Iherb...

Just like most mummies in malaysia n Singapore, I find myself being succumbed to online shopping especially when it comes to baby Si products. Convenient and cheaper than buying at the stores.

IPad, IMac, iPhone...now iherb?
www.iherb.com is an online website where u can find cheap products especially vitamins, baby food, baby snacks, baby products, etc...

Since most American & European brand products are expensive here especially baby Items, many mothers have resorted to buying online. But shipping internationally can be very costly. So here are some tips to making ur puchase. By the way, it can be addicting! This is my 3rd time buying from this website. *note to self: need to practice self control...but heck, it's okay to pamper baby Si with nutritious snacks right? So why not*... And I justify it by telling myself that this mummy has saved lots of mr. Hubby's $$ on formula milk as baby Si only drinks the best (.)(.)!!!

How to make your first purchase.
1) go to www.iherb.com
2) search for whatever products you might like to buy. Add to shopping cart.
3) to reduce the overall costs of items, make sure to buy less than 4lbs (1.814kg) totally in weight so that u will only be charged a flat shipping fee of $4.00 for orders over $40.00!
Customers in the USA can enjoy FREE shipping for orders over $40.00 regardless of weight, anywhere in USA. <~ how nice!!!
4) don't forget to use my referral code : "VUY141" at checkout because if you are a first time customer, you get $10 off for orders more than $40 or $5 off for orders less than $40! That makes your overall costs even cheaper!
5) don't forget to claim your free gift under "freebies". In my case, I got the free herbal zap drink and iherb threw in a lollipop!

Note: i know it is tough to stay within the weight limit of 4lbs!!!
So here are my tips!
1) shop for 1 item that you need that is expensive but yet light... (Examples makeup, makeup tools, etc). In my case, it was the "baby's DHA"!
2) then add the rest of your item that you need.
3) if u are short on a few dollars to make it $40.00, those happy yogis yogurt and fruit snacks are perfect fillers as they are really light weight!

If after reading all this and all sounds too confusing to you, just follow exactly what I bought from my picture and you are good to go! Maybe then when you make ur 2nd purchase, you would be pro! All the best and happy shopping ;) I know I did...

Can't wait to let baby Si try the baby's DHA once she turns 1 year old...SOON!!!

By the way, baby Si just had her first ever "brushing teeth experience" with the newly bought organic toothpaste and toothbrush! (She has 2 bottom teeth).
Still need some practicing though as she is scared of the weird looking gum brush "attacking" her mouth... She opened once to get a taste and then her mouth went to auto shut...

Ok this mummy is auto shutting herself too...zzzzZZZZZ....good nite!

I.am.sterdam...

Amsterdam...

Mr.hubby was fortunate to get to go to Amsterdam not once but twice! First time was back in 2011 when we went on our first Europe trip!!! (Pre baby si days..) I fell in love with Europe as we ventured into Paris, Amsterdam & Frankfurt...we didn't have enough time to conquer Rome, Italy, etc...*hint hint* and don't forget to include London dear mr. Hubby!

So this time me n baby Si just enjoyed daddy's trip via his pictures... Brings back memories! *Reminiscing*!!! We were gonna tag along as daddy was gonna be there for 2 weeks! But thankfully we didn't as daddy said the first day it snowed...and it was really cold...baby Si n mummy would have dreaded it and would have ended being cooped up in our heated hotel room! *bbbbrrrrr* Mr. Hubby was being told that in Amsterdam, it's cold 9 months in a year! That's wayyy too coldddd for wayyyy too long.... Just thinking of it, makes me shiver with goosebumps! Still remember how cold it was when we were there in feb! We had to stop into shops, not to shop but for the heater! And we had to stop for coffee breaks, not for coffee but to warm up ourselves...yeay to me as I love European coffees (they make them good) but boo to mr. Hubby as he doesn't drink coffee...yet he forced himself to chug it just to warm himself!

