Who says Kate can't inherit hand-me-downs from her brother?

Fine. So it may have had been me, who made the completely baseless comment.

But I now stand corrected.

In fact, Max's old PJs look like a perfect fit for Kate.

What can I say, except, ahem, applaud myself for having enough foresight back then to get my son transgender night-wear in white.

Without which, may I add, this priceless photo-op would not have been possible.

So bless them. And bless me.

Pin-up, Clapping and First tooth

Hi.

It's been awhile, I know.

And no, I haven't given up blogging.

I've only given up finding the time to blog.

Before you think I'm full of excuses, I like to state for the record that I am in the process of moving homes. Internationally. With a toddler and infant in tow.

So do I have your understanding? Thank you.

But that will be fodder for another entry in the near future.

For now, I'm really just dropping in to post some too-cute photos of Kate.

Ready?

This is what happens when you introduce pin-up to an infant. By that, I mean a hair pin of course (What were you thinking?). Instant transformation from baby baby, into girly baby.

Next to chatting, clapping is Kate's favourite activity. You should see her clapping to Max's rendition of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours.' Priceless.

Finally, a deliriously happy Kate, showing off her first tooth. Can you see it?

Kids say the darndest things

Me (after tripping over some random baby toy): Damn it!

Max: Mum, what is “damn-it?”

Me: Erm. It’s a bad word. Don’t repeat it.

Max: What is “damn-it-bad-word-don’t-repeat-it?”

Me: Shhh, Sweetie. Forget I said it.

Max: Forget-it. Damn-it-bad-word.

Me: Max! Shoosh.

Max (running to Po Po): Po Po, damn-it-bad-word. DAMN-IT-BAD WORD!

Sleep, sleep, come again another day

If you are a mum, you may be aware, or have experienced, the concept of “growth spurt.”

It generally occurs several times in the first year of a baby’s life, over several days each time, when he or she may feed more, fuss more and SLEEP LESS.

Sorry, was I shouting that last bit?

Forgive me, it must be my nervous ticks caused by brain malfunction as a result of sleep deprivation.

You see, Kate is no stranger to growth spurts. Unfortunately (for me), she has had a LONG AND CONTINUOUS ONE WHICH BEGAN AT BIRTH.

WHAT? I’M RAISING MY VOICE AGAIN?

Apologies.

If you don’t already know, I love my sleep. I used to need at least nine hours of uninterrupted sleep at night, during my pre-baby days.

These days? I’ll be lucky if I get four hours straight. On bad days, ie periods of Kate's extra/ultra growth spurts – two hours, tops.

But it’s okay, God is fair. Coz she is perfect otherwise.

And I’m discovering the extent of my coping mechanism, which is surprisingly, well, extendable.

By the way, another regrettable side effect of the lack of sleep, is that, I tend to ramble.

So I’ll stop.

Now.

Really.

Bye.

Have a good day.

Happy New Year!

At the stroke of midnight on Jan 1, 2009, 40,000 balloons descended 21 floors onto hundreds of revellers ushering in the new year at the Marina Mandarin Hotel in Singapore.

We were among the crowd, and can I just say - Wow.

The impressive balloon shower will be hard to top, but it certainly got me psyched about what the rest of 2009 will bring.

Bigger sales, better sleep, and dare I say it, world peace?

Amen.

What's even better than a decked-out Christmas tree?

One with a HUGE stash of presents underneath.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Singapore Flyer and Dad

A warning.

This entry is Photo-heavy, and the pictures will, at times, seem Over-posed.

But hey, it was Dad’s 67th birthday and our first time on the Flyer.

So double the reason to be trigger-happy!

We were a party of 12, spanning 3 generations, with 3 kids under 3.

Can you feel the excitement yet?

The Flyer at dusk.

Thanks to my Brother, by the way, for great shots.

Where it all began - at the ticket booth. 4 seniors, 5 adults, and 3 kids, please. If you are wondering, I was flashing a freakily-wide smile at Kate, who was off-camera. Only the best for my kids.

Sharing a pre-ride shot with Max. I was about to blink.

Kate giving her best pout. She is yet to smile on-demand.

I spoke too soon. Is that a hint of a smile?

Introducing the Chains to this blog. My sister Limi, Alex and their bundle of cuteness, 6-month-old Luc.

Mummy mummy. It's the big, Big WHEEL!!!

We thought it was appropriate to have Max wear his tiger-print T-shirt from the Singapore Zoo on the Singapore Flyer. Geddit? *wink*

A photo-op before we got into the queue.

The babies were extremely well-behaved, so long as they were being carried. Kate was checking Aunt Limi's red highlights, while Luc took the opportunity to practice his boxing moves.

The shot was taken two seconds too early. What you missed, was Kate and Luc sharing a kiss. On the mouth of course. Don't forget, they are both of French descent.

The wait kinda got to us. We look pretty darned bored. All of us.

Nothing like another photo-op to bring back the smiles! Kate, stop pulling Luc's ear!

The capsule up close. At this point, Max was pretty much screaming his head off from all the excitement.

We're in! Max stakes out a corner for the best view... not.

Tourists! Er, I mean, Us!

Sisters! Mothers! Cheese!

Me and Kate. Again. I'm making up for the lack of mother-daughter portraits.

And what's up with your elbow Kate?

One last group shot before Kate dissolved into a flood of tears, fed up of being stuck in a 4 by 7 square metres capsule suspended in mid-air.

Next stop: Dad's restaurant where we celebrated Dad's birthday.

Wonderful French-made chocolate cake.

I was in charge of the candles.

For the second time that night, Max was yelling his head off, this time to the tune of Happy Birthday To You...

Happy Birthday Dad!

Best way to end the night. With cake and wine.

And here's my favourite shot of Max from recent days

It’s a look he uses often, especially on days when he wants company blowing soap bubbles outside in the 35-degree heat and 99-percent humidity.

Unfortunately for us, he generally gets his way.

This is my latest favourite picture of Kate

And it’s not just because Her Royal Chubby One is wearing spaghetti straps and her trademark wide-eyed smirk.

In the photo, Kate is almost/nearly/just-about starting to crawl.

Did I mentioned she’s already eight months, one week and three days old?

You’re growing up so fast Baby!

Mummy's girl indeed

Much has been said/discussed/debated within the household in recent days about who Kate resembles.

More specifically, whether or not she looks like Mum, aka, me.

On outings with Kate in the past week alone, at least three complete strangers, drawn by Kate’s ‘cute baby’ bait, approached us offering various questions as ice-breakers.

How old is she? What’s her name? She likes to suck her hand hor?

And invariably, the following comment would follow:

Looks like Mummy.

Now I believe I may have said in a previous blog that I don’t see any resemblance between the two of us. (Not that I don’t want to. I would love to think she got her big gorgeous round eyes and rose-bud mouth from me.)

But to be fair, comparing a barely 8 month old baby to a 30-something year old adult would be like comparing, say, a caterpillar to a butterfly.

So for the sake of argument, I present you with a vintage-limited-edition-one-of-a-kind photo of moi, dating back to the 70’s, taken on my first birthday. (I would've preferred to use an even younger photo of myself except that I don’t have any).

And here’s Kate, in a picture taken today.

I suppose we do kinda look alike, give or take a double eyelid or two, plus or minus several pounds of baby fat and ang moh genes aside.