1 Candle

Julianne blew out her very first candle at a little family party we threw her on Saturday over the long weekend.  The plan was to keep it small, meaningful and personal.  If there was one thing I really wanted for the party, it was for it to be really *her* party and for her to enjoy herself.  That’s the challenging part since not many one year olds will really know what all the fuss over a first birthday party is all about.

But I think at the end of it, our daughter *really* did enjoy every bit of her party! She got to eat her favourite lunch of pasta, got to play with the many balloons that decked the house and got to sway her butt and bop to the one thing she loves most outside of family – music.

At one, you really don’t have many friends and the last thing I wanted was for her party to be yet another big peoples party.  So we kept the guest-list small, just her cousins Sophie, Sean and Ryan and my cousins’ babies – Mikaela and Miguel – both born within a month after Julianne.  In fact Mika was born just 6 days after Jules! My cousins and I grew up tight cos of our close age gap and I thought it was really nice that our kids will now do the same.

Our little (and not so little) guests

I figured before Julianne starts calling the shots as to what the theme to her birthday should be (and I start going crazy having to make everything “Mickey Mouse-able or Doc McStuffin-able”), I better jump at the chance to have a non-cartoon/animal related birthday theme.  And so buntings, pinwheels, polka-dots and stripes were the order for the day.  I picked up the Meri Meri alphabet buntings and literally hunted down a little quaint shop at Haji Lane for the alphabets ‘A’ and ‘I’.  They were sold out everywhere else – I had to call the distributor of Meri Meri products to find out who else carried it!  We also hung a lovely bunting made from the adorable Sarah Jane Children-at-Play fabrics which I got off Etsy to add that whimsical feel in the air.  I made my own polka dots cups because I refused to pay $8 for a pack of 8 polka dotted paper cups and I because I didn’t know how to do the same with straws, I picked up some polka dots paper straws from the good people at PaperMart.  Pinwheels lined the staircase railings and polka dot balloons added the finishing touch – what’s a party without them!     

Of polka dots, buntings and pinwheels

The first thing I got down to work on was her 1^st year photo collage cos I knew that was going to take the longest time since the only time I could work on it was after she goes to sleep at night and over the weekends while she napped.  Instead of going with just printing out photos of her first year and framing it around the house, I decided to scrap on two canvas pieces featuring some of her key milestones over the past year.  It was also my excuse for working on some scrapbooking, something I haven’t been able to do since Julianne was born.  Just look at how much my little peanut has grown (still rather small size today though).

12 months in photos

The other thing I thought long and hard over was the oh so important 1st birthday cake.  Should I get one that Jules can eat as well or just not mind her and think for my guests?  Should I go with aesthetics or taste?  Mickey? Elmo? The Number 1 figure? So many considerations.  In the end, I decided the only way I could get buntings or polka dots onto the cake, make it taste reasonably good and be something really special for Jules was to just bake it myself.  And because I have a niece who’s allergic to diary and eggs just like Jules and whose mother – my wonderful sis – was going to bake her a cupcake just so that she won’t feel left out when the rest had theirs, Jules too had a little Julianne-friendly cupcake to herself!  She didn’t get to eat the cake her Mama baked but at least I can tell her when she’s 3 that I baked her first birthday cake for her guests!  The recipe was taken from Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) and decorated very simply with fondant circles which I cut out.  It wasn’t too fussy a cake to bake although I had to do it over two days.  The cake on the first followed by the frosting the next day.  I wanted to make sure I really cooled the cake enough before frosting it.  From experience, the cake also taste better if I let it sit for a day or two before serving which was what I did – that somehow enhances the chocolate taste.  It was such a happy (and reflective) moment when we blew out the candle with Julianne.  She was about to turn ONE and I have, by God’s grace, survived my very first year of motherhood!  

