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The Name

I remembered before Aeisha was born, we were struggling to find a name. We had no idea if we were having a boy or a girl. The radiologist gave us a gender but with a question mark. She wasn't sure either. So we have to come up with 4 names. 2 for each gender. My sister Yvette suggested "Drew Gabrielle". Sounds familiar??? It's a sort of female version of my nephew "Andrew Gabriel". HA HA HA. We ended up taking the Brielle part, I just happen to click and click on the internet and saw this nice name. Then Os came up with Aeisha, which is a modified version of Aisha, meaning WOMAN. It's funny how things turn up themselves when you least expected it. On the last minute, we were able to come up with a boy's name, too! But ssshh... I won't tell. It will be a secret. He he he

Curious One

This is picture is taken from my webcam. It's a low profile webcam that needs to be upgraded. Ha ha. She is curious about the webcam and seeing herself on the screen that I couldn't get her to focus. I love this picture though.

Sleeping Side

Aeisha loves to sleep on her side. Right or left. Doesn't matter. Whenever she is in deep slumber, she would then turn to her right or left. Mostly she turns to her right side. She also loves to sleep on her tummy. My sleeping time is interrupted since I can't stand the thought of Aeisha not sleeping on her back. I have to turn her on her back. I took this picture while she was napping on her playpen this afternoon.

Learning to Stand

Finally we decided to take out the bassinet on her playpen. Now, she is full-force on the bottom of the pen. There used to be a bassinet attached. But since Aeisha loves to stand, it's about time. She would hold on to the edge of the playpen. Then just stand there for quite a while. If she's tired, she would just lower herself to a sitting down position or if her legs can't support her weight, she would fall down into a lie-down position, which makes a thug sound and with me rushing to her side. Hi hi. She will then laugh or smile at me. No tears. Whew! She also loves to jump while she is in the standing position. I am not quite confident for her to do that because she might hurt herself while doing so. I always stop her from jumping since her mouth if at par with the edge/rail of the playpen.

Learning to Walk

Aeisha loves to walk although she can't really walk just yet. But she's trying. Every step means a lot to her. She would smile at you when she takes a step. She's also learning how to crawl at the same time. We put her on our bed then give her something to reach out to. That way, she would push herself to crawl. He he...

In these pictures, my good friend Beth is the one holding on to Aeisha while I take the picture. It is during our visit to her condo yesterday afternoon after our lunch that Aeisha is loving the carpeted flooring and broad daylighting on her room thus prompted her to really walk around. Of course, assited. :)

With Grand Aunt

My cousins Gerard & Charles treated us for dinner in honor of 7pe's birthday. We met there at 5pm and was already munching dinner at around 530pm. Too bad Jen didn't make it Friday. She was supposed to be here to celebrate with us. Unfortunately, her flight was cancelled due to security reasons. It's been 6 months since we've last seen each other. And we miss her! Earlier the day, Os and I had lunch with our friend. She treated us. Ngek. We were supposed to go Dutch but she said that it's not always that we get to meet. So... after lunch, we went back to her condo. She showed us where their indoor pool is. She invited us back to have Aeisha try out their pool. I have yet to buy a swimsuit for Aeisha. He he. It must be fun to shop for one. There are tons of designs to choose from!! Anyways, after going to Beth's place, we went to Ikea. Bought some stuffs... not much, just the essentials that I need. So, this picture here was taken from Magic Wok where Aeisha was busy looking at the fishes & crabs in the aquarium with Aunt/GrandAunt Rosita.

Too much TV or phone?

Is this little girl going to be a tv critique or a phone chatter (aka telebabad)? Ha ha ha.

Aeisha is holding a remote control. Playing with it. Eating it. Then putting it on her ears as if it's a telephone. After a while, she fell asleep. HA HA HA

The Joy of Cooking

I started cooking when I came here to Toronto and lived in an apartment with Os. Back home, we had the cook to prepare the meals for us. When I initially came here, my Uncle/Aunt cooked for us. There was no chance for me to try cooking. Yes, I cook simple things here and there but nothing special. Now I can cook following the instructions in the cookbook. I also attempt to alter some of the ingredients. I can transform raw materials into a meal. Even the simplest ones. Maybe watching cooking shows made me want to cook. When I was younger, I loved watching Wok With Yan. In fact, it was one of my favorite shows as we don't get much TV stations back in my hometown. I remember it showing on Sunday mornings on Channel 5. And we used to joke around the way Mr. Yan talks. Hi hi hi. Anyways, I also tried baking and I really suck at it. The baked good is either too soft, too mushy, too hard, too dry... arrggh. I vow not to try baking again. HAHA. Chinese cuisine is one of my strength. It's stir-fry easy. Guess Mr. Yan inspired me at an early age. I also love cooking pasta. But I suck at lasagna. We've tried once and it turned out too soggy that we decided to eat it as a regular pasta. HAHA. When I watched the show East Meets West, boy was I appalled at how Ming Tsai can mince garlic is a split of seconds. I guess all professional chefs have that art of mincing garlic or anything that fast! That's it.

Nap time

Aeisha is about to take her afternoon nap. Before doing so I told her to pose for me. HAHA. And she diligently obliged. Her naps in the afternoons usually lasts for about 2hrs maximum. Minimum would be 30 minutes or so. Normally, I would let her wear just shorts to taste the coolness we get in the ground floor. But today for no apparent reason, it's way cooler. So I put on some pjs on her but still sando on top. He he.

