On the weekend, we attended a first birthday party of the daughter, Samantha, of some old family friends. After the party they invited us over to their home. Justin found Samantha's hippo walker that he loved and my son took his first steps. Awww, he's growing up too quickly!
Friday, 9 April 2010
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Happy Easter!
Our first Easter weekend in Sydney has come and gone in a flash. Hope everyone had a good Easter and for those who traveled, hope you got home safely.
My cousin and her husband from HK came out for a holiday and arrived on Thursday night. They're staying with my brother so we were invited over for brunch on Good Friday. Brunch turned into lunch which turned into a session of mah jong which turned into dinner. In between, we were able to take Justin out to the park to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine. On Saturday, Justin had another first birthday party to attend, his little friend Samantha. Her theme was Hello Kitty and her mum baked a Hello Kitty cake, Hello Kitty cupcakes and Hello Kitty biscuits. The pressure is on and the bar has been set!
Down the road from us is a place called Entertainment Quarter that has a Kids Central and markets on the weekends. We decided to head over there (unintentionally) and check it out. It was a huge fun fair and stalls with games and lots of food to sample. We'll definitely be going back there.
Fun in the sun on Good Friday
Look at Justin's naughty but very cute smile
Eating a cracker
My cousin and her husband from HK came out for a holiday and arrived on Thursday night. They're staying with my brother so we were invited over for brunch on Good Friday. Brunch turned into lunch which turned into a session of mah jong which turned into dinner. In between, we were able to take Justin out to the park to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine. On Saturday, Justin had another first birthday party to attend, his little friend Samantha. Her theme was Hello Kitty and her mum baked a Hello Kitty cake, Hello Kitty cupcakes and Hello Kitty biscuits. The pressure is on and the bar has been set!
Down the road from us is a place called Entertainment Quarter that has a Kids Central and markets on the weekends. We decided to head over there (unintentionally) and check it out. It was a huge fun fair and stalls with games and lots of food to sample. We'll definitely be going back there.
Eating a cracker
Thursday, 1 April 2010
2nd Day at Day Care
We were a bit worried about Justin settling in at day care since his day to be there would fall on Good Friday and that would mean a 2 week break. Thankfully the day care was accommodating and understanding and offered to have Justin in on an alternate day.
Early Wednesday morning, Row changed and washed, changed Justin, fed him breakfast, packed his bag and got him ready for school all while I lay in bed trying to recover from a tummy bug. Hats off to dad as he still managed to leave home at his normal time of 7:30am although he did miss his own breakfast. Thankfully I wasn't that sick and managed to get a lot of things done while Justin was at day care and this included a nice leisurely breakfast. Row called to say that Justin was happy enough when he left but wasn't sure how he was faring but since the school hadn't called neither Row nor I, we assumed Justin was fine.
Seeing as it was only Justin's 2nd day and he has a week's break between, it was another half day for young master Ming. At lunch time, I made my over to North Sydney to collect my little munchkin. On arrival, the room leader cheerfully informed me that Justin was a happy little chappie who even succumbed to a half hour nap (not long, I know, but good enough for his first nap at day care ...and better than him standing in his crib, stamping his feet like his first day!) While I was talking to his teacher, Justin was busy playing with the toys and a few other kids, all girls! The teachers were very happy with Justin, saying he had his morning bottle, was about to have his lunch bottle, tasted his lunch but didn't finish it, although he finished his dessert, he had a nap and he reached out to the other children and got 'involved' in the activities. His teacher also commented how affectionate Justin is, very generous with his kisses, both with the other children and with the teachers.
At the end of each day, the teacher puts together a daily diary which is a powerpoint presentation of the day's activities and Justin was in a few pictures....him eating snack; him pulling his face at the lunch; him playing with the building blocks with another girl,;him listening to story time....oh too cute!
Early Wednesday morning, Row changed and washed, changed Justin, fed him breakfast, packed his bag and got him ready for school all while I lay in bed trying to recover from a tummy bug. Hats off to dad as he still managed to leave home at his normal time of 7:30am although he did miss his own breakfast. Thankfully I wasn't that sick and managed to get a lot of things done while Justin was at day care and this included a nice leisurely breakfast. Row called to say that Justin was happy enough when he left but wasn't sure how he was faring but since the school hadn't called neither Row nor I, we assumed Justin was fine.
