I am Wa-wa

This is where you sleep

I read a book on "respecting kids"(can't remember the exact name of the book) when I was pregnant. I remembered well a story the author told in the book - The author went to visit a friend who just had a baby. The friend, a new Mum, fed her baby first; she then took the baby to author room for a nappy change. Not a single word was spoken to the baby during this time. Towards the end of the nappy change, the family dog who followed them around made a sound. The friend turned to the dog and said "Just wait a second, I'll feed you next". The author pointed out the common mistakes we all make - talk to the dog but neglect the baby because we think they don't understand. Telling babies what is going on and what will happen next from the start, before you think they understand is how we respect babies, the author concluded.

Remembering this story might have helped in solving a problem Lara had at day care....


(Lara slept here at Hunter Valley)

For the first 3 weeks, Lara refused to sleep in a cot at day care. The only way to get her to have a short rest was in the pram. By the fourth week, I was quite worried. I decided to try something.

At day care next morning, I took Lara to the room where babies sleep - I never set foot in this room with Lara before that day. Holding Lara, I walked around the room, telling her she would sleep here during the day and she would be very safe here. I also told her the teachers would come and get her when she wakes up and that she would have lots of energy to play after a good sleep, etc. I would never know if this did anything, but Lara slept for the first time in a cot at day care that day.

I tried the same thing while we were away in Lake Macquarie and Hunter Valley. Both times, I showed Lara her new room and told her this is where she sleeps and she would have a good sleep etc (I also let her have a little play in the room sometimes). She slept very well in the new cot/room both times. Lara is older now so she might have gotten better at sleeping in different places anyway. However, this is something I'll keep doing if it means we get a better night of sleep because Lara sleeps better!

[1y 3m] Talking and mimicking

Lara is talking all the time. She's also constantly mimicking everything we say and do. We swear we heard some intelligent words from time to time. She learns something new and understands more and more every day.

Teeth: 4 at the bottom (one half out), 4 on the top.

This month:

* Lara loves the "play kitchen" area at day care. Giving her appetite and love of food, I was not surprised that she likes "kitchen/food" toys. She also loves playing with tea sets. On my days off, we could sit together and play poring and drinking tea for a long time!

(Fortunately, sickness has not made her eat less!)

* Like to "share" things with me. We take turns playing with her toys (Lara will give me the toy to play with and then want it back, then give it to me to play etc). Lara sometimes takes out what she's eating and gives it to me to eat. One of her bad habits is: if she sees another food being offered while she's still chewing, she spits the food in her mouth, so she can put new food in. Food time is quite messy sometimes.

Understanding of words:
* Have clearly said "Ta". She could say "ma-ma" and "da-da". She calls her own name after we call her (it sounds like she's saying "wa -wa").
* Would give me a kiss if I say "kiss Mummy". She also kissed Daddy, Grandma and teddy.
* Husband said "don't drop it" and Lara looked at the floor, so we think she understand the word "drop". When I say "have a bath", she walks to the bathroom. When I say "go to bed", she shakes her head most of the time (even when she's very tired).
* More and more, Lara uses shaking and nodding her head to tell us what she wants. When I ask "More?" for food, she shakes her head when she doesn't want any more. Sometimes, Lara's confused and shakes her head on minute and nods the next or sometimes she shakes her head to things she wants.

* Dislikes having hair washed but likes to pretend to wash her hair. Dislikes having her teeth brushed.
* Still facinated with other kids.
* Like to walk backwards. Able to lift her walker up for steps. Able to run.
* Likes to wipe table with her flannel.


(Play with pebbles at Cypress Lake)

* Lara had her second cold. No temperature just running nose and lots of mucus and coughing. I was debating with myself whether to give her antibiotics (doc said there was a secondary infection and there was a 50/50 chance it would develop into something more serious. I could give her antibiotics straight away or I could wait to see if Lara's immune system could fight it). Luckily I gave her antibiotics (Amoxil) on the Friday night before we left for Hunter Valley, because Saturday was the worst day of her cold. She really was quite sick and not happy at all. By the way, she loved the taste of antibiotics.
* Lara traveled well during our Hunter Valley trip. She slept most of the way there because she was not well and she didn't complain for too long on the way back. She's generally able to sit longer in the car.

