It wasn’t easy getting Nadia to like her solids. I remember dreading the period when I had to establish 2 meals a day.

Like the books had advised, I fed her cereals, pureed vegetables and fruits at 6 months and her response was lukewarm. She would take it all in one day and reject the foods on another. It was difficult trying to find out what she likes. There were periods when I had to give up solids for a week or two just because it was a constant battle between the both of us which would invariably end up in tears (baby of course). Nevertheless, I kept trying and introducing different foods after the breaks.

When she got older, like most chinese parents, we feed our babies porridge. Bits of minced meats, vegetables chopped up and rice slow cooked to a smooth consistency. I was looking forward to this stage. Imagine the variety of foods we could try! However, more battles ensued and I lost. She refused to open her mouth!

This went on for some time until I noticed she wanted to eat our food. She went “mum, mum’ and pointed at the dishes. So I changed tack. Instead of throwing everything into a pot. Individual dishes were prepared like a mini kaiseki meal. She loved it. This went on for a while but again she started becoming less enthusiastic and turned away from the food. Until 10mths, she grabbed the spoon from my hands and started feeding herself. I went out immediately to get a set of cutlery for her. It was funny watching her practice her moves despite the colossal mess (lay papers on the floor). I was just happy watching my little girl grow and improve everyday.

To date, she loves her broccoli, cauliflowers, carrots, pumpkin, butternut squash, eggplants, mushrooms, tomatoes, tofu, fish, chicken and eggs, yoghurt and fruits. She prefers pasta and rice to plain porridge and is recently taking in red meat like pork and beef (which she rejected because it was minced!).

Despite her big appetite, she is not growing at a faster rate and the pediatrician had advised more solids. I think she is lacking in the carbohydrates group which needs to be pumped up. Hopefully she gains more weight and go back up to her 75th percentile instead of the 50th she is in now!

Wish me luck!

Fortunately you chose the white cotton nappy cloth to be your security blankie so mummy wouldn’t have to spend a fortune replacing them. Blankies are easy to deal with. It’s the thumb sucking that is tough. Mummy couldn’t remember when it developed but the habit was hard to break. Mittens were used, only to have you end up in tears and screams. Maybe sewing up your shirt sleeves might work! Then again, maybe lazy mummy was not determined enough since you soothe yourself to sleep by sucking your thumb and cuddling your blankie. You did not require any patting at all (except for afternoon naps when you need help to wind down).

So. Mummy could only look on…

Mummy wasn’t confident you could break it.

But just 3 days ago, you decided to give up the thumb sucking. Mummy couldn’t believe it! It was even more surprising when ‘popo’ told me you just needed to be told and reminded. ‘What?! You just had to tell baby?!’ It was funny watching you go cold turkey. You were tossing and turning in discomfort but you were determined to break the habit and we were amazed by your resolution. It was funny watching you bring your thumb up before you stop short, let out a silly grin at us and retracted before tossing and turning in your cot again. It was all too cute although it was painful to watch. You didn’t give up and finally slept.

Mummy’s guess was you understood we were worried and you wanted us to be happy. Babies are amazing. Mummy had underestimated you!

Now, the next task is to break the habit WHILE you are asleep. Think mummy needs ‘popo’s golden advice again!

Start the video from here and follow up with the other episodes on youtube. Satoyama Part 2/6

If only we could live in balance.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. But your daddy was concerned with the sugar and pecan nuts (yep mummy forgot!?) so we gave you only 1 mouthful despite you stretching out for more. Conclusion. You have no pecan nut allergy!

Time flies, you’re finally ONE and mummy had decided to bake/construct your birthday cake. The cake prices (elaborate ones at $1000!?) scared me. I figured it shouldn’t be tough conjuring up past experiences of play dough sessions some 25 years ago? On top of it, 6 years of model making in Archi School should refine my skills some more. Haha. Besides, it would be a chance for mummy to hone her baking skills so that you could bring some yummy cake to school for your birthday celebrations in future.

It all started like this. Mummy wanted to make some rainbows and googled for fondant rainbow cake decorations and guess what came up! Whisk kid’s rainbow cake via Martha Stewart’s show which included a video as well. The last time I baked was 4 years back when I made a carrot cake for your daddy. But the epic-ness of this all just blew me away and I decided I must must MUST make this. It should come in handy when you are older and want to impress your little friends. Haha. See. Mummy is bribing you already.

