Gabster has a new car! And she's in love with it!

Calvin's colleague John was spring cleaning and clearing out some of his son's toys. Lennon's a big boy now and he probably prefers real cars... haha. Thank you John!

When we collected the car from John's place this afternoon, Gabby already had her eyes fixed on it. She kept pointing to it. When we got home, we put her in and walked her around the house. She was so excited!!!

When Corinna brought Nigel over in the evening, Gabby sat in her car while Nigel played with the Around We Go Activity Station. We decided to swop them around after a while. Guess what? My usually generous daughter didn't quite like the sight of Nigel being in her va va vroom! She screamed as she watched Nigel go around the house in her car. She has never screamed when her toys are being shared. Haha...

Gabby fell ill for the 2nd time in 2 weeks! We decided to start Gabby on formula milk a month ago (26 Oct to be exact). I figured I need to get her used to the taste soon before I slow down my milk supply. Started her off with NAN HA, I'm a Nestle believer.. because they're my clients! hahaha.. but seriously, I believe they have quality products because a lot of research have gone into product development.

Anyhow, Gabby refused to take FM initially. The teachers in school had to trick her, coax her, etc. In the end, they had to slowly introduce FM to my daughter... 10ml by 10ml increase by the day. But she really doesn't like FM. One fine day at home, I decided to taste NAN HA myself... and I HATE IT! It tastes really bitter! No wonder my food lover daughter doesn't like it.

So, we decided to give Similac a try. We heard that it is sweeter... She seemed to take it better than NAN HA. So maybe it's really the taste of the milk powder.

After introducing Similac for a few days, my darling girl developed fever. And then a week later, she started coughing and sneezing and developed fever again! I began to think if there's any truth when people say that Similac is more "heaty" than other brands.

Now, I don't what to do to get her to drink FM, or any other fluid like water. God, help me...

Gabby coughing....:(

Gabby's not well, but still cheeky! haha

We had to pass by a "health check" station at the entrance of the school where the childcare teachers check every student from the childcare section for HFMD symptoms. Infant care "students" can go straight to the infant care room where temperature would be taken. And everyday, we had to stop by the health check station for the teachers to play with Gabby. They don't do this with other babies. And these childcare teachers would go into the infant care room to play with Gabby in the middle of the day. They love my baby! And I'm happy to have so many people in school loving her! At such a young age, God has blessed her with abundance of favour! Thank You God!

Gabby enjoying her throne: Fatboy

Gabby having a fun time with her Daddy at the airport when he came back from HK.

Our little girl loves to play with her Gong Gong. Eversince my dad stopped working in early Oct, he has been a lot more involved with Gabby. He can handle Gabby quite well now and Gabby loves him! She can sit at the playmat for a long time with Gong Gong. She will flash her million dollar smile at Gong Gong to greet him Good Morning! She will wave bye bye to Gong Gong when we reached school in the morning.

Gabby selecting TV channels for Gong Gong to watch.
This little girl will automatically turns to look at the TV, waiting for images to appear whenever she gets her hands onto the remote control. Thanks to my mom who always carries her on her lap while she checks her 4-D and Toto... haha

Gabby enjoying her stroll around her toy with Gong Gong.
My dad started letting Gabby hold his fingers while he walked her around the toy. Eversince then, she loved to do that with him and him only. She refused to hold any one of us for this activity. My dad is the assigned person for it. Very funny!

Our little girl loves bath time! It's so fun to bathe her now and it's so much easier now compared to her first few months. But it's also challenging in other ways. She loves to splash the water in the tub. She loves to snatch the hanky from you and then she'll suck the water from the hanky... yes, soapy water! haha.. She loves to play with dragonfly, the beetlebug, the flower and the lotus leave on the tub. She loves to stand up and look over my shoulder if my dad happens to be watching TV in his room.

We're loving every moment we spend with her - our 10 months old gem!

We never thought of renting toys when we first had Gabby. I always thought that renting toys would be "bo hua" cos it costs about $50 to rent an item for 1 month. Renting the toy for 3-4 months would already add up to the actual cost of that toy. Plus I always prefer to own than to loan. But when Corinna rented a rocking buggy for Nigel and he didn't like it, I knew why people would rent instead of buy. You never really knew if your kid would like the toy that you like. Imagine spending $200 on a toy, lug the bugger home, only to have your precious baby reject it.