While daddy was in the Dam, me n baby Si went back to malaysia to visit gong gong, po po and chiu chiu... We even managed to sneak in a short trip to chiang Mai, Thailand just the 3 of us (me, baby Si and gong gong)

Ever since we got together, for the longest time i pestered mr. hubby about having a puppy!!! He gave me baby Si instead (which is of coz wayyyy better) :p But the irony is, this trip mr. Hubby had the cheek to tell me that he's now turned into a dog lover as he fell in love with not one but TWO dogs! And even took them for a long romantic walk on the beach (in the freezing cold!)

Mr. Hubby also had a good time with mr. Pete and his lovely wife Lavada. They were such lovely hosts and even made beef rendang (best ever rendang mr. hubby had ever tasted) and raita.
They are such sweet people... They bought baby Si a dress when she was first born and now onesies...and they haven't even met baby Si yet! I commented that the onesies were so cute and sexyyyyy! Mr. Hubby said baby Si can flaunt as much as she wants but only while she's still in diapers... Or else a big no no to sexy outfits :p *rolls eyes* ... Daddy's little girl...

Thanks to mr. Hubby for getting me my grocery shopping list! It weighed a whooping 23.5 kilos which almost put his luggage over the limit ( a note to mr. Hubby, next time bring 2 check in luggages laaa ) ..Since I couldn't enjoy the sightseeing, the least I can do is stuff myself silly with the yummy food! Baby Si also has her OWN share of yummy goodies...no more sharing with mummy! Hehehhe....btw, the Dutch makes wonderful yummy stroopwaffles!!! It's a one of a kind Dutch specialty...

In the pics: we stocked up on baby Si food and snacks...as we are prepping for her overseas bday celebration to our secret destination! Hope she will eat the prepackage porridge... All these while she only eats home cooked food and wouldn't eat anything that comes in packages...

A side joke: what did the fish say when he hit the wall? Damn the Dam... LOL...
By the way, I didn't come up wt this corny joke, it was given to us by our tour guide when we visited the Hoover dam in Las Vegas!

Our 2011 Europe pics ("pak Toh" days)...
Paris 1

Paris 2

Amsterdam & Frankfurt

2013 mr. Hubby Amsterdam pics...
Mr. Hubby's 2013 Amsterdam pics...

Who wore the hat better??? and the winner is...

From this post of who wore the hat better...

There was only 1 person who voted...ms. Kelly Thorn, and she voted for baby Si!
But that particular vote doesn't count coz she's a kindergarten teacher (and all kindergarten teachers are baby crazy!!!) and plus ms. Kelly is also a CHINDIAN (so her vote is bias as she thinks all CHINDIANS are cute including herself... :p)

So I have self declared myself as the winner!!! Muahahhahaha...
Lesson learnt to all the readers: plz vote next time..hehhehehe....

Baby Si beyond infinity solid food...

As the title describes...Beyond infinity! (This mummy has lost count)

Comparing her previous food journey to this new one, u will notice a difference as her list of finger food is larger than the list of new foods being introduced (into her porridge)...
Let me tell you the nightmare gong gong and I faced...(as po po was in spore and daddy in Australia n Amsterdam for business trip). It happened when she refused to eat her porridge for several days!!! Whenever the spoon came near her, she would cry and push it away. Initially we thought it was due to teething, but from my previous experience with baby Si teething, she had no issues at all... nonexistent to the point that we didn't even realized she was teething till 2 teeth sprung up! So what can it be this time that is causing her to not eat? We tried all sorts of method to make her eat but all failed...and I read online that due to teething, babies tend to not want to eat their solid due to gum discomfort and prefer drinking milk... And that was what I did, fed her milk so very often! I felt bad for letting her starve... I had to investigate this matter promptly! Then we were off to our chiang Mai trip. Because we were out n about doing lots of sightseeing, this mummy packed lots of snacks and finger food. We fed her whatever we were eating (rice, watermelon, banana, etc...) And during that trip that it dawn on me that she does eat all the snacks and finger food, thus it can't be teething!!! Coz if her gums are causing her discomfort, she wouldn't even wanna eat anything!!! And here she is, chowing down like a hungry baby!!! The conclusion to my investigation was she prefers food with TEXTURE!!!! Oh my...All these while I was starving her??? Poor baby Si!!! Thank God that the chiang Mai trip happened at the right timing...or else baby Si would have lost a lot of weight...

