Week 28 - Busy body

Ok, not such a wordy post this time.

En route to going out to Dempsey Hill to meet a girl Matt grew up with.

We are busy - just got back from Hong Kong.  Negotiated a stroller on the MTR there.  Totally sucked.  Bjorned it the rest of the way.

Saw friends visiting from the US in Hong Kong because Disney is now 5 years old there.

Charlotte is still sick ever so slightly and had black mucus from Hong Kong air.  Yucky.

We think she is talking - saying OK starting yesterday.  It is funny.

Charlotte is crawling backwards.  Or according to Matt pushing backwards.

We stopped solids while in Hong Kong, although we did feed her some cantaloupe (as per the video below).

Charlotte has been getting up once a night for a week - around midnight.  She eats some and then goes back to bed.

We hope this is short lived.

We are knackered.

Sherry and Larry are visiting from Macau.


Here are some pics and video.

Crawling/pushing backwards:

First Hong Kong skyline photo:

First tram ride:

Makeupless Mom and sleepy baby at Flying Pan:

Eating cantaloupe for the first time:

With Daddy at Stanley:

With Christian and Margo at Dim Sum:

Meeting Janet for the first time:

Loving the Bjorn (tall perspective) on Uncle Larry:

"So let me tell you about what's going on with the Joneses..."

Week 27 - Under the sweltering weather

Pardon me if this post is a little jumbled.  Charlotte is a bit ill and we are all a bit grumpy and tired - getting up at 3 AM for 3 nights becomes none of us.  Charlotte has a runny nose (and a surprisingly sunny temperament).  We had the pleasure to take her to the doctor twice in 5 days - one for her 6 month jabs (a minute of crying and then all was well) and the second for her general stuffiness.  We got some medicated nosedrops and Doctor Mark says it should be gone in a week or 2.  Blah.  Blah.

She is 8.64 kg (19 pounds!), 67 cm tall and has a head circumference of 43.5 cm.

In other news - she loves her walker.  I know that these walkers are really out of vogue in America - but a supervised few minutes with her happy and rolling around (e.g. tormenting the dog) is good for us.  We started feeding her solid foods - rice cereal which she likes.  We attempted to change her formula (to NAN HA - locally available) but it happened when the sickness happened and well, we needed to change one less variable, so we are asking assistance of our American friends to bring over some Alimentum till we can stock up at Xmas.

Here is some updates.  I am off to try to sleep to anticipate another 3AM morning..

 Charlotte cruising in Chris's walker.  Bucky is getting more treats as he resigns himself to being run over a few times a day...


"Grandpa's Girl" T-shirt.  She is out of focus because she can't sit still!


A vision in purple:


Catcher:


Homegirl:


Channeling Elmo's brainwaves:


Walking again:


Still learning the gender neutral sippy cup:

Week 26 - 6 months old!

Ok, Charlotte really turns 6 months tomorrow...

Matt is in disbelief that 6 months have passed and so am I. 

We bid adieu to Aunt Laurie and Matt had a business trip in Hong Kong for 2 days this week.

Charlotte seems to grow a lot when Matt is gone - I don't know if I am more mindful of it becuase of his absence.

She is walking - well with the help of Imee.  She goes really fast - I can tell she will soon be annoyed at Mama for being a slow walker.

She also seems like she is close to crawling - she can lift her belly (with the help of a leg kick) and rotates around on the axis that is her belly. 

We haven't started solids but will this week.  We did put her in a high chair at TGI Fridays - she did great.  Her flailing is somewhat controlled by the seat belt.  We also put her in a booster seat that Laurie got us.  She is ready - but are we?

The bugs have gotten to her (and to us).  I bought 2 bug lights this week and decided to put mosquito stickers on her back all day long.


Also - she has this George Constanza hair - long on the sides and short on top (kind of an inverse mullet).  It is too cute.

I am feeling better - but still have a cough that will not relent.  The arthritis was flaring up with the recent illness but I am better with both the sickies and the arthritis.