Seeing as it was only Justin's 2nd day and he has a week's break between, it was another half day for young master Ming. At lunch time, I made my over to North Sydney to collect my little munchkin. On arrival, the room leader cheerfully informed me that Justin was a happy little chappie who even succumbed to a half hour nap (not long, I know, but good enough for his first nap at day care ...and better than him standing in his crib, stamping his feet like his first day!) While I was talking to his teacher, Justin was busy playing with the toys and a few other kids, all girls! The teachers were very happy with Justin, saying he had his morning bottle, was about to have his lunch bottle, tasted his lunch but didn't finish it, although he finished his dessert, he had a nap and he reached out to the other children and got 'involved' in the activities. His teacher also commented how affectionate Justin is, very generous with his kisses, both with the other children and with the teachers.
At the end of each day, the teacher puts together a daily diary which is a powerpoint presentation of the day's activities and Justin was in a few pictures....him eating snack; him pulling his face at the lunch; him playing with the building blocks with another girl,;him listening to story time....oh too cute!
Although Justin was happy to see me, he wasn't too happy to be at home with just mum as his playmate and his few, boring toys! And he made sure I knew all about it by being very hard to please...but I managed to get a smile out of him....eventually!
Sunday, 28 March 2010
First day at day-care
We were lucky enough to get a spot in a day-care in Row's building and it has an excellent reputation so we're very happy. Currently, he only goes 1 day a week and we're going to build on that. Justin started day-care on Friday and it was probably more traumatic for me than for him. Even though I'm a teacher and know that the child will be fine and well-looked after, it's very different when you're on the other side. As it was Justin's first day, I took him in and spent an hour with him. He happily sat in the high chair and joined the other children for mid-morning snack which was crackers with jam and cubes of watermelon. After his snack, Justin was happy to go play with the toys and the other children while I sat down with the room leader (head teacher) to discuss Justin's diet, routine and how to soothe him. So busy and happy was Justin that he didn't even flinch when I said good bye. I will admit that I cried more than Justin as you realise how much they have grown and how independent they are, which is a good thing but still upsetting. I went to the book shop and browsed around, had lunch and read a magazine and then returned to the day-care to see how Justin was doing. On arrival, I saw Justin sitting with one of the teachers and another little boy, playing with the toys but sucking his dummy and making whimpering noises....my heart broke into a million pieces! The teacher said Justin was really good, playing with the toys, interacting with the other children but when nap time came, he absolutely refused and stood in his cot stamping his feet and calling for me. I guess it doesn't help that we've been sleep training at home so at the moment he has bad associations with the cot! The teacher soon realised how distressed Justin was becoming and gave up on nap time as it was lunch time but the poor boy was so upset he didn't even want to eat lunch, which you know is really bad as Justin has a VERY good appetite. As soon as Justin saw me, he was fine and settled down which the teacher said was a good sign as some children burst into tears as soon as they see their parents. I was able to feed Justin his lunch, roast beef and vegetables, as they had kept it aside for him and he ate every bit of it! We left to go home and poor Justin was so tired he fell asleep in his pram within 10mins.
In my previous post, I mentioned that we had unsuccessfully tried sleep training Justin and Row and I were both exhausted and really not sure what to do or how to proceed. I have to say thank you to Anthea and Chantelle, their emails gave me the support and encouragement to continue with the sleep training and I must say that we have seen vast improvements....in Justin's night sleep that is. Nap times are a whole other story! Due to Justin not having any naps the last few days, we've moved his bedtime earlier. The first night, Justin cried for 35mins and fell asleep, waking up a few times but I only needed to go in twice. The second night, he cried for 25mins and woke up twice and I only had to go in once. The third night, he cried for close to 45mins and I had to go in three times but then he fell asleep and woke up once but settled himself again. So there is light at the end of the tunnel! Now, if anyone has advice on day naps and how to make Justin sleep past 5am, that would be much appreciated especially since we are putting our clocks back an hour next Sunday.