But it takes a while for her to chew (as she's still learning this new found skill). I would still feed her usual porridge (I make it a point to at least feed her half of what she used to eat) and then top up with textured food... That way I know she's full... And this method works well!!!

Below are the new foods that has been introduced (into her porridge):
Seaweed
Tofu
Spinach (intro at 10+ months)
Spring onions
Black fungus
Eggplant
French beans
Flaxseed

Finger food:
cut-up pieces of banana (took her many many tries to get her to like it. Now she's a banana girl just like her daddy!!!)
whole-grain bread
hard-boiled egg yolk
Rice
Guava
Mango
Tangerines
Watermelon
Rice cakes puffs
Toddler Biscuits

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So what does baby Si think of her gourmet meal???

THE RESULT?
Baby Si: "mummy, I'm a big girl now...no more mush please!!!"
Mummy: "can't believe she prefers food with texture. This is a bittersweet moment... Bitter as she is growing up so fast...sweet coz this mummy's blending n puréeing days are almost over!!!"

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What new food should I intro next?
Stay tune to find out ;)

Baby Si & mummy's VIRGIN basketball game experience!!!

GO KL DRAGONS...

It was our (mummy n baby Si) first basketball game...

We were ushered down to the VIP room where we were greeted wt lots of finger food and free flow BEER!!! Too bad this mummy couldn't take advantage of the drinks or else baby Si would be HIGH too...
Then the star of the day walked into the room (Kobe Bryant's dad-> didn't even bother getting his name)...everyone were rushing to get a pic wt him! Especially mr. Hubby!!! He was like a kid in a candy store... Hehheheh....
(P/s: was looking forward to having papa johns pizza as they are one of KL Dragons sponsor -> me n mr hubby ONLY eats papa johns pizza as those are the best!!!)

At first during the first half of the game...I was a bit conservative but by half time when the crowd, band and emcee started getting more vocal and animated, I find myself getting into it as well... Me n mr. Hubby were yelling, banging those "irritating" long balloons (which baby Si did too), cheering, throwing fists into the air, etc...just as if i was a season basketball fan!

Everything felt so real...like we were in a NBA game... There were the media, host, commentators, band, lights, cameraman, photographers, towel lady, water boy, etc...they even had a mascot! Was told by Kelly that the mascot guy had an in built fan in his costume...how convenient!

But this Mummy was more glued on the cheerleading girls all throughout the game (not coz of being pervert OK) but coz this mummy was an ex dancer aka "cheerleader" back in university days!!! Brought back memories of waking up early in the dawn to go for practice even in the COLD, SNOWY winter..did many routines during all those half times for football (American football that is) and basketball...which is whole year round as the game seasons are being played all throughout.

By the end of the day, baby Si attracted her own band of fans with her Super Sienna!!! outfit...n of coz her charming smile did the trick too ;)

Mr.Hubby managed to take a pic with the star player Sammy Monroe without knowing that he just quit the team just a few days ago as he was costing too much for the team!

Quoted fr mr. hubby's FB wall: "Sammy Monroe's going to be missed on the Dragon's pro bball team in Malaysia. Awesome scorer, and great team player... very humble as well. Check out this awesome 3 falling out of bounds against Thailand."
Watch his YouTube ~> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjdubnw-D5o&feature=youtu.be

Thank you uncle ken Han for the VIP tickets... Mr. Hubby will alwiz be ur no. 1 fan ;) he had a smile painted permanently on his face a day before till the day after the game!!! How die hard fan was he? managed to rushed back to malaysia from Singapore right after work on Friday just so he can watch the game on sat!!!

Thank you uncle ken Han's gf Kelly Thorn for so eagerly wanting to babysit baby Si so that mummy n daddy can enjoy the game...baby Si was so comfortable sitting in Kelly's arm that she fell asleep! must be the kindergarten teachers smell or perhaps the CHINDIAN bonding?

Gardens by the Bay...

Gardens by the Bay was crowned World Building of the Year at the World Architecture Festival 2012; while the Cloud Forest and Flower Dome won the best display building <~ quoted from www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/

Since Chinatown would be close during Chinese New Year, where else would be a perfect place to go that would be less crowded??? (orchard road would be real packed with shopaholics and foodies) So gardens by the bay it is!!!