Blowing out her 1st candle

So she couldn’t eat the cake I baked, doesn’t appreciate buntings or polka dots and won’t understand why I even bothered putting photos of her on canvas.  How else was I to make her enjoy her party?  I was all prepared for that to be it.  Nothing special for her.  Just dress her up, let her see the balloons and keep telling her “it’s your birthday!”.  Until I stumbled upon the Musical Monkey on a mummy’s blog just days before the party.  The one thing that Julianne *really* loves other than us is music.  Since the day we brought her home, we have been singing to her.  We sing to her when we put her to sleep, sing to her when I nurse her, sing to her when she drinks from the bottle.  It was the only way she would settle to sleep and the only way she would drink her milk from the bottle without fussing.  I must have sang “Jesus loves me this I know” a million times in the past one year and we still sing to her as much today.  Her favourite lullaby plays on repeat throughout the night (and yes, we have came to learn to sleep through it) and she will literally stop whatever she’s doing when her favourite tunes comes on TV.  She dances very spontaneously to music of most sorts, it is completely adorable to watch.  To date, her bopping to the Gangnam Style song takes the cake!  So back to her party.  I was so excited when I found out the lovely Eva conducted music sessions at parties.  So just four days before the party, I emailed her asking if she could come do a session– totally prepared for her to tell me she was unable to at such short notice.  You can imagine how happy I was when she replied me that evening telling me she’ll be happy to add some musical fun to the party!  It was the best thing I did for the party! Our daughter was totally enjoying herself throughout the 30 mins session, flapping her hands, bopping up and down, walking towards the instruments and making funny actions (like when everyone sang her the “Happy Birthday” song) – as if she knew it was for her.  The best thing was, the other babies enjoyed themselves too - can't go wrong with bubbles and parachute! 

Musical fun @ the party

At the end of it all, a great cosy party.  The little ones went home with a little brown box customised with their initials and which I filled with age appropriate goodies.  Gummies in a reusable snack bag, colouring pencils, a miniature drawing pad and yoyo for the older kiddos and baby puffs in similar snack bags, finger puppets and wooden castanet for the babies.  

Party favours

Won’t have pulled it off without the help of my mum and sis who cooked the food, my dad who does what he does best – get the drinks in order.  The husband and younger sis who helped with decorating the house.  Above all, I won’t have survived this year to even host this party without the strength and grace from God who brought me through my first year of motherhood. 

So loved this one ...

And with the blowing of that one candle, Julianne turns ONE tomorrow!! How awesome!  Letters to Julianne #17 coming up next ....       

Smoochie kisses for our precious munch'kin

Letters to Julianne #16

We have a guest writer today ... it's a first cos I don't let anyone else write on this blog.  But the letter was too sweet not to post so here it is, a father to daughter letter before her 1st birthday.  Completely unedited.

*****************

To my dearest Jujubee

You will be turning one year old in a few day's time, and everyone's getting really excited! Mama and Papa have been busy doing up stuff for your party, baking your cake, putting up decorations, printing invites and what not. It's gonna be super dups fun!! And I promise you that there will be many more parties in time to come. We can't wait to see you grow up! Sigh, it seems like only yesterday that we were still in the hospital waiting for you to pop out of your mama's belly... soon you will be a big girl, running around and you may not even remember much of this past one year; there'll be lots of photos to look at but somehow it may be difficult to recall what were your favorite this and that; so papa thought that it will be good if I could just list down some of the things that I've come to notice about you. Here goes:

Your favorite songs
1. Doc McStuffin from Disney Channel
2. Hot dog dance by the Mickey mouse clubhouse gang
3. Brahm's lullaby - that's the song that mama and i sing to you every night during milk time

Your favorite foods (not counting mama's milk)
1. Toasted bread (you seem to like especially the Sesame Bap from Cedele) 
2. plain rice with a side of soup
3. fruits (apple, donut peaches, blueberries)
OK there's not much to choose from 'cuz you are a really fussy eater

Your favorite pastime
1. Lazing on your por por's bed after your evening bath (you love to roll all over the soft springy mattress)
2. cruising around the coffee table with something in your hand (why do you look so busy?)
3. poking around drawers in grandma and mama's rooms

Your irritating actions that never fails to drive mama crazy 
1. sticking your finger into your mouth during mealtimes 
2. removing your hair-clip from your head
3. throwing your food onto the floor

Your favorite physical objects
1. Rocker from Fisher Price (which for the first 9 months was essential to get you to drink milk and to sleep)
2. Singing Elmo
3. Mama's iPhone 4s - you've dropped it so many times that its starting to go slightly wonky

Your favorite persons
1. mama - of course, who else! 
2. papa - runner up

3. gong gong (which makes everybody wonder why since he spends the least amount of time playing with you as compared to yi yi sam and por por)

Your favorite sounds
1. u-buh-u-buh-u-buh (done by running your finger up and down your lips while you vocalize)
2. a-tat-a-tat-a-tat (whenever you point to something)
3. mamamamama ( in the wee hours of the morning you say this whenever you want to cuddle with mama)

Happy Birthday Darling, Papa & Mama love you always! 

Always our darling

Luv,
Papa
26 October 2012, 2236 hrs 

Sneak

Julianne turns one in about 10 days and we're throwing her a cosy little party next weekend amongst family mostly.  Here's a sneak of what I've been busy with .... 