Our little guy is starting to cruise along the little furniture that we have and has started pivoting; he'll hold onto something, let go and turn around to grab something else. Justin has also started pointing at things so if we're in his room and I ask him where the monkey is, he'll point to it. He also knows his ball because if you point to it and tell him to go get it, he'll crawl towards it and sometimes he'll say "b, b, b" and go get the ball. I think he's starting to understand "Please give it to me" as he'll hand whatever he's holding onto to me and then I give it back to him and then he gives it back to me and then I give......you get the picture! Justin is really into waving, he waves at everyone and everything. In the mornings, he stands by our balcony door to wave good morning to the birds and he'll do that every night before he goes to bath; when I tell him we're going ta-ta, he'll wave; if someone is looking at him, or seems like they are looking at him, on the bus or the train, he waves at them.
It's been a fantastic 10.5months, watching Justin growing and learning and developing and new skills.
In my previous post, I mentioned that we had unsuccessfully tried sleep training Justin and Row and I were both exhausted and really not sure what to do or how to proceed. I have to say thank you to Anthea and Chantelle, their emails gave me the support and encouragement to continue with the sleep training and I must say that we have seen vast improvements....in Justin's night sleep that is. Nap times are a whole other story! Due to Justin not having any naps the last few days, we've moved his bedtime earlier. The first night, Justin cried for 35mins and fell asleep, waking up a few times but I only needed to go in twice. The second night, he cried for 25mins and woke up twice and I only had to go in once. The third night, he cried for close to 45mins and I had to go in three times but then he fell asleep and woke up once but settled himself again. So there is light at the end of the tunnel! Now, if anyone has advice on day naps and how to make Justin sleep past 5am, that would be much appreciated especially since we are putting our clocks back an hour next Sunday.
Our little guy is starting to cruise along the little furniture that we have and has started pivoting; he'll hold onto something, let go and turn around to grab something else. Justin has also started pointing at things so if we're in his room and I ask him where the monkey is, he'll point to it. He also knows his ball because if you point to it and tell him to go get it, he'll crawl towards it and sometimes he'll say "b, b, b" and go get the ball. I think he's starting to understand "Please give it to me" as he'll hand whatever he's holding onto to me and then I give it back to him and then he gives it back to me and then I give......you get the picture! Justin is really into waving, he waves at everyone and everything. In the mornings, he stands by our balcony door to wave good morning to the birds and he'll do that every night before he goes to bath; when I tell him we're going ta-ta, he'll wave; if someone is looking at him, or seems like they are looking at him, on the bus or the train, he waves at them.
It's been a fantastic 10.5months, watching Justin growing and learning and developing and new skills.
Saturday, 27 March 2010
Saturday, 20 March 2010
We're back!!!!!!!!!
We've now been in our new apartment for 5 weeks and we're finally connected. People here in Sydney really seem to have that "tomorrow is another day" attitude towards everything. It took them a week to set up our phone line, 3 weeks to get it ADSL ready and 1 week to post the modem to us! It's times like these that I miss the efficiency of HK!
We've settled into our home although we still need to hang up pictures and photos and get some furniture. Our neighbours must think we're real trailer trash as we have this fancy Apple desktop but it's sitting on a mah jong table and we have this nice home entertainment system but we sit on a blow up mattress!
Justin seems to have settled into his new (again) surroundings but only just recently. His sleep has not been great as he is now in his own cot in his own room so it's back to broken sleep and some very grumpy parents in the mornings. We attempted to sleep train Justin using the Baby Sense method but that didn't work. We also tried the crying it out method but Justin is a taurus and born in the year of the ox so he is very stubborn and persistent and basically wore us out and so we gave up on that method. If anyone has suggestions or advice, please send it to us!!!!!!!!