* Health concern these two weeks - nappy rash. Generally better on the weekend, but gets worse as Friday approaches. Somtimes it looks like it's all cleared one day but gets very bad again the next day. Pepole say it could be due to teething. I'm trying different cream and ointment at the moment. I don't think it's allergy because she never got nappy rash in her first year and we use the same nappy and wipes, but I'm asking child care if they changed wipes.

* The other big thing this month (or since last month) is her "security" blanket. She wants to hold this particular pink blanket(s) all the time. Luckily I have two so it can be washed. If she sees her blanket, she wants it whether she's at day-care or home. She robs the blanket on her face and she sleeps with it. I'm trying to get her to like another smaller blanket, but so far the bigger pink blanet is still her favorite.

Lara on the phone

One of Lara's favorite activities at the moment.

Cypress Lake resort

(Views from the resort lobby.)

We spent a couple of days at Hunter Valley on the weekend staying at Cypress Lake resort. Parents-in-law and Uncle Pete from England also came with us. The weather was mostly beautiful. Luckily we were having lunch at a restaurant when the worst hailstorm that weekend went past us on the Sunday afternoon.

Accommodation was comfortable enough, pricey too. Buffet breakfast included was sensational; it set us up for the whole day. Unfortunately, we didn't get to use the resort facility. I didn't have any spa treatment either.

Both Lara and Simon were not feeling very well, so we tried not to pack too much in in the day. We went around some wineries (more later); that was nice and relaxing. I love looking at the rolling hills with vines and cattle amongst it. It makes the most beautiful picture that a camera can't capture.

I want to rent a cabin on top of the rolling hills and just look at the views for a week!

More photos of the resort:

Our two bedroom "cabin" is upstairs.


Views from the balcony.


One of the resort pools.

The third culprit

(The 3rd culprit!)

Most of my mint leaves where eating a few weeks ago. It took me a long time to spot 2 caterpillars hiding under the leaves. One of them was very ver "fat"!! There wasn't a huge difference to the leaves after about a week. After another search, I caught a 3rd one.

My mint is thriving again!

A series of unexpected events

Two of my oldest and dearest friends planned a visit to Sydney via Auckland at the end of March. I was very excited about seeing them again after over a year. I booked a nice restaurant and planned to do some serious retail therapy with them. The week before they were scheduled to arrive, I got an email to say one of the friends had to be taken into hospital by ambulance. This friend ended up staying in hospital for over a week (had to miss her flight to Sydney) and was ordered not to fly for over a month!

Luckily I still got to meet the other friend. She and her husband made a huge effort of coming to see us at home. I was busy all day cleaning up and getting dinner ready. I made a Vietnamese noodle salad (with meat wrapped in betal leaves-usually quite popular). I also bought a few interesting-sounding things to supplement the meal (didn't "banana blossoms with pine nuts" sound delicious?) I'm sorry to say but the dinner was a disaster. Everything tasted dry and funny. It would be so much easier, less time-consuming (and tastier) if I just got take-out at the local fish'n chips shop!

This same friend also got tickets to see Celine Dion with her parents who came to Sydney for the first time for the concert. I got a call from her after the concert to say that the concert was cancelled! (Ms Dion not feeling well) The organiser didn't even bother to call her (just an email to let her know concert was cancelled). Luckily she happened to check her emails!

Sometimes things just didn't go as planned. Life's full of surprises, isn't it?

I love this toy!

I love to be pulled around by Mummy in my toy car. It fits me just right. Things look more interesing from the car.

I tell Mummy where I want to go. And I let Mummy know if she stops in one place for too long.

