter

2009-01-13T14:17:00.000-08:00

Starting this month, we have my aunt(Biao Gu, not the aunts in the previous pics) stay home to babysitter for 2 or 3 months because it is tiring and too cold to bring a baby in and out everyday. Though we pay more now, it is easier for us. And she cleans and sometimes cook for us. I feel like a 'siu nai nai' now. Haha. However, I don't want to take advantage of this and enjoy my day without doing any chores. So I told her I am going to cook this evening. When I take care Ivan myself, I am always very tired at night. So I know how tired she is after babysitting, cleaning and cooking. She mops our kitchen floor everyday even though I told her it is not necessary. I think she is used to it as she has been working as nanny for so many years.

Password Removed

2009-01-13T13:28:00.000-08:00

I just removed my blog's password because some of my relatives do not have a gmail account and are too lazy to create one. So it is not private anymore lor.

My youngest sister just joined blogspot too. She said she got influenced by me. Let's see when my second sister is going to have hers too.

Ski

2009-01-05T20:52:00.000-08:00

We went skiing last Saturday. I am not a pro, could go on the green trail only. While the pro need 3 minutes, I need 15 minutes(1 round)I guess. And constantly need to brake with my leg wide open(until you can hear the sound) so I won't fall. John is better than me. He dare to try the Blue trail, which will make my legs tremble, and roll down like a snowball if I go. Actually yrs ago, I went up to the Blue without knowing, guess how I came down? The staff brought me down with their snow motor. Haha.

Ivan:' I am feeding my stomach first so that I have the energy to play out there.'

Ivan:'OK! I am ready to go now. Please put on my glove, scarf, hat and jacket for me.'

Here's my daddy and mama, trying to look pro

See ya

Please help.. help me get up please!

Nobody helps me, ok.. here I am lying down

While waiting for daddy and mommy to come back, I am playing in the car

Gifts, Gifts, Gifts..

2009-01-02T12:40:00.001-08:00

My Family in USA

We had vegetarian steamboat on Christmas Day

Ivan: 'When are we going to open the gifts?'

My uncle-in-law gave him a Music station or DJ station, which he loved it so much.

But as we'd expected, it was another '3-mins heat' toy for him.. Play for few days then stop playing. LOL.

And many other gifts for ourselves of course. Overall, we had a great Christmas. And Christmas is supposed to be a season of giving. If you have a lot of relatives.. then you will cry when you receive your bills. Haha.

Christmas Eve

2009-01-02T12:32:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas eve party was held at my uncle-in-law's place. Who is he? The Santa Clause in the pic. Haha. My aunt invited so many people and too many kids. So it is like birthday party for the kids... haha.

The Big Christmas Tree

2009-01-02T11:55:00.000-08:00

Finally, we got to see the Christmas Tree at Rockefellar Center. With the lights and other Christmad showcase, Ivan didn't stop 'oooh-ing, wooo-ing'. I admitted we went on the wrong day, it was a working day, and we had to work the next day. So we were all exhausted after the day. Hehe.

Rockefellar Center

The Saks Fifth Building

One of the window showcase at the Saks Fifth

Once he gets down on the floor, he will not stop running

My Precious One

2008-12-26T23:03:00.000-08:00

My precious one. :)

Can't wait to post more of Christmas Celebration Pics. But I will do that after I collect all pics from friends. Hehe.

Shopping Mall before Christmas

2008-12-26T21:53:00.000-08:00

This is what you will see in shopping malls days before Christmas. I pity the staffs who have to do all the work after that.

First Snow in NYC

2008-12-26T21:19:00.000-08:00

The first snow hit NYC(may be not the first for suburb area) on Dec 19(was Friday). It started to snow from noon until midnight. It was not snow storm and was not as heavy as west coast. We only had 3, 4 inches of snow accumulated. It followed by rain for couple of days. So the streets get very icy and nasty as usual. We are grateful that we don't have to shovel this year because our management staff started doing for us.

