Diaper cake

This will be my 2nd time making a diaper cake.
and it was for a special someone who just turned 3 months!
Baby Ruth Isabel...
we were invited by her proud parents, nicholas and rachel for baby Ruth's 3mth old celebration party held at the Singapore swimming club. Since both the parents are athletic, what better venue! I'm sure baby Ruth has her parents athletic genes as well ;)

It was indeed a joyous occasion... We could just see the happiness and smiles of everyone who attended albeit baby Ruth had not a clue of what was going on. But I'm sure the happiness was infectious!

Here's wishing the proud parents a wonderful journey ahead...
enjoy every moment of it as it passes by too quickly!!!

If u are wondering how my 1st ever diaper cake turned out...see pics below.
I made it for the then "soon-to-be daddy aka mr. Hubby" as he turned the BIG30!!!
Not knowing he planned a baby shower for me the same day as I planned his surprised bday...surprise within a surprised! Great minds think alike....don't you think? Hehehehe
So in a way, I "baked" my own cake for my baby shower...

Hmmmm... This diaper cake newfound hobby has really rub on to me...
Maybe I should start a cake business...
since I don't have an oven *hint hint mr. Hubby* <~ okay maybe not since I love eating cakes and will just end up being me eating the whole cake and growing sideways.
so maybe for now I'll just stick to making diaper cakes! It's so much fun minus the calories!

Who wants to be my first customer???... Hee hee hee...

Email me at: jamiechaw@gmail.com for diaper cakes orders...

Head banging...

Dear uncles and aunties,

Here's me head banging in the early morning...
Click here!!!

Hope it will cheer u up and chase away those Monday blues!!!
It sure did put a smile on my daddy and mummy :)

Xoxo,
Baby Si

BABY O.C.T.O.P.U.S!!! Baby Si first "exotic" meal!!!

Did the title of this blog catch your attention??? Hehehehhe....

For busy mums out there... This is an easy peasy meal!!!
Even the older siblings can help out in the kitchen... What fun way to get in the fun?
I'm sure they can't wait to help with the cooking once they find out they will be cooking some yummylicious "baby octopus"!!! But for now baby Si is too young to help out..but I'm sure she will once she's big enuff...
This meal is fool proof...even mr. Hubby can "cook" it...hehhehe....

Made this creation for my baby...BABY OCTOPUS for my baby!!! All her favorite food in one meal...seaweed, cranberries, wheat spaghetti minus the sausage (sausage for mummy and daddy). And my baby finished it all...YUMMEH!!!

All u need to do is poke the uncooked spaghetti in all sorts of direction in different lengths into the sausage...
Then cook it as you would any normal spaghetti n voila, ur meal is done!
For a finishing touch, to make it look like an octopus, just add in the eyes (dried cut cranberries) and the hair and mouth (seaweed)...

Want flawless baby skin???

Want ur skin looking as flawless as baby Si?
Look no further than this Korean beauty product called Laneige.
I recently bought this product from our recent Korea trip...

Laneige Water Sleeping Pack_EX
(it is one of their best seller and has won numerous beauty awards)
For busy mums like me, all you need to do is slap it on your face right before you "sleep".
I emphasized the quotes around the word SLEEP, because as a mum we don't really sleep as I'm still breastfeeding baby Si who wakes up oh every few hours to feed... Leaving this mummy to "wake up" feeling like a zombie with panda eyes!
But fret not, as this product claims its the secret to beauty sleep!!! (See image below)

It is relatively affordable and won't burn a hole in mr. Hubby's wallet!
And best of all mr. Hubby approves of wifey's newfound baby skin!!!

You be the judge... ;)

Baby Si beyond infinity solid food...

New food introduced:
.Korean chapgae noodles with quah..made by po po!
Baby Si liked it so much that she wanted to self feed her self...1 noodle at a time!!! U can imagine how long it took for her to get full... Mummy tried feeding her but she ended up taking it out n self feeding herself...and she thinks its fun too...kept pulling at the noodles. So this mummy decided not to cut short the noodles and just give her long ones. Faster ;)
.Wheat pasta
. Wheetabix mixed with avacado, mango, yogurt! Great as baby Si can self feed herself easily with no mess since its not watery and sticks to the spoon...still need help with scooping though.
.dragonfruit
.korean strawberry while vacationing in Korea (strawberries only to be introduced at 12mths+)
.korean seaweed suitable for babies (bought from Korea)
She ate so much of this...and nothing was stopping her. Great as we could feed her on the go (while in the subway train, while walking, shopping, etc)
.Citrus (only to be introduced at 12mths+) - oranges
.her first tosai at changi airport (after our flight from Korea)
.baby's DHA (only to be introduced at 12mths+) - bought from iherb. Just add to her drinking water. Smells and taste fishy. But baby Si actually likes it. *yeay* good n healthy!!!
.parsley, oregano, Italian herbs, onions
.white melon
.tomatoes (only to be introduced at 10mths+)
.Wheat Spaghetti
.Mustard seeds
.Cinnamon