I don't know why Mummy looks tired and keeps rubbing her back when she pulls me along but I think she enjoys it as much as I do.

I like to go from one end of the garden, to the other end and back, again and again!

Easter Friday - Lake Macquarie

We stayed over at a friend's holiday house near Lake Macquarie this Easter. We had been there a few times before. However, because of change in circumstances with one of the other couples, this yearly event was cancelled a couple of times. We opted to stay one night only as we didn't know how Lara's sleep would be in a different place. It wouldn’t be very good to keep people awake for more than one night.

The traffic going there wasn't great. F3 stalled as soon as we got on it, and during several sections of it, we were moving at no more than 20km/hr (Husband said he's not traveling again on Easter Friday). Coming back was a lot faster. We timed both journeys with Lara's sleep so she was no trouble in the car.

We normally just relaxed and caught up with friends while we were there, but this year with Lara, it was not as serene. The constant rain meant we didn't go into the water. Husband and friend R did a little fishing. R caught a few small fish that were later used as baits for blue swimmers.

Lara went to bed at around 8pm and only cried briefly at 11pm when we went to bed. It was a relief that she adjusted very well in a new place. We feel more confident in tackling longer holidays to further places later on.

I didn't know what happened but I managed to take not a single photo during the whole trip - even though I had my camera charged the night before and I made sure there was enough space to take lots of pictures. The photo included here was a family lunch on Easter Sunday.

Hatless Easter parade

I briefly saw the paper attached to Lara's day care book informing us of an Easter Hat Parade held on the Thursday before Easter. The next time I remembered it was Wednesday night at 9pm when I was packing Lara's day care bag.

Not only did I have no time to make a hat then, I had absolutely no material to make it with. Thinking that Lara would not know what a parade is and hoping other parents would be as "busy" as I was, I told myself I would make an effort next year.

I regret my decision of doing nothing as soon as I arrived at day care on Thursday morning, when I saw this kid carrying a big beautiful hat with lots of eggs, fluffy chickens and flowers on it (it would take me weeks to make a hat like that!). The worst thing was it looked like everyone had an Easter hat except Lara. I went to work feeling guilty and failed as a Mum (briefly). I felt even guiltier when I read Lara's communication book that night:
"Lara had a great time watching all the children walking around in the Easter Hat parade".

Husband and I were joking that Lara would always wonder why she has no memory of her first Easter Hat parade(because she was not in it!). I hardly have enough time to make sure Lara and us have a proper meal to eat every night, how did other people have time to make beautiful Easter hats as well?

Guilt is a strong motivator. I have made up my mind to go as soon as I could and buy enough craft material and be ready for the next parade or whatever craft I have to make next!

[1y 2m] Build up immune system

(photo: Lara sucking on lamb bones)

Lara's busy this month building up her immune system. She was clingy and irritable when she was unwell, but I guess that was expected and unavoidable. She is all well now and a happy little kid again.

This month:

* Lara is more aware of her surroundings. Husband noticed that Lara seldom walked into things now - she walked around toys in her way.

* Lara communicates to us what she wants by pointing and making a demanding "aaaaa" sound. she's particularly impatient when it comes to food. She lets us know when we are too slow in feeding her.

* Lara's understanding of what we say increased dramatically. When we say "birdie", she looks out of the window and points at the sky. If she sees a bird, she points at the bird and laughs in delight. When we say, "wipe your face/mouth", she would dap the flannel over her mouth. She also understands some Chinese words after Mum and Dad came. She know the Chinese word for "eyes" and would point to the "eyes" of her dolls and the Chinese word for "bird". We think Lara knows more than she lets on.

* Lara knows the concept of "pretend-play" now. She pretends to eat off plastic plates, pretends to stir and drink from a cup. She also pretends to read her books in her reading voice (a voice distinctively different to her talking voice).

* Lara also discovered climbing. She likes to climb onto her box of books, and read books inside the box. She also likes to climb stairs when we are out and there's one around.


