I witnessed a sweet scene today that totally melted my heart.

I was taking a short break in the lounge after my yoga class when a young, doting father decked smartly in shirt and tie came to the studio with his mate. He came by to relieve his wife of their three-month-old babe so she could go for her hour-long class and he could spend some time with the baby.

While they were doing the necessary handover of milk bottles and the like, he pulled silly faces at his very adorable and also very bald son making him squeal out loud.

Husband and wife kisses goodbye. Then Daddy scoops the gurgling kid and strapps him on while his guy friend offers to push the pram. They had a bit of a laugh while waiting for the lift as his mate exclaimed quite audibly how gay they both must look with the baby (plus the diaper bag and pram) in tow.

Watching the whole scene unfold, I chuckled softly to myself from afar.

Then I wondered to myself why it seemed like such a heartening yet strangely unusual sight seeing a father taking care of his infant child in the chaos of the Raffles Place office crowd. Shouldn't it be the most natural thing in the world to do, caring for your own child?

I shared this with the husband and he said he'll be more than happy to take the baby off my hands when I need some downtime to myself. Ha, we'll see about that when the time comes but one thing is for sure: we certainly could do with more hands-on fathers taking on their parenting roles actively and willingly :)

I went to D&J's wedding dinner at the Four Seasons last weekend.

It's been a real treat being able to share in their journey all these years, even from afar, and reading all about their wedding prep exploits leading up to their big day.

The couple kept the celebrations simple and elegant, weaving little quirks of their own here and there. Loved their very grunge pre-wedding photoshoot in sneakers in the dusty outskirts of Melbie - I wanna see more, D!

I enjoyed the stirring, heartfelt speeches from the fathers of the couple. It was really nice meeting her sis in person too (hi, R!) and the precocious Little Madamoiselle J who greeted me ever so primly.

Ah, a wonderful celebration in all. It was well-worth squeezing into the last of my stretchy tent-like dresses that can still fit me and teetering on killer heels for that few hours (eh, I'm too vain to go in flats la, so sue me) :)

Didn't get a pic with the couple on our cams so will wait for the official ones - I thought Alwin did a mighty fine job of the day pics!

Congrats to the newlyweds - Wishing you every happiness in your lives together!

*Photo of couple nicked from Facebook

Just when I thought my belly cannot possibly stretch any further, it seems like the babe has had a growth spurt of sorts in recent weeks.

My belly is huge and still growing from the looks of it. I forget how big I am and have been mindlessly walking into people and things and getting stuck in between lift doors. Oww. I wake up every two hours at night, thanks to my pea-sized bladder, my lower back aches from the extra weight I have been hauling around and I just realised my wedding band is well and truly STUCK on my clown-sized ring finger.

But what makes my gripes seem insignificant is how for the first time ever, the babe actually feels like a real little person inside me, all bony limbs, smooth rounded back, pokey knees and elbows.

For someone weighs a mere 2kg, he is awfully strong, resulting in my belly taking on the weirdest and most wondrous shapes through the day. It is a little disconcerting to feel small digits scraping my insides or see a big lump magically appear - sometimes quite violently - on my belly, usually on my upper right side. I imagine it must be getting awfully squashy in there!

I feel a lot closer and connected to the babe now, more than I have ever been. I may not be able to differentiate his head from his buttocks yet but as his mama, I know he is soothed by car rides, I know he responds to our voices but freaks out from sudden, loud noises (his papa is still deeply apologetic for subjecting us to the deafening Transformers movie), he gets quite a few bouts of hiccups every day and oh, how he makes me laugh when he does his rib-tickling (literally) jabs and manoevres.

The husband and I involve the babe in most of our conversations now - we talk about places we will go for walks together, debate about the schools he will attend, ponder about the types of parents we want to be and daydream endlessly about the three of us spending lazy weekends burrowed in bed.

It made me realise that things have already changed in our two-person universe, whether we care to admit it or not.

Quite surreptitiously, the babe has made us a family :)

My anniversary present to the husband was a surprise weekend stay at the very same place where we exchanged our vows a year ago.

Last year this time, we were all slightly hungover and wedding-ed out with family and friends to say goodbye to and a plane to Italy to catch the very next day that we hardly got to enjoy the hotel stay and its lovely surrounds.



So I thought it'd be nice to revisit the place again, relive the madness for a bit and just relax and enjoy the weekend. I packed our bags on the sly and come morning, I yelled 'Surprise, we are going to Sentosa!', giving the husband no time to react and we were off!