So I got my tools from Phoon Huat. Surfed youtube videos, read up on techniques and after 2 tries and and more visits to Phoon Huat, This is IT! Ok the rainbows are missing but there’s the surprise.

It was the thought that you would light up at the colors that kept mummy baking (and practicing on frosting techniques) until 3am!

PROCESS First attempt at the rainbow cake. An American buttercream recipe was used which didn’t fit our weather and ended up melting terribly. Also, the fondant was sweating because it was stored in the fridge. Big Mistake.

The 2nd attempt (above and below) was much better because a local buttercream recipe was used that would suit our weather. The cake was cut when chilled hence less mess was made. The sugar was reduced by 1/3 cup which didn’t alter the cake integrity greatly.

The problem with fondant covered cake is that it cannot be refrigerated . Condensation destroys the fondant. In the final cake (below), the buttercream softened in the humid weather and created a mess. Despite that, it was a huge success as it put a smile on everybody’s face.

The day before the party.

The Lion. The idea came only 2 days before the party. It was nadia’s ‘roaring’ that sparked the idea. She’s a Leo and loves to roar so a little lion would be great! She loved it indeed. When I showed this to her in the morning. She beamed and started roaring away! It was definitely worth the hard work.

The mock up which was done in 10minutes.

It was coloring the fondant that got me working till 4am!!! It should have been made 2 days earlier because the fondant didn’t dry up enough, so the lion’s mane was floppy and the tree was threatening to collapse!

I love doing this and wouldn’t mind making more of it! It just makes me so happy to see little children light up at the sight of the cake. Let me know if you are interested!

Party decorations to match the theme of the cake.

Butter cookies for guests to bring home. I forgot to take a picture of the favors I made! Argh!

Happy 1st Birthday Nadia!

I truly appreciate it.

1. You tried to wave your hands when we say ‘bye bye.’ It looked cute because it looked constipated. Haha.
2. You know that the Beco baby carrier meant you were going out and you get all excited.
3. Whenever I ask ‘where is nadia’s milk’, your eyes searched for the bottle. It was funny watching your eyes search in the place where I would usually place it and be surprised/happy when you couldn’t find it/find it. I resolve to get a picture of that wide-eyed look. The same goes for water, apple, banana (I guess the foods you like) and the people you know.
4. You stretch out your hands to the next person who would not force you to ‘eat more porridge’. If there was no one to ‘save’ you, you cling on to the back of the chair and stuck your face against it so that I couldn’t make you eat some more.
5. You are very cautious/suspicious/fussy and insists on tasting the food (by revealing only the tongue tip) before opening your mouth. If you do not like the food, I had to finish it! So it was a food battle until recently, you started taking in whatever I had cooked. Yay!
6. Your favourite fish is salmon (isn’t it fishy?!?) and you could eat it on its own. Your favourite fruits are bananas, apples and avocadoes.
7. You looked so happy when you managed to sit/stand on your own and wanted me to share your joy.
8. You were so excited on your new walker (new found freedom) although you quickly figured out that your mummy is still the better and energy conserving transport tool.
9. You love clinging to mummy and when you couldn’t go to sleep, you would stretch out your arms so that I could carry you out of your cot for a little cuddle.
10. Just recently, you started on the art of throwing and seeing where the items land on the floor. According to your grandmother (my mummy), you expected it to be retrieved. Gosh.
11. You want a cuddle from daddy when you wake up (guess you know he is leaving for work) and when daddy comes home but you ignore daddy on weekends since you know he is around all day. Haha.

Despite the babbling, you seemed to like hearing us talk and could sit there watching/listening to us for a record hour without interrupting.

I wonder what you were listening.

By 9.25mths, you had developed further and whenever you were happy or sad (eg when the doctor checked on your cough and the 10mins nebulizer), you go ‘mama, mama, mamama!!!’. Do you actually know what that means? I think you do because despite the same words babbled, it was expressed differently.

Btw, your 2nd tooth is out.

My little baby is growing up and that felt awesome.