Some pics of me and Ivan. He was at first very afraid of stepping on the snow.

Pre-Christmas Party

2008-12-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, we didn't go to the city to see the christmas tree because:

That afternoon, my sister and I went to the salon wanted to have our hair cut. My sister decided to have her hair perm and convinced me to have mine perm too(scroll down for our new hair styles) So when we left the salon, it was about 7pm. LOL. So we postponed the city trip to this weekend.

And the next day, Sunday, we had a Pre-Christmas party at friends' place. The real Christmas party will be at my aunt's place on Xmas eve.

Here are some pics of Sunday Party. The host and hostess, Tom(the one playing drum) and Lori(the only lady wearing short sleeve) made the party a joyous one. We all had great time. We sang Christmas songs, the babies danced. We potlucked(argh.. we forgot to take pics of food).

Ivan and his buddy Ryan. They were the stars of the day.

They always hug each other. They kissed too. LOL.

'ta..da..' my new hair style

Ryan, supporting his favourite Uncle Larry while he sang.

Tom, almost fell to sleep??

Thank you everyone, we had a good time.

Ivan in the mall

2008-12-16T19:25:00.000-08:00

Here are some random pics of Ivan in the mall. (Backdated, end of November)

He was playing with daddy while mommy was doing serious shopping. Haha.

Ivan patiently waiting for mommy to try on shoes as he has his cheerio to munch.

This ah yee always force me to kiss her.

At 16 months old...

2008-12-11T07:28:00.000-08:00

How did he know how to do this?

Yesterday, we received our order from gap.com. There were 2 pcs of body suits for Ivan. As he was playing with them, I told him this, ' bb, no no, it is not washed yet. We have to wash it first before you can wear'. Guess what he did? He picked up the suit and walked into the bedroom. Open the closet and throw the suit into his laundry basket which is at his height. I was so impressed. We never taught him that dirty clothes should go in there. How does he know? By observing? But how does he know those clothes need to be washed? We usually wash his clothes after he goes to bed. Anyhow, he did it. I am so happy. My baby has grown up so much.

As you have known, he is very picky on food. These days, the only food he enjoys without rejecting is Avocado + banana. So sometimes we give him 1 avocado + 1 banana(mashed) for dinner. We still want him to have rice for lunch. These 2 days, I made him mashed tofu with brocolli and corn. He eats it. Thankfully! Slowly, we are testing his taste.

Vocab wise again, He tries to say what we teach him, not clear, with baby accent of course. Words that shart with S or Sh... for example, sit, he will go sss... 'shieh shieh'(thank you) he will go shhh.... the other day at my aunt's place, the doggy was running around and jumping towards us, what we could do was ordering the dog to 'sit'. Ivan learn instantly and he also went 'sss..sss....'

I noticed that there was no update of pics recently. Will do that later this week. We are going to bring Ivan to the city to see the Big Christmas Tree at Rockeffellar center and the kids' favourite store, FAO Schwarz.

Black Friday Stampede

2008-12-03T09:08:00.000-08:00

It is sad that some human are not so human anymore(I know it is happening everywhere). An employee of a local Walmart store was trampled and killed when the shoppers smashed through the entrance. What is even humanless is when the store was saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling, 'I've been on line since Friday morning!'. They kept shopping. Where are the moral values we have been taught? Yes, very obvious that some people have lost them due to the environment and social factors. Or maybe they were not taught at all about the good values. But I also believe that this life's behavior is affected by the accumulation of good/bad deeds we did in the past. Just that some people haven't met the right thing to change their lives or mindset.

Another incident happened on the same day was two men were shot dead in a Toys "R" Us in Palm Desert, California, after they argued in the store.