It felt so wonderful to drop everything and just get away - we didn't have anything definite planned and spent the weekend flopped around in nothing but swimmers and beach slippers nary a care in the world, snooping around the ballroom to spy on the wedding proceedings of someone else's big day, lolling around the deliciously cool, shady pool where I was very intent on creating menacing tsunamis with my elephant seal dives (hur hur!), falling asleep in the warmth of the afternoon sun and then coming back to our decidedly quite pathetic bubble-less bath and napping some more in between lush yummy sheets.

We also had a wonderful seafood dinner at Barnacles where we caught a spectacular purple-orange sunset by the sea. There were quite a few weddings going on in the island and they were playing all these dreamy, timeless jazzy tunes - ah, they put me in such a sappy mood that night!

A very lovely weekend indeed.

This one year sure has flown by. Sure it hasn't been smooth-sailing all the way - I knew it would be anything but - but at the end of the day, our union actually feels like the most natural thing in the world. It is his crumpled pillow-creased face I look for in the mornings, it is his counsel that matters most to me, it is his company that I crave and feel most comfortable in and going forth, it is him I want to share the parenting journey with.

I feel like I got really lucky somehow and I think that's when I know, hell yeah, we have something really going on together :)

Life is way more uber since I met you :)

Many years ago, I stumbled across Wild Child, a thorougly charming nursery boutique along Club Street.

It never seemed to be open when I was in the area but that never stopped me from peering into the dimly-lit treasure trove of a shop and 'ooh' and 'aah' at the beautifully decorated canopied cribs and personalised wall art that filled up its nooks and crannies.

So I vowed I would return one fine day to check it out properly when I have a bub of my own. And I did!



It is even all the more charming when you are inside the shop. A magical wonderland of sorts, the shop brims chock-full of the most exquisite nursery accessories.

You may not be able to afford their big-ticket items like their ornate vintage cribs or the enviably chi-chi vinyl prams but they do carry an impressive range of smaller, more affordable baby and toddler products as well. I love their storybook-turned-wall posters, nursery-rhyme themed clocks, whimsical wooden rocking horses and toys, Mary Jane rainboots, the handpainted wooden plaques on their walls... sigh, I could go on forever.

There's really no other shop quite like it in Singapore - I'm surprised I hadn't heard or read about the shop before!

Truly a wonderful place to pick out gifts or even to have a lookaround for some delightful nursery inspiration, like what I did :)

Wild Child
94 Club Street
Singapore
Tel: +65 62273163
(Opening hours: Mon-Sat, 11am to 5pm)

So our doctor's appointment last weekend whizzed by without much of a hitch. Baby's heartrate is normal and he is growing well, a good size, about 1.8kg at 32 weeks.

Dr L was a little concerned with the baby's position - he has somehow managed to right himself up into an upright breech stance again which, for the uninitiated, just means it is not the most favourable birthing position because there could be a higher risk of complications during the birth itself.

Apparently, about 15 percent of babies still remain in breech by week 32 but the number ideally should go down to 3-4 percent by 37 weeks.

In any case, we will evaluate our options again two weeks later.

In the meantime however, I've been doing some research on simple tilting exercises I can easily do at home to try to coax the baby to move head-down. They are a bit boring because one is supposed to do them thrice a day for twenty minutes each time but at this point, I'm ready to try anything to avoid the c-section route.

Another very interesting suggestion that I just read was to have my partner 'talk towards my pubic bone so the baby would try to move towards the source of the voice'. Who knew we've been doing it all wrong all this while!

HOHO, how very suspect, and kinky ;)

This is not quite a posthumous tribute to Michael Jackson, nor a parody of the revered leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime but rather, our standard gear for our doctor's appointments at the hospital these days.

I think I've been quite fortunate in that I haven't fallen sick throughout the entire pregnancy but with the H1N1 pandemonium that looks like it's set to stay in our small island state for a bit, I'm not to about to start taking any chances now.

Germs, stay far farrrrr away!

The masks are a mite uncomfortable to wear but methinks it's a small price to pay for keeping the bub safe and snug as a bug.

*Please pardon the pillow hair in the pic above ;)

I'm a little late but nonetheless, I'm so happy that Leanne Marshall WON Project Runway (Season 5). And what a win it was!





Her final collection was beautifully orchestrated and her looks possessed this quiet air of effortless sophistication about them. The architectural elements, the origami-like folds and pleats in her garments, superb editing eye and cool colour paletes reminded me a lot of Rami Kashou from the previous season (possibly my favourite Runway designer of all) and yet, you just know she was very much her own person with her own signature style.

She's amazingly down-to-earth and humble about her talent too – check out her website here, her pre-Runway Etsy store (it's nice to know her humble beginnings) and hey she blogs too!

This girl will be going places for sure.

