Saying goodbye

Cleaning up the apartment before the landlord arrives with the new tenant. It's strange how much echo there is in our apartment... i mean old apartment, with the furniture gone.

Babybel is a little suprised with the emptiness as well and runs through the empty rooms and corridor incessantly, stopping to sit by the little bay windows when she's tired. And posing of course ... nah she was just saying goodbye to the tree outside from a different angle. A tree that has housed many a nest... but I digress.

Sigh... we're all sad that we're leaving... well... mostly me. Will miss the fantastic location, near to restaurants, near to supermarkets, near to parks, near to everything that has been home for the past 3 years. To an area so self sufficient we escaped the 2 week transport strike unscathed!

Goodbye view from the bedroom!

Goodbye view from the living room that we've been staring out of for 3 years. Goodbye neighbours from opposite the road, just wanted to tell you that you have a beautiful balcony garden and that you work too hard! (They're already awake when we wake up, and still awake when we go to bed)

SMILE!!!

It was one of those days that she suprised me with her vocabulary. Whenever I whip out my camera, she'd run to try to touch it, smell it, kiss it, press the buttons etc... but today, when I took it out and said, "smile darling!". She stopped running towards me, and smiled very very prettily! Isn't she gorgeous?

Dear Papa Kevin,
It's been almost a month that we've left Paris. Time flies doesn't it? Well, the only way we can see this is through Babybel. She's changed little physically, but developmentally, well, there are many many things that she couldn't do in Paris when we left at 10mths old but can now. And there are many things that she couldn't do well before but can do easily now at 11mths old.

Let's start with the physical attributes:
- she's about 9.4kg, up from 8.9kg when she first got here
- she's at least 70cm long. (don't have a measuring tape, so not so accurate here)
- she's sprouted 2 more teeth, with 2 more peeking out
- her hair is still unruly and wavy at the ends, but longer

Movements:
- she's a speeding bullet on all fours
- she's a drunken sailor on two (walks from one end of the room to the other), complete with little sways, and bumps on the bum
- if you hold her hand, she runs
- she can stand from a sitting position with great ease

- she can climb (watch out!)

Intellectually:
- she answers when you call her name
- she understands: come here, water, NO!, sniff, hug, flower, bunny, book, Sophie the Giraffe and probably other words that I'm not aware of
- recognises words from her favourite book and bursts into giggles whenever you say them
- very curious about how things work, especially things that she sits in
- can play chase
- can drum on table and clap hands in sequence
- says papa when I'm the phone with you or when she sees you on the camera
- says mum mum when she knows food is near
- says a-ma for grandma
- can't say kong kong but she knows who he is and will pat him if she is near enough when you ask where's kong kong?
- says mama for mummy (but not very often, only when she's looking for me apparently)
- knows how to work the sliding door
- she knows how to hug
- bring books to you so that you can read to her
- share toys
- pull things off tables (yikes!) but also put them back... er...throw them back

That's what I can think of at the moment. Will update when I think of more. Our little Babybel has grown and she's lovely!

We can't wait to see you next week.

xoxo

Babybel & Me

More pearly whites!

Babybel's teething again. This time, it's her 3 lateral incisors with the fourth one making an appearance soon. She's obviously taking this well. Just lots of drool, biting her bunny, toys, and the worst being waking up her mummy EARLY at 5.30am in the morning. Guess will be looking out for her canines soon, according to this chart. Droool....

The first 24 hours: Part 1

Bonding with Uncle Evan whom Babybel's met only for the very first time. It helped that Uncle Evan was holding some very nice smelling grub from Hungry Jacks (Burger King). Yummy!


Babybel went to bed around midnight but awoke for about 2hours in the middle of the night. Thankfully she laid beside me relatively still, chattering to her bunny about this strange new place. The very next morning, she was up at around 9am- heaven!

And what fun she had exploring A-ma and Kong Kong's house, crawling wherever she pleased. It's such a babyfriendly place. There she goes learning about the different textures and surfaces!




Visitors! They came for lunch with yummy Vietnamese food. Goodness it was good!

Aunty Su-Hsien is helping Babybel go inspect what Aunty Val & baby Alexandra are doing. Incidentally, Babybel weighs only 300gm more than Alex in this photo, and Alex is 5mths younger! Wow!

Coffee, tea or câlin?