* Lara copies everything we do. She put things over her head as hats, and next to her ears as phones. She loves to press keys on the phone. It's hard to talk on the phone without her wanting to press everything.

* Lara walks very well. She has several new dance moves. One of them is turning in circles, she varied this a little by something tilting her head, sometimes raise one arm or sometimes have on arm folded across her chest while twirling around. Her other dance move is to do lots of tiny steps while walking, sometimes there was some shoulder movement at the same time.

* Lara loves walking around pushing her baby walkers.

Stuffed zucchini flowers

I ordered something a little different in my vege box this week - zucchini flowers.

I turned them into stuffed zucchini flowers for dinner last night. Very exciting. While I was cooking, Husband kept looking over my shoulders and asking "Are we having flowers for dinner?" He doesn't like vegetables very much, but I think he secretly likes the novelty of eating flowers.

(photo: flowers being cooked in pan)

The stuffing was made with bread crumbs, onion, thyme(from the garden!) and baby spinach leaves. I also added shredded cheese to bind the mixture and provide extra flavor. We had 5 flowers each. They were very tasty. I liked them crispy on the outside.


The petals were very delicate. It took some practice for me to push the stuffing in without tearing the petals apart. It was a very enjoyable meal.
This is definitely something I will make again!

First hair cut

Date: 16/Mar/08.
At: Grandma's
During: Played with various measuring cups from Grandma's kitchen , Lara sat through the hair cut without much trouble (no crying that is). It was probably more stressful for Grandma, who had to put up with a constantly moving head.
Result: Much tidier hair ready for photo day next week. Thanks Grandma!

Mum's food

Mum and Dad went on a cruise across the Tasman Sea and arrived at Sydney, their last stop, at the end of February. My plan of going to see them when the ship docked at Circular Quay was cancelled because Lara was not well. Most of our other plans to visit places with them or try new restaurants were cancelled as well because Dad caught a cold shortly after they arrived. After he recovered, Lara became unwell again (another tummy bug). We ended up staying/eating at home mostly. And it was great that Mum took over most of the cooking!



It was simple, comfort home-made food. Just what we need at the moment.

Cost of carelessness

I have been a little careless lately.
It started when I nearly lost my handbag on the train.

Daycare called to say that Lara had a temperature one lunch time. In my haste to get home, I got off the train without my handbag(+purse). Luckily I realised it in time to get back on the train. Unfortunately, before I had time to get off again, train closed its door and left. It was an express train so it took me at least another 20 minutes to get another train back. The idiom "Less haste more speed" was very true in my case.

The following day was raining. I was reading an engrossing book and barely had time to put the book away when my stop was up. In my haste to get off (that word again), I left my umbrella on the train. I only had myself to blame when I arrived at work wet.

Not long after losing my umbrella, we went out one weekend and Lara fell asleep on the way back. I sat in the car waiting for her to wake up. I was too tired (it was during the time Lara had diarrhea) to notice that the car key was still in ignition when I carried Lara in. It was until we were ready to go to the video shop that night that we realised that car wouldn't start. I had to call NRMA to come and give us a new battery. This carelessness cost $165.

I'm trying to rest more to get over my tiredness. Hopefully I will have a clearer head and there'll be no more costly carelessness.

Vege box

We are trying out organic vegetables this year. Pictured above was our third box.

I enjoyed choosing the items in front of my labtop, planning what to do with them and receiving/seeing them at the door. I also enjoyed reading the newletter that comes with the box, learning about what's in season and the relationship between nature and the produce. For example, the heavy rain we had a couple of weeks ago delayed planting of strawberry seeds thus affect fruit we get 12 weeks down the track. Living our busy lives, we sometimes forget that all things are connected and related.

An agonising hour

I had a dentist appointment today. This is the second of a series of dental work big and small being done. Today I had a temporary crown put in. The real crown will go in in two weeks time. I was only at the dentist for an hour, but it was a very uncomfortable and expensive hour, especially after I found out our particular cover of health insurance didn't cover crown as it was not "general dental".