Ah, the end of yet another great season - who can forget all that bitchy eye-rolling Kenley drama?!

Till next time, Auf Weiderseihen. Muak-muaks.

It's Foops' birthday today and last night, he had drinks with some friends.

Not very keen to have him tired and hungover on his birthday, I sent him a teaser message asking him to come home before midnight for some warm birthday snuggles. Else he'd turn into a bumpkin (short for birthday pumpkin), I mock-threatened.

I didn't really think he would, knowing his friends had gotten champagne and wanted to celebrate with him.

Geez, I don't think I give him enough credit sometimes because guess what, he really did keep his word - he had his champagne and waltzed out on his protesting party animal friends telling them he had to get back to his wifey, sped home in a cab and made it home minutes before the clock struck twelve...

Only to find I was all tucked up in bed and fast asleep. Zzz.

I stirred a little when he came to bed and all the same, he cuddled baby and I at the stroke of midnight and wished himself a happy birthday :)

Looking forward to a relaxing dinner and spending some time together tonight! Friday's here...

This is super creative and cool. It took 3 months of planning, 4 days of shooting and more than 6000 post-it notes. See how they did it here.

Met up with Monkey Club pals A and Sups for dinner the other night. We had a wonderful time catching up, amidst chowing down delicious big bowls of soba and shared a platter of yummy Japanese desserts.

The night made me think about how much we've grown and changed over the years. There we were talking about our jobs, hitting the big three-o, far-flung holiday destinations and baby names... yikes, where did the time go?!

Yet truth be told, I think it is nice to know that as far as we've all come, we will always share a certain awkward, geeky past that we can all look back on and laugh about :)



A also carted back a big bag of goodies from the States with something for every member of our little family: KS diaper bag for me, a snazzy digicam for Foops and Jellybean got these super cute graffiti-print Converse All-Stars hi-cuts and what I call a 'real boy outfit' (as opposed to baby rompers that he now has quite a lot of). Woo!

I had a great time, even though I was yawning away - sorry, I'm really quite a lost cause for late nights now!

Thanks so much, babes :)

After lunch, I usually drop by this particular stall near my workplace to get some fruit juice.

The guy who runs it is this super jolly fella but oddly enough, his wife wears a perpetual black scowl on her face like the whole world has wronged her. He never says very much when she is there but rain or shine, he always has a ready smile for everyone who comes to his stall.

Today though, she wasn't around when I got there and as soon as the husband caught sight of me approaching the stall, he perked up immediately and eagerly offered to make me something off the usual 'menu'. He called it his 'special' fruit juice.

Hen hao he (it is very good), he assured me. He seemed so enthusiastic about it I didn't stop him.

He tossed in slices of avocado, banana and honeydew into the blender, whistling cheerily as he whirred the mixture up. Then when he realised it wouldn't all fit into one cup, he poured the blended juice into two cups (the usual and one smaller-sized one) and handed them both to me.

I took a sip, said my thanks and gave him a thumbs up before going on my merry way.

As I turned the corner, he called out, Have you tried fruit yogurt before? Okay tomorrow, I make you some. Hen hao he, p-lomise!

:)

Edited next day to add: The juice made me so FULL (it was chockful of avocado and banana) I didn't have space for dinner! Nice uncle offered to make me yet another of his 'specials' again today but I just smiled and said: No thanks, just sugarcane juice for me today!

I've been a little slow in documenting all the wonderful, thoughtful presents Jellybean (and mummy) has receiving from friends all over but here are some of them:




1. A Herbaviva Mommy Pack, from fellow scent-loving girlfriend Prez, packed with yummy lavender+sandalwood stretch mark oils, milk bath salts and massage oils. Mmmm, I like.

2. A beautiful Peter Rabbit Baby Book (and a cute towel set that's not pictured), from Auntie V and sweet Noey (who has the funniest lion roar I have ever heard).

Gorgeous illustrations of Peter Rabbit and his cotton-tailed friends - I really should go unearth and wash my Peter Rabbit softie (from years ago) for the babe. Was pleasantly surprised and delighted to find a wall growth chart tucked within the book as well - I've been on the lookout for a nice one for the longest time!

3. Kate Spade Noel Henry diaper bag, sweetly sponsored by the girls and hand-couried all the way from the US of A by Andrea (who also got the boy some really kickass gifts but will save that for a separate post later!).

Love love love the chic graphic pattern, the peekaboo lush purple lining and changing pad and gold fittings - they are so very 'me', if I may say so myself. Awesome gift.

I think one day, it'd be really nice for Jellybean to look back and see what a well-loved and lucky tyke he is.