So I decided to go to this website that Corinna highly recommended to check it out. They have a very extensive list of toys to choose from: jumperoos, slides, swings, playhouses, etc. I liked this Around We Go Activity Station the minute I saw it. And it's available for rental. This is it. I rented it and it was delivered within a couple of days, cleaned and disinfected.

This morning, as Calvin was recovering from his late night work, I put Gabby into it. She was exploring with her eyes initially... and then her hands stretched out to explore every part of it. She slowly discovered that she can move around the toy! So inch by inch, she went around... She was having fun! Glad she liked it. I actually contemplated buying it over. But of course, Gabby's Daddy stopped me! wahaha...

That's why it's a beautiful day...
That's why I'm so happy!

That's what my precious daughter gave me this afternoon! She woke up from her afternoon nap and I just happened to feel like peeing at that moment. I chatted with her for a while on the bed, carried her around a bit and then put her in her "poo-poo" chair, buckled her up while I went ahead to do my business. She was good, no noise while I was at it. So I decided to wash some dishes... but within seconds, I heard her fussing and I heard her pacifier drop. I was still contemplating if I should just leave her to fuss for a while. Thank God I decided not to.

I walked out to the living room and this is what I saw!!!

My 9.5 month old girl got out of her rocker and stood by the sofa next to it! I buckled her before I left her! I don't know how she did it! She didn't fall, she didn't knock onto anything... she just stood there, fussing and waiting for me to appear!

I ran over and carried her and hugged her! Thank God she wasn't hurt. I really have no idea how she managed to do this. Gosh... there's no where else I can leave her if I have to have her out of my sight!

The teachers in school will jot down my daily activities in this journal so that Daddy and Mommy know what and how I've been doing in school.

There's a section on my feeding, another on my poo-poo and wee-wee, and another on my napping. This section on activities I took part, is Daddy and Mommy's favourite section. They love to read about what I did in school and I love to share that with them. Because I wish they were there with me as I explore and explore...

Kids really pick things up very very fast! They absorb concepts like a sponge! I remember months back, I was playing with Gabby and making her laugh by making the "boo boo" sounds with my lips. The next day, she did that to me! And I was so surprised she could do that!

* * *

Sometime in late September, I started playing "Hi-5" with her. I did it repeated to her one morning just before I brought her to school. Shortly after, when I raised my hands before her and said "Hi-5", she actually responded!

The weekend before I went to KL, Gabby "accidentally" managed to sit up on her own while she was playing on the mat. And when I got back from KL the next weekend, Calvin told me that Gabby can "officially" sit up on her own while I was away...

Time really flies!

I knocked off at 6.30pm today and went straight home with dinner for my parents. When I got to the door, I heard my dad telling Gabby that Mommy's home. Then I was greeted by Gabby in my dad's arms... When she saw Mommy, she screamed with joy. As I walked towards them, my baby lunged herself forward towards me, screaming for me to carry her. She literally lunged forward precariously, as if nothing else matters other than getting into my arms! And when I carried her, she rested her head on my shoulders with her hands grabbing tightly to my shirt. No way is she letting go of her Mommy... and of course, the Mommy felt GOOD!! (^__^)

Gabby, Mommy loves you so much! More than you can imagine...

Daddy, this is the 3rd Sunday in a row that you're at work. I miss you, and I know Mommy misses you too. Mommy got some of her friends over to spend the Sunday with us. We've got Auntie Teri, Auntie Ying and Auntie Joanne with us.

Auntie Ying was busy taking photos of us and Mommy actually forgot to take photos of them with me. Mommy, shall we invite them over again? I had fun with them!

My school gave me this doll in school uniform for Children's Day. Mommy kept wanting to take a photo of us together. But I still don't know how to appreciate this doll. Maybe when I grow older ok Mommy?

Auntie Teri put me into the Fatboy after lunch. It's my first time in it, and I'm lovin' it! So comfortable... Mom, how come you've never put me in it before?

So shiok! I feel like I'm sitting in my throne! :p

I crawled around the living room a lot today. Mommy and the aunties are worried that my knees will hurt. Don't worry ladies. I'm fine and I love to crawl around.

Mommy has always been very concerned about my oral health. She bought this toothpaste and toothbrush for me some time ago and she finally tried them on me. The toothpaste tastes yummy! I used to hate it when Mommy and Daddy tried to clean my tongue and my gums with the hanky during bath time. But this, I like!

Daddy, that's how I spent today while you were away. Can't wait for you to come home and play with me. God keep you safe and bless you, Daddy!