Constant Surprises

I suppose parents are being constantly surprised by their children and with time, it's really not a big deal to find something out of the ordinary. But I am still aghast at the stunts that gabe can pull.

We had a usual night with the usual routine: wipe up the stinky sweaty boy, change his diaper, dress him in his PJs, pop the bottle into his mouth, do the song and prayer routine and off to bed he goes. The entire process probably takes 15 to 20 minutes?

Tonight, I'd gone in to cut his nails after he slipped into deep slumber and was horrified to detect a bad odour. He had pooped!!! Exactly when he did it, no one knows, but how on earth were we going to change a sleeping baby, especially since we usually just rinse his bottom at the sink. So it was back to the good old days of swiping his butt clean with cotton wool and warm water. He actually slept through a good part of it and though given a rude awakening, was pretty cooperative for the remaining portion of the clean up.

I can so imagine fishing out stories to embarrass him in front of his wife next time.

The Bug and the Pox

The day has finally come where I have to handle a sick gabe. Except for a phlegmy cough when he was three months old, the little one has not come near any bout of sickness. I give all credit and glory to God who has been watching over him.

Today his temperature climbed to 38.5 degree Celsius. The doctor said it's just a normal flu condition. I hope the little grouchy one will start being his cheeky, smiley self again.

Oh, and he came into contact with a 7-month old friend who was diagnosed with chicken pox. Please pray he didn't catch it. Please pray for the little friend too; chicken pox ain't especially fun for both baby and parents at this age..

Gabe Says in "Dear Auntie Livingjoyfully"

Dear Auntie Livingjoyfully,

Remember this? We were out shopping together and had to stop to appease my growling tummy. But I'm sure you enjoyed your Pepper beef dinner too.

You were trying to coax me into an ahhhhh

That's dedication, mummy says. Look at your posture!

Maybe this will be clearer ;p

Soft Spot for Soft Toys

Gabe has come to a point where he seems to be able to differentiate between the regular hard plastic/ wooden toys and those that are softer and that have faces.

His latest favourites are a few soft toys, whom he reaches out for accurately when I call them out by "name". He'd also "hug" them by either burying his face into them, or just placing them on his cheek. Inspired by TaS's parents, who put a few into her playpen-bed for "companionship", I decided to try it out with gabe too. It has been successful, for many a time after waking from his sleep, I'd find him holding them and "talking" to them. For the record, gabe does a serious amount of jibberish through the day and the "talk" that is directed at these toys is usually more gentle in tone and really cute to hear.

Introducing Elephant.

And zhu zhu, giraffe and chipmunk. Fine, I'm not really creative with names...

This little pinkie is the apple of gabe's eye.

Artistic Attempts

Blabber Blabber

Since December 2007, gabe entered the realm of being understood linguistically. Yes! He can utter some "words" now. Though there are many times he seemed to repeat after the sound of specific phrases/ words, there are only a few constants to date.

You can count on him to say:
Pa..pa (Papa)
Ma! Ma...ma (Mama)
Maam maam (Food. Top of the list when it comes to clarity and loud exclamation)
Baa (Bus. Probably says this about 50-70 times a day)
Baw (Ball)

He made some attempts at "Gabriel", "bear" and "banana" but they are not regular enough to add to his list.

Hairdresser Me!

I've finally unleashed my creative skills on a head. Actually, it was the only head available. He had no choice; he didn't know choice. Even if he did, he probably had no choice either.

I've always imagined myself cutting my children's hair. The thought was so fun and after countless sessions of observing hairdressers cut my hair, I decided I was knowledgeable enough to manage the head of a baby. Yeah right.

For months I wondered if I should do it while he was sleeping or awake. The conclusion was that it would be impossible to get anything done properly in sleep mode. But awake? I'm sure the questions are ringing in your head as well. Here's how I did it, two weeks ago. *beam*

Gabe in bumbo. Give magazine. He flips through the pages. I cut. It was a breeze. I had hardly any interruption. Head was steady. Not a movement. Used a pair of scissors that has a rounded edge. For kids. Snip snip snip I went. Shred shred shred from his end. Clean up: hair + magazine bits.

I thought he looked quite alright, except it was obvious it ain't a salon job. But some relatives have jibed at the ugly outcome. Heck. Both father and mother think he looks fine. Looks like more motherly hairy sessions to come!

Gabe and His Papa

Some shots of gabe and his papa in his 10th month.

Monkey see monkey do. Wonder who's the big monkey.

Gabe kissing papa. "Kissing" means a wide-opened mouth splack on his face.

"I'm on the top of the world!"

Gabe Says in "Dear Uncle En"

Uncle En gave me a present, flown all the way from aussieland. Mummy says I'd better wear it now or I'll outgrow it soon. So we took a picture to send it to you, Uncle En. Thank you for the present!! Is blue my color?

Gabe's 1st Christmas

This first christmas seems to hold more special meaning for us as parents than for this wide-eyed babe who has absolutely no idea what is going on. Except he knows what are christmas trees.

We thought we'd be good and took him for a walk down Orchard Road.

"Sheep? I prefer fingers."

Sizing up the wise men. Fyi, they are real men.

Christmas day was a busy day. For starters, we took gabe to pay his respects to his maternal great-grandparents, who passed on in 2006. Tai gong and tai po's grave sports a garden, which waigong maintains meticulously.

Celebrations were held at waigong and waipo's house. Here's gabe and uncle boy: real men lounge on the couch this way.

With Nikki jie jie, or is it auntie Nikki. We are one confused family.

Doesn't seem too interested in girls eh. Let's wait a few years.

Loving the christmas scene

Gabe with his second cousins

His very own loot back home

All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth

Haha! I never thought I'd be able to really say this but yes, it happened to gabe! In the span of about a month and a half, three teeth sprouted: first his lower tooth, and then the two front teeth. The second of the two front teeth cut through his gums and grew out around christmas, so well, there you have it!