Muchos gracias, all ♥

So we had our usual family barbie get-together for Father's Day. I still think my mum makes the best chicken wings and lamb chops in the world - okay maybe I'm biased that way ;)

Durians made their debut this time round too. Wish I remembered to bring my swimmers to cool off at the pool but hey, the finger-lickin' goodness (and all that heat) was worth it!

Had a nice time catching up with my sibs who are all giddily excited about the impending arrival of their nephew. They get the funniest ideas about what or who he'd be like. Totally cracks me up. Crazy thinking it's been more than a year since I moved out of the house and as much as they used to drive me up the wall, truth is, I miss them terribly.



Didn't realise I didn't get a pic of the dads (we invited the in-laws over for the little party too) - oops. Guess that's what happens when you get lazy and palm off the camera to your even lazier sister!

Good fun. Hope my dad enjoys his well-deserved Father's Day present :)

Pregger buddy Ade was very desperate to get her pizza fix before her popping day so Friday night pizzas + laughs it was.

She has been such an incredible well of information providing much comic relief about explosive diapers and leaky boobs as we first-time mum-to-bes try to figure our way along this very unique pregnancy journey - I would have been so lost without her!

Okay at least her little Peanut held it together long enough for us to have a good bite and then some. Atta girl!

Mmm, I am very fussy about my pizzas but the thin-crust oven-fired ones at Pepperoni are truly quite lovely. We caught sight of a family-sized one at a neighbouring table as we were leaving - I think it was bigger than the table top - WOAH!!!



Anyway, this is us at Peperoni with yours truly, El Chubster (ooh boy, do I hate the camera these days) before rounding up the night with my nightly fix of 'something cold' with gelato :)

Can't wait to meet her little Peanut, due any day now!

Earlier this week, the girls and I attended this casual aromatherapy introductory event organised by One Rochester and Aroma Fabulous.

I shall admit that I only went because I read tapas and cocktails (okay, mocktails for me) on the invite. Ooh, they had such a great tapas selection - cheese platter, sweet potato + mango salad, candy-coloured macaroons, otah sandwiches, oreo cocktails. Yum, I had countless servings of everything!

Okay now, back to the class itself. Very relaxed atmosphere. It seems like everyone was just there to wind down from the workday and chill out for the night, as was I ;)

We were introduced to a few types of essential oils and given a rough guide of the properties of each of them.

Then the real fun began. Because scents are so very personal, we were each given these small glass bottles to concoct our own 'magic potions' (or massage oils) to bring home. There was no right or wrong - we could mix and match the scents to our hearts' - or should I say noses' - desire.

I wanted mine to be have a calming effect without being overpowering or sickeningly sweet so after much laughter around the table and what felt like a childhood game of masak-masak, we each had our own signature scents that we were happy with.

Mine was a delicate mixture of french lavender (mmm, I love lavender anything), pink grapefruit and palmarosa which smells absolutely divine to me. Ooh la la.



Even though I felt a little heady from the the bewildering scents in the air after a while, it was very girly good fun for a weekday night out :)

Dear Jellybean,

[First off, I really should stop calling you that coz it sounds so girly but the name has just stuck with everyone so just put up with it for two more months, okay?]

It was nice seeing you at the doc's again - nowadays the visits are so short that glimpses of you have become extremely precious to your Papa and I.

Development-wise, you are weighing in at about 1.55kg at 30+ weeks and Dr L said you seeem to have quite a big head (oh, you are our child alright).

Dr L has stopped printing your mug shots for us to keep because he says we would have to piece the separate shots together like a jigsaw puzzle. I was a little upset initially I didn't have anything of you I can keep and look at after each visit but you know what, that just shows how big you have grown - from a many-times-zoomed-in tiny raisin spot and hey, now they can't even fit all of you into one frame anymore :)

In the past few weeks, you have also been actively keeping up with your stomach-turning (for me) somersault routines. The scan showed you have somehow managed to wriggle yourself out of the ideal head-down position that you were in before and is now lying transverse inside me.

I told your Fairy Godma Sups how I imagine you to be lying sprawled hammock-like inside me and she says you are probably just chilling out in your own way.

BUT while there's still time, I really hope you are not getting too comfortable in that position and will turn by our next visit because it's insanely difficult trying to sleep with your round head jutting out on my right side now!

We are slowly getting your little corner ready in our room ready - you are not here yet and already, your things are taking up so much space that your father has had to grudgingly give up much of his wardrobe space for you. I'm secretly happy all his golf paraphernalia have now been moved to the store room but let's not tell him that, shall we?

Your papa's a real darling though and I hope you like his singing to you every night however random and off-key they may be - I think you're going to find him a hoot when you get here.

Counting down the days to your arrival. Not long now, little one.

Much love,
Mama