Finger food:
.Cut dried cranberries... Boil it in hot water to make it softer. She liked it :)
Use the leftover nutritious water as drink (but baby didnt take it) so decided to boil some oats for her with it.
.cheese cut into tiny cubes...cheese that mr. Hubby bought from Amsterdam! It tasted more like Indian cheese!!! Not "paneer" but because the cheese had tons of cumins seeds in it... At first when I tasted it (it had a strong taste), I was sure baby Si wouldn't take it as well. But Lo and behold, our baby is indeed half Indian...she took it willingly, and liked it :)
(This mummy made sure the salt content is baby friendly - it should be below 680mg per 100 gm of cheese.). Can't blame the daddy for the cheese taste as everything written on it was in Dutch!
.egg
.toast
.french toast
.apple (skinless)... She loves gumming on it (with 2 bottom teeth)...keeps her occupied while this mummy can be hands free...
.chunks of cooked-to-tender carrot
.chunks of cooked-to-tender eggplant
.chunks of guava
.wheetabix

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

THE RESULT?
Baby Si: "mummy, Please don't get mad at me...one day I might love certain food, and another I might hate it n throw it on the floor!!! *doggy eyed*...I promise that It has nothing do to ur cooking, just that my taste buds are ever changing and still developing"
Mummy: "breathe in, breathe out....*practicing yoga breaths* while repeating this mantra!"

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

Pics below: a spinoff from the last "who wore it better episode"...
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 ;) this time on who wore the bib better???

The SIENA

Just a few days ago, this mummy saw an advertisement about THE SIENA and of course since baby Si's name is unique, this mummy got a lil too excited!!!
THE SIENA!!!

Conversation with mr. Hubby:
Mie: babes...see this property! It's name after sienna!!! Minus an "n"... Lets get one for baby Si!!! How cool would it be when baby Si grows up and people will ask her where she stays and she can gleefully say she stays at THE SIENA!!!
Mr. Hubby: *SMILES* with a BIG SMILE...
Mie: lost for words...

Wise man indeed mr. Hubby! Wise man with no words is indeed wise...
Until today, this mummy is still hanging and clueless as to what was going thru mr. Hubby's mind!!! Well I guess this mummy can keep on dreaming...*yawns*

On another note...this reminded me...when baby Si was just 3 months old, we went to Phuket for our first family vacation! Of course this mummy wanted to make it extra special by wanting to stay at this beautiful place called "Cape Sienna"!!!

This place is just AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL... ~> click here
But when one is about to book it, you will be alerted with this page...

"No Kids And At Peace With The World.
Looking for a completely relaxing place to lie back and enjoy the peaceful and quiet holiday you have worked hard all year to take on Phuket? To relax in chic luxury safe in the knowledge your revere will not be shattered by noisy, over-excited children also enjoying their holiday but at a different decibel level?
Look no more. You have found it at Cape Sienna Hotel & Villas—one of Phuket's very few ADULTS ONLY hotels. You will enter a children free haven of peace and tranquility."

Blah blah blah...
I guess only people on their honeymoon can enjoy it!!!
People with "overly excited" kids can just shoo somewhere else... *blerghhhsss*
Oh well...as cape sienna puts it... Be at Peace with the world...
PEACE YA'LL!!! PEACE OUT...

Happy 13 months old baby Si!!!

Baby Si turned 13 months on 6th may 2013!!!
(1 year old post <~ if u missed it)

Here's our monthly family tradition. Okayyyyyy I told myself that we should stop the Polaroid pics at 1 year old but oh well, we still have a few more packets of Polaroid films...so I guess we'll keep this monthly tradition going till the films run out :p

Hopefully baby Si pics will cheer up ur day!!! It did cheer us up when snapping these pics... :)

Milestones reached:
By now, baby Si is talking way too much and understanding many words! So this mummy has lost track of it... I guess from now onwards, mummy will only record down those MAJOR milestones...

