pictures pictures pictures

Apologize for being slack - very busy months we had last couple of months. With Oliver's first Christmas and Oliver's christening and travelling to Orange (9 hours drive, try that with a 9 month old!), and meeting the whole Bradleys family for the first time and having my mum & dad came from Jakarta, my brother & girlfriend from Japan and my other brother from Sydney, who would have time to sit in front of the computer and updating this space.

Anyhow, so much things happened, as I mentioned before, with first Xmas (Santa did come to our house!) and big Christening celebration and so on and so on... I can only tease you with the pictures for a time being before come up with the whole story - eventually!

Enjoy!
http://home.exetel.com.au/bradley/baby_album/my_pictures.html

Where is Oli?

Well, you might like to click it bigger to see if you can find Oli :P

Also, we took this video this morning and it's just too good and too hilarious not to share. While we are on the topic of sharing, the ninth month album has been uploaded on the website: http://home.exetel.com.au/bradley on the baby album.

Baby einstein

This is our little buddha enjoying baby einstein dvd. This phenomena has only started a few weeks ago, during which I put him in front of the TV because I was just so tired seeing him jumping up and down and climbing and crawling - and there is no way I could get him to sit for 5 minutes although you can tell he really needed it.

I have heard so much praise about this baby Einstein. Lots of mothers swear by it, not so much because of its educational claim, but they are saying that the only time they get time-off is when they put the babies in front of the television to watch it. I heard some mothers said that their babies eyes are fixed to the television and not moving an inch when it's on.

New research actually shows that all these development & educational dvds do not making the babies smarter. No surprise to me. I personally think it is a waste of money and the dvds look so much like brainwashing that it makes me sick. The idea of the Baby einstein was to tell a story from a baby's point of view, plain and simple. Interactive puppets and images of toys, children, and other everyday objects comprise the basic format of these videos, which are set to the sounds of classical music. Hence the metronome ticking for half a minute, a cow moo-ing for another half a minute, a ball rolling back & forth for another half, water rippling for another half... you get the point. And it all was produced in the low-budget style production. I was happy that Oliver wasn't interested in it

So all the dvds that I bought because I was lured by other mother's testimonial, and the classical music cds which is said to stimulate their little brains were a waste of money for us. But then all of the sudden it changed. We were driving in the car for quite some times and he started to whinge, as he does when he is a bit buggered, so I put the Baby Einstein lullaby on -- all of the sudden he got mesmerised and got those dreamy eyes and bingo - he was asleep!! We tried it on again on different occasions and it was like magic.

So I put on the dvd just to test it. And voila.. amazing.. he stopped whatever he was doing, and sat still for the whole show. Which is very unusually him.

The funny thing is that Cara, the little girl from the mothers club apparently has been enjoying the baby einstein since she was 4 months old, while Oliver only just picked it up. How bizzare, maybe this really shows that boys brains develop slower than girls!

The Undomestic Goddess

The big tree in our backyard was loaded with beautiful yellow orange fruit, come in cluster and tastes nice and tarty like apricot. After a few trial and errors and no one got poisoned, we found out it was loquat. According to our research, firm, slightly immature fruits are best for making pies or tarts. The fruits are also commonly used to make jam, jelly and chutney, and are delicious poached in light syrup. Loquats can also be used to make wine.

Wazza thought that we should make jam and I felt compelled in doing it, because they just got rotten in the tree otherwise. But let me make it clear from the start, I never thought it was a good idea. And it turned out to be the most ambitious project I have the whole year. Obviously, my kitchen brain is not as big as my kitchen bravery. And believe me, I haven't got any satisfaction in doing it.

Right. So, first of all, we need to find out how to make a jam. Hmm.. mr. google makes it sound easy, just boil the fruit til it's very soft, add some sugar and the pectin -hang on, what? With a little assistance from mr google (how did we survive without internet?), we revealed that we can purchase the thing (it's a thickening agent actually, for the jam) at the groceries stores. Piece of cake. I couldn't find any jam jar anywhere but it's not a biggie either, I could always use old jars in the pantry, only need to sterilise it before putting the jam in (this part sounded a bit tricky as a matter of fact).

