Though there is no picture, I need to record this down before it is forgotten. It started last week when Daddy was finally working in the day instead of night, and working hours were more normal as he got to join us for dinner and join Mal for his bedtime. Mummy had been the only person so far who can put Mal to sleep…even now when he does not need to be nursed to sleep, he needs Mummy to lie beside him, sing him a song while he toss and turn before drifting off to sleep.

Last week while Daddy was able to join us during his bedtime, he took up the tough challenge of putting Mal to sleep without Mummy’s help. Till this point, we both knew that Mal is capable of falling asleep on his own, just that sometimes he chose not to do it. Knowing this, we knew that it is possible for someone else instead of Mummy to put Mal to sleep.

Daddy did his normal routine, ie bath him, give him his milk and snack. This was followed by his bedtime stories, most of the time, Mal will need 3 books before he shows sign of tiredness and that is when he will start to sing him some songs…actually is… croak a few songs…cos Daddy can’t really sing…hehehe. Mal is the only person in the world that can appreciate his ’singing’, that is what Daddy always says. He is improving though Mal will then slowly drift off to sleep. The 1st time Daddy succeed in putting Mal to sleep, that was on a Monday night….he was exhilarated! Is like as if he won a lottery!!! maybe even better…duno…cos Daddy never win one before. Daddy carry on this routine and was able to put Mal to sleep for consecutive nights! So it was not luck but Mal REALLY CAN FALL ASLEEP WITH DADDY…even when Mummy is not around! This is really Daddy’s triumph!!! HOORAY and 3 CHEERS for Daddy !!!

It was Sunday and Daddy suggested that we should go to the beach park which is about half an hour drive from the place we stay. Spring is here and the weather for the day was warm. There were quite a number of people in the park and the car park was almost full. It was after our heavy lunch and though we brought our roller blades along…Mummy was too lazy to put them on. We end up strolling around the park before sitting by the lake to let Mal watch the water in the lake. We realised that there were people pedalling boat in the lake and that is when we decided to give it a try! They had electric powered boat and pedal boat…for pedal boat…it only cost USD 12 per hour.

Mal was not very willing to get on the boat in the beginning as it was something new and he was scared even with Mummy and Daddy around. Even when we finally got into the boat…he was stiff and was not really enjoying it. It took him a while to loosen up and to sit back to enjoy the scenery around. Soon he was having fun steering the direction while Daddy and Mummy pedal.

We tried to take some pictures as this will be Mal precious pictures on his 1st pedal boat ride. We managed to capture a few shots before the camera quitted on us! This camera had been giving us intermittent problem nowadays and it was quite a waste that it happened again. We missed some really nice shots on the ducklings swimming in the lake….so close to our boat. And also when the choo choo train passed the bridge above us.

Mal was having so much fun that when it was time to go he started crying. He insisted on playing the boat and started screaming. The boat attendant was a bit shocked to see him crying when she was trying to anchor our pedal boat and thought that she did something wrong. The crying continued and became even louder to the extend that strangers in the park started starring at us! It was our first experience with Mal making such a scene in public. Both Daddy and Mummy didn’t know whether to laugh or to get angry. We were amused by his new tricks and behaviour. The only time we had seen him cry so badly for something… was when Mummy tried to put him to sleep without nursing him!

After like almost half an hour and some distraction…Mal finally stopped. It sure was a day filled with new experiences…not just for Mal but for Daddy and Mummy as well.

the boat attendance and Daddy helping Mal put on his life vest

he must be wondering why I need to put this thing on

Mal was nervous…look how stiff he is…

clinging on to Daddy for dear life
after a while…Mal is beginning to relax …
since we can’t take pic of our pedal boat…this is another similar pedal boat
hugging on to our bottle of water instead of his own bottle
can you spot the plane over the bridge…and there is another bridge further away for the trains

We had a cake baking session again at our place. This time we made banana cake and pandan chiffon cake. Mummy had the recipes printed out from the internet just before people started streaming in for the baking session. It took a while for everyone to settle down and get the baking started.