It was our first time there for all of us :) as this is one of the latest attractions in singapore and it just opened its doors end of last year.
We were blessed with good weather coz by the time we arrived it just started drizzling...so it's the perfect timing to explore their indoor gardens (the 2 odd looking shape building...i call it the seashells...which are the conservatories, Flower Dome and Cloud Forest) and by the time we came out, it stopped raining, just in time to explore the outdoor gardens. We did not do the OCBC skyway which is a bridge connecting those Avatar looking trees (called SuperTree Grove)
(if u watch the movie Avatar which by the way I watched it not once but twice....first time hated it, gave it a 2nd try and loved it)

This mummies review:
KUDOS to them for having a very nice breastfeeding room ;)

The indoor gardens (which by the way u need tickets to enter) are not as spectacular as I have envisioned it, thanks to all the hypes created by the media...our expectations were set too high! But the kids did enjoy every moment of it...innocence with no expectations! Maybe we all should learn from them and have their childlike spirit to avoid disappointments???
The plants did not look fully bloomed...looked a lil' under the weather....disorganized....plants and flowers were being planted like someone just poured seeds aimlessly...where were the interior designers? But I did like and appreciate the snake shaped trees scattered everywhere...tribute to CNY the snake year!!!

But the outdoor gardens (which was free) were to die for...
Those avatar looking trees looked awesome during sun down...and during nite time, they have a light display show with music!!! kept us all entertained as we awed at its beauty!!!
By the way, if you were less observant, you wouldn't have known that the largest tree had a super "atas" aka classy restaurant called IndoChine. Guys looking to impress ur hot date...or maybe even a proposal perhaps???
Reminded me of mr. hubby proposing to me on Eiffel Tower...not the real one but the mini one in Las Vegas... It was such a special moment for me...with banners, water fountain display, music in the background, poetry by mr. Fiancé, down on his knees with my to die for diamond engagement ring, etc....well, U get the picture!!! We did managed to go to the real Eiffel Tower in Paris in 2011 :) *happy happy*... Loved every moment of our Europe trip... *reminiscing*

Ok ok...back from la la land!!!

KIDS REVIEW:
Zach ha min n baby Si were playing non stop together...did not even take their naps!!!
We were out from 4pm till 10.30pm...
Zach knocked out in the MRT on the way back...and gong gong had to carry him home (but we ended up putting him in baby Si stroller)
Both were zonked out and slept like a baby throughout the nite...ready for recharged the next morning to attend our relative wedding in Johor, Malaysia (30mins drive) from Singapore...it's the border city...

I just found out that if u are a nature lover, u can do ur bit and volunteer ~> https://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/get-involved/registration.html
That way you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone...doing the thing u love and visiting this place for FREE?
All the "kiasu" Singaporeans would love this...

More pics on mr.hubby fb ~> http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10101311522091269.1073741826.25805776&type=1&l=a72c4e3c15

Happy 11 mths old baby Si!!!

Baby Si turned 11 months on 6th march 2013!!!
(10 months post <~ if u missed it)

And we celebrated it in Chiang Mai, Thailand....we as in me, gong gong and baby Si!!! Just the 3 of us as mr. hubby aka baby si's daddy is in sydney australia visiting the koalas and kangaroos (for work), Po Po is in Singapore babysitting her other grandchild (zach ha min) and chiu chiu (uncle Jeffrey) was busy poo poo-ing $hitless nites as he prep for his colonoscopy!!!
Stay tune for a post and pics of chiang Mai once this mum has the time ;)

This month is a lil different as we couldn't do our monthly family tradition of Polaroid pics :( as this mummy left her Polaroid camera in Singapore :( thus baby Si's Polaroid collection will be one less! *sob sob*

But nevertheless, Hopefully these pics of baby Si will cheer up ur day!!!
It did cheer us up (gong gong & mummy) when snapping these pics... :)

