Charis & Charisma

Was at a wedding last week and saw some of my old time friends.

Friend: Hey tracy! Long time no see! This is your daughter? What's her name?
Me: She's Charis.
Friend: Oh how do you spell that?
Me: Charis as in Charisma.
Friend: I see ..she is Charis ..then you must be Charisma (Charis妈)!!

LOL!!! ~~~

Happy First Birthday to Charis!!

We ordered our favorite fruit cake cos we'll eat it on baby's behalf :)

We gave her only the strawberry

Looks like daddy? Looks better than daddy? ^_^

婆婆 says let baby eat drumstick on 1st birthday

symbolizes she will eat many foods in future!!

Hubby and i woke up this morning with a gasp: she's ONE today!

We were filled with nostalgia (as if we had been parents for decades ^_^) as we recounted her growth: how she blew bubbles with her saliva when the nurse laid her on my chest soon after she popped; how she cried the whole night when she was four days old and hubby and i felt like there were 72 hours of night-time; how she cried the whole day when she turned one month that we rushed her to KK past midnight, only that she stopped the din once we walked past the front door and slept peacefully to the doctor and back.

When she was three months old she could only sleep when she laid chest down on our chest and hubby and i took turns to sleep sitting up. The pandas never left our house until the forth month, when we had a fierce battle introducing the bottle. We also fed her the first cereal where I acted like a clown while my maid pushed in what also came out. The biggest consolation was she could clap very well at five months which made us real proud wherever we brought her. At six months she couldn't take formula, didn't drink much breastmilk, pooed up to five times a day and growth was on the decline. Between seven to eigth months she was badly sick for three times by which then i weaned her off and put her on soy.

The ninth month was the turning point: she suddenly could sit up real well, started crawling, pulled herself up to a stand, cruised around, finish all her milk, love her solids, and wave goodbye. Some people say kids "turn around" after a bad illness, and it seems to be true!

Today, she is still smallie in build, but definitely more sturdy and looks healthier compared to previous months. She does her flying kiss, twinkle twinkle little star, asks you to come, waves her hands frantically when she hears music, loves playing peekaboo, lifts her left leg when you wear her left shoe and vice versa, throws everything and anything, looks innocently at you while continuing to do what you said "NO".

We thank the Lord for such a blessed year. As a matter of fact, today looks more like a milestone for me than for her :P Hubby and i enjoyed her very much and as we give thanks, we also ask the Lord for more wisdom and strength as we continue to raise her in the fear and instruction of God.

Happy 1st birthday baby Charis. Daddy and mummy loves you!! ~~

This is MINE! MINE! MINE!!! ~~~~

I Love Biscuit

Peekaboo Fun

Photo Taking Practice

Baby in pink (again) ~

I so love this hello kitty hair clip with the astrociously big ribbon!





I don't think Charis has a winning chance at the baby crawl contest ...

Another saturday, YAY!! :) We always take this opportunity to take some photos, and this time it's practice time for my maid. Since the last time she took photos at the pool, i decided i need to give her more training and practice on photo and video taking ^_^

Not bad, i think she's improving. At least our heads are not chopped off or something! hehe ~

The First Dip

Cutie swim suit given by my sister-in-law

Humf, i'm all ready to conquer the pool!

Mommy, do i really have to go into the water?

Eh, how come my feet cannot touch the ground?!

Arrrrghhhhh save me! ~~~

Thank God for the lovely weather last sunday as we brought wawa for her maiden swim. We borrowed the neck float from Auntie April and was all eager to try it and see how baby would react to it. She loves her bathing time and would always protest when we lift her out of her tub, so we think she would definitely enjoy the swim!

Initially there was a great sense of novelty as we put on the neck float, and baby started to fiddle with this new thingy. Hehe good start :) Next we splashed some water on her body to prepare her for the actual swim. Still smiling away, good :) But after she was submerged into the water, she held on VERY tightly to the float. She looked like she was trying to make sense of what is actually happening!

Shortly, she became very frightened and started to scream! She tugged ferociously at my swimsuit and her legs wound around me like a koala bear. I tried to pacify her by splashing the water around, but she just clung ever so tightly like a piece of velcro.

So the rest of the time was spent carrying her around in the water. You won't really call that swimming haha. Maybe more like a duck ferrying a timid mouse. I guess i started my baby too late. At this time, she already has the concept of fear, she feels insecure being in a foreign environment, and when buoyancy kicks in she must have felt really weird that her body is uncontrollable!

Overall it was a very good learning experience. I hope to bring baby to the pool more frequently so that she can finally really conquer the waters. Mommy frens, some advice i received was that you can start bringing baby to swim after 6 months. Try to start early, to avoid a frightened baby!