7th Sept, Wednesday we drove down.

Always a welcoming country when you can drive and pay hahaha. I looked forward to this place for the accommodation is always pleasant with dC's brother around. Not only that, E can spend more time with his cousin plus his cousin's toys haha.

The house wasn't really baby proof as it had a lot of stairs and loopholes for E but he was careful and he loved the floors, to the point I dub him 'mopping boy' coz he literally also sticks his tongue to lick the floor lol.



There's just too many things to mention in this trip so let's go step by step, day by day. We settled into the house first, and the surroundings. Next day (Thursday) we took a trip to NEX mall and E had a lot of first times. Manage to get a car trolley when shopping for groceries and he also had a ball playing with the wading pool of his cousins. He was still down with the cold and cough so we were weary of course. All good though, the bug don't last in a warm country.


Dinner was stumbled across a Teochew steamboat (we wanted to go have porridge but walked the wrong way).

Friday we had no plans as E was unwell to meet his friends (one of my gym mentor) so we abruptly went to Vivo city hoping to get into the wet area. Was so hot so we pretty much hung out at a toy shop or around the malls in general as E loves sleeping in the mall (he can literally sleep for 2 hours in the stroller).


Saturday was Elliot's birthday (the reason how we timed our trip here). Poor birthday boy had a few days of long nights so he wasn't himself on the day. Happens haha. As usual I had to watch out for E because he just love lying on the floor. One person commented how they would expect the parents to tell the kid off for doing that. In my mind I wondered why as he is exploring.

He loved bubbles. That was all that matters. And stickers on the wall.

It was off to visit another old friend of mine, whom we met at Kindergarten. He just had a baby boy born too. Poor parents they are having it rough for the first few months more than us. Different bottles, different teats, long hours just to get the little baby to survive and they actually was trying for over a year. His apartment is amazing though but not baby proof yet haha. Baby steps as one would suggest. They wish that they could swap babies with us but we have our worries too.

So good to see him again this time as a dad :)

It was another mall again after to get E to sleep (don't we love malls). This time this mall is called 1 KM (Katong Mall).

Sunday was my favourite day as I got to team teach with a real good buddy of mine in a class I used to teach! It was surreal to meet familiar faces again and of course catch up after for lunch whilst E was sleeping. The fun bit too was that he could run around freely in the busiest MRT on weekdays. So I had not much worries letting him go with decent space.

We also took him out by the river where the pavement was hot. He was just happy running. And then when he needs to he comes back to the stroller as a security. We then walk to areas where we could cool him off before hitting the Air conditioning spaces. Singapore is really suited for kids to be honest. Cleaner, and there are convenient ways to taper them to change in some ways.

On Monday (Hari Raya Haji) I got E and myself to go meet some girl friends of mine. We got dropped off at my favourite place Maple Tree Business Park since we are early and so he was walking with me and the stroller for over half an hour. He's really good, holds on to me tightly whilst we walk to the side of the road where traffics go past. He was drawn to the bus with the loud noise and I had to use some screen time when he ate.

Off again to 1KM to meet with more friends. He was really obsessed with the arcade areas as I let him loose after his nap and so I quickly had to find distractions. Very interesting nature he has.

Tuesday was the eve before I head back and the family spontaneously decided to go to Marina Sands. There was dinner plans with a family friend out West but didn't happen so re-arranged dinner whilst I go teach my other favourite usual class with my all time Mentor. Gosh, you can never learn enough from him. So many tips and cues I could use for my class. It was a messy class though as my phone decided to die on me but I think I manage to grab the class's attention.

Juliet was bawling her eyes out when we left, it was heart warming I teared. But it was time to head back indeed and loving car rides Ezra slept most of his trip back.

Malaysia had no itinerary in particular as I didn't really have many friends I know off and I honestly haven't lived here since I was 16. The friends I am close with are all single and I usually hang out with dC's friends more when I come back.