In the last month, Justin had another immunization and he was a champ! He only cried when the medicine went into his leg and then stopped after 2 seconds. AND, his brave mum managed to watch this injection as she was alone now that Row's working. Justin only had 2 bottom teeth for the longest time but he now has 2 coming out on the top and another at the bottom. He's also learnt to show people his tongue, so much so that when he now sees strangers and they smile or wave at him, he sticks his tongue out at them! So we're trying to teach him to blow kisses or something a little less rude than sticking his tongue out. Justin loves waving, he waves at everything and everyone.
We're going to have to baby-proof the house as Justin has now learnt to open drawers and cupboards and close the bedroom doors. He really enjoys opening my underwear drawer and taking out all my bras and panties and then moving onto the bathroom drawer and emptying my facial sponges, cotton pads and plasters onto the floor and then crawling to the kitchen and taking out the oven mitts and apron.
We enrolled Justin in a day care in Row's building. My baby's growing up :( We decided to enroll him from now as he is only going 1 day a week and we'll build it up so that by the time I go back to work, Row and I will be comfortable knowing that Justin is all settled and enjoys day care. He was supposed to start this past Friday but the poor thing caught a tummy bug and has had diarrhoea for the last 5 days so he missed his first day.
We also had our first visitor, Row's cousin Lindi from Cape Town. Lindi was only with us for 2.5 days but it was great seeing her again. We hope she had a good time in Sydney and will come back for another visit.
That's what has been happening to the Mings downunder. Time has really flown by, we can't believe that we've been here for almost 3 months. And now that we're back online, hopefully the blog will be updated regularly again.
The decal in Justin's room.
Learning to open the sliding door in our lounge.
Justin helping me unpack his room.
Justin totally fascinated with his image in the mirror in our bedroom.
Now that Justin can pull himself up and climb up things, he seems to bump his head an awful lot so Row decided to lend him his cycling helmet but Justin didn't appreciate his dad's concern.
We've settled into our home although we still need to hang up pictures and photos and get some furniture. Our neighbours must think we're real trailer trash as we have this fancy Apple desktop but it's sitting on a mah jong table and we have this nice home entertainment system but we sit on a blow up mattress!
Justin seems to have settled into his new (again) surroundings but only just recently. His sleep has not been great as he is now in his own cot in his own room so it's back to broken sleep and some very grumpy parents in the mornings. We attempted to sleep train Justin using the Baby Sense method but that didn't work. We also tried the crying it out method but Justin is a taurus and born in the year of the ox so he is very stubborn and persistent and basically wore us out and so we gave up on that method. If anyone has suggestions or advice, please send it to us!!!!!!!!
In the last month, Justin had another immunization and he was a champ! He only cried when the medicine went into his leg and then stopped after 2 seconds. AND, his brave mum managed to watch this injection as she was alone now that Row's working. Justin only had 2 bottom teeth for the longest time but he now has 2 coming out on the top and another at the bottom. He's also learnt to show people his tongue, so much so that when he now sees strangers and they smile or wave at him, he sticks his tongue out at them! So we're trying to teach him to blow kisses or something a little less rude than sticking his tongue out. Justin loves waving, he waves at everything and everyone.
We're going to have to baby-proof the house as Justin has now learnt to open drawers and cupboards and close the bedroom doors. He really enjoys opening my underwear drawer and taking out all my bras and panties and then moving onto the bathroom drawer and emptying my facial sponges, cotton pads and plasters onto the floor and then crawling to the kitchen and taking out the oven mitts and apron.
We enrolled Justin in a day care in Row's building. My baby's growing up :( We decided to enroll him from now as he is only going 1 day a week and we'll build it up so that by the time I go back to work, Row and I will be comfortable knowing that Justin is all settled and enjoys day care. He was supposed to start this past Friday but the poor thing caught a tummy bug and has had diarrhoea for the last 5 days so he missed his first day.
We also had our first visitor, Row's cousin Lindi from Cape Town. Lindi was only with us for 2.5 days but it was great seeing her again. We hope she had a good time in Sydney and will come back for another visit.
That's what has been happening to the Mings downunder. Time has really flown by, we can't believe that we've been here for almost 3 months. And now that we're back online, hopefully the blog will be updated regularly again.
Justin helping me unpack his room.
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