On with the multimedia:

This is an awesome video - Charlotte in her new baby pool with daddy - she had the major giggles..


Charlotte walking (sorry this is sideways):


Charlotte in a pink hat:


Charlotte in a red hat and outfit (I laughed when a Chinese man asked me if she was a boy or a girl while wearing this ensemble):


Charlotte on Daddy Mountain:


Charlotte posing with Imee:


In a borrowed F1 walker (thanks Jisun for loaning it to us!):


Pretty in Pink:


Walking with bunny shoes:


In a high chair and a balloon:


With Aunt Laurie at Arteastiq:


With mom at Arteastiq:


Laughing with daddy during a Saturday lunch:

Week 25 - Sitting up and swimming out

Aunt Laurie is visiting us from Londontown - the last of the auntie triumvirate to meet Charlotte in person.  In uncharacteristic Charlotte fashion, she cried at first when she saw Laurie - she was 'everything is fine' for a minute and then the gravity of Laurie's presence overcame her and she imploded into tears.  Luckily this was short lived and now they are great buddies.

We went to Phuket for a few days - a day delayed on both ends thanks to questionable issues with Tiger Airways.  Phuket was nice, but the weather was rainy and overcast.  We stayed at our friend's house and we had our own pool.  Charlotte swam around in her new Taiwanese neck floatie - and it was SO cute.  The highlight of the trip was swimming with Charlotte.  We also tested the capability of the Drypers.  I am pleased to say that they did not leak (even after being filled with 5lbs of water) - but maybe I should invest in swim diapers?

We tried this one inch tall travel bed thing for Charlotte (thanks to the aforementioned low cost carrier, carrying our pack and play seemed daunting and overwhelming).  The first night she couldn't sleep and she kept rolling over onto the floor - making for a pretty restless night for me.  She settled into the bed but got these wicked mosquito bites (just like me - OMG have you seen me get bitten in Thailand?  Seriously PUCE bites).  Matt and I found the sectional sofa to be more to our liking than the bed, so on the last night we slept on the sofa and gave Charlotte the king sized bed. I wish I took a picture.

Charlotte also visited her first beach in Kata.

We were both sick and managed to not get Charlotte sick which is nothing short of miraculous.

Charlotte is sitting up better, although some leftward wipe outs are still a part of the experience- perhaps a restaurant high chair is in her immediate future?

On with the pictures!

Charlotte's new walker/car thing.  She was dragging the top of her feet at first...


Neck floatie!


Neck floatie video!


Charlotte and mommy napping in the same position (so funny!):


Watching her aunt get ready in Phuket:


Charlotte's first beach experience!


With Aunt Laurie at Dino Burger, Karon Beach:


Laughing with her new singing elephant:


Sitting up on the sofa video (she cannot sit still for even half a second):


In love with her new Elmo puppet!

Week 24 - Now I know my ABC's

The 24th week of Charlotte's existence perhaps wasn't her most exciting - but that may have more to do with her Mom than anything else.  You see, I am fighting a cold (so odd to be fighting one in the tropics) and am trying not to get Charlotte affected.  Blah.  I hate being sick.

It has been raining a lot these days which limited visits to our favorite neighborhood park.

Matt and I went to the F1 race on Saturday.  It was more fun than I thought it would be.  We saw Daughtry and Adam Lambert.  Who knew American Idol was the arbiter of popular music these days? 

Charlotte has gotten a bit fussy with her feeds - the first feed of the day is fine (which I love to give - as she is so happy to see me and eats pretty readily) but it gets harder as the day goes on as she somehow expects to be entertained while eating.  All of us have sung our renditions of "ABC's" to her delight.  Sometimes I change it up and sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (same melody, different lyrics) but I know Charlotte can tell the difference and inevitably the next go around is "ABC's."

Matt and I have wondered if British people sing "ABC's" and if so, what happens to the "Z"?  Do they sing "Zed"?  Or do they have another version that punctuates the "Zed"?

