I could eat ALOT of 'Kueh Tu Tu' now

My head is spinning with all the order requests for Mother's Day. It must be an auspicious week to get married next week. I have too many wedding orders to keep track of. My 'outstanding' list is getting longer and I am trying to re-run them in my head as I cook, eat, wash. Mother's Day beats Christmas, Valentine's, and any other special occasions in the year as the busiest time of the year for me. I am just keeping my fingers crossed I don't mess up. I find myself getting forgetful these days. As if my brain has literally shrunk.

Meantime, my stomach or rather my mind is screaming for 'kueh tu tu'.

A little of Lucas indulgence

To the readers of this blog who are non-parents: Beware. The following content is the outpouring of a parent swollen with pride and love.

Today, more than usual, I am very much in love with my little toddler. Maybe it's the preggo hormones working up my emotions, or maybe I had a more settled sleep last night. Whatever the reason was, I was having a great day with him today even though we didn't manage to head outdoors in the afternoon.

I bought a recorder for him the other day and he took to it almost immediately and was so thrilled with the sound he was making. These days, he is into imaginative play and loves to move his trucks and trains along with more animation, and imitating the sounds of their movement. He loves to be read to, and I am happy he is so eager to learn and has consistently increased his vocabulary and ability to understand and interact with us.

When I look at him, I wonder how much of him is a reflection of myself when I was young and in what way does he resemble his Papa. I suppose some aspects of his temperament are essentially hardwired. But I am sure nurture and conditioning would help him reach his potential in some way.

With his greater ability to interact, we are also seeing more of his personality and I am glad to note that he is generally a happy, loving kid with a great sense of humour. He would pick up the pacifier and place it back into the mouth of another kid who lost it, and seems to show special attention to younger kids in his company. He is definitely a mischievous little boy, but that's fine with me. It shows me he is curious and has a wide imagination.

Ok folks, that's all for now.

Hold still, there are some cool chicks out there I am telling ya.

Oh wait, I don't think they can see much from their line of vision. Taking a pee like a big boy?

I went through some old photos and really like this one of Lucas and his buddy, Jack.

Our playdate last weekend

Sharon organised a lunch and playdate last weekend. We went to Kirin at the new Starlight Casino in New Westminster for Dim Sum and spent the afternoon at Elisa & Desmon's. Elly, Simon & family were with us at lunch but had to leave for a bday party after lunch. I was alone with Lucas again but I am glad he had some male bonding time with Desmon. My cheeky little monkey was smitten by Annabelle and tried to smother her with his kisses! It was a really funny sight! I was too busy feeding Lucas at lunch and didn't take any photos. Food was good but it's a challenge to try to enjoy my food with a restless toddler next to me. These days, he just wants to walk, or run and often in the direction I would rather he not.

2 kids and 2 mommas on a road trip

Elisa and I decided to go on a road trip with the kids one day and we did. We started our drive on a cool Thursday morning last week and made our way to Tulalip, WA. I must say the kids were very well-behaved for being in the car for a total of 5 hours. We had a good lunch and did some serious shopping. I recently found out that diapers and baby stuff are much cheaper across the border in the U.S. and we returned with a total of 5 big boxes of diapers and other baby and kid-related items. Nothing for us mommas. I am not in the right physique and mood to be trying to pull up any trousers or face a huge mirror in the fitting room at this moment. It will be too depressing. Anyhow, I was pleasantly surprised how relaxed the road trip turned out to be. It would have been even better if I wasn't trying to sit on one side of my butt throughout the drive. It's really refreshing for me to have a conversant partner next to me for the drive. For the record, Edwin does not say a word when he drives. Or maybe I should say he hardly speaks even if he is not driving.

Start of the drive

Taking their nap on our way to Tulalip



Working at the wheel (car is parked) before heading for lunch

On our way home, Viola plays with Lucas' fingers

Breakfast with Lucas

His out-of-bed "I am hungry" look.

p.s. Carolyn - evidence that he loves your pancakes!

Kiss me, Baby!

I am so glad the weather is warming up. Lucas loves being outdoors and it's much easier to bring both Lucas and Abby out when Edwin is around now that I am pretty much out of proportion with a heavier front and an out-of-shape tailbone.

This was last week at La Farge Lake on one of those rare days when Edwin is off from work. We treasure these moments. It's really nice to see father and son play.

These days I feel very sorry when Lucas come running towards me, full of energy and enthusiasm or hops onto my back when I am on the floor, and all I can do is turn around an give him a hug and cuddle or gently lift him up. How I wish I could swing him up and twirl him around and return the same kind of energy to him or roll on the floor for some rough and tumble time with him.

Lucas is such a sweetheart these days. He would run to us for hugs and shower us with his kisses and yesterday, for the first time, he started kissing me on my lips when I carried him (with intense eye contact which really made my heart swell with love). It was the sweetest thing ever.

I am busy

With work. With finding comfortable positions to sit, stand and sleep. With keeping up with an active toddler. Meantime, I am getting panic nerves from the thought of popping...soon. I have reached 30 weeks. 30. 9 or less weeks to go. Crib is not ready, clothes in boxes. I need to get organized soon.

My coccyx pain is not going away. Doc recommended Acupuncture but I was rejected by the clinic because I am too advanced in my pregnancy, it's my first time and I am afraid of needles (which made me a non-ideal candidate for this treatment).

So much to update here. Later.

