This year marks the 3rd anniversary of my dad’s death. It simultaneously feels like it happened yesterday and forever ago.
I usually go to our local Church and light a candle for him but with everything that’s going on at the moment I stayed at home. Now that Miss K is a little bit older I thought it would be nice to keep his memory alive by showing her pictures of her Ah Gong and telling her about him.
It makes me so sad that he missed out on meeting her and being able to be a grandfather. I know he would’ve made a fantastic Ah Gong!
Despite the sadness this day brings it’s also a cause for celebration as my niece was also born on this day. Coincidence? Maybe. But I like to think that my dad had some part to play in it.
My niece’s 1 year old birthday is coming up, so I thought I’d put together a fun gift guide for 1 year old’s! Turning one is such an important milestone (particularly for the parents!) but I also believe that there’s no need to go overboard with gifts as they’ll love anything you get for them. I’m pretty sure my 1 year old would have been overjoyed to receive a tissue box!
In no particular order, here are some fun items you can get for a 1 year old!
Just wanted to pop in and say that this month has been a tough month for me and so many other people during the coronavirus outbreak. However, I’m doing my best to stay positive and keep as much of a routine as possible for Miss K. Fortunately she’s young enough not to know what’s going on or miss anything. How is everyone else doing? Sending you positive vibes wherever you are!
If you’re a mum to a toddler, then you’ll know the struggle is real when it comes to keeping food interesting for your little one! I found this fantastic resource of 100+ fantastic food for toddlers that I wanted to share!
For my birthday this year, we took a 14-day road trip in New Zealand. Many years ago, I did a solo backpacking trip and fell in love with the country. I always knew that I wanted to return and share it with my family. Now that Miss K is a bit older, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to go on a family road trip!
Here’s the overview of our very relaxed itinerary with our 16 month old toddler in tow:
Day 1: Arrive in Auckland. Overnight at Novotel Auckland Airport.
Day 2: Drive from Auckland to Waitomo. 2 Nights at Waitomo Top 10 Holiday Park. Museum of Caves and Ruakuri Caves Tour.
Day 4: Drive from Waitomo to Rotorua. 4 Nights at Quest Apartments. Redwoods Treewalk, Te Puia, Polynesian Spa, Skyline Rotorua Gondola plus buffet lunch at Stratosfare Restaurant, Kuirau Park and Rainbow Springs Nature Park.
Day 8: Drive from Rotorua to Taupo. 2 Nights at Quest Apartments. Lake Taupo and Huka Falls.
Day 10: Drive from Taupo to Matamata. 1 Night at Broadway Motel and Miro Court Villas. Hobbiton Movie Set Tour.
Day 11: Drive from Matamata to Auckland. 3 Nights at Auckland Waterfront Serviced Apartments. Auckland Fish Market, food galore and retail therapy.
Day 14: Drive from Auckland to Auckland Airport. Overnight at Novotel Auckland Airport. Early flight back home!
I noticed that Miss K wasn’t engaging with the toys on her bottom shelf, so I shifted her 2 Montessori shelves to the middle of the bookcase. Since then there’s been a small but noticeable change in the way that she’s drawn in and engages with her toys and activities.
Top Shelf
EverEarth Pop Up Bunny Toy – I came across this lovely pop up bunny toy in a local kids store in town but there are a lot of online stores that also stock this. The bunnies are spring loaded, so once their locked into place they’ll pop up the next time you press them down. It’s great for learning cause and effect, colour recognition, hand eye coordination and focus. At the moment Miss K is too young to push the bunnies down but she loves watching me pop the bunnies (her eyes will screw up in anticipation!) and is able to put them back, although not the right side up or colour yet. I’ve noticed that she’ll ignore this toy if the bunnies are in their place, so when we’re not actively playing with the toy, I’ll usually leave the bunnies out on the shelf and she usually can’t resist putting them back in!
2-Piece Number Puzzle – received as a present from my mother-in-law, this is a fantastically simple number puzzle for little people! The numbers range from 1-10 and correspond with a matching number of animals. I found that for the moment, having only 1 puzzle out is best and Miss K loves taking it apart. She also loves having a good old chew on them every now and them, so I need to keep an eye out as their only made from cardboard!
Kmart Wooden Jungle Bead Maze – couldn’t resist picking up this simple and affordable jungle bead maze from Kmart. It’s small enough for her to carry around and she’s learnt how to push the beads backwards and forwards.
Kmart Wooden Xylophone – another amazing toy from Kmart’s wooden toy range! It’s bright, cheery, and Miss K loves having a good old bang on her xylophone. Sometimes she’ll even use the hammer from her Bello Hammer Ball set!
Bottom Shelf
Schleich Farm Animals – see previous description here.
Bello Hammer Ball – see previous description here. At 16 months Miss K has now learnt how to hammer the balls through! It’s amazing watching her happily hammer away.
Various Homemade Shakers – I made various shakers filled with dried pasta and beans when Miss K was a baby. I’ve brought them out again as we use shakers in her toddler music class and their fun to shake along with some music.
Big W Wooden Fruits Puzzle – Unlike Kmart, Big W have a limited range of wooden toys so I couldn’t resist picking this up while I was in store. Unfortunately I couldn’t find this on their online store, so it may not be in stock anymore. As a puzzle, this is too advanced for Miss K but it’s great for naming fruits. Each fruit is listed in English below and I’m planning on adding Chinese characters under each fruit.
We’ve been living in Albury for over a year now and I have to say that life is good. I’m not going to lie – the first 6 months or so was pretty tough. My husband’s working hours were crazy and at times I felt like a single mum. An unexpected family issue popped up that caused a lot of strain and stress on our new little family. Thankfully, things resolved themselves and we’re in a much better place now.
My husband’s colleagues have been so welcoming and I’ve made a few mum friends in town. What was unfamiliar is now familiar. As I’ve mentioned before, Albury is a small town but it has everything that we need. We’re simple people and enjoy the quiet life.
The cafe and coffee scene here is incredible. Now that Miss K is a bit older I’ve been enjoying taking her out on mummy and me coffee dates. She loves people watching and will wave to anyone and everything with a comically solemn face. Everyone that comes across her adores her and I’ve enjoyed making memories with her in Albury.
When I do get itchy feet and intense cravings for Asian food, we’re fortunate to live a short 3.5 hour drive away from Melbourne. We’re also close to Canberra and other smaller towns, which are on our list to visit and explore.
Of course, it’s been difficult living so far away from close friends and family. Photo’s and video calls just aren’t the same. I’ve always been independent but having a child changes things. However, it does make trips back and visits so much more special.
There are no regrets with the move though and I’m excited to see where the next few years takes us!
Long before the Instant Pot hit Australian shores, we’d purchased ours through Amazon (before it turned into Amazon AU!) based on all the hype that we’d been hearing from the US. To this day, it’s been our most used kitchen appliance and has been a life changer for us!
We have the 6L Instant Pot and I use it a few times a week. I love how there’s minimal mess, you can set and forget, there’s a safe pressure release, and cook deeply flavorful meals that would otherwise take a very long time. There are also some dishes such as Chicken Congee that I’ve never been able to cook in a normal pot but turns out perfectly in the Instant Pot.
Below are some of my favourite Instant Pot recipes. The great thing about cooking is that these are all adjustable according to your own tastes.
As a non-fluent Cantonese and Mandarin speaker, I’ve found it incredibly hard to source bilingual materials to teach my daughter! I recently discovered Mandarin Readers based in Australia, so I just had to share for those that are in a similar boat!
Has anyone tried making their own bubble tea at home?
Finally caved and bought myself a rose quartz face roller. If you’re like me and don’t really know how to use it properly … here are some easy instructions!
Very excited to have purchased tickets to Miss K’s first kids concert! Who else loves Play School!?
Miss K is now 15 months old and to keep things interesting for her, I’ve started rotating her toys every month. Trying to keep with the Montessori philosophy, the bottom 2 shelves of our bookcase have been cleared for her.
Each cube contains a single toy/puzzle or theme of toys either on its own or displayed in a basket. There’s a also a table and chair set off to the side that sometimes has its own toy or is used to place the toy that she’s currently playing with. While there is room for improvement, the overall result is an uncluttered and organised space just for Miss K.
Top Shelf
Bello Hammer Ball – this is a beautifully made 4-ball pound and hammer set that we purchased form Kidstuff but sadly doesn’t appear to be on their website at the moment. The base is angled so that the balls easily roll out. It’s great for hand-eye coordination, building arm strength, focus, colour matching, and understanding object permanence. At the moment Miss K isn’t strong enough to hammer hard enough for the balls to pop through but she loves to catch them and put them back when I do it for her! She’ll usually hand me the hammer when she wants me to play with her.
Mini Discovery Boxes and Balls – borrowed from our local toy library and Miss K loves these! She loves picking them up, seeing what’s inside, shaking them, and putting them back inside the basket.
Q Toys Montessori Baby Rings – when we first purchased these rings, she loved gnawing on the rings and banging them together. Now, she likes to take the rings off but hasn’t quite figured out how to put them back on yet.
Schleich Farm Animals – after reading so many positive reviews about the quality and realism of Schleich toys, I purchased some common farm animals from Mini Zoo (cat missing in action at the time of the photo). They’re extremely well made and the attention to detail is amazing. They’ve also held up being chewed and thrown around by Miss K. She doesn’t play with these often but it’s a great way to introduce animals and their sounds to her. Funnily enough Miss K and her toddler friends love the little chicken!
Bottom Shelf
Playgro Textured Sensory Balls and Bright Starts Oball with Rattle – now that Miss K is walking she doesn’t play with these often (close up above). She’ll usually pick them up for a closer look and then place them back in the basket. After this month, it’ll be time to put these away for a while.
Wooden Ambulance – borrowed from our local toy library, this ambulance is one of 4 wooden vehicles that I’ve been rotating this month. These have been great for teaching Miss K how to roll objects backwards and forwards.