Even with relatives it takes my mom to organise things. So hopefully something happens when they come back here whilst part of my whanau is here. Coming back on a public holiday we tend to avoid the malls by either staying at home or going somewhere the crowd don't haha. It was off to dad's place first to check up on the status, grab bills and send it to him and then the impromptu meet up with our oldest friends whom I will probably meet more when I am around or whilst they are still around too.

 


It was a lot of new things for little E, from pure marble floor to parquet stairs to shirt and shorts plus air con so it was an excitement itself observing him and his physic. He had a bad cold that left him sniffing and coughing. But no fever and he has a huge shift in food appetite whereby he wants to feed himself these days. Initially there were a lot of coaxing with the screen, slowly weaning off as he opens up to different food almost every single time. He has started to notice what he eats and will willingly try initially. Also he has been teething too as he chews on his car wheels a whole lot. He has probably lost weight (he was 12.5kg before we flew off just coz we weighed him on the check in luggage weighing scale haha) so we really don't care what food he eats as long as he eats it. Bread was a good alternative, so we're crackers and rice puffs. I keep feeling a little less guilty with the screen time when a good friend told me that they do learn very quickly through those.

He was really fussy at one stage so the dad dump him on a tricycle outdoors to distract him. It
worked.

There were 2 week days this week where everyone went back to work so we took the chance to bring E and cousins to Atria on Friday after finding out that there was a jungle gym. We tried our luck at the Curve on Thursday but found nothing suitable for E's age but went along walking around the mall as he was often lay attracted to things.




Weekend was at One Utama Mall, as we were shopping for sandals and maybe decent shoes for him. And so we stumbled across a new an amazing toy shop called Hamleys. Ended up buying a toy set for his birthday but we wanted it ourselves because we didn't have the chance to have one when we were younger haha.


As he was at the malls, often he prefers not to be held so I had to cunningly maneuver him at times. He is at this stage of semi independence, where he wants to be left alone to explore. So more time and effort was needed to follow him as he will shortly come after either my hand or the stroller haha. It was really fun to see what he sees and it's amazing that he recognises things like letters and numbers so I pretty much try to explain what they mean. Also, the new thing was that when we carry him and he has enough, he would hug us tightly. Sometimes preferring this way to sleep after a fun day at the malls. There also different types of pronunciation coming from him too and I can detect some things he can say so perhaps one or two words has formed. He is still the usual not giving eye contact unless he is tired or wanting his milk and he still gets overly excited when we give him screen time..he does love his books still so we bought one with wheels on it, that now looks 5 years old after being bought a day later. Yeah he still bites things.

I have a feeling he bites his toys to own them or acknowledged that it belongs to him...

We were at our apartment trying to sort things when The staff was at lunch and the office was by the pool. Oh yes, like moth lured to the light.this little fella walked towards the pool without knowing what revolved around him. The weather was semi hot and he was semi better so off he went with the dad fors half an hour. It was a good idea showering outside by the pool area too as we had to distract him haha. And I could dry him up quickly under the sun.

I find that it really feels much easier bringing up the kid here in this country, Just coz i was brought up here so things feel natural and convenient. Whereas New Zealand is a whole new lifestyle so I do hope I can manage. Maybe it's also coz I am working too so time can be limited in one way.

Well, we were here with a plus one just that he was in my tummy haha. We were here for 4 days (26th - 30th Aug) this round and with friends and family too.


It was one of the long flights again and little E did sleep for 4 hours before he got woken up by the dry air and confined small bassinet he was in. I think he would have slept better on the floor but it was a little dangerous. So it was a long flight for us, as we had to coax him in many ways, screen time if need be. He was indeed tired and he does want his sleep which it was what he got the moment we got off and place him on ground in a stroller.

Our flight to Bangkok was a little easier when he was asleep...we get to at least eat.

