Learning and Growing Fast

Trying to put on her sock... you are not ready yet little girl.

Even Oliver has not mastered the skills.

But watch Heidi, she is growing fast. She can already put on her own bib.

Sway to the music

Probably because of the teachers' frequent singing to her, when Heidi listens to music or songs, she would sway her body in enjoyment of the songs.

Heidi's Bedtime Friends

The tiger is one of the finger puppets we bought at Ikea. The last time we went Ikea, we did not see this animal finger puppets collection, but human fingers puppets (Ghost included). It has become a nightly ritual that Heidi while lying on her bouncer bed will play with her friends - tiger, frog, monkey, parrot and more. She especially likes the tiger and the frog. She hates lying on th bed and need to be 'entertained' to distract her.

I played it so often with her that smart little girl even picks up the skill of putting the puppet on her finger herself.

Heidi walks many more steps

I did not witness that moment of Heidi walking many steps. This is probably one of the regrets most working parents would have.

Around two weeks ago, Heidi started taking one or two steps. I wonder if she would actually walk before her first birthday. Heidi is developing very fast and a very smart kid, which a few teachers at Del-care said. I think Heidi is very responsive baby and because she is so responsive, most people finds her very cute. Most of the time, she would be smiling at people and when leaving, she would put her tiny hand towards her mouth to wave a kiss goodbye. Of course, she can be selective of people she smiles to. She is afraid of loudness and can easily show her dislike by yelling. I have realised that to communicate to Heidi or like many other babies, one has to smile and have eye contact first before going near and talk to them. They take time to absorb what they are looking at and take time to feel comfortable with you before you start talking. This strategy is likely to succeed. Seems to me like taming an animal.. haha.

I will try again tonight to make Heidi walk that many steps which I have missed.

Heidi, do you miss Oliver? I bet you do.

Dancing

We noticed recently that Heidi sways to music. Sometimes when she hears music from the TV, or from the toy piano, she will shift her body weight and sway left and right =)

Force feeding

Sophia has been trying to get Heidi to drink formula for the last 2 nights. But Heidi is a stuborn and feisty baby. First night she cried for an hour before Sophia gave up. Second night was worse. 2 hours before Heidi finally stopped and realised that the milk isn't that bad and she drank some of it.

It's not that formula is new to her. We have been slowly transitting her by asking the teachers to supplement EBM with formula in school. They don't seem to have major problem feeding her in school.

But at home, she would cry, scream, kick, wiggle, shake her head violently, and cry some more.

Tonight, we decided to give her and ourselves a break from the force feeding treatment. Sophia could sleep slightly earlier and I could blog.

Scootergirl

Walker

Heidi took to the walker from her cousin Veron like a P-plate driver to her new car. At first we thought the design of the walker was quite bad, with the rear wheels (in blue and red) sticking out too far. At first Heidi's legs keeps hitting them when she tried to walk. Which prompted Sophia to buy a used-one from ebay (the same one that Oliver used to learn).

However, once Oliver saw the "new" one, it became his. So Heidi has to content herself to the badly designed one. However, she adapted herself quickly and now walks without hitting the wheels. And surprisingly, when she come up against obstacles or the wall, she could manoeuvre around or make a U-turn. Of course sometimes she will just whine and look for help and attention, especially when Sophia is near.

Peek-A-Boo

Heidi knows how to play this game with her mommy. Give her a blanket on our bed and she will cover her face and then bring it down with a smile or chuckle. So very adorable.

Mama

I think Heidi knows me by "mama". For a while, she would call out "mama" when I walked away or disappeared for a bit to do some housework. I hope she can call "mummy" before she reaches two years old. Yes, Oliver took two years to call me "mayi".. and it is "ma-yi" not "mummy". With Oliver it was "papa" indiscriminately, with Heidi, it was "mama". Quite fair. Haha

Heidi's first few steps

I have wanted to get an activity walker for Heidi for a while. We managed to borrow one for Oliver and he used it to practice walking almost every day. Hence, I went to ebay to search for a second hand walker and found one which was exactly the same model as Oliver's one. Hence, I bought it at $13 and collected it today. Although I must say I find the seller rather rude and was actually quite eager to see how he looked. Well, it turned out to be a she and seemed to those inconsiderate type. Anyway, I managed to collect the walker at Clarke Quay which I happened to have a working lunch. So coincident and perfect timing!

Very eagerly, I washed the walker and couldn't wait a second to see Heidi trying on it. But Oliver was excited and decided to 'owe' the walker. Luckily, my brother lent me his walker over the weekend and hence Heidi could use my brother's.

Tonight (12 Aug 09), Heidi is 11 months, 1 week & 3 days old. We witnessed Heidi's very first two steps without any support. This moment is really amazing! Oliver has his first five steps when he is about one year old.

I realise that I have not been blogging much on Heidi's growth milestone. Got to record it more frequently before time flies.

Hello Again Botanic Gardens

It has been for months since we last visited Botanic Gardens. There was never a good time. Either Oliver would fall asleep along the way or the weather was scorching hot. The weather was good and I enjoyed the slight drizzle. If not for Oliver and Heidi, I would really love to walk in the drizzling rain.

Oliver carried his favourite umbrella, but hardly opened it. He preferred to dragged it along as he walked, as he still did not know how to hold his umbrella upright.

Oliver was too passionate for Heidi's comfort.

Heidi was full of grouses and wanted to be carried all the time.

It could be the weather or the soft light from the sky. I never find the flowers so beautiful as I found them today.

Oliver loves fountain. He can spot one from afar. I think Heidi share the same passion as her brother. She would sit in her stroller quietly to watch the waterfall, which was unusual.

We had a relaxing day at the Gardens. Even the bad attitude of the botak head server at Casa Verdes Restaurant did not dampened our good moods.

Visit to Outram Polyclinic

A few more weeks to go before Heidi turns one. The time whizzes by unbelievably. Yesterday, we went for her second dose of Prevenar which was the jab to prevent pneumoccol. It was a scheduled appointment to the Polyclinic. We like the short wait and the friendly and professional nurse there.

However, we were concerned with the communal spread of H1N1, and wondered if we were taking a risk with Heidi. Children under 3 years old are considered as high-risk group. After some thinking, we decided to go ahead with the visit, but we took precautional measures. Instead of bringing Heidi straightaway, Boon Heng would stayed with Heidi at the outdoor area while I waited for our queue number to be called.

Our plan was nearly foiled. At the entrance of the clinic, there were temperature check, which was good. Then the staff who took my temperature asked me to go in only when Heidi arrived. I didn't what come over me. Maybe it is maternal instinct to protect my girl. I said a straight "No. She is waiting outside and will come when it is her turn". After scanning Heidi's health booklet, the young man (looked like a temp staff) again said,"The waiting will not be long. You can ask her to come to the clinic now." At that point, my common sense answered for me, "I have been to this polyclinic many times. And I know how long the wait is."

Until now, I could not understand why his persistence in getting Heidi who is considered a high risk group into the clinic. Perhap, the young man is too young to understand what a life means. Or perhap, I was being too caution. To think that my girl would to catch H1N1 is really unthinkable, especially our intention for the visit is to protect her from other forms of virus.

Holding Milk Bottle on Her Own

At about 11 months, Heidi can hold milk bottle on her own.