Very Hungry Caterpillar Jack in a Box – received as a present from my mother-in-law, this has always been a hit whenever I’ve brought out the toy. Miss K still hasn’t figured out how to turn the handle yet but she loves seeing the caterpillar pop out and tries to push him back in! It’s great for teaching cause and effect, fine motor coordination, and delayed gratification.
Woody The Worm – this beautiful and bright worm caught my eye at a local baby gift store in town. Unfortunately the paint doesn’t hold up very well, so I’ve had to keep it in storage until Miss K started chewing things less. This isn’t one of her favourites but she can keep herself entertained for a few minutes by swinging it around.
On the Table
Large Wooden Farm Animal Puzzle – borrowed from our local toy library, this is one of 2 large wooden puzzles that I keep on her desk or our couch. The knobs are huge so their easy for her to grasp and pull the pieces out. At this point in time I’m not concerned with her being able to put the correct pieces back in their places. Instead, I’ll keep the puzzles in tact as she likes to pull the pieces out in her own time. Together, we’ll identify the animals/objects, ask for certain pieces, and show her how the pieces can be put back.
Just over a year ago Miss K was born and I wanted to share the story of her birth.
Leading up to my due date, there were concerns that the baby’s growth had slowed down and the amniotic fluid surrounding it was low. This meant that that the baby was potentially not receiving enough blood and nutrients. So as I approached full-term, the decision was made to induce me at 37.5 weeks.
I always imagined that my waters would break in the middle of the night and I would be rushed to hospital Hollywood style but I suppose it wasn’t meant to be!
The day before I was due to be induced, I was admitted into hospital. After settling in, I went into the delivery room where a Foley balloon was inserted to soften my cervix and encourage dilation. When the balloon was inflated inside me, the pressure felt much like bad period cramps but it went away after a while. I had to leave the balloon inside me overnight, which wasn’t painful but quite uncomfortable.
My husband stayed with me as long as visiting hours permitted. After he left, I tried to get an early night’s rest but it was difficult with the balloon inside me and knowing what was happening tomorrow! In the end I asked for a sleeping pill and was able to get some shut eye before the big day ahead.
The next morning was a flurry of activity as I showered and got ready to be induced. We were told that I would be induced early morning around 8am, so when my husband hadn’t arrived yet I was feeling a bit stressed! By 8.30am he still hadn’t arrived yet, so I texted him and went into the delivery room first.
Inside the delivery room, I had the balloon removed and got hooked up to 2 different machines. The first machine was a cardiotocography (CGT) machine used to monitor the baby’s heart rate and the second machine to administer the drug Pitocin to stimulate contractions.
By the time I was hooked up to both machines, I was relieved to see that my husband had arrived – turned out that he was busy getting all the camera gear and last few bits and pieces organised!
Around 9am the obgyn came in to check up on me and manually break my waters. It was an unpleasant feeling but I figured it was nothing compared to what was coming up! After my waters broke, I could feel the liquid seep out of me. It was an odd feeling lying there waiting for my contractions to begin.
Active labour started around 11am and that’s when I experienced my first contractions. They were relatively mild at first and similar to the pain level of bad period cramps. I was able to breathe through them lying down but soon enough I needed some pain relief.
I wasn’t opposed to having an epidural but I didn’t want to have it unless I really needed it, so I opted to have some gas. The gas was a welcome distraction but it did little to take the pain away. I decided to walk around and found that leaning over the bed during contractions helped.
During this time the obgyn was popping in and out to check on my progress but stated that I still had a while to go. One of the last things that I remember clearly is him asking me whether I needed any more pain relief and me saying no. Shortly after he left the contractions hit me hard and things became hazy.
I like to think that I have a relatively high pain tolerance but the intensity and seemingly never ending rolling waves of pain were nothing I’d ever felt before. After I experienced another excruciating contraction I asked the nurse for an epidural, which had to be approved by my obgyn. It was approved over the phone but unfortunately the anesthesiologist was running behind on schedule.
I’m not sure how long I waited because I can’t really remember anything beyond the pain. All I remember is suddenly being in a sitting position on the bed with my head in the arms of a nurse and gripping my husband’s hand. I could hear the anesthesiologist telling me what he was going to do and me just thinking hurry up and just do it!
The anesthesiologist and nurse were having a good old chat about his cows and I almost screamed at them to shut up as I had another contraction. Finally, the epidural was in place and not long after the pain subsided. I was finally able to relax!
As the epidural made the lower half of my body numb, I was able to lay back down with my legs propped up. My obgyn came in to check on me and told me that I’d be able to deliver soon! Even after all that I’d gone through, that still took me by surprise!
After a short while, I started to feel the pressure to push and was encouraged to start pushing. Similar to the contractions, the urge to push came in waves but it didn’t hurt. I could vaguely feel the baby at the entrance and was using all my strength to push. Finally, the obgyn asked my husband if he wanted to grab the baby and I could feel our baby coming out!
Around 4pm our beautiful daughter Miss K was born. As the nurse laid her tiny, naked body on my chest I felt such a rush of love, joy and protectiveness. Everything I’d gone through hours before was forgotten except for the beautiful little girl I had in my arms.