Milestones reached:
. Able to crawl up the steps all by herself
. Able to get up from lying down position to sit up position (like a sit up)
. Able to use her fingers to point
. Able to use the walker without any assistance
. Knows "tou" in mandarin and points to her head
. Knows "pi zhi" in mandarin and points to nose. Took a while for gong gong to teach this as baby Si kept pointing to her mouth!!!
. Able to climb from floor to couch <~ uh ohhh, this means she can escape from her "prison"... Oppps I meant confined space...
. Able to repeat words we say and imitate our actions.
. Learnt flying kiss from a church friend <~ daddy n mummy has been trying to delay from teaching baby Si anything related to K.I.S.S.I.N.G!!! And now she's hooked on it and blowing kisses to anyone and everyone including strangers... Daddy is gonna have a hard time protecting her lil darling :p

This is any mummies nightmare and it happened all within this month :(
.Baby Si roll off the bed when taking her nap with mummy in Singapore (mummy rushed to the toilet to pee and when I came back, I found baby Si on the floor face down with hands supporting her)...usually during nite time, I would put her in her cot after she has fallen asleep...but for her nap, since I was napping wt her, I usually let her sleep next to me with pillows to protect her on her other side. But thank God our bed wasn't that high...low bed frame!
.Baby Si fell off the high chair (since we're in Malaysia, we use zach ha min's high chair which was left here but the safety belt is missing!!!) one split second of turning my back, she was doing the downward dog yoga pose...
.An hour after she fell off the high chair, the kitchen chair fell onto her....oh my poor baby!!!
It happened right in front of my eyes....she was trying to grab onto the highest point of the chair while tiptoeing, and the chair fell onto her....while she fell backwards :(
This mummy rushed to her and picked her up while trying to comfort her.. Baby sienna once again is a trooper....did not cry when she fell...only cried when I picked her up out of shocked. Then stopped after a few secs....
Took me a while to get over the guilt....*bad mother*....
Even harder to break the news to mr. Hubby that his lil precious one was being hurt :(
But once I got over it, "what doesn't break u, makes u stronger!!!"
Our baby sienna is a super sienna indeed ;)

Pics below: if u are into fashion police just like this mummy, u would know the famous line of Joan Rivers in the segment of , "B*t*ch stole my look" aka "who wore it better"... So lets vote ;)

Me n mr. Hubby are getting excited as we will be celebrating baby si's 1st bday in a secret destination....stay tune to find out :)

Gong xi gong xi...happy Chinese New Year!!!

Yeah I know...late again for my CNY post... It's march, n I'm still blogging things in feb! Sheeeshhhh....must be all the stuffing-myself-silly with those pineapple tarts...
Oh yeah, btw, if any of u have any leftover pineapple tarts from CNY, I don't mind taking the fats...oooppss, i meant tarts away from u...

This will be baby sienna's first Chinese New Year... And her first year collecting ang paos!!! Can tell that this mummy is way more excited *shrieks*... And many many more angpaos to come till she gets married :) *huat ahhhhh!!!*
'Huat' in english means: To prosper, to have loads of money come into your pockets
ok let's not talk about the M word yet...she's barely 1 yr old...

So what did we do for CNY? We celebrated it in CHINDIAN style... We ate brunch in little India and headed straight to Chinatown for snacks :) 2 in 1 celebration...

This year we broke all Chinese tradition where children goes back to their hometown (parents hse) to celebrate CNY...my parents came to visit us instead...hehhehehe... So untraditional our family :p and off we went to visit the famous visitor attraction in Singapore....The Gardens by the bay!!! Will blog about this soon...hopefully...

But we did make our way back to Malaysia just in time for chap goh mei (last day of CNY)!

Thanks aunty syaz for baby Si first Chinese costume outfit...u are so sweet! Faster get a baby, then aunty Jamie will get a costume for ur baby too :) and can play date together...

Baby Si: "mummy, daddy...the color of this costume makes me stand out and I get more angpaos just by smiling n acting cute in this costume!!!"

Baby Si to uncle aka chiu chiu Jeffrey: "please get married soon so that u can stop collecting angpaos from my mummy n daddy n gong gong n Po Po" <--any taker??? anyone...

And baby Si learnt the gong xi gong xi hand gesture just in time for CNY...that gets more brownie points aka angpaos!!!