Matt and I (sans Charlotte) at the F1 sweating our butts off while protecting our hearing.  I am standing on a tree root, which is why we are so close in height:


It is really hard to take a good picture (or it was hard for me).  This was the best that I got:


Back to Charlotteville, A Bumbo Revolution (with her pal Lilith):


In a new preppy outfit (with a post F1 tired Dad):


Posing with her twin The Octopus in yet another new outfit:


Charlotte with her smug mug:



Asleep in her play gym:

Week 23 - Moon Cake Drake

Exciting week for us - Charlotte has turned over front to back and can now hold the bottle (made of plastic and filled with an ounce or less) on her own.

I bought those plastic Playtex bottles with the disposable liners and the bloody bottle shrank 30% in the sterilizer.  Daggummit.

I am growing increasingly disenchanted with the idea of our Pack N Play - which is a zillion pounds and does not come with a handle for travel.  Bleh.

Some lady in the park had a Bugaboo Chameleon and I admit it - I had Bugaboo envy.  I equate this to American women carrying Dooney and Burke handbags while their European counterparts carry Louis Vuittons.  Our Graco is sturdy but maybe not the cutest stroller in the land.  Matt would have no patience for this observation - so please don't tell him.

In other navel gazing news - my hair is falling out but still growing way too fast.  I think I have to get a hair cut again.  My arthritis is still there - when will this end?  Although I am not at the weight I would like to be (just because of the clothes dammit - I think we would all be better off if we walked around naked sometimes), I am really happy at what my body was able to DO.  I mean, I delivered a baby with no pushing.  That is some kind of wonderful that cannot be compared to being a size 2.  And no matter what size or what the future holds for me - I will always have that.

Oh, and so the season of moon cakes commence.  As we were naming Charlotte I thought she may be called "Moon Cake Drake" - which is more cute than a true ribbing.

New outfit:


Bottle hold!


Turning over (rather anticlimactically):


Daddy gets his own Peek-A-Boo giggles:


Out to dimsum lunch with Mom (thanks Tolu for the photo):


On top of the (slide) world!


Imeeslide part deux:


Pushing herself up:


This is our friend's Ling's boxer.  His name is Dave:


Charlotte reading the annals of higher literature:


Learning the secret handshake from her new friend Toby:


She laughed and laughed when Imee was playing catch with a little boy.  She was loud and boisterous and wonderful and caught the attention of the whole park:




Charlotte is a hug waiting to happen:

Week 22

Charlotte has officially passed the 5 month mark yesterday.  She is taking more trips out as she is getting stir crazier in the house - and I have little patience playing with her sometimes with the same toys too so I am sure it is a bit congenital.  I took her out for almost 6 hours today - I hope she sleeps through the night.  She got up early today which makes for a long day for Matt (e.g. she got up when I was jogging).  Matt has been busy with work visitors in from Italy and a big trade show.  I am tempted to give her food (not consistently) but I then realize how hideously salty my diet is (babies are not supposed to have much salt as it is not so good on their tiny livers).  Soy sauce anyone?

I am venturing into the shopping malls of Singapore - to escape the heat of my house (a heat wave these days - seriously more than usual).  I went to the Sands today and changed Charlotte's poopy diaper on a bench in the mall.  I didn't make it to the baby changing facilities, as the signage (I worked on signage there, mind you) directed me to one when it, in fact, did not exist there.  Daggummit.  Then I changed her on the floor by the stairwell.
Good times.

Charlotte (channeling Elvis - the Vegas years) is showing her unbridled affection towards our Bucky - and he is ok with that.  Sibling bonding...


This is the best photo of Bucky I have ever taken:


Charlotte exploring the intracacies of her brother's face:


Hearting her heart onesie:


Thoughtful yet straightforward:


Momslide:


Dadslide:


Imeeslide:


On Daddy's shoulders:


Matching hat closeup:


Peek A Boo Reprise - this time with Mommy: