pretty mall deco

Joe has been fascinated with Christmas trees lately. He's just so happy to look at all those huge gigantic trees in shopping malls. Thus far, we've taken him to check out the deco at Midvalley Megamall, 1-Utama and The Curve. I definitely think Curve has the prettiest deco amongst the 3 malls.

This is at Midvalley Centercourt.

Midvalley SouthCourt

at The Curve last night...

my 34-week pregnant belly

Unfortunately my photo-taking skills and camera do not do justice to the decorations there. It really looks so much better than in my pictures.

We also had dinner at Ikea and Joe tried to look funny...

We always have fun at Ikea....but that'll be another post.

fun with my cousin

My cousin Brandon was here for 10 days from 24 Novermber till 1 December. What a fun time we had! We messed up the house a lot. There were toys everywhere! Mama said it made her tired just looking at the messy living room.

So Mama took us to Ikea for some fun.

Don't we look so cute together......

Here the kampung boy suddenly started taking off his shoes and socks. I'm the city boy. I keep my footwear on.

Christmas trees everywhere....I can say "Merry Christmas!"

We also had fun at the playground.

I'm so looking forward to the next time we can play together!

Family Holiday at Pulai Springs Resort

We went for our annual Tan family holiday 2 weeks ago. This time, we booked a 4-bedroom apartment at Pulai Springs Resort. Pulai is down south in Johor, a stone's throw from UTM. I forgot to bring my camera so all photos here are courtesy of my tai soh.

The apartment was big and comfy enough for us 8 adults and 5 boys. There was a huge living room and dining area, and a kitchen which although came empty, was soon filled with our own stuff (induction cooker, pots, oven toaster, rice cooker - yup! We brought all those.) There was so much food and fruits we could open our own minimart.

The swimming pools were fun for Joseph.

For the first time, he used the 'doughnut' float and was so happy to discover he could paddle and kick by himself. He even refused to let us touch the float while he was swimming. Here he's using a floating mattress the singapore boys brought.

We made a visit to Tanjung Piai on the second day. Tanjung Piai is the southern-most tip of mainland Asia.

It was so extremely hot! Too hot for this pregnant woman. We had to park at the visitor center and then take a 800m walk on a boardwalk (over mangrove swamps) out to the see this big globe.

We quickly snapped a photo and then ran back into the cool shade of the mangrove trees. My in-laws lingered longer and took more photos.

Resting back at the visitors center.

This is Joe and his cousins at Sushi King. Entertaining themselves while mama gets to eat in peace.

Making faces with Daniel. The 2 of us look most alike don't you think?

Eating McD's chicken mcnuggets. So far, this is the only meat Joe eats.

The resort also had 2 huge parrots and 4 peacocks. Joe and Brandon had a good time checking them out. Joe can now make the peacock sounds too. And when I ask him if the peacock can fly, he says, "Cannot. Too fat."

Pulai Springs is mere 10-minute drive from Jusco Tebrau City, where we went for some meals and also to get groceries. We also went there to use the free wi-fi. There's also a Nike and Adidas Factory Outlet around the corner.

Overall, we had a lovely holiday at a lovely resort. Our only grouse was the terrible service. Housekeeping was bad. We had to keep asking for towels, toilet paper etc. Besides that, the scenery was really quite pretty. And most important of all, we had some really fantastic family time!

balancing and sugar

Been quiet for so long...we were away for annual Tan family holiday down south in Pulai Springs Resort. It was a good 4D/3N stay in a 4-bedroom unit. I haven't got the photos yet so more on this later...

In the mean time, some photos for yee yee's viewing pleasure.

Here's what Joe does every night before going to bed. He climbs on papa's back and gives papa a back massage with his feet.

Often gives me a near-heart attack when he jumps off. Maybe that's why the springs in my mattress are starting to creak...

This is him indulging in one of his favourite food - doughnut!

Favourite food means those that he can eat all by himself without help nor fuss. These include keropok, muruku, popcorn, papadam and McD's chicken nuggets.