Great Saturday out @ Rocky Point Park

Rocky Point Park was packed with people, kids and dogs on Saturday. It was a perfect day out with the gorgeous weather. We had lunch with Elisa, Des & Viola and Carolyn & Jack before heading to Rocky Point for a little picnic and play for the kids. Carolyn arrived with a huge backpack that looked like she was all ready to hop on a plane and spend the night somewhere..the baggage tags were still intact too haha! But fortunately we had the organized momma with us. Carolyn had everything we needed. The tent and tunnel for the kids, the snacks, and the wagon etc for our day out. I was really ill-prepared this time. But I brought Lucas' new push-car which was like a magnet that attracted kids. We had kids following us with eyes fixated on the push-car. I think the highlight for me must be the chocolate milkshake we bought from the park. YUM YUM! I think we wiped out the last of their whipped cream too with our order. It was a fun day out but my back was sore from running after Lucas. Would have been great if Edwin could join us next time and I can leave the chasing to him!

When Papa is home

Lucas gets very excited when his Papa comes home. The minute he hears the garage door open, he would run towards the window, calling "Papa! Papa!"

And of course, being the big kid himself, Edwin loves to play with Lucas and I love to watch them bond. Especially when these moments are hard to come by since he is out of the door early and comes home from work close to Lucas' bedtime. Saturdays are no longer weekends to us as Papa is also at work.

Let's see what Lucas has been up to these days:
1. His vocabulary has definitely expanded although probably only Momma me knows what exactly he is saying since his pronounciation is still not accurate.
2. He loves to point out at objects he knows and says them out loud whilst riding in the car.
Trucks, bus, balloons, bird, car, dog.
3. He says "Go" when the green light comes on and shouts "Stop" when the car comes to a stop. Something I believe he learnt from Baby Einstein.
4. He is becoming a "great helper" around the house. He has advanced from the swiffer to bringing Papa his bread for breakfast, bringing the dish and cups back to Momma at the sink and trying to pack up his toys.
5. 4 seconds is the record time he takes to go down the stairs (on his tummy, feet first) from the bedrooms. (I forgot to count the number of steps)
6. He loves to run free at the park/playground and chase after the birds.
7. He loves to "ride on" Abby and roll on the floor with her.

My little munchkin is a great kid and I feel really blessed and happy I am able to watch and share in his new discoveries every day. He is getting more and more interactive each day and whilst I am loving every moment with Lucas and trying to record in my memory all his little milestones, I cannot help but think about how my love will be divided when no.2 comes along.

Yoga Baby

He is actually doing Tai-chi, really.

Already?

My golly! I wasn't expecting this to happen so soon!

Apparently I need a donut

I checked in with the Doctor today for my regular pre-natal check-up.

"You have coccydynia."
That explains why my rear is hurting so much these days. And the cure?
"Get a donut."

Apparently nothing else can be done for me at this stage of pregnancy. And it is just going to get worse as the pregnancy progresses. Great.

By the way, the "donut" referred to by the Doc is a "Donut cushion". Yes, indeed. I may be carrying a cushion with me everyhere I go now to get the pressure off my out-of-shape tailbone. I didn't learn much from the Doc but I did get all the information I want from researching online. I could have injured my tailbone during labour and the strain has just been intensified by the pressure from carrying the second child or baby no.2 may just be sitting too low and hitting on my nerves and tailbone. Either way, it is OUCH!

Lucas meets Ronald

Sunday..Papa's only day off in the week and he wants to eat Ronald's hotcakes and greasy McMuffins. So..that makes Lucas' first acquiantance with McD. But he gets none of the grease. He had his milk, cheese and toast from home and attempts to make him try the hotcakes failed anyhow which is probably a good thing. He associates and calls the McD logo "nana" (he actually means "bananas").

Como Lake

We had a great week of playdates last week. We checked out Como Lake in Coquitlam with Carolyn & Jack, Elisa & Viola, Brenda & Makayla. Weather was cooler than expected but the kids had a great time at the playground, watching the ducks and geese and being all wide-eyed and thrilled with the bubbles Carolyn blew from her awesome bubble set-up.

We had a mini picnic as well and I can't wait for the weather to warm up even more!

p.s. Carolyn - Lucas saw Jack's photo and pointed to him and said "Tac" (mispronounciation but I believe he recognises his buddy!)

[photos and videos of Lucas on slide by Elisa]

Lucas on the slide. Many times over.

His first time solo on an outdoor slide and he figured it out rightaway.

Playdate @ Steveston

It was a perfect day out. I am so glad we were out to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. Planning a trip to Richmond is like decking whipped cream on dark chocolate ice-cream. It makes me eager, "sugar-high", and filled with anticipation. Richmond, to me, is a haven for good food and exciting stores like Daiso where I would buy stuff I am not sure what use to make of them. Carolyn suggested for us to head to Steveston in the morning of Wednesday since the weather was good and I am glad we did. The kids had a good time, well, at least I know Lucas had a very good time running around on the boardwalk at Steveston. Boy, oh boy, I am so bushed from chasing after this little monkey and it does not help that I am waddling around like a duck these days.

Check out the body language

These photos were taken by my friend, Elisa and I am loving them.

2nd cousins unite!

Kevin, Linda and Curtis came to visit us from Seattle last weekend. We are so happy to finally meet Curtis!

Discovering Discovery Toys

We were @ Elly's last week to check out Discovery Toys. The kids sprung into action the minute they saw the toys on the floor. Lucas was preoccupied with loading toys into little Colin's exersaucer, it was really funny to watch.

This is the first time I have been introduced to this line of toys. Thank you, Elly for the hosting this get-together!

I was so busy chasing after Lucas and mopping up his strawberry-stained mouth that I didn't take any photos of our little tea party too!