Anyhow, here is the link to the Black Friday Stampede on CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/28/black.friday.violence/index.html

Coughing season

2008-12-03T08:51:00.000-08:00

*Cough..Cough* Have been coughing so bad. First, Ivan, then my sister, and now me. But mine is different from theirs. Sometimes I cough until tears drop. I cough until I wanna throw out. Can you imagine coughing like that in the subway? Yesterday, going to work and coming home in the subway my tears dropped until I was so embarrased. Luckily I have a cough candy in my bag on the way to work. I also brought some hot water with me on my way home. These help. So, I stay home today, better for me, better for my colleagues as they were afraid that I would spread the virus to them. Hehe.

First English Word and other development

2008-12-01T07:27:00.001-08:00

He finally utter his first english word - 'Apple' after several months of teaching. The other day, as usual, he wanted his abc book in the car(the cover is apple, so I have been teaching him this word). And as he was opening the first page with things starts with A, he pointed to the apple and said 'pple'. I qucikly taught him again, he said ap-pple. Hehe. And the only things he knows from that book are 'apple' and 'ouh-ouh' (dog). And he calls every animal 'ouh-ouh'.

Before I forget all these, I better write them down here. This is in addition to the previous post. He now knows how to point to his head, ear, nose, mouth when asked. He also knows what are hand and leg. He will raise his hand when we ask him 'who is the good boy?', 'who is Ivan Tan?', 'who is the naughty boy?'

The hitting is back again. He will hit us when he knows we scold him. Have been cranky now that he doesn't want to wear his jacket in the morning when we send him to the babysitter. Other cases, he will lie on the floor to tell us that he is not happy. But when we are at friends' place with lot of people and kids, he will be very independent. Roaming their houses like his own place.

Raising a kid is really not easy. But when you see them grow, learn/achieve something, all the funny incident, hugs and kisses, it is 100% worth it. Right daddy and mommy??

At 15 months old...

2008-11-23T21:39:00.000-08:00

He understands us more. When we ask him to be a messenger, passing thing to somebody, he would do so. But he only knows daddy, ah yee, and mama. Hee. He will shake his head when he doesn't want something. eg. do you want nan nan/mum mum?(Yes, we still use baby language). He will lie on the sofa for milk when I ask him to. When we are going out, we ask him to get his jacket, he knows where to get it. He also knows to put his toys back to the box when asked and clap his hand to applaud himself when he knows he has achieved something. He will dance when he hears music or songs.

Vocab Wise, He knows 1. When we ask him how many you want? He will say '1' firmly with his forefinger pointing up. He can call daddy, mama or mom, yee, poh(grandma), goh goh, mei mei, jie jie, didi(only when bribed). "O..Ouhh" when something drops. He has imitated us to say 'bu yao'(don't want). Not much, maybe we haven't taught him new words yet. Oh ya.. forgot this, 'dah...dahh..' (beat) sometimes when we scold him, he is not so happy with it, and hit us back. But I notice that he has hit less.. in fact, no more hitting. Only when I put him to sleep, he plays with me by hitting my face.

His physical development is a bit slow compared to other same age babies. Our friend said, 'father and mother are also small size, what do you expect?'(Father small? short but not small..has grown horizontally..kaka) He just weight around 22 lbs and 29-30 inches tall.

Reading, getting more interested, he now can match some object in the book when asked to.

He will automatically wave and give hand kiss when he sees someone leaving the house. One time, he almost melted a Starbucks cashier when he gave her hand kiss.

Potty Trained yet? No. No time in the morning to train him as we have to rush to babysitter's place. I was thinking wait until he is 2.

This is the toy we use to calm him down when he cries for no reason. One if his favourite toys. He will smack the penguins from the stairs, but will help them get back to the stairs after they fall.

Winter outfit

2008-11-23T20:46:00.000-08:00

It has been almost 10 days since my last posting. I could have written more but Ivan has not been feeling well as some of you already know. He was down with fever and cough. Fever gone now but still cough. His appetite has changed since then. He now no longer likes porridge/congee. You know what he likes? He likes plain rice(We eat brown and red rice). I try to mix some dishes with rice, he spit it out. I am still trying to figure out what dishes he likes. He also likes noodle which he didn't like before. Is this normal, mamas? *Scratching head* Anyway, it is better than not eating at all, at least he still drinks milk.