But here's a funny story (hopefully will cheer up ur day)...
Baby Si's favorite word is "baby" and she says it loud and clear!
So the other day me n baby Si were in the MRT (train) minding our own business when as usual when baby Si sees another baby, she will point and say BABY loudly and many many times!!!
But this time it's actually not a baby but a 5? yrs old boy...and baby Si almost got into a huge argument and almost made the boy cry! She kept pointing and saying baby to that boy! Oh boy!!!
And the boy replied back, "I'm not a baby!"
Baby Si, "baby...BABY....BABBBBBYYYYYYY!!!"
The boy, "no no no...(while turning to his mom)... I'm not a baby...I'm a big boy!"
Baby Si, "baby...baby...baby..."
Boy: "I'm not a baby...YOU the baby!!!...*looks at his mummy* and said "right mummy???"
*faints*!!! This mummy had to stop baby Si by explaining to her...while onlookers were smiling...
Thank goodness their stop was coming up! So the boy left grumpily...
But this mummy was secretly being happy as my baby "bullied" a big boy *smirks*....while Justin bieber's song, "Baby, baby, baby OHHHH" is playing in my head... LOL...

Baby Si received a belated birthday present from aunty elly!!!
Thank u soon-to-be mummy Elly...baby Si can't wait to have a new playmate soon...
Eat as much as u want while u still can, sleep as much as you want...and enjoy pregnancy!!!
Soon u will have endless diaper change and sleepless nights... Hehhehehe
Oh and go watch as many movies in the cinema....<~ will advice all preggie women to do so coz that's the only thing I can think of that me n mr. Hubby can't do.... (But we did manage to sneak in a movie when po po came to visit...click here if u miss our first movie date!)

Oh thank you chiu chiu Jeffrey for the comfy pillows too!!! A bit too hard, but after a few days of testing it out, we got use to it.... Better a firm pillow than our old ones which were way too soft and thin... Luckily u didnt throw these brand new pillows out. I guess, a mans trash is another's treasure ;)

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all the beautiful mothers out there!!! Especially to my mum...
Will blog about this next time once mr. Hubby uploads the pics ;) as usual...

Saranghae South Korea!!!

Caution: this is a very LONG post... If u like, u can just skip it and scroll down straight to the pics ;)

That's our "secret" destination trip that we've been talking about...12-16th April.

So this will be our 2nd time to Seoul! First time was back in 2006 when my bro Jason got married to his Korean wife nam Eugene... And it was karthik's (mr. Hubby) first time meeting the Chaws family... Let me tell u, he will never ever forget his meeting experience! Lets just say that we all went to the sauna... And mr. Hubby got really "up close and personal" with the men of the family!!! And plus he was the only Indian guy in there!!! *STARES* So he was in n out in a jiffy...
This time we didnt go anywhere near a sauna!!! LOL!!! It's one of Koreans fav past time over the weekends as u can spend the whole day there just relaxing and getting all hot, steamy and sweaty!!!

Thank God we covered all the touristy stuff the previous time (pre baby Si times) coz this time the "spring" weather was not so springy! Still too cold especially for us for long periods of time being outdoors...what more for baby Si!!! It's her first time ever experiencing cold! And we were told by friends that the day before we arrived it SNOWED!!!

Last time we covered:
COEX mall
Kimchi museum
Folk museum
Palace
Dongdaemun (shopping)
Namdaemun Market (shopping)
Myeongdong (shopping)
Han river
Lotte world
Yeouido Full Gospel church (largest church in the world)
Cheonggyecheon (Formerly polluted and covered with an elevated road since 2005 this stream has been cleaned up and made into an Art and nature walkway through the heart of Seoul. Nice to go at night)
Seoul tower
Sauna

From our first trip, we thought that everything in Korea is super expensive and the place looks super ultra moDern! But this 2nd trip proved us wrong...

This trip we stayed in Hoegi which is in the city centre near shopping areas such as Namdaemun Market,Myeongdong and Dongdaemun. We decided to stay in a service apartment instead since there's a stove and microwave which we thought could be used to heat/cook baby Si's food! But thank God she liked Korean food ;) and which mummy wants to be cooking on her vacation??? Plus baby Si passed the porridge and puréed stage a few months ago! Much easier now! But daddy did utilize the microwave which he used to warm up his "tapao-ed" takeaway Taco Bell which he so desperately went looking all the way to Itaewon (ex patriate/US military/Ang moh area).