You would not believe how much sugar is needed for a jar of jam! I bought a package of 1 kg sugar, thinking that this would be plenty.But the recipe said 2.5 kilograms!! Eeeek.. My creative mind decided to portion down the recipe - this and the fact that pitting 1.5 kg of loquat (according to the recipe) took forever.

3 hours of boiling the fruit later, they are still not soft and Oliver and I had to go to our gymbaroo session. Oh well, the jam can wait...

As soon as we got back from gymbaroo, I picked it up where I left off . But during the period where the recipe said : "bring to boil vigorously and stir occasionally for 5-10 minutes" Oliver woke up and screamed on the top of his lungs! so there you go, no stirring occasionally.

The jam turned out to have too thick consistency, taste too sugary (and I only used half of the sugar!) and... smells like chicken stock (Mppph... this is because I used the jar that I previously used for chicken stock).

Now update on the boy. He's turning into little rebel - and not even a teenager yet! changing nappy is fighting session now, so is bedtime. Rianti said there are times where you need to wave the white flag and admit defeated, but in my opinion, there are times that you need to be 'stepmother' and these are the times. Doesn't really work though, he still gets his way most of the time.

helping mama with the laundry? I don't think so.

Eighth Month

Eighth month pictures are up on the web.

http://home.exetel.com.au/bradley/ or click the link on the right hand side and go to baby album.

In the meantime I am going to be scorching in this ozone hole where the temperature is currently 37 degrees!

Eat my shorts!

doing the bart.

Next Australias Top Model

Ok. I admit it. This modelling thing is -of course- my obsession and Oliver doesn't give rats bum at all. And that I, have had worked for ad agency should have known better and be ashamed about doing it. But in my defence, being an ex- advertising executive, I would be the one who take it least personally if Oliver doesn't get any casting or booking. We just wanted to know if anyone else think Oliver is as cute as we think he is. We just need to know if he's wanted :P.

So. He got his first job after his first casting for Target catalogue. Everyone was confident that he would be his happy-self during the photo session. But of course we were wrong!

Little Buddha was grumpy the whole photosession that he only got to pose for 2 outfits (being the biggest baby in there didn't really help either when most of their outfits were size 000). The first outfit required the baby to sit up right so they can show the front, but he just wanted to crawl. The second outfit has special feature at the back so they actually wanted Oliver to crawl away and show his bum but seriously I am sure they didn't even have a single shot where Oliver was not grumpy. Not to mention dribbling!

When we're done, the photographer then dismissed Oliver "you can go now. Go.."

Well we know who is not going to be the next Australias Top Model!!

Life as a SUBURBAN wife/mother

Here I am. Officially a suburban wife/mother now since we moved into the suburb (at least it is our own home now). My to-do list today includes washing-hanging-folding clothes, cleaning the bathrooms, paying bills (should be doing it now instead of blogging), groceries shopping (maybe), vacuuming the carpet (as if that will happen!) yet I am standing here playing internet (not even sitting down because the telephone cable is not long enough to connect to the computer if I put it on the dining table - just because we still haven't organised the broadband connection and still using prepaid internet), because this is the only time I can check my emails and updating my overdue blog (so overdue that probably no one will ever read this entry because everyone stops visiting this blog).

Ok. Where to start.

Oliver & Moving House

Just my luck of course. As you would expect, during the busy period that I had to do most of the packing, my little Buddha had:

• his first cold, for about a week he got very cranky with runny nose and didn't sleep well at night.
  
• 3 top teeth popped out - and before that he was just as grizzly as a bear. He bites and bites now (ouch) - andhis breastfeeding days are numbered now.
• started crawling 3 days before we actually moving!! (Those boxes and stuff everywhere must have been such good incentives to move). Michelle from my mothers club had actually predicted that he'd be an early crawler but I was hoping she was wrong.. I went to the library last week for baby nursery rhyme time and sat in front of these two mothers who were having conversations about their boys who started to crawl about 2 weeks before - when they were 10 months old. 10 months old! Not 7 months and a few days!
  

Fortunately he didn't seem to have any difficulties settling into the new place (despite that his room is bright orange! - we can't afford painting the house yet), if anything he has bigger space to roam about, although I am still not happy when he ventures to our kitchen and starts licking the refrigerator.
Now he wants to stand up all the time and who would've thought looking after him standing up if even bigger job than when he only crawls? Even his cot is not a safe place anymore, as he would stand up on his cot and rattles the gate and falls on his back, hitting his head on the end of the cot.