Yeah...this is yummy!

fat mama

Yesterday while I was feeding Joe dinner, he suddenly looked at my tummy and said, "Mama...you so fat. You must exercise!"

Mama : !!!!! -bengang- !!!!!

didn't know what to say...

changes in me

I know for sure. Motherhood has changed me.

In the BC (before children) era, I used to be able to sleep anywhere, anyhow, anytime. I slept in cars, boats, trains, buses and airplanes. I slept in school and lecture theatres. I slept in the cinema. I slept at work. I've even slept on the dental chair! And when I say sleep, I mean really sound asleep with drool dripping down the side of my mouth.

Ever since Joseph arrived, I seem to have naturally lost this ability. It's irreversible. If I could previously sleep through an earthquake (I've slept through tremors!), now I'm awaken when Joseph even stirs.

If he wets his diaper at 2am, I don't need my hands to feel his wet pants. My nose detects the slight smell of pee.

If he stands still for a second with 'that' look, I know he's about to do his big business.

I can anticipate his next move (like when he's about to sommersault off the edge of the bed).

If he has a fever, I don't need a thermometer to confirm it. My hands can tell the difference between a mild fever and a high fever.

I find that I can no longer take lunch time naps at work. I just can't fall asleep if Joseph is not beside me. Nevertheless, I'm thankful.

I'm thankful for my very cheeky bundle of joy. I'm thankful for this blessing. This gift that God has so graciously blessed us with. We're praying everyday, that he will grow to love his little sister, to be a good big brother, and to be a man who loves the Lord.

honeymoon at Cyberview Lodge Resort

Every year we celebrate our wedding anniversary with a mini honeymoon. This year, it was a decision between The Saujana (which we have been to twice before) and Cyberview Lodge and we're glad we chose the latter.

We were greeted very warmly at the reception and check-in was quick and pleasant. We were also served a cool ginger drink and offered cold floral-smelling towels to freshen up.

The room was huge. Bigger than any I've ever been to. The bathroom was also very spacious. I love the timber flooring and warm wood furnishings.

Nice huge, flat-panel TV.

Sitting area with mini kichenette. Includes full-sized 1-door fridge.

We had dinner at Bistro Cascata - the romantic fine-dining Italian Restaurant. It was a quiet Sunday night and we had almost the whole restaurant to ourselves.

Complimentary lovely warm bread served with sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil and olives.

Caesar Cascata. RM25++

Fettucinne Al Salmone. RM32++

With a 20% discount with Citibank credit cards, the bill came to only RM52.44. Food tasted good and service was excellent.

After a good night's rest (felt a bit weird not having Joseph's feet in my face or his knee poking my back), breakfast was also lovely. No photos because we were busy eating. Juices served included orange, pink guava and starfruit. I tried to eat healthy and stuffed myself with dragonfruit, kiwi, plums and yoghurt.

Posing lazily on the hammock.

Koi pond - our lovely view from inside the Verandah Restaurant while we had our breakfast.

We didn't venture to the spa because pregnancy and spa just don't go together. Besides, it's pretty pricey. We were just happy to lazy around in the spacious room and surf the internet (which is absolutely FREE!). We did go for a swim but the pools although lovely to look at, are really not suitable for swimming because of the lack of depth. Darling says they are more for procreation rather than recreation :-)

Swimming pool looks like fish pond but that's actually because of the stone flooring which makes it non-slippery. Good for pregnant women!

Overall, we had a lovely stay and will certainly keep this place in mind when we need another short break without travelling too far.

If only it could be like this everyday.

fun with chopsticks

We had Dim Sum Eat-All-You-Can for lunch at West Lake Garden Restaurant in Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel today.

On the way to makan...

The food was good. Darling was happy with the fresh oysters and salmon which was quite unexpected in a chinese restaurant.

Joseph was happy to play with the chopsticks.

He said, "Chopsticks can be like see saw".

Chopsticks also can be like drum sticks.

Here I don't know what he's imagining...

He also did enjoy the food.

Here he's feeding himself cake.

And stuffing himself with crackers.

Happy with Nana and KongKong.

We can go home now....da boss is full!