Ok back to Hoegi...we love love love this place coz everything we need is right at our doorstep. theres plenty of good and cheap restaurants, 24 hr mart, coffee shop on the main road and more on the side alley. If you are coffee lover like me, please only go to Paris Baguette bakery... Their bakery items are yummylicious too...

There's plenty of korean grill restaurant which is our fav! We ate there for dinner every night... Daddy ate his takeaway taco bell for dinner, so he had his supper n shared with me! 300g of galbi beef for 10,000 won (10usd)... Can u beat that??? Enuff to feed all 3 of us... Then as soon as we step out, there's our dessert waiting for us on the street! Fried dough wt cinnamon caramel for me and Dong Bang peanut waffle for mr. Hubby (do see pics of mr. Hubby wearing the mascot).
These people from the korean grilll restaurant n dessert kiosks remembered us from our nightly visit... One lady so graciously gave me the last fried dough for free since they were closing :)
Oh did I tell u, Koreans are soooooo fond of babies??? Everywhere we go, people especially Korean "Ajumma" will stop dead in their tracks to play with baby Si!!! Some even made a u-turn...
My hubby finds it amusing... We could have charge a dollar for every pat/pinch/smiles... I told mr. Hubby that maybe baby Si is their first mix CHINDIAN baby they have seen in real life...

Shopping at Dongdaemun, Namdaemun Market and Myeongdong:
Doota Mall and Migliore mall is closed on a Monday...so we headed next doors to hello APM and good morning city mall. It is basically just like platinum mall in Bangkok. But not much bargaining can be done and the opening prices are quite high. But they do have things on sale which are quite reasonably priced. Unless if u buy a few pieces at once, then we got more negotiating power. Mr. Hubby got some really nice long sleeves shirts...I call them k-pop shirts! Very fashionable... Koreans are famous for being very fashion forward people.. Some of the men's suits are nice too! Very innovative styles... But too bad Singapore weather is too hot to handle!
Bought some a dress, a skirt, tops and a light jacket for myself. Didn't get anything for baby Si as it was mostly thick clothing and quite expensive.

Don't forget the foodcourt level b1 at lotte departmental store! Lots of snacks n food. Got our krispy kreme fix there too...We bought seaweed there at the supermarket. We also got seaweed for baby Si as well since the lady recommended the most famous brand for seaweed especially for babies!!! Didnt get any kimchi as too heavy! One tip for men, u don't have to limit your wife's credit card spending, just limit ur check in luggage weight when booking on airasia! Shopaholic problem solved!!!

Itaewon for Taco Bell:
As mentioned above, this is an expat place! When we got out of the subway station...I felt that I was in New York City! Multiracial people everywhere... And lots of deli, hot dog, kebabs places, bakeries, etc... Graffitis everywhere... Must be the most ghetto place in Seoul! But a nice change from the usual...

Shopping at duty free at incheon airport:
Laneige ~ bought my first "atas" cosmetic!
Was advised by mummies in a mummy forum (Mummies Connect) that Laneige is a must buy from Korea since its a Korean brand - cheap and good!
Actually didn't know what to get in particular, so asked the sales lady for the top seller and she said its the Laneige water sleeping pack_ex. Will try out soon ;)

Places we did not have time to cover:
Insadong (place to get Korean souvenir)
Seoul children's Grand park (too cold as it is outdoor)
Seoul city bus tour (too troublesome with a stroller plus we already did most of the sightseeing)
Pororo park (wanted to go as it is age appropriate for baby Si but didn't have enough time...wished we stayed longer...maybe next time mr. Hubby??? Anything for ur dear lil' princess right...)
Everland theme park (located outside of Seoul...too far n not suitable for baby Si)
Busan (2nd largest city in s. Korea)
COOKING Nanta show!!! ~ according to karthik's MBA friends who we were with us, they recommended going to watch this show...basically a comedy show using cooking utensils to make music! Would have love to go but apparently a bit too loud for baby si's liking! Perhaps when the kiddos r a bit older?