He is a little joy that boy is. He starts to show recognition to people (but still doesn't mind having a stranger nurse him, oh dear!). He slightly prefers dad when he wakes up (when dad is around). The other day I picked him up from his cot after his nap, he just cried and cried until he saw Daddy, straight away smiled and jumped in the air. I told Scott that "I think he prefers you" and Scott said, "don't be silly" and the moment he walked out from the room, Oliver just cried again. He was happy in Daddy's arms and I think that was just to cutest and sweetest thing.

He also shows preference to sleep on his side or tummy when he sleeps. This wouldn't matter so much (since he's almost 8 months old) if he only knows how to roll back to his back. Yup - the little Buddha is capable of crawling and standing up but NOT to roll back. We have been woken up by him in the middle of the night because he found himself on his tummy and not able to roll back. I think he needs to learn about priority!

The house & the neighbours

We managed to unpacked most of the boxes apart from the books and stuff that meant to go on the walls. The previous owners have penchant for colours and as the result we have blue, yellow, green, orange and pink walls!! We are hoping that we can have the house painted before Christmas but wiith all the expenses that had accrued the past month it probably won't be happening.

Being a family-oriented neighbourhood, we are surrounded by friendly ones. One that I must note though, is this lovely girl who lives two doors away, Aly, with her best friend Keely. They came out to say hi to us the weekend after we moved in, and we introduced them to Oliver.
Keely: "Where is Oliver going to school?"
Scott" "Mmmph.. I don't know. We still have plenty of time to think about it"
Aly: "Look at his hair" (Oliver's hair just grows out of control at the moment, he looks like Krusty the Clown)
Scott: "yeah.. he's a punk"
Keely: "He's going to be so popular at school!!"

They put a note at our door one afternoon offering their service to be baby sitters or do job around the house (five dollars an hour and when they came and visited they said they will donate some of it to the cancer foundation and some other charity foundations. Scott said they will need to charge more if they are going to donate some of their fee). I told them Oliver is too young and that they will get nervous if they are to look after the baby and Keely said "We will just have to ring you every so often!".

The thing is.. we might be too nice to them and they have been at our door all the time now. They came to visit 4 times the last 24 hours, twice we sent them home saying we were on the way out and last one we didn't answer the door. Help!! We are being stalked by 10 years olds!!!

Saturday morning - 7 am. Oliver's in his bedroom, whinging. Scott and I were fighting about who should get up and let him play on his rug. He had been awake since 6am, we fed him, hoping that he would sleep a bit longer in our bed (he didn't), put him back to his bed (twice),brought him back to our bed (still whingy) - nothing happened, he's just ready to get up and play.

Here we are, 6 months down the road - Boy how difference our life is now.

It's a change of the lifestyle and although I should say it's all worth it, I miss some things. Like the luxury of sleeping in (who doesn't?). But seriously, I looove my beauty sleeps. Actually I just don't love sleeping in, I need it. I need it to function normal. Haven't had that in 6 months. Funny how I was given tips to sleep in a lot during pregnancy, because you wouldn't be able to do it anymore once the baby's born. I did sleep in alot before Oliver is born, but that was then, now I WANT my beauty sleeps again!

Not being able to go out often anymore is fine with us - we're enjoying our time as family. Can't believe this - hold your breath I am going to say something very cliche: He is our joy and watching him grow brings smile on our faces.

I keep thinking that their development is like preprogrammed - first smile by 6 weeks, learning to coordinate hands at 3 months, babble at 4 months etc etc. Oliver's new skill is faking coughs. He's been doing it for days now and he will respond to your cough by coughing back to you. Cute.


We are still learning. Lots of trial and error and I hate that we sometimes do not realise that we are making errors. And when the pennies finally dropped, the guilt trips taken tolls.."Why didn't I think of that before?" "My poor baby.. can't believe I did it to him before for so long...".

Anyway - as someone said, having a baby means you need to get ready to change your lifestyle. If you're not willing to, then you shouldn't have a baby! Oh.. so true...

Oliver & Sign Language

I swear to God Oliver gave me sign to 'milk' this morning. I made attempt to get him to sign to me, and he looked at me tentatively, and really, seriously, I was pretty sure that he did. Scott was in bed also with us and he even noticed it. How exciting!!

Hehe.

Of course I don't know if he really did. Later on today I thought he was tired, but hey, is he making that sign again? Is he tired.. or is he actually hungry?

Like playing charade again. Gave him sign of milk, and I thought he was smiling at me so I got up and got the bottle ready. Got back to Oli and he was happy on his tummy, so I thought.. well, maybe I was wrong. And then he got cranky again.. you get the point. And I fed him and fed him and fed him.. A lot!

Oh all these confusions..

I was like an obsessed mother who kept signing "do you want MILK?" when there isn't any milk around. And even though he might have been giving him 'milk' sign I am pretty sure that he's as confused as me now :P

Yikes!

Parents pressure

Started to wean Oliver a bit so he is not completely on breastmilk - I figured it would be better to get him used to this before introducing solids, and guess what.... he's a muuuch more happier baby now, more content, less grumpy, naps are even better. I feel sad thinking that he must have been hungry (well maybe not exactly hungry, just not quite enough) all this time.

On that note though, I still am not very excited about the idea of solids. I know we have to do it sooner rather than later (he is turning 6 months old in about a week), but to think about the mess, the extra work, extra effort to introduce it to him... mmpppph (blowing raspberry like Oliver's new skill) it sounds soo complicated and I'd love to keep it this simple (although still not as simple as just giving breastmilk) for as long as I could!!!

Oooh.. the pressure of being a mother, the pressure of trying to give the best for your child. Yesterday Scott showed me a picture of this couple's baby looked happy and was having so much fun in a kindergym session. Hang on... What is it? Why is our baby not doing it? Does this mean that I didn't "help (your) child to maximize their learning potential ' since "the activities at the centre are not designed to speed up development but are to ensure that each baby/child gains full benefit from each developmental stage" (according to the website)? But we were already planning to enroll him to a swimming school and in my BC (Before Child) years, I promised I was not going to bombard my child with so many extra curricular that he probably would not enjoy anyway -but here I am considering doing everything at the same time and he's not even 6 months old yet.

Is this parents pressure - to make sure that your baby can have 'the best start in life'? Before I had a child I thought some parents just trying to get their children to do what they (the parents) want them to do, not what the children really want to do, but now I actually get it - you are doing it for your child. You are actually worried that you are not giving them enough learning experience, you are worried that they might be an outcast if they didn't do what the others did, that their developments might be behind other kids, in the nutshell - "not giving them the best start in life".

Question is: Is it true? Is it worth it? Is it really necessary or is it really there is a time for everything?

Anyway - too much thinking. My head is spinning.

Suburban CEO

Are you...

Staying home with kids but thinking about going back to work to save your sanity?
Feeling self-conscious when talking to friends who have careers?
Tired of going to lackluster, boring playgroups just to pass the time?

This site is for you!

Hmm.. I haven't really had time to read it but someone recommended this website to read: http://www.suburbanceo.com/.

It says... This site is for every woman who wants to stay at home with her children but has had to reluctantly admit that she often feels frazzled, overwhelmed and not totally fulfilled. This site will help you identify the five missing pieces from modern life as an at-home mom and become CEO of your own life. By doing this you'll be able to:
Make staying at home with kids as intellectually challenging (and far more rewarding) than any career.
Build a better social network than any of your working friends.
Take your house from quiet isolation to being a thriving hub of activity.
Set aside your resume: "having it all" does not necessarily mean having a job!

Hmm... might be interesting!!! I'll post more once I have time to gulp down the content -although please please don't assume that I am not enjoying being a stay at home mum.

On the Bradleys' news front, we had a busy week. Scott had been swamped with work - always always busy these days. Weekends are not good for relaxing either since we've been busy doing a lot of house inspections with a view to buy. Not very good prospect though, you can be sure that if we like something that we see, we won't be able to afford it. I know beggars can't be choosers but boy we're soo picky!! If only extra $$$$ can fall from the sky!!

Grandma came over from Orange for the weekend. Of course our little boy was a monster the whole time Grandma was here, and turned back to angel when she left. Lucky for us that she's biased hehe.. As always, Oliver doesn't know the concept of strangers. No stranger anxiety when meeting Grandma although last time he saw him he was only 2 weeks old - if someone decided to kidnap him, there wouldn't be any need to lure him with anything (touch wood). Mummy enjoyed having moments where she could hand Oli over to Gran for a few days.

The weather in Melbourne has been soo gorgeous - it is suprisingly 25 degrees today. I decided to take the little monster for his little excursion to the beach. He couldn't care less though *grin*, fell asleep all the way in the stroller.When he woke up and I put him on my lap but he was more interested in looking at his toes than the ocean and when I stood him up on the sand he was just as ignorant. This is really the case of a parent that is ready to show the world to the baby, only to be put off.

new pics

Little monster has been keeping me busy currently to get me going on the blog. But fifth month pics & a movie file have been uploaded on the website if youse all interested on http://home.exetel.com.au/bradley/baby_album/my_pictures.html

Oh no!

We spotted the second tooth popping out from Oli's gum! Maybe just didn't realise it before...

Early teether!

Here you go!
Felt something sharp in his mouth when he bit me yesterday, only to find a little pearl popping out from his gum.

Went to the pharmacy to get teething gel, just in case, and got confirmation from the pharmacist when she saw Oli's gum. And she said, "My boy didn't get it until 12 months!"

It's a day of neverending screams today.

Fly me to the moon - Oli's first big trip

Mummy's diary

21 Jul 07

(Lesson #1: Do not pack at the last minute to avoid overpacking (baby's stuff) and/or underpacking (mummy's))

We're taking the 2pm flight to Queensland. I knew I should have packed at least the night before but that would be unusual of me to do that. It was just unbelievable but there was so much to do! I was so busy that I literally didnt have enough time to sit down and had my breakfast before we left. I wasn't sure what he needed, couldn't make up my mind on what to bring - I ended up prety much taking almost the whole nursery. Packing for him took forever and I just threw some of my stuff in the suitcase at the end of it. In the end, the only thing I probably didn't bring was his cot.

(Lesson #2 - for daddy: Do not say "What would you do if we leave early this morning instead of the 2 o'clock flight?" while you're sitting down having a nice cup of coffee and your breakfast while your wife is running around getting things organised for YOUR boy. It is not very nice and your wife might not want to talk to you for the rest of the day.)

Milestone #1 : Oli tried to sit up without support in the morning on his rocker after breakfast

The flight was suprisingly quite easy - though it would be a different story if it was 5 or six hours flight. The passenger sat next to us moved to another row so we had next seat empty - very very helpful. Oli couldn't get comfortable to sleep but no problem with his ears during take off/landing.

We got our rented car - v annoyed because instead of the baby capsule we got a child seat, facing forward instead of rear facing. Aaargh.. Have to put rolled rug to support Oli's head and sit at the back to make sure he's ok. It is secured in the middle seat so Oli just staired right at the road and too fascinated to fall asleep even though I know he's very tired.

Arrived at poppy Bradley's at 6pm - Uncle Bob & Aunty Carol were there too. Oli went to bed straight away,thinking we should give him a power nap before he said hello to everyone, but we ended up letting him sleep until the morning. Too bad that uncle Bob & aunty Carol didn't even get to say hi!

22Jul

For lunch today we have: Daryl & Ann, poppy's best friends, Karen (Scott's sister) and Shawn & the kids, Paul (nanna Marg's son) and Janelle & the kids -rrrr... that's 15 of us. What a nerveracking time !

Just couldn't believe though that Oli actually had good naps all day, wasn't even bothered by the noise or overstimulated by the crowds. Phew.

Milestone #2: first tickle giggle - not with me or dad, but uncle Shawn.

23 Jul

yawn. Oli woke up twice this morning. Suspecting teething as he began to pull his ears as well as drooling (a garden sprinkler, Scott calls him).

24 Jul

Mummy & Oli went for a walk to the conservatory, looked like a jungle that we turned home halfway.

We went out for dinner with Murray & Marg (poppy and nanna) - the first time! Yay. He slept the whole time. Looks like we'll be having more dinner out from now on!

25 Jul

Oli and mummy were just having a boring day at poppy's place. At least mummy's got her new Harry Potter book. Not reading it as fast as I like though.