Dreading the 24 hour trip with Babybel was futile. It went quite well. There are few things that the French do well, and am glad that one of them is taking care of people with children. Didn't have to line up once in CDG airport (something the Singaporeans and Australians should learn), I was whisked through check in, security checks and boarding. Then one of Kev's contacts got me into the SIA lounge. Nice!

Babybel was a lot more easier to handle this trip. Though extremely squirmy, she wasn't as vocal as the last trip. Everyone praised her ability to fly well and how good she was. Even if she was trying to pull out all the leaflets and magazines from the magazine holder strewing them down the aisle as fast as I put them back in. Helped as well that on each of the 2 flights we took, there were other kids that well... put her in good light.

Paris to Singapore: We were sitted next to a Singaporean lady, her french hubby and 2year old son. Well behaved for the most part, but when reprimanded would burst into tears and wail for a câlin (hug in kid talk). Parents, yes, both mum and dad were happy to indulge the little boy, even when he wasn't crying. That was their way of loving the kid, so throughout the whole 12 hour flight, câlin? câlin? câlin? câlin? could be heard from the THREE of them. Cute as it was, it got to me after câlin number 30... especially when he wanted a câlin after being told off for trying to steal, er no, take, er no, borrow Babybel's dummy WHILE she was fast asleep. That said, they were really nice to us, taking care of Babybel when I had to eat or visit the toilet.

Casting a cheeky little grin at her mummy. NO! I don't want to sleep!

Nope, not sleeping there either. She was trying to stuff the entire bunny into her mouth. Her way of loving her doudou (soft toy).

Lorrine, one of my primary school frens met me at the airport where we had a little breakfast together during our transit time. The Singapore Changi Airport is actually a shopping heaven. If only we had a little more time.
Babybel scrutinising Lorrine's handphone... (doesn't Lorrine look good?)

Taken moments before Babybel decided to test the law of gravity...

Singapore to Melbourne: This 8hr flight was harder as Babybel was really tired! I had tried to give her a sedative on the Paris leg, but she refused to take the milk that had the medication, didn't even want to take a drop! Again I was sitted next to nice helpful people. Two women in fact, both mothers, coming back from a shopping trip together from Rome. They fussed over Babybel and took care and distracted her whenever a meltdown seemed to be coming up. On my right was a very very tired baby girl, returning from Scotland. Interestingly, she was also named Isabelle and is only 1 week older than Babybel.

So in 24hours, Babybel slept 5hours, and me, 1 hour. Went pretty well no?

Growing fast in Melbourne

Hasn't Babybel grown?!?


Uncle Evan, Kong Kong Edwin, Babybel and A-ma Iris

Go West!

We're off to the west of France for the weekend. No photos to post because, yes, internet at home is still down. Later, promise!

No such thing as a FREE lunch...

In case you're wondering, we've not been lazy in not blogging about our little girl... we've just lost all connection to the world. This is not too bad for Daddy Chow as he works and has internet access at the office.

Poor us! Especially me!!!! It's been almost 2 weeks. No internet, no tv, no telephone. There's something wrong with our provider Free... I guess there's truth in that 'there's no such thing as a FREE lunch'.

12 days and counting....

New Header

You like the new header above? As you can see, we've done quite a bit of travels before Baby Bel arrived. We hope to bring her around and do a lot more travelling when she's older a little. So far the little jet setter has been to Singapore and Melbourne. Next stop in the itinerary... Belgium

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands...

Baby Bel loves it when we clap for her. The past week or so, I've been showing her how by bringing her hands together repeatedly. Today when I went to get her in the morning, I placed her on the change mat to change her diaper and.... YEP! You guessed right! She clapped! It wasn't as fast as furious as you and I can clap. But it was a definite attempt in bringing her hands together and clapping... three claps in fact... no sound yet, but the action's there! What a gal! She's such a fast learner!

A FIRST for the First of August!

Here's the photo of the day... a couple of months back, when she was a dear little 3mth old who couldn't crawl, didn't like to be on her tummy and didn't need Mummy to chase after her. = )

Growing a set of choppers!

Just a little update to let you all know that Baby Bel is in the process of cutting another tooth. This time it's the top right one. It's not been as difficult for her as the first 2 teeth, but this time she has a slight fever. And as usual, lots and lots of drool!

Poor Bunny is feeling the brunt of this with its ears constantly in Baby Bel's mouth.

Go Head!

For a few months now, Baby Bel has been crawling... crawling backwards that is. Finally today, she made a few paces forwards! YAY BABY BEL! Go Head! Not Go Stan (backwards in Malay)!

