Through Bryan's eyes

When I was young, every morning when my father takes me to school on his motorbike, I remember observing the scenery along the trip – how each tree looks like, the shapes of the trunks, the leaves, and the color. Who are the other people on the roads? I still remembered that at the traffic light junction of Masjid Kapitan Keling, sometimes I will see a man pushing his tricycle loaded with household goods. It looked as if he was pushing a MOUNTAIN of stuff, with the goods loaded way high above his head and literally spilling out from the sides & front of the tricycle. I used to admire how he managed to balance all those goods and at the same time felt pity for him, silently hoping that business will be good for him that day.

Somewhere along the way, as we grow up, we stopped seeing things as we got too preoccupied with our thoughts.

With Bryan, he notices everything. The rustling of the leaves at the garden, the birds in the sky or in the trees, the flowers by the roadside, the sunlight from the window on his bedroom wall and way the shadow moves against the light.

Last night, while waiting for LK to unpack our groceries from the car, Bryan and I “danced” to the movements of our shadows at the parking lot. He was so excited about the shadows and giggled with delight with each movement.

It was such a delight to see how his eyes light up when he sees these things. He constantly amazes me with what he is able to spot and observe.

His favorites are birds. He can spot a bird on the electric wire, from quite a distance away, and starts calling for them. He also has a particular fondness for a stray kitten who wanders along the corridor outside my mother’s house. The kitten loves to play along the dry drain pipes. Bryan will look out for the kitten each time he is near that area.

The first time I saw the kitten was more than 1 month ago. A boy was carrying the kitten tenderly. I thought the boy was going to take the kitten home to care for it. But he did not, and left it near the drain pipes. I think some kind souls must have been feeding the kitten, coz it has grown significantly. A bit thin and scrawny but looks healthy nevertheless.

If it weren't for Bryan, I would have forgotten about this kitten.

Cute Baby Contest

There ..I’ve submitted Bryan’s photo for his first baby photo contest. It’s the Johnson’s Baby of the Year Contest. Actually I submitted 2 entries. Not because of kiasu but the grand prize is very attractive leh…RM15,000 cash and loads of other prizes such as digital camera + printer, toys, etc etc. Yalah, I know, what are the odds of winning, but if I don’t try then no chance. If try, at least got 0.00000……1% chance, Better than none mah hor. Rm15K will really help ease the load of his education fund off our shoulders. (kekeke...all mothers think that their own baby is the cutest,..ok!)

We thought of entering the contest early last month, but never got around to selecting the photos until yesterday. So scrambled to get the photos printed and to get all the forms ready, cause the closing date is 31 Aug.

Anyway, below is one of the photo I submitted


So, cute boh?

Gosh, I love feeding Bryan

Feeding Bryan is such a joy. Now, he gets 2 healthy servings of porridge daily. Each servings is about a small rice bowl, u know the bowls used by Chinese restaurant for serving rice. So I think that is quite a lot for a baby.

Open mouth...















AMMMM....Good boy....

And it will only take about 10 – 15 mins for us to feed him. And when we feed him, it has to be one spoonful after the other. He will protest if we delay. Sometimes the porridge is hot and we will blow slightly…he will also scream, scared that we will eat his porridge..hahaha. And if he comes near the kitchen when I am almost done with the porridge, he will get all excited about it already. Can smell ma…his porridge very yummy smelling one ok…

And because he loves his porridge so much, it isn’t very messy either. Sometimes, we don’t even let him wear his bib, if he’s going to take a bath after that. OK, I don’t believe in the crap that you should not bath after a full meal. It is so much cleaner to let him have his meal, rest for a while then take a bath. Besides, it will also allow him to have some fun getting wet while feeding himself water from the cup/ bottle.

Having some fun with his water bottle

I have read and heard of “horror” (hahaha) stories of kids refusing to eat. Who will just keep the food in their mouth and refusing to swallow it. Some children take hours just to finish their meals. Others, refuse to eat most thing except for 1 or 2 particular item.

I was so afraid that Bryan will be like that. Thus, between my mom and me, we make sure that he gets some variety in his meals so that he does not develop a dislike for mealtime. And if he doesn’t like a particular item, we will not force him to eat it. We’ll just omit the item and try again in another few weeks. Just like spinach. At first he didn’t really like it. He still eats his porridge, but not as fast as normal. So we stopped giving it. Then after about 1 month, my mom tried adding spinach again, and he seemed ok with it.

Now he is only eating porridge, but I can’t wait to add more items to his menu…not just rice, but different types of noodles (mee sua, koayteow, etc), pasta, sandwiches,…Anxious mommy hor….

Afterall, don’t everyone love to eat. And if you like what you are eating, you are sure to eat them fast right? I think kids (and babies) are the same. It’s just that some kids are choosier than others. So we as parents have a challenge to find out what they like and help them to “enjoy” eating.

My morning sunshine

One thing great about Bryan is he almost always wake up smiling, especially if he sees us the moment he opens his eyes. If we are not around, he may roll about Bollywood style or if he is in a not-so-good mood, cry for attention. But the moment he sees us, he’ll greet us with a big smile.

Sweet dreams baby, time to rise & shine













EEMMMMM.. mmmm .... Strreeetch....

Up and shining in moments

Hello Mommy, Hello Daddy

With a big smile like this in the morning…don’t it just brightens your entire day? No wonder i call him, "My Sunshine Baby Boy"

Bryan is 9 months old

My darling bb is 9 months old today. Nah..we did not do anything special. Just that he is slowly growing into a little boy and slowly growing out from a baby.

Soon, less and less people will refer him as a baby.

Today when LK was taking him out from the car, he mentioned that Bryan is looking less like a baby now. His expressions and response are more and more like those of a child and not anymore of a baby.

Don't time just flies....the more reason to appreciate the presence.

Because I can

Almost every weekend, we have to make a trip down to Pulau Tikus to an Organic shop to get vegetables & fruits for Bryan. There is a few near our house, but their selection is not as good and their stock are not replenished as often as PT.

As far as possible, I try to give Bryan organic food, even rice. For rice, I actually give Bryan a mix of white and red rice. I bought a pack of polished medium grain rice when I started Bryan on solid. Being a gung-ho mother, I bought imported from US rice which cost RM18.50 per kg. Then realized that I should give him unpolished rice cause it has more nutrient. So I went back to the store to look for unpolished red rice because my colleague told me that it is more fragrant than unpolished white rice which may smell stale sometimes.

The shop keeper told me that the unpolished variety may be hard on bb’s digestive and recommended me the semi-polished red rice. The one he recommended is from Kelantan and only cost RM8.50/ kg. What a big difference in price! Yay for made in Malaysia!

So what I do was mix a batch of white + red rice, wash till clean, microwave dry it, and then grind it. Grind to make it easier for mom to cook and make sure that it is easier on bb’s digestive system. Last time, I use to grind to powdery texture. Now I just grind into small granules.

Last Sunday, LK got curious and asked me why I want to be so mah-fan? Why can’t I just give Bryan the regular stuff? Why I need to prepare even rice for him? Why don’t just let my mom do it?

Answer: Because I can.

Some people also ask me why I am still exclusively breastfeeding Bryan at 9 mths. Why? Because I can. Why should I give him 2^nd best (formula milk) when I can give him the best?

Of course, I know I will not be able to do everything for Bryan, just as I will not be able to look after him 24 x 7. If I cannot do it or get it for him, fine. I will not worry about it. But if I can, why not?