Getting ready for her 1st birthday!!

Baby steps ....

At 11 months, 2 weeks and 4 days, Julianne decided that it was time to take her first baby steps in our giant world.  She has been cruising for a while now and started to take tentative steps a few weeks ago but they were just mere 1 or 2 steps so I didn't really consider that walking.  But today, after standing on her own without support and dancing enthusiastically to the Gangnam Style song, she somehow plucked up enough confidence to really walk.  By that I mean she took about 6 steps toward her Yiyi Sam, although it was the telephone she was more interested in.  

I am just so glad I didn't miss the moment and it was such an accomplishment on her part, I felt like a proud Mama.  I really did and couldn't help but tear a little.  Soon my baby isn't gonna be so baby anymore.  

Fearless

Julianne went for her long over-dued 2nd pneumococcal vaccination last week.  And here's a video of our fearless daughter.  

I was a little bumped I couldn't be there with her cos I couldn't take off from work that day and Dr Vas wasn't gonna be around over the weekend.  But she was such a brave girl with her Papa and Por Por, maybe I just shouldn't be there for all her future jabs! 

Grandma looked like *she* was the one taking the jab! 

Way to go Jules! Mama's so proud of you! 

2 wheels . . .

Still on the topic of the husband's birthday.  One condition I had when it came to buying him his birthday present this year was - no camera, no flash, no fancy lens, no camera-anything.  So he gave me two choices - an amp for the room or a bicycle. 

We haven't watched TV in the room for the past 11 months so I saw no use in have some fancy surround-sound system in the room - at least not for now.  So we went with the bicycle.  He always tells me stories of his uni days when he would cycle across the island on his bicycle and how much he enjoyed those rides.  I thought a bicycle would be a nice gift to help him relive those younger days!

We found a little bike shop in Haji Lane carrying a line of bikes from tokyo and wasted no time in checking them out.  Tokyo bikes sell customised bikes where you get to choose not just the colour but other details like the shape of the handle bar, the type of saddle, paddles and tires.  On top of that, there're add-ons like a pretty cane basket and a child seat.  The plan was for me to get a bike too so that we can take Julianne for rides along the park connector and beach but I'm not ready to go all adventurous with her just yet so perhaps when she's a little older.  Till then, the hubs can enjoy his new toy and for once, it's nothing to do with photography.  

36 candles

This time last year, we were wondering if Julianne was going to make her way out in time to celebrate her Papa's birthday.  And as she would have decided, his 35th birthday came and went without her in sight.  

Which made his birthday this year just that extra special as we celebrated his first birthday as a Papa!! And so in celebration of this extra special birthday, I decided to bake the husband a cake.  The last time I baked his birthday cake was on his 30th birthday, 6 years ago.  It was also his first birthday we celebrated as a couple.  Yup, looks like I'm setting myself up for a tradition to bake him a cake every time we celebrate a 'first' on his birthday!  

Baked with Love

Truth be told, I was also using this opportunity to do a trial run of Julianne's 1st birthday cake! I figured it'll be nice to bake her her first birthday cake!  I won't go on about it here since this post is technically for the husband lest he 'complains' how his daughter always steals the limelight.  

And so we chose the colourful Lantern festival night to celebrate his birthday amongst family.  Julianne was so excited when we started to sing the "Happy Birthday" song and Sophie was just so eager to sink her teeth into the vegan chocolate cupcakes my sis baked for her.  There was yummy home cook dinner and lots of laughter all round.  Just how birthdays should be celebrated! 

So as he turns 36, the best gift I can give him are my prayers that our good Lord will continue to bless him richly with wisdom to be that wonderful father he aspires to be (not that he isn't already - but you know how fathers set the standards for their daughter's future husband?) and fill his life with so much love and joy so that he can continue to be a blessing to the many people around him.  Just like how Julianne and I have been so blessed to have him as our Papa and husband.  

Happy birthday dearie!!  We love you very very much!! 

Letter to Julianne #15

Dearest Julianne, 

See that birthday ticker up there?  It's just inches away from the number 1! Are you sure you're ready to bid babyhood goodbye?  I'm not sure if I'm ready for you to grow up just yet.  You're such an adorable age now,  I wished you stayed at this stage for a while longer so that I can still hear those little silly babbles you make, or watch you wobble as you try to take those tentative first steps.

Every month I say how much growing you've done, thinking that you probably can't amaze me further with your developmental milestones.  But I think the past month really took the cake as you learnt so many new tricks and really made me realise just how fast you're growing up. 