I wanted to get this particular tooth fixed for a while. Pork crackling at Christmas forced me to speed things up as a large filling fell out with the lovely pork skin. This dental business wasn't exactly painful, just very uncomfortable. I felt like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered every time the chair was being lowered down. I looked into the florescent light thinking pleasant thoughts - it helped me getting through each long minute.

I had the choice of studying dentistry a long time ago. In my "naive" youth, I thought looking into people's mouth day-in and day-out didn't sound like a nice way to make a living, so I chose to study engineering instead. I don't think I mind looking into people's mouth now if I can charge $300 for every half an hour I work (seemed to be the average of what I paid). I know money isn't everything and there's nothing wrong with what I do now, but there's nothing wrong doing work on people's mouth and get paid heaps either!

Weekend excursions

I like to schedule a couple of little excursions on the weekend if possible, preferably outdoors (if weather permits). Lara is fascinated by everything outdoor.

Lara was amazed by wind when she was young. I still remembered Lara's first wind experience, she looked like she was a little startled and puzzled by the blowing sensation on her face. She then went through a phase when she loved touching leaves, and ripping leaves off trees. Now she likes to walk around exploring, picking up twigs and flowers lying on the grass. Husband and I always enjoy the fresh air outside too.

Here are some pictures we took in the last couple of weeks.

This was taken in Auburn botanical garden. We happened to witness a group of geese walking to a nearby pond for a drink so we followed them. I wonder why they always walk in a line and whether there's a particular order they walk in?


Lara walked around on a grassy area. Even though she was not well with diarrhea, she was still very happy when we were out.


We stopped by in a new park on the way to the shops. Lara is too young for slides and see-saws but she likes swings.

Sometimes we need a small drink

Lara has been a little unwell recently. Two teeth on the top broke through 2 weeks ago, and another at the bottom starting to poke its head out. Other part of the gum is red and swollen and there sure looks like more teeth are on their way. But teething is not the only thing ....


(Lara fell off her toy car and landed flat on her face on our tiled kitchen floor. The result was a swollen upper lip and an even unhappier child. )

In the last two weeks, I have been called twice to go and fetch Lara from daycare because she was not well. The last one was on Friday when daycare suspected she had diarrhea. After watching her for 24 hours with no formula and dairy, everything seemed fine. Then I made a mistake that made things worse - I gave her yoghurt too soon thinking that she was fully recovered. Diarrhea came back after that.

Doctor diagnosed it to be gastroenteritis and ordered home rest (no daycare for a week) and a diet of rice, pasta and no dairy (excepted diluted formula) for 5 days. So Lara and I will be on a involuntary break for a week!

I had been feeling flat and tired already, as Lara had a couple of crying nights. I must had it really good, because I forgot how tiring it was to be woken up at night. Because she's not feeling well, during the day Lara's exetremey clingy. She cries, arches her back and sometimes throws herself on the floor. When I hold her, she wants to get down. When I let her down, she wants to be picked up. Nothing makes her happy. She's un-consolable when she starts to cry.

For the first time, I had this feeling briefly of wanting to "give her back". You know how when you play with other people's kids and they start to cry or become difficult, you can just hand them back to the parents. That was the feeling I got that I wanted to give Lara back to her parents. But I AM the parent people give Lara back to, I'm IT! This feeling didn't stay very long and the feeling of empathy soon took over.

Husband fixed himself a glass of bundy 'n' coke and asked if I wanted a drink. Oh yes please. How nice it was to have a glass of gin 'n' tonic to give me a little more energy to handle the crying. Poor Lara. I hope she feels better soon.

Saturday breakfast - french toasts

We had french toasts for the last 2 Saturdays. I did it mainly for Lara, trying to introduce different tastes and textures to her food. She loved it!! Husband and I are watching our waistlines so we probably won't see french toasts on the menu too often.