At around 5.30pm, the banana cake was finally done, as it took 1 hour to bake. It sure smells good. We proceed on to the pandan chiffon cake…at this point in time…somehow Mummy was left with 4 kids in the kitchen. They were all curious to see how to bake a cake so Mummy let them take turns to stir the cake mixture. I guessed all kids, not just Mal, are excited to play with the real things. Too bad the pandan chiffon cake did not turn out very well. Will try again next time and hopefully it will turn out better.

anxiously waiting for their turn to mix the cake!

taking turn to beat the mix

This is the last part of our road trip. On the way back, we stopped over at Sedona…a beautiful, scenic, nice little town. There were alot of nice unique little houses in the woods…surrounded by trees with a little river running through the woods. It really looks like a nice place to stay if you are looking for a place to get away and to rest and relax. As Daddy was driving…Mummy shouted for him to stop the car as she saw some cherry blossoms in someone’s front yard. We illegal parked the car at a bed&breakfast place to take some pics. The bed&breakfast place that we stopped was almost perfect! There were birds everywhere! cos the owner had put up lots of bird feeder to attract all the birds. The chirping of the birds and sound of running water were the background music as there were little water features dotted every corner of the garden. Mal was so happy to see the water features with running water and all the birds feeding on the nector! There was also an outdoor jacuzzi. It was a perfect place to getaway. However the owner of the place was not very friendly as we had took up his parking lot meant for his guest. We were asked to leave soon and further more, the place do not take kids! Such a disappointed and anti climax!!!

Anyway we drove on and came to the heart of the town. It was a nice little town with the red rocks as its background. It started to drizzle shortly after we arrived. We stopped over to take some pictures and had some snacks and coffee before proceeding home. We will sure to visit this place again.

the humming bird snacking

the little running features near the entrace to the garden of the B&B place

the place where we illegally parked our car outside the B&B place…look at the red rocks behind and the old rustic windmill behind us

another shot of the B&B place

mal fascinated with the running waterthe nice little town with red rocks as the background

the cafeteria we had our snack and coffee

mal wanted to drive this cute little pink jeep

close up of us with the red rocks behind…can you spot the cherry blossom??

yummy…fries and burger…mal dipping his fries in mustard !!!

the cafeteria has an outdoor area for people to have their coffee too but too bad it was drizzling

Daddy, Mal and the cherry blossom

Mummy and Mal outside this art shop selling nice paintings

Mummy and Mal and the cherry blossom
more pics of this nice….quiet…
little town…
Finally…the 3 of us with the cherry blossom

We stayed over night at Flagstaff and headed for Grand Canyon the next morning. It was close to 2 hours drive and along the way Mal wanted us to let him get off the car so that he could play with the snow…obviously we had to disappoint him. Mummy was excited to see the Grand Canyon. There was already a crowd at the viewing area when we got to the national park and quite a number of them were Asian. We took some pictures and walked the trail a little. Very soon, it started to snow heavily and the visibilty became too bad for photo taking. Mal enjoyed walking the trail and watching the falling snow…but the wind got stronger and colder and we thought it would be better to head back into the car.

outside the motel we stayed…

some photos before setting off for Grand Canyon

Mal was eager to help with the lugguage

watch him work so hard…

pulling the lugguage to the car
at the park entrance, it started to snow…we wound down the window to let Mal feel the falling snow
some common spots at the Grand Canyon…
where tourists take turns to have their photo taken
Mal peering at the BIG HOLE in the ground!it’s amazing how the Colorado River can create this magestic canyonfinally someone to help us take a pic
look at this part of the canyon… the snow covered canyon looks like chocolate with icing sugar Mal trying to wriggle off…
they look so tiny with the big hole behind
look at the falling snow
can you catch the snow ?
now the snow really looks like rain!
the snow getting heavier
Mal tripped over his own boots and fell…with the bulky winter clothing…he needs a little help to stand up
Mal tracking through the snow and rough terrain
after the Aspen trip…we now know how much Mal needs to wear to keep him warm
walking in the snow with Daddy
stopping by at the visitor center to make a call to ?? and ?? to tell them all about his adventure!