We stayed home this past weekend because it was cold. Some friends had invited us over for hotpot(fire-wok) and karaoke but we missed it(group of 30++ people). Letting Ivan rest is more important. Hehe. Besides, we need to do our chore. Took some pics of Ivan with his winter outfit after we got back from grocery shopping.

He called me maa..maa officially!

2008-11-14T08:45:00.000-08:00

Before, when I asked him to call mommy,

Mommy: Call mommy.
Ivan: Daddy.
Mommy: bu dui(no, no, wrong)
Ivan: Yee.....
Mommy: bu dui
Ivan: *Speechless*

These few days, he finally utter maaa... or mama when asked. It's funny that we taught him baba or babie and he called daddy by himself. I taught him mommy and he calls me mama.

During his previous pediatrician visit, the doctor found out that Ivan's tongue is not normal(which John and I already saw it right after he was born, but the 1st pediatric said it was ok). And she is afraid that he might have problem in speaking. You know, the part that connects our tongue to the bottom part of our mouth, ours connect to the middle of tongue right where the tip is free to move around. But his connect to the tip of the tongue..is like something pulling the tip. Usually with this, people are afraid about speech disorder. If really so, they need to cut it(not the tongue but the connecting part, whatever it is called) Doctor said wait until he is bigger and see if he can speak well. However, until now, we see no problem in him speaking disorderly, maybe because just simple words. I don't know. Let's just wish that he will be alright by then.

Thank you

2008-11-14T07:58:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank.....

My husband for always nagging me, so I can be better.

My sister for helping to cook, so I don't have to rush home to cook every night.

My little piggy for sticking tight to me, so I feel I am important and loved.

My friends for calling and contacting me, so I know I am still in their hearts.

My family members for all their helps, so I know I am blessed.

You for reading this blog, so I know my blog is not boring.

Long hair or monk hair?

2008-11-12T21:12:00.000-08:00

Which hair style of Ivan do you like? With hair or the monk hair? His daddy shaved one. One thing I am proud of him is that he has never cried when we shave his hair. Before it was my aunt who did it. This time my aunt didn't come to our place and John thought he would give it a try because Ivan always scratches his head at night. So we thought long hair has annoyed him. And at first we thought just trim a little bit, and still keep a bit hair since it is winter time now, with hair is better. But then as he continued, it didn't look right. He looked so funny with here longer and there shorter. To make us easier, here is the outcome, Shao Lin Hair.

Interior pics

2008-11-12T20:47:00.000-08:00

Yup... I was going to post the apt interior pic. But very paiseh..our tiny apt doesn't have much space to show off. But I did have some pics of the living room before baby was born. So let's see the difference. Hehe.

Before

After

Before

After

Dining Area. Yes very messy I know. The dining table was in the middle before. We have moved toward the wall ever since Ivan walked to make room for him to roam. Did u notice the coffee table also has been moved? The cons of condo or apt is limited space. Yes NY housing is expensive. Wait until we move to a house.. hehe..

Our neighborhood

2008-11-09T17:28:00.000-08:00

First, I would like to introduce our neighborhood and condo.
Here are some pics of them. These are townhouse style condominium. I think they have about 2 hundred units here.

Our unit on 71-47 2nd floor.

Finally, I am here.

2008-11-09T14:04:00.000-08:00

Yeah..Blogging is fun. But some people think it is a waste of time, like my baby's father. He has been joking about my intention. Nevertheless, due to the demands from my fans(千呼萬叫) ;-p here I am starting my first page. It is mainly about my baby's growing record, also sharing of happiness, sadness, wellness, thought, information etc... Throughout the blog, if I have any incorrect points or say anything improper, you are welcome to correct me.