These days, I’ve been trading time to blog/surf/online shop for some birthday planning which includes the oven and some flour. I’m thrilled to be planning a first DIY kids birthday party for my very own, and am finally getting started after a huge push via birthday invites from kids whose parties are weeks after the chungkin’s.

Procrastinator, I can be no more. Although it’s nothing fancy, just a cozy homey affair to celebrate chungkin’s first year old milestone, an excuse to go all crazy with the photo-taking and create more wonderful memories.

For now, before CNY ends…just wanted to post some recent snaps of the little dude to encapsulate his current phrase of being such a little adrenalin-junkie, being foul tempered as he wish (we’re addressing this now), and grown-up at the same time…which sometimes leaves me bewildered.

{I heart papa & son moments}

{on the 3rd day of CNY}

{family}

{strolling with godmama}

{first time on the monkey bar. first time my heart dropped. yet he enjoyed his firsts, and kept wanting more}

{and then it was swing time which he totally enjoyed too}

{another papa, son moment where they just “nua” or dazed…}

{papa & son take 3}

{poo face mid meal. he’s so going to love me for posting this one up}

{ah boys to men part 3}

{ching chong boys}

{babies in a row}

My best christmas presents this year weren’t the prettily packaged ones under the tree but the people that were with me.

My favourite being a little chungkin named Liam who was busily soaking in the merriment surrounding him to his heart’s content on Christmas morning.

 

Celebrations were made simple as how they always are, catching up with both sides of the family over good ole’ carols playing in the background and festive, burp-worthy grub.

The bo & I even managed to attend the annual christmas themed party held at our godparents’ since 13 years ago during christmas eve thanks to mom who volunteered to sit out of this year’s party & help us babysit Liam (thank you so much mom).

It was a wonderful start to wind down the year.

And as I soak in the last days of 2012 with family and take a break from the blog, here’s wishing everyone Happy Holidays, Felice Navidad, Prospero Ano y Felicidad!

The little man turned 8 months today and to celebrate, I decided to take some time off (party planning mode) and spent some mom + son time over some coffee & cakes.

It was just us two, and he was every bit the charmer – allowing me to enjoy my brew and grub as he throw me plentiful of smiles, over the shoulder hugs & “mam mam mam mama mama bababa” talk that others around us couldn’t help but reciprocate his smiley greetings with more smiles.

It was a fantastic date. Definitely impressed the socks off mama here.

I love you so so so so much my bub bub.

Liam had his first swim in the big pool on Sunday and he was such a charmer in water that I felt like jumping & joining in regardless how much grief this post partum body has been causing me in the self-confidence category.

{sideways like a dolphin}

But of course I didn’t want to risk any embarrassment of sorts on the little man’s first swim class with the onset of cramps and all, so thankfully papa was more than happy to have some father-son splashing good fun.

{1 little alligator sitting on the wall…}

 I was a little hesitant towards how Liam would take swim class initially since his last swim in a big tub (with a neck float which he hates donning on no less) was more than 2 months ago. Plus he hasn’t been a fan of having water trickle down his face during bath time of late.

So when I saw that our little man was practically kicking away from end to end, getting all excited each time the swim instructor stretched out her arms to do some surfing & turfing in the water, and squealing in delight whenever they had to do a little (aided) jump off the wall or device into the pool after every song for most of the lesson – it was too cute to watch!

And aw, lots of papa-son moments happened too! Especially loved how Liam trusted papa to guide him across the pool without any floating aid. Although there were few moments the chungkin looked around for mama *beams* for added assurance especially when it came pouring water over his head (which the Bo and I soon realized that our little fella wasn’t afraid of water getting into his eyes/nose/mouth. Turns out he just wanted to ‘manja’ and get mama’s attention – point  was proven in the shower post swim class).

And the weather…gorgeous weather we were blessed with – Liam got a fair share of sun and I got a tan from basking in it. It didn’t feel like dreadful, rainy December at all and that definitely helped made swimming every bit more enjoyable!