We decided to go for a road trip during the last few days of Daddy’s leave. We drove 3 hours to higher ground in Flagstaff to catch some snow as the weather forecast says that it will probably be snowing over the weekend. Wanted to drive all the way to Grand Canyon but due to heavy snow, we decided to turn back as our vehicle was not really geared to go on icy road. We ended up stopping our car somewhere…following the crowd…took out the sleigh our neighbour lent us…and have fun zooming down the snow slope! It was our first time trying out this new game and it sure was fun!

It was a long drive…luckily Mal was tired and slept most of the way…he is seen here happy after his good sleep and his cup of instant noodles!

It was already snowing before we reached Flagstaff

this sure looks like Aspen…just that it is not that cold
Mal posing with our neighbour’s sleigh…does he look pro?!

says cheeze and look here!

first time for the 3 of us to try out the sleigh…

think mummy looks more thrilled than Mal!

can u spot Mal and Daddy ? think the kids can play with the sleigh better than the adults!

Daddy trying out on the sleigh with Mal

water break for Mal … we had discovered a new winter game where the 3 of us can enjoy together!

I said hello to our neighbours today. We were in the garage washing our new car when the next door uncle came out to mow the lawn. The 2 jiejie and their dog were outside too. They were Megan and Shannon iiejie and Maggie the huge dog. They have some huge and fun toys. It is so good to have people to play with and I wished I can play with them longer but Mummy said we need to get change and go out for dinner.

the next door uncle started mowing the lawn when we were cleaning our new carI only knew W for Wagon… and I didn’t know wagon can be so FUN!
this one is huge…and I can even sit in it…while ?? Megan pulls me along…Shannon ?? and the huge dog Maggie
Megan ??wanted me to sit in her bicycle seat while she cycles…

Mummy bought a big big windmill. It is a flower windmill which stands as tall as me. It took us quite a while to fix the windmill and to plant it into the ground. It was bright and cheery but doesn’t really turn well. Mummy says it needs stronger wind…so I thought maybe a little blow and spin from me will help

Daddy finally found time to do his gardening as he was on leave for a week. After some shopping for all the gardening needs…they were back for more fun. For Mal, it was like a dream came true …finally a chance to play with all the gardening tools!

this shovel is fun!

watering the sunflower seeds

preparing the soil for Daddy’s herbs pot

We received a present for Mal from back home. It was from popo. It was 2 sets of those chinese traditional outfits for Mal and the coconut husk bangles. She wanted to get the clothing for Mal during Chinese New Year but did not manage to send them in time. So now she is hoping Mal can wear it for his birthday! The clothings were of size 6!!! Mal can definitely fit into those clothings…the top still look ok though a bit long but the pants are definitely too long for him to wear now…unless we fold them up. By the way…Mal’s body structure a bit like Mummy’s and Daddy’s as he has slightly longer upper body…thus the legs a bit short, hehehe. He can be wearing 3T or 4T for the top but still stuck at 2T for the pants He sure looks like Little China Man in his new outfit!

Today Mummy decided to cook chicken rice. Did not do any grocery shopping over the weekend thus also not much choice on what to cook. Luckily there was still a chicken. Did some research over the internet and found this recipe and decided to give it a try.

Preparation of the chicken and rice was quite simple…but still much more work as compared to just taking out the Whop Hup chicken mix from the cupboard and pour right over the rice to cook There were 3 sauces for the chicken rice, the chilli sauce, ginger sauce and the soya sauce. Luckily Daddy was woke up by Mal’s crying over the boo boo on his toe and thus was able to help out in the making of the sauces. It sure was quite tedious.

By lunch, we were done with our cooking and was extremely pleased with how everything tasted. We used to visit this chicken rice stall in Holland village back home very frequently as Mummy loves the chicken there. With this recipe…we found something close to that We were especially pleased with how tender the chicken turned out and how nice the sauces were! Even Mal who normally does not eat plain chicken, savour every pieces we put in his mouth and he especially loves the soup!!!