Needless to say, Grandpa and Grandma were cheering her on and clapping her every step forward, putting all her little toys out of reach so that she could crawl towards them. With a look of determination she would pull her little legs and arms into co-ordinated movements. And each time she reached her toy, she would look up with pride and laugh at all the fuss that was made over her achievement. Way to go Babes!

Here's a photo of her just before her launch. Will load up the video when we get back to Paris.

Learning how to crawl and sit up

Baby Bel has been practising her crawling. She's learning how to steady herself. It's very comical to see her balancing her upper body on her left hand and right leg while she tries to grab something else with her right hand. It seems that she'll be a rightie all right... hee hee. Grandma Iris finds that pose (photo number 4) very sexy haha.

What's new on the menu today Grandpa?

Persimmons

Verdict: These persimmons are grown from my parents' garden. They had a lovely harvest this year. Here, Kong Kong (Grandpa) is letting Baby Bel suck on a slice of the sweet orange coloured fruit. Other times, we mash up the persimmon and add the juice to her morning cereal. When this is on the menu, we can hardly keep up with her. Baby Bel's mouth is often wide open before we can fill her spoon with more! 5/5

A typical day in Melbourne for now...

So what has Baby Bel been doing in Melbourne? We've been trying very hard to help her regulate her sleeping and eating patterns.

Baby Bel at play on the newly vacuumed and washed carpet (care of Grandma and Grandpa). She explores every inch of the living room by crawling backwards and rolling over. She squeals in delight when she discovers the tassels of the carpet and yells in frustration when she can't pull them off.


Tired out, play is followed by a 2-hour nap in her holiday cot.


Baby Bel loves the food that grandma prepared for her. She's finally eating well again. We think that she didn't eat well in Singapore because it was hot, and also because she didn't really like the bottled food. Hip hip hurray and a big big grin for home cooked food!


A quick hello to Daddy when he calls from Paris. She really loves listening to Daddy sing to her. I just love her quizzical look when she stops everything to listen, then stares at the phone in wonder.


Next Baby Bel enjoys a little play session with Grandpa before winding down the day and heading off to bed for the night.


Baby Bel is definitely becoming more rested. However Mummy is still tired as Baby Bel wakes up looking for a drink once or twice a night.

Off to Melbourne!

Thankfully the trip to Melbourne was better. Of the 8 hours, Belle was asleep for 4.5 hours, playful for 2hrs and difficult for 2hrs. And this time, we weren't THAT noisy kid and parent. There was another family for the rest of the plane to stare at. Phew!

Melbourne, I assured Kevin would not be cold for Baby Bel. I'd remembered lovely sunny days in June/ July with the odd chilly day here and there. Hmmm.... As luck would have it, we are in what seems to be the coldest winter Melbourne has experienced since goodness knows when. At least it's a nice change from sweaty Singapore.

It was wonderful to be back home. We also had a lovely suprise while Baby Bel and I were getting ready to have a little morning nap at home. Daddy sent us a big bouquet of red roses! Aren't they beautiful? We love you and miss you lots!!! We can't wait for you to join us here!

Grandma Elizabeth

Grandma Elizabeth loves playing with Baby Bel. She loves to make funny faces to illicit a laugh and smile from Baby Bel and dance around with baby in her arms. We were unable to stay with Grandma this time as she was away in India for work and Baby Bel was a little traumatised with so many strange and new things in Singapore that we decided to just stay put at Great Grandma's. (It was not uncommon to find both Baby Bel and mummy up at 2am in the night just hanging out)

But we made do and Grandma Elizabeth and Baby Bel played almost every day. Here's a happy photo of the two of them. It was the night before we left for Melbourne.


And that's Baby Bel with Aunty Sandra and Cousin Glenda.

Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

Well it could be. Although it might be helpful if Mummy remembered how to spell his name. This is my friend, Madeleine's son. He's got a very unique name and I'm not sure how to spell it. Will check and post it up as soon as I get back to Paris.

Looks as if it's Baby Bel that makes the first move, and he's being coy.


But after a while, he's got his arms around Baby Bel. Wonder what Daddy will have to say about that darling!

Taking charge of her food

I was a little slow in giving her a bottle of milk today. Baby Bel, tired of waiting, leaned over and grabbed the bottle from my hands and promptly fed herself. Yay!!!

She even knew how to tilt the bottle higher as she went along. Double yay!!!