26 Jul

Scott's working from home. But Oli and I were going out with Janelle, sister in law, Paul's (Marg's son) wife. Went to the movie - not a baby session though, so when Oli started to get uncomfortable and started to make noise, I got so nervous. Had to put him down in his stroller and move him back & forth while watching.

Milestone #3: degree 'spinning' (very slow spinning!) on his tummy

Milestone #4: Roll over to his tummy. But of course we missed it. He started crying so I put him on his back and then i went to make a cup of tea. Scott was working just next to him, and the next minute he was on his tummy!

27 Jul

Had lunch at the Southbank and walked along the river with Scott in the afternoon.

Last night in Brisbane - we were having dinner with Marg & Murray, Janelle, Paul and the kids at the Thai restaurant not far from where we lived. Again, Oli slept well in the stroller. Yay!

28 Jul

It's funny what happened today. We flew out today , the flight was ok too. Except the nappy changing part in the small lavatory because I thought his nappy was soiled. Little did I know he then really soiled his nappy during landing - and his jumpsuit. He was really smelly, but couldn't change him until we landed.

got in the first parent room we found, but in the middle of changing nappy he decided to go for a wee, and spoilt his spare jumpsuit. I haven't got a spare of spare jumpsuit, we hadn't got our luggage, the only thing i had in the bag was my top that I packed just incase he leaked on me. So here he is, in mummy's top, happy as can be!

New pictures are uploaded on: http://home.exetel.com.au/bradley/baby_album/my_pictures.html

A Handful Oli

with cousins Nic, Chloe & Ben

Mummy's been pigging out.

It started with Oli being very fussy during the day lately, and when I took him him to see the nurse at the health centre, we found out that he hasn't been gaining enough weight (can't tell if you look at his chubby cheeks & creases on his legs though).

The nurse recommended me to start cereal on him. But he's only 4 months old!


Desperately trying to increase my milk supply (hence a lot of food, water, milk and beer!!! We don't have guiness but apparently normal beer helps to increase milk production as well - good enough for me) because I really need him to have good immune system & antibody at the moment:
1. I am catching flu (not looking forward for his first head cold), but this might actually mean that my milk will decrease
2. He's getting his second jabs on Thursday
3. We're going to Queensland to visit poppy Bradley & nanna Marg for a week on Saturday.

So far I'm sick of eating and drinking and not sure if my milk supply increases.

Would be an interesting (and dreading) to see what happens. He's a handful already even when he's not cranky. He's doing half roll now when put on his back on his babygym, trying so hard to roll over until his face turns red and he gets really upset that Mummy needs to step in. The other day he's trying to crawl with his face down dragging along on the baby gym - oouch - that mummy needed to step in as well.

His naps are generally getting better now that I take time to do proper wind down. I'd pick him up when he's whingy and start singing to him (Unfortunately Scott said the only reason Oli goes quiet everytime I sing is because he's hoping that maybe mummy would stop singing? Very funny, dad.) His favourite song is 'over the rainbow' but mummy can only sing the first verse (over and over and over).

what's in the name

Lots.

Apparently, these days parents get a lot of pressure in naming their babies. They want their chidlren to have names that set them apart from the rest of the pack, but also not so unusual that they will be target of the bullies at school.

(In my opinion, people -no matter how famous they are- who named their children Apple, Shiloh or Suri are as weird and nasty as what Michael Jackson did to his sons - just different approaches)

Anyway, some parents are willing to go the distances by hiring a baby-name consultant. Yes, a baby-name consultant.

For $95, BabyNames.com will set you up with a half-hour phone consulting session to find that perfect name for your little one. If that’s too much time and money, you can pay $35 and they’ll suggest 12 names based on a list of preferences you can check off on the site. Do you want ethnic, biblical, trendy, traditional? How about a name of your favourite place? (Sidney? Wiena? As long as it is not Paris).

Or you can shell out more to pay a numerologist to see if your favourite name has positive associations, or get the expert to make up names from the combination of your and your partner's name combinations.

Oh boy, talking about spending money. My suggestions would be that you go to the library and borrow some babyname books or find them on the internet, and spend that $35 or that $95 for coffee and cake or dinner with your partner, before the little one arrives (you can also talk about baby names with him!)