Mummy tips:
~ make sure to book a bassinet before hand when taking airasia. Our flight was full and all the bassinets were taken up. Btw, it cost RM 110 each way for a bassinet. (Oh how I miss full service airlines). But the food was yummy...baby si and mummy enjoyed nasi lemak and daddy had indian vegetarian briyani going n coming back. Luckily we pre booked our meals online (30% cheaper) coz they ran out of hot meals for purchase on board! Baby Si did unexpectedly well on the 6.5hrs flight... She just sat in the empty seat between us the entire time (ate, slept, played, the safety card did keep her occupied for a very very long time, entertained the passengers behind us)
~If taking the subway, some places do not have escalator or a lift... So make sure to bring ur macho man to carry the stroller and shopping bags :p and u carry the baby!
~most, or I would say all, restaurants do not have a baby chair except in lotte departmental store level B1 food court.
~most restaurants are not smoke free. We chose a restaurant which is small and cosy so won't have many people smoking. A couple was kind enough to smoke outside (left their jackets are food inside) when they saw baby Si... This is how Koreans eat...eat, drink beer, smoke, continue eating n beer n smoke...etc...
~only big departmental stores have baby changing table n nursing rooms. A few subway stations have it also...
~baby Si had no problems with food coz there's this wonderful thing called "Samgak gimbap" which is a Triangle shaped sushi (there are many kinds- we got the ones with no raw meat in it). U can get it practically anywhere...(7eleven, mini mart,etc). No heating required... Just tear the wrapper and ready to eat! Oh did I mentioned that baby Si loves Korean strawberries as well... Mummy bought 2 pints of strawberries for 5000won (5usd) CHEAP!!! Thinking it was all for me...but ended up all for baby Si! Her first time having strawberries...

One of the highlights of our trip was attending a Korean wedding in Gangnam!
We attended Andrew and Sena's wedding (both are mr. Hubby's MBA friends who met at NTU!!!) And we went on their first double date together... I'm guessing we sprinkled some love dust on those lovebirds! *tee hee hee*
It was a very nice, elegant Tiffany style wedding held at the Ritz Carlton in Gangnam...
Not to forget the groom did PSY's gangnam style dance...right after their first dance! Very well practiced I would say...im guessing the booze did helped a bit...
Here's wishing u two lovebirds a happy married life ahead!

Right after the wedding, we met up again with the rest of mr. hubby MBA troops for some coffee, dinner and drinks!!! Too bad we couldn't stay for supper as it had been a long day for baby Si and it was getting too smoky!

All in all the trip was a good one even though a short one...
We "Saranghae" it :)

Hmmm I wonder where baby Si's next trip will be... Anyone from the MBA troop getting married outside of Singapore? Hehehhe....
Oh yeah, Btw, the girl that caught the wedding bouquet is mr. hubby's MBA friend from Thailand and the guy that caught the men's wedding "bouquet" is from Columbia...
Thailand again or Columbia perhaps?

More pics can be found in mr. Hubby's Facebook at this link:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10101410996783189.1073741830.25805776&type=1&l=9147b5e190

Update - Super Sienna flying off to Hollywood!!!

So guess what???
Baby Si's entry was being shortlisted as one of the finalist...*shockingly surprised*
What a pleasant surprised as we thought we have NILL chance since our votes were so low...
If u missed it, click here for the post...

So with a short notice of just 1 day, mummy n baby Si were off to the interview not knowing what it entailed... But basically we needed to convince the panel of "judges" as to why we deserve to win n attend the finale of American idol in Hollywood...so this mummy did kinda prep a lil'

When we arrived (mr. Hubby had to work), saw a few contestant there (the one before n after me). They looked nervous but all prepared! The guy before me had a friend tagging along and brought a bunch of props in a large suitcase! He was even wearing the American idol shirt with a contest number... I could peep in and got a shock of my life when there was a whole set of camera and video crew filming!!! I heard the guy SING a song he created about how they should pick him, why he deserve to win and so forth... *Woahhhh!!!* I bet he did a little jiggle too! His personality was kinda "out there", very entertaining and animated. I thought he had a really good chance in winning since he well deserved it... Whereas the lady after me looked calm and when I spoke to her, she told me that she wasn't that prepared and just went with the flow...

Then came my turn and basically they gave me 5-10 mins to present my "case" once the video started rolling...what??? No question and answer going back n forth??? Just me, myself n the video...baby Si was also in the video but happily munching on her snack! *no help at all!!!* baby Si should be the one convincing them...wasn't she the one that got us shortlisted and wanted to see her Ryan Seacrest??? Cut the story short...we didnt win :( and I tot the guy before me won...but apparently not!!! (I was telling mr. Hubby right after the interview that maybe I should have made him tag along and do a rap n jiggle ourselves silly so we could win)

Oh well...I guess super sienna will have to wait until she's a bit bigger to fly off to Hollywood...
She didnt get to see her Ryan Seacrest in person but she got to meet the Desperate Housewives!!!

Here's the winner!!! click here
Congrats :)
please bring us back Taco Bell n pack Ryan Seacrest into ur suitcase for baby Si...