Moment we touch down it was a mixture of HOT and cold for the poor boy. We were ok adjusting into the nice Hotel called Somerset as it was family friendly with a pool and a decent indoor playground. It wasn't far from the malls too but the journey to the malls was rather harsh for Ezra. And I think he caught a cold and cough which was with him through the whole Asia trip or the time I left him with his dad.



Anyways, Bangkok was cheap so we had double dose of massage, dC had 3, I had a spa pedicure and we had unlimited cheap food. We made our journey to another spacious mall ever opposite Empire and also journey our way to the Platinum mall where people buy bulk clothes. Along the way we stumbled across an open market too where the boys went crazy with the Thai snacks like coconut ice cream and fried chicken skin.

The trip was also with friends, where we gathered at the same restaurant famous for its roast chicken and a quaint cafe where all the taxi drivers got lost lol. Not one of them knew the place and we were the first to arrive through dC's amazing judgement of observing the picture and painting it to the building. Off we went for coffee and ice cream at another impressive building done up quite ergonomically efficient in energy and yet outstanding in the architectural feature.




Flying home was tricky as little boy was awake this time so it was screen time (no choice). It was an evening flight so it was night time when we got home. Off to bed as quickly as we can for little one to get better.

Onwards to our Malaysia trip

It was a nice get away over the weekend. My sis was posted down there for just two weeks to manage the studio whilst her study mate take leave. Better than nothing, as well as house sit the place hehe. It was really nice of them to allow us to stay over too, and it was timely because she wanted to share with us the gender of the baby.

 Little E was super happy with car rides, specially long ones and he had no issue at all being in the car, standing, watching with his happy cues and chants. And the house was relatively empty (not so much baby proof but dog proof at least) and we arrived just before dinnertime on Fri evening (thank goodness as I was anxious with the school holidays). Simple meal with D taking away fish and chips (so cheap, $11 for 2 fish, 5 nuggets, 2 crab sticks and lots of fries) I had my sister’s salmon.

 Our family soon came down and we were all in the house. E was having fun exploring (tiring for us as we had to step by step put stuff away so that it’s relatively safe) and entertaining us.

Saturday was off to visit a friend of ours where their little girl was just 3 months shy from us. It was just fun catching up with them as they have a house in Tauranga which is opposite one of the better playgrounds I’ve seen (it caters from toddlers as young as they can start walking to perhaps kids nearing 10), and it had mini train tracks for kids to ride (4 trains!). We had a short walk outside as the weather was a tad windy. Headed to see where my sister was working to go meet with the family before heading back home to settle again. We decided to have dinner at home, it was cheap and satisfying and my sis broke the news with a black forest cake (Yuummm).

So we have been back home for almost a year now and we did have a few 'travels' in our making with little bubs. I've actually written these in one of my hidden blogs. Re- reading back to my travels in Europe, it inspired me to write again.

I guess I am a little conscious on the pictures I post, just coz of people plagarizing them lately....as well as I don't really wana show bub's face too much either. So my pictures my hide most of him whilst I'm happy posting myself.

Here are the one-off pictures in the last year of the travels we have done out of Auckland.

Hmm, I had this post in draft and it looks half completed so I think I better just post it up lol.

So that I revive this blog hahahaha, yes I like to change things around heh. He had his first road trip back to Malaysia but that period is sooooooooo long over the Chinese New Year and I don't think I have the time to update...

This one's relatively short and it's still fresh off the top of my mind. He's about to be 4 months soon.

Hokai, let's make it short and simple

Thursday, 30th April
And we lift off! Well not yet. I took the entire day off so that we can do last minute packing, for as however much as we can remember sleep deprived. I must say we are rather light with two half empty suitcases and his nappy bag. It's all for the breastfeeding really. No need for bottles and I choose not to bring my pump this round. The airport trip from one end to the other was rather long but little one was ok in the cab, costed about $30 odd dollars though.