Mummy had been baking quite often. Just the other day, she baked a durian cake…but she did not let me try. Only she and Daddy ate the cake! Today we are baking Mocha Butter Cake. I like to help her make cake as there is a lot of mixing and beating and a lot of utensils to play with

Mummy took out the butter from the fridge and I helped to remove the cover. While she was busy measuring the ingredient…I tried to help her get the mixer from the cupboard and fixed the mixer hands to the motor…but I did not do it properly…so end up Mummy had to do it again. Mummy took a long time to finish beating the sugar and butter. I watched her when she fold in the flour and helped to pour in the milk slowly as she mixed some more. After that, we poured the mix into the baking tin before putting it into the often. The cake smells really good when it was baked and I ate 1 big piece even though I just had dinner!

the durian cake mix before bakeyummy yummy…durian cake after bakethe mocha butter cake freshly baked…hot from oven

still in the baking tin
mal was fast to pull the chair from the dinner table to be closer to the cake…see…Mummy still have not cleared the dinner
hmmm…whao….yum yum!
does it mean I can eat the cake now ??

pls…may I ??yeah..thank you!hmmm….this is….

sooooo…..

YUMMY!!!

Today I had another boo boo on my toe. It was a really bad one… Mummy was talking to ?? over the computer and I was playing with the pots and pans in the kitchen. I wanted to get this big pot on the table so I stretched to reach. Mummy asked me not to just reach for any pots on the table as it is very dangerous, instead ask her for it. She came over and tried to help me get the pot. The glass cover of the pot slipped and fell and it hit right over my big toe. Oooouuuuccch!!!There was a bad cut and my big toe is now even bigger! It’s all Mummy’s fault! Ask her to help also can hurt me. She still can say next time ask her for permission before reaching for any pots!

Just to note down some of Mal’s vocabulary now…

don’t want bath
don’t want wash butt
Mummy why (when he can’t find Mummy, actually should be ‘Mummy where’)
light off (when he means ‘light on’)
yakult
read book
run away (after bathing…when we try to dress him…he will try to play catching with us!)

Here is one of our frequent conversation during shopping…hahah…this one really amazes me…cos none of us teach him to say all these! The 1st time I heard this…I thought I heard wrongly!
mal : mummy buy…
mummy : use what to buy ?
mal : use monis…
mummy : mummy has no money…
mal : use daddy monis…

Mal can repeat after most words we say now…recently at the garage sales…Mummy spent 10 cents to get a very good book for him. It is a book on manners. Mal likes the book very much. Now he knows how to

wash hands before eating… (only when mummy reminds him)
say Sorry…
say Please and may I…
say Thank you…
share and take turn… (still trying to convince him)
keep his toys after playing… (only sometimes…)
Monday to Sunday… (but he can only remember Monday and Sunday

and remember the alphabet jigsaw puzzles….he can recognise and name out almost all the icons representing each letter. Just last night I was playing the puzzle with him…and was amazed when he could tell me which are the icons when I say their names…I was thinking…was it his memory at work?? We don’t always go through the puzzle with him so since when did he start absorbing all the names ??? Another funny thing happened…we came to the letter I…Iron…and he can tell me ‘mummy iron..burn…hole….’ cos the other day…he saw me iron this blouse and burnt through the blouse!!! hahaha

He still can’t get his ABC…only can remember A

his new favourite book…What Do You Say When a Monkey Acts This Way

his alphabet jig saw puzzle

Mummy and I woke up early on a Saturday morning and went to look for garage sales while Daddy was snoring in bed. We drove around the neighbourhood as usually there were signs indicating the houses that were having sales.
I’ve got books at 10 cents and 50 cents….some were really new… a drawing toy at $4…a basketball pole for $4….Yippie….a new outdoor toy for me!
As for Mummy, she got really good bargains too…she bought a HUGE electric BBQ pit for $35 and those outdoor survivor light for $5, something she had been looking for.
We were so proud of our purchase and can’t wait to show them all to Daddy.

the basketball pole adds on to Mal’s outdoor playground

see me throw ball in different ways…

Can I use this ball as well??

oh no…not this BBQ pit…this one is a charcoal one and is tiny weeny…

with our purchase today…Daddy can return this one to walmart

this is the drawing toy…one side is for Mal to use chalk to draw…

the other side is more fanciful…suppose to work like a projector screen so that the images are projected onto a piece of paper clip so that Mal can learn how to trace along the image….but too bad…the projector doesn’t work! So Mal can only draw on the paper, but he is happy just doing that cos it is still something new