Brought little bun on his first Ikea outing... Ended up buying him a cute stuffed doggie which he happily cuddled throughout. 

The latest word in little bun's vocab is 'bird' and he says it much more than 'papa' or 'mama', much to Mark and my chagrin!! Whenever I ask him 'where's the bird?', he'll look up at the sky and point. Anyway, little bun's doting grandaunt bought him a toy parakeet in a cage and while he was a little afraid of it initially, he cannot get enough of it now. It's the 'toy du jour'... hope poor parakeet survives in little bun's over-inquisitive hands!

My little vain pot admiring his own reflection after his bath... with Hershey supervising in the background!

Checking out the birds outside our balcony... a favourite pastime of little bun's! ('Bird-bird' is one of the latest word he's added to his vocabulary).

Me and my (husband's) Mini-Me...

After much contemplation, I caved in to Mark's suggestion to purchase a play yard for little bun. He's been crawling around A LOT at breakneck speed and trying to grab a hold of him before he destroys something and/or hurts himself is becoming an back-breaking task. Even poor Hershey has resorted to retreating under the dining table when the little bun is out and about. (Mark and I actually gave little bun the code name 'Shih-tzu' when he is crawling around cos the just size of a little Shih-tzu now! So you will hear remarks from us like 'Look out, Shih-tzu is coming towards you'; 'Shih-tzu jailbreak!!!'; 'Uh oh.. where's the Shih-tzu?'; 'Look out, Border Collie meets Shih-tzu', etc.

So far, he is still rather happy to be confined in that 1.1m X 1.1 m area (preferably when one of us is in there with him), BUT I am sceptical of how long this is going to last before he wants out. Hopefully little bun will prove me wrong... it is very useful having him confined in the play yard as it allows us precious time for that toilet break or do some housework knowing that he is safe.

A rather interesting read... Even more interesting to learn that the 'most optimal' time to have Baby #2 is before Baby #1 turns one year old or after Baby #1 turns 4 years old! I always thought the best time will be a gap of 2-3 years... 

Apparently, the reasons to support the above is - If Baby #2 comes along when Baby #1 is still very young, tendency to have jealousy issues are minimized because Baby #1 is too young to comprehend jealousy and/or to fight for attention. After Baby #1 turns 4 years old is also a supposedly ideal time because at that age, children are less self-focused and they have a social circle of friends from school or other adults besides the parents. 

Daddy is having his beer, and little bun is having... ummm... water. 

Happy boy taking a ride on one of the many birthday presents he received... he was mighty pleased with his new set of the Winnie the Pooh on wheels!! (Believe it or not, we actually haven't finished opening up all the new toys yet!!).

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, can come between a (alcohol) thirsty man and his glass of ice cold beer on a Sunday, including a sleeping toddler!!

(I was not with them as I went grocery shopping, but Mark told me that he copped many amused stares and smiles from the people who saw them.. After a while, Mark started telling people "Yeah, he had a drop too much!!").. Starting young huh?

Little bun's latest favourite spot in my bedroom. I guess he can watch the activities happening downstairs (there is a little playground right in front of my balcony), or perhaps the trees/ birds outside, or is it the people walking by... Okay we have no clue. 

Where flowers bloom so does hope...(Part II)

Remember my post last July on the the flowers blooming from my barely alive pot of palms? (Yes, it is still alive, though barely) Mark and I continue to water it dutifully every morning but it's condition hasn't improved, but then neither has it worsen. 

Well, guess what.. recently it started flowering again!! While watering it one morning, I spotted the tiny purple flower buds!! Hoping that it is a sign of good things to come.  

"Where flowers bloom so does hope..."

Look who has just learnt how to drink using a straw!! 

I know of many parents who 'train' their kids to drink using straws before they turn one, but I figured it didn't matter to me/little bun whatever age he acquires this skill. Hence, I wasn't overly concerned or conscientious about it and treated it like a 'game'. Usually, he was more interested on chewing on the straw.. I guess he was still unable to figure out what the long, plastic thing is for. 

Out of the blue on Sunday morning when we were all out for brekkie, I asked Mark to try giving him some water using the straw, and all of a sudden it was like 'eureka' for him and he just figured it out! He had this look of wonderment and amusement on his face when he sucked his first mouthful of water from the straw.. hehehe! From that moment on, there was no stopping him. I think he drank twice his normal daily intake of water because he was fascinated with this new-found discovery.

So far we scored 7 out of 10... not too bad I guess!

A single smile from this little boy makes my heart glow with love and contentment.

Father and son engrossed watching some programme on the telly. I cannot get over how similar/alike those are... Their looks, behaviours, mannerisms, expressions, etc.. totally a chip off the old block.