We flew Malaysian airlines as it was on a cheap deal (SGD200 for all of us return) and we thought we had meals on the plane, so didn't eat much, had tofu cheese stick which was surprisingly yummy. But we didn't have any meals lol. We were nervous of course as our little one may get uncomfortable with pressure in his ears. Gladly, the timing was right he was hungry so he latched and we had a fairly smooth trip down (besides him whining before the flight asking us to change his diaper since he pooped).

Touching down, grabbed an expensive cab home (RM100!!) but she was fast. We went out to One Utama shopping mall with poh poh and had late lunch at Penang restaurant and dinner at Yong Tau Fu restaurant (RM54 total bill). First day done. But my throat was acting up so bad I could barely swallow.


Friday, 1st May
Besides getting pinched and punched on facebook, we took an easy walk to Centrepoint for E's first swim! Spontaneous decision and since it's down the road, why not. Initially he didn't like the float around his neck but the moment he was in the water, he was amazingly active! He was also making alot of cooing noise too. Apparently early year babies like water. It was so fun to watch him get excited. We bumped into a friend who had a baby born similar time as us (2 days late) and he fell asleep in the water haha! Talk about total opposite. Half an hour of fun done and it was off to eat.

Paparich was ok, drinks were nice but I stuck to honey lemon tea. Had some chicken chop with fried rice meal but dC had a nicer dish. We didn't do much during the day except that I rushed to get my hair done after latching. The two of them were sound asleep.

It was dinner at Pantai Seafood with dad, who conveniently invited more people to the table than the numbers I booked. Ended up HUGE table with LOTS of people. Saw Tze Yeng's little boys at last and they were so sweet to give E a book. We ate merrily, thanking dad for dinner.


Saturday, 2nd May
Didn't do much in the morning as dC went out for a tea ceremony. Was waiting patiently for him to get back while I snacked on honey drink and 'Heong Peng'. Suprisingly didn't feel hungry at all. It was off to One Utama again meeting up with dC's friend and his kid. She was expecting another one too so it was interesting to understand what she feels with another one along the way. These days we parents really equip ourselves so much with knowledge, so much so that we can easily fall into traps if we don't stay above the waters.

Poh poh was observing interestingly that she told back in the days, there were no shopping malls and kids were at home most times. No such thing as bringing them to baths, kiddies gyms etc. Their backyard was their playground as well as their siblings.

We had lunch at Sheng Kee Restaurant (the one in Singapore is miles better and cheaper) and hung out at a coffee place called Infusion (RM50 for drinks, sooooooo expensive!) I had a carrot cake and earl grey tea. It didn't take long for us to head back and prep for the wedding at night where we are of course nervous. Little E was frantically crying after dinner the night before and he had trouble falling asleep in touch noisy environment. Along we went to the dinner and he suprisingly cope well throughout. He managed to fall asleep too. My tastebuds died, sigh so I couldn't taste any good food at all. Suxxxxxxxx.


Sunday, 3rd May
Heading back and my tastebuds came back boooooooooo. We had subway for brunch and fruits plus yoghurt before packing up and headed to the airport at lunchtime. Bumped into a friend of ours and had lousy lunch with good company at Old Town Coffee. Gosh, the food is getting worse, drinks too. They better get their acts together before it gets taken over by others.

Little E didn't cope well in this flight this round. He fed and fell asleep a little too soon before the pressure came into his ears. We tried to get him to pacify but he just started crying. I feel sorry for the other people on the plane. Thankfully his cries are somewhat soft as it was just a moan rather than pain. Yes, there are a few levels of cries these days. And they come at random order too. We got home real quick coz we could go through the taxi priority lane once more (yippeee). Little E was calm in the cab and of course back to his bed (or rather us more relief to take him off our bodies lol).

Yes yes, I wana kick start this blog going. I know I have made a few recent trips to the same countries but don't really wana bore as the experiences are similar. What I am gutted about though is that all my picture albums have been removed from a previous website :(

I will start off by a post from Singapore! Land I live currently on does have it's own traveling experiences ;)

So watch this space...