Happy in her own world

You have added 'bye bye' to your list of words that you can say with understanding.  You'll wave your hand and say 'bye bye' whenever you see anyone of us leaving the house except when the person is me because incidences of me leaving the house are met with tears and your loud cries instead.  On a related note, you have also learnt how to fly kisses.  You had a little problem with your hand coordination initially, putting your palm to the side of your face instead of your mouth, but you've since mastered it.  

Flying kisses when Grand-aunt came to visit

You're also clearly showing signs of understanding us better these days which opens up a whole new world when communicating with you.  You understand 'No no' and will shake your head (rather violently I may add) whenever we use those words.  You do the same when you don't want things (like when you're done with your food) or when you don't want other people to carry you (which usually happens when Mama is carrying you. Ha!)  I find your shaking head action totally adorable!  To top it off, you know everyone at home including Da-yi, Uncle Jude and Che Che Sophie.  You have passed the 'where is (Papa/Mama/Gong Gong/Por Por/Da-yi/Uncle Jude/Che Che Sophie/Yiyi Sam/Uncle Sam/Aunty Joy) test' by looking in the said person's direction or pointing at whoever it is we call out.  Good job little pumpkin! 

You also understand simple instructions like 'give'.  You'll hand over whatever that is you have in your hands although sometimes you turn it into a game by pretending to wanna give it to us and then taking it back again.  Mama hopes that as you grow, you'll always learn to give.  You also learnt 'ball' this month and with that, you totally understand what it means to 'give Mama the ball'.  You'll look for the ball in your play-pen among your many other toys and happily hand it over.  Yiyi Sam finds it totally amusing how you can do that.  

Jules @ play

As you get more and more mobile around the house, we've also been teaching you how to get around the many steps in the house.  Credit must go to Por Por who taught you how to get down safely from her bed.  So you have somehow interpreted in that little brain of your that you can apply the same method with the steps in the house.  Bravo!! Give yourself a little pat!  You are a very active child.  There is really no stopping you from crawling everywhere, opening cupboards, pulling out drawers and throwing out everything you see in it, stuffing your fingers into the fan, getting your hands onto anything and everything that you should not be touching.  Por Por is having trouble keeping up with your active pace.  But that is you.  Curious and inquisitive.  Mama likes.  It is your way of exploring the world around you and I'm happy to let you do it within safety limits so for the now, please know young lady, that the fan is out of the equation.     

One of your biggest achievement this month must be learning to nap out of your old faithful bouncer.  After napping exclusively in it for the past 9 months (you only started napping in it when you were 2 months old), you finally decided that you are a big girl now and that it was time to retire your bouncy friend.  You have no idea how happy I am to see you napping blissfully in your cot.  For one, it means we no longer have to sit next to you and rock your bouncer while you nap - which frees up time for me to get other stuff done while you're napping (which I really appreciate especially now as I prepare for your 1st birthday party!).  And for two, I don't have to worry how you were going to take your naps during our upcoming staycation and holiday cos there is no way I am going to lug the bouncer with us! 

Hi I'm Jules and I'm quite done with my bouncer!

On the food department, I am a little sad to say that I believe you may have inherited Sophie Che Che's dairy allergy.  I fed you some plain yogurt a few days ago and your broke out into a bad case of rashes on your face.  I thought you outgrew it when you didn't seem to react to the yakult drink I gave you last month but clearly you haven't.  Sigh ... there goes all my grand plans to introduce whole milk to you once you turn one.  I guess that's God's way of telling me to keep it at the breastfeeding journey which I'm more than willing to.  Like Sophie Che Che too, you have a deep love for bread.  Much like Mama! These days, you sit down with us every morning for breakfast.  You with your bits of bread which you'll self feed and us with our cereal or toast.  You'll start shaking your legs as you eat and pointing to the bread once there's none left on your tray.  We even have to put a topping of bread on your porridge during lunch and dinner to entice you to eat your porridge because let's just say meal times are quite a war zone without these carbo bribes. Bread monster you are!  Oh and did I mention you have also learnt to drink from a straw this month!  It was something you always saw us do and it thrilled your completely when you realised you had those magic powers too!   

You are a happy, cheeky little one and such a joy to be around. You smile is contagious and your cheekiness breaks us out into laughter. Thank you for being my sunshine and adding so much colour to our lives.  

Us and our sunshine!

Happy 11th month my Jujubee! Let the countdown to your 1st birthday begin!! 

Love you so much, 

Mama