{happy bubba post swim class}

Remember the ah-amazing weekend I blogged about some 4 weeks back with my group of yummy mummies?

Well, amazing mum KK uploaded the edited photos on her FB tonight and it was such a great way to end today.

Looking at all the lovely colors & smiles on everyone’s faces brought back lots of happy thoughts & vibes as I scrolled through the photos amidst doing my night pumping (haha, the things we do to occupy ourselves away from the mundane tasks).

I can’t be thankful enough for the very supportive & wonderful yummy mummy network, and the treasured friendships that we all share. It’s amazing how fate brought us to each other and closer for that matter. And the honesty & love that flows within just warms my heart each time we’re snooping or ranting our hearts out.

Here’s my favourite selection of the lot. Especially the Bo & Chungkin (papa + son) shots…aww finally something frame-worthy for the home. And happy to announce that we finally have some decent family photos too! Although I really need to lose the remaining 10!

{the team of YM..am going to miss yummy mummy A when she leaves for Lux real soon}

{hanging out with SL & KK}

{the chungs}

{sings: we are family}

{por por gets to join in the fun too!}

{papa & his mini-me} *swoon

{my 2 favourite men}

Oh! the irony of being a SAHM and complaining about the lack of time to do anything else such as blogging…tsk tsk *sheepish guilty moment.

Truth be told, since Liam’s been established on 3 meals some 2 weeks back – my schedule has somewhat ran amok despite a routine.

Coupled with the enthusiasm for eating (I’m not complaining, good problem to have right?) all sort of varieties thrown on his plate, his want for attention – my attention in particular – has gone up 10 notches since a month ago. No longer can I just lay him in the cot or pen to self entertain. If I want him to play on his own, there had better be a play mate to go along with it.

But despite all that, motherhood’s still all good. We went for his vaccination last week at the pead’s and he was weighing in 8.6kg and 69.5cm. Geez, what does this little dude eat!

Meanwhile, to mark the little one’s 6 months journey into our world…

{happy bubba all ready for reading time}

{still enjoying bouncing about in the roo}

{still enjoying the play gym mama got at a steal :p}

{swimming is still a favourite activity}

{always happy when we’re heading out}

{spotted: 2 little white pearlies sprouting!}

{sucha food monster}

{smiles to almost everyone at the supermarket…which he’s become very familiar with}

{nom.nom.nom}

I love you so much, Liam!

Thursday evening. The queens were invited to Ning’s cointreauversial event – very proud of this babe of a good friend that she was chosen as the brand’s ambassador for Singapore – and it was such a magical night.

I enjoyed wearing my pair of heels regardless how awkward the BR said I looked walking in them and how achy they made my feet at the end of the night.

The crowd was good, mingling was good, photo taking with the girls was good, canapés was good, and drinks too (so I was told – bfing mama here, remember?). I had such a blast and couldn’t be happier for the very gorgeous Ning.

And to top it off, we won the best group photo of the night (hur hur hur) and wore such astonished expressions as we collected our prizes as if it was the most dreaded thing, to be winning something. I guess none of us really expected anything more out of what was already a great party! Haha!

Today was our first experience at the indoor playground and boy was it tones of fun. It expended all the energy he had store in him, made him laugh and giggle a lot, allowed me to catch a breather & have an adult conversation with the cousin (yay!). And the best part: he got in for free because he was less than 6 months old. Triple whee!

Looks like I know where I’m going be spending my future afternoons and monies on in future :)

As if that wasn’t enough…the little man played even more while waiting for his dinner to be prepared. Mama here was almost 80% zonked out by then.

In last week’s happenings, I finally met up with a blog reader-turned-friend over lunch! Seeing her little bub & my friend’s 7-weeks-old made me go awwwww several times and reminisce the days Liam was that teeny weeny too.

