Baby's 1st Food

Ever since gabe was in his third month, I was already reading up on the feeding of solids to babies, to prepare for the big day that usually takes place in the fourth month. So you can imagine my excitement when the time came. I've been looking out for signs as various books have stated, that point to the baby being ready to start on solids, as it really depends on how ready the kid is. Checklist:

- Baby can hold his head up well.
- Tongue thrust reflex has disappeared (this is a reflex that causes young infants to push foreign mater out of their mouths).
- Baby reaches for and otherwise shows an interest in table foods.
- Ability to execute back-and-forth movements with tongue, as well as up-and-down ones.
- Able to draw lower lip in so that food can be taken from a spoon.

With the exception of obvious interest in table food, gabe has checked all the above. This is not withstanding the amount of fingers/fists sucking he's been doing (note the plural form). So, since derod is home today (term break is still on), we fed gabe his first spoonfuls of baby rice. Looks like he's receiving it pretty well, I'd say ;)

Oh! You'll note that the camera is also taking pictures at the same time haha...

Papa got him all dressed and ready

New Friend

KB, Jo and Zac returned from spending 1.5 years in the northern hemisphere and came to visit us! The two kiddos are now "acquainted". Wonder if they'll end up fighting for toys/ being great pals like jemmy and zac.

Failed Attempt...

My hair!! It's gone!!

Never mind. There's camouflage...

Oops! Pijak lubang...

Growing Up

The song in the carebears movie I used to watch while growing up goes:

Growing up, it's something you can measure
Growing up, it happens every day
Being young, is something you can treasure
Life is good when you're growing up!

It never fails to amaze me how gabe came to be, from nothing to a growing something in my tummy, to something visible in my arms, to the gabe we see today. And growing is what our little gabe has been busy doing. Here are some statistics, the former, taken at birth and latter, measured at 3.5 months, are in bold.

Weight: 3.36kg, 7.2 kg
Height: 51cm, 66.5cm
Head circumference: 31.5cm, 41cm

In the scene where the above song played, the carebear cubs were all placed on a special conveyor belt that bathes, dresses and puts them to bed. The song ends with the whole brood sleeping soundly like little angels in tiny beds in the clouds, watched over by the stars in the night sky. There is a sense of satisfaction in the caregivers' eyes, though tired they may be. I suppose that is how I'm feeling right now. My boy is growing up and before I know it, the stage of him depending on his parents will be over. Perhaps growing up is not just for the kiddos but for the caregivers as well.

Botak Gabe

Gabe has been shedding hair and before they are all gone, we have decided to get it all shaved off and shaped into the chinese brush for keepsake. The process involved us making an appointment and the organization will send someone up to our place to shave gabe's head, at no cost, and we will then be presented with the whole range of choices of brush, etc. They also promoted the chinese stamp, a little acrylic block that holds a bit of his hair and his umbilical cord inside. They have a version of a golden pig on top of the block and since gabe was born on the first day of the lunar new year, we took that one. Lucrative industry, I'd say... Anyways, here's a peek at part of the action.

Before...

And after...

Busy Sunday

Last Sunday, Gabe was busy shuttling from church to grandparents' place, then to the airport to pick yeeyee up from her return from holiday in Holland, and then to dinner to celebrate waigong's birthday.

First trip to airport!

Sleepy in papa's arms

Making waigong very happy on his birthday

Not missing out waipo too

Gabe's weekday playmate, auntie Cora, always asking him to "exercise!!"

We really need a bigger chair...

Gabe's Friends

The Mac Family. They have now returned to the USA.
Kassi had wanted to take him back to US!

With Auntie Nikki.

Uncle etphonehome...

Auntie alwayseeking and her fav wallpaper

Zhuzhu gor gor... and will be meeting zhuzhu didi soon

Gabe's Very Own Blog!

Hi, welcome to gabe's blog! Check out often for updates, you uncles and aunties :)

Photo courtesy of alwayseeking