{meet little sherbelle & little noah}

Also bumped into Maria & little Alex on the same day!

The little man has also been introduced to first foods some weeks ago and so far so good, I’m thankful he chows anything that comes his way and hope it stays that way!

He’s had avos, carrots, bananas, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, pears, with bananas (too sweet) & pears (lil grainy) getting some used to during the first few spoons. This week: peas, apples & cauli!

He’s also got an upgrade in the pool recently – from a neck float to a seat float – crying & screaming for one. Somehow this little dude is absolutely sensitive and particular when it comes to anyone messing around with his neck. I can’t wait to have swim lessons with him soon though. Me thinks he enjoys himself more being mostly submerged in the pool vs. sitting idly in one.

In milestones: definitely a lot of toe-sucking & flipping/rolling about in all directions of late. He’s even starting to recognize some alphabets on the lettersaurus. Gaaah. Wait up, little fella.

If there’s one thing Coach has finally done right in the recent years  - the revival of the  legacy collection is probably it.

I first fell in love with Coach more than a decade back when I was introduced to their leather duffle. It was simple, unassuming and elegant – with a simple Coach label affixed on. The way I like my leather bags to be. No gaudy prints susceptible to fading. No needing to try too hard. Just the accessory I could complement my first work outfits with as I transitioned from teenager to young adult. And still being able to chuck in a whole load of ‘barang barang’ (a colloquial Malay term for personal belongings) without anyone needing to know what was really inside (*coughs*gummy sweets & plasters & 3 different types of lip floss *coughs*).

What I didn’t fancy though were the newer designs that started appearing in varied styles of monogram & prints, whatever happened to the simplicity of a luxury leather bag? Why wasn’t it kept as a classic range amidst the newfangled collections? Couldn’t they have attempted on making the leather range lighter for everyday use instead of shadowing other whimsical brands? Plus, I didn’t have a good impression of the quality of fabric bags as few of my ex-colls owned them and some gave way within a few times of use.

Anyway.

Being the momma that I am now, often dressed in black these days as I work on losing the remaining stubborn 10kg (I doubt it’s ever going to go away), I was stopped in my tracks last weekend when we walked past the Coach paragon store, surprised to be greeted by the cheerful hues of pop colors displayed. (p/s: somehow when a kid comes along, you’re just that much more incline to add on pops of bright shades to your outfit. Or at least that’s me). The Legacy collection was back with a vengeance – with tastefully hued colors to boot!

And as I exclaimed to the husband “the good ole Coach that I fell in love with is back”, he couldn’t agree more how lovely the mens Legacy range were too.

So here are some of my favorites pieces. Not that I’ll be getting my hands on any soon since the diaper bag will probably be my IT bag for a long while to come…

But isn’t walking into a store with things you fancy always a treat? :p

Source | Coach

{a necessary group photo after our 1st dinner out together at super peking duck}

{can’t get enough of little man in swimming action}

{with pretty mama ashy for tea}

{the more we get together}

{happy feet}

{whyyyyy so serious?}

Here’s my first attempt at starting a visual diary for days/posts when I’ve nothing much to say except to post photos just so you know that I’m still alive and kicking (just saying) ;p

{Having Korean BBQ dinner with my IJ darlings before I go into confinement mode within the month}

{2 of the darlings – Fi & Margie who made sure they took good care of us 2 preggers in the group}

{primary & secondary school classmates, now moms-to-be and both expecting dragon boys}

{cookies & creme milkshake for a quick perk-me-up, which baby chungkin enjoyed}

{group shot}

{all-time favorite snack & recent craving, tu tu kueh}

{my nth time of bubble tea throughout entire pregnancy, first time trying milk tea and its so good!}

Korean BBQ dinner was at:

Jang Shou Korean Charcoal BBQ (East Coast)

86 East Coast Road

#02-11/20, Blk B Katong Village,Singapore

Get reviews here & yes, be prepared to smell like a BBQ pit after that too :)