Bed of Air

This is where Aeisha is sleeping during daytime or when we are on the ground floor. It's so much cooler down here rather than the 2nd floor. There are days when the day temperature is high even that you can actually be cooked had we stayed upstairs. She still prefers her own crib though. I can understand that. So I rock her to sleep before putting her in the airbed. Then she sleeps soundly. He he. This picture was taken when she just woke up from her afternoon nap.

A Walker & A Wagon

We bought a new Walker Wagon combination last Saturday for Aeisha. It was a price grabber so what better way to buy it? First time she used it, she slipped. So now she's scared to use it. Then yesterday I made her sit beside it on the floor. Then let her play with the toys that's attached to the walker itself. Hopefully, she will regain her courage to push it when she can stand on her own. Right now, she stands on our laps then we put her down on the floor and help her stand and make itsy bitsy tiny walks. She loves it! One way to calm her is to put her on the floor and help her walk around. Hehe. But be prepared to stretch after doing so. Our backs usually turn sore after.

Oops.. pardon my feet in the picture. I have to hold the wagon with something!!!

After an Arrowroot

This is what usually looks like after Aeisha consumes an Arrowroot biscuit. She's satisfied with a good sigh. I used to give her just 1/4 piece. Then gradually, I increased it to 1/2, then 3/4, now it's almost 1 whole. It's 2hrs before dinner time so I don't want to give her that much. :)

So far, this is her 8 month menu:

Breakfast: 2 Tbsp. of Barley or Oatmeal cereal (alternate)

Lunch: 3 Tbsp. of Single veggie

Snacks: 3/4 Arrowroot biscuit

Dinner: 2 Tbsp. of Rice cereal, 3 Tbsp. Fruits

Then there's the 7oz. of her Step2 milk when she wakes up and every 4-5hrs. After a day or two from now, I'm going to switch her to Step 2 baby foods.

Growth Chart

This is Aeisha's growth chart so far. We didn't visit the clinic since her last hepa shot. And I haven't weigh her using the mom-carry-baby-minus-moms-weight method either. He he he. I will do that soon. But wait til you can see my arms how big they've grown. Aeisha loved to be cuddled most of the time. Loves to when she's sleepy especially at night time. But during the day, she can easily sleep by herself. I have tried to leave her wailing during the night but I couldn't. I just have to carry her and rock her til she sleeps. And she still sleeps at least 12 midnight. Guess she's really a night lover. Ha Ha

Aeisha's Playground

This is a make-shift playground for Aeisha. Since she doesn't have her own room yet, we allocated this area for her. That way, I can just put her here while I do my work in the kitchen. I didn't include the books here yet. They are activities before bedtime although we often miss it since we are both exhausted for the day. Have to include that back again! She loves to read. She loves it more if you read it to her. He he.

While waiting for Daddy...

One day last month, when the weather was a bit friendly, Aeisha and I went strolling along the neighborhood. We went to the GO Train station to wait for Os. He took the 6pm train. So the train will arrive at around 7pm. So by 640pm, we started strolling. I put on Aeisha's denim hat on her. And boy! it was cool that day despite the sun shining. I had to cover her with a blanket as she was not using the Bundle Me anymore. So we marched along the pathway. To my big surprise, one of the nearby neighbors' dog was playing outside. I knew this particular house always has their dog playing on their front yard, which is in front of the path way. So I detoured and used the rear path. He he he. That's how I don't like dogs. Anyways, we reached the station about 10 minutes before the train is due to arrive. I checked on Aeisha.. and what did I find?? She was sleepy!!! Ha Ha Ha!!! So she loved the stroller ride to the station. :)

Eating Money

Why is it hard to get a driver's license here in Ontario? We have to go through stages in order to get a full driver's license. There are 3 stages actually. First you have to take a written test called the Knowledge test. It's a 2 part exam - Traffic rules & Traffic signs. 20 questions on each part. If you pass this, you get the G1 Driver's license. You then wait for 12 months in order to get the G1 exit road test then you get G2 Driver's license. If you attended an MTO certified driving school, you only have to wait for 8 months in order to take the road test. I let my G1 license expired after 5 years because there is no way I can pass this road test. So I went back to square one. I took the knowledge test AGAIN. And happily I passed it. I was told not to wait for 12 months to get the road test. I can take it right away. So now is a time to look for a good school. So after being G2, you have to take another road test again in order to become G. And that's where it really sucks! One mistake and you fail. You take it again. Another single mistake, you fail again. Each time G2 road exam is taken, it's a big $75. Just imagine, me?! taking the G1 exit road test... it will take me 10x to get this @#$%^$% license. What more to become G? Will I be spending thousands???? GGGRR this system is really eating money!! People's money. It's not that you minimize accidents by having this graduated license??!?! Duh??!?!

Pears

I gave Pears, organic & non-organic, to Aeisha for the past 5 days. And she is neutral about it. I've also gave her rice cereal, oatmeal & barley cereals alternatively. By her age, she should be eating the step2 group of foods. Maybe I'll give her 1 more round of the Beginner's foods then I'll switch to the next group. Tomorrow, I'm going to start Applesauce, then Peach is last. Then I will give her the cereal 2x a day with a combination of veggies & fruits to her menu.

Lost Bib

Last night, we went to TNT for our usual chinese grocery shopping. And guess what? Aeisha threw her bib on the ground. We only noticed it gone when she had tears in her eyes. Earlier the night, Os noticed her trying to take out her bib. Little did he know that she'd already taken it out from her neck. It's velcro, easy to use and take off. Then she threw it somewhere. We never found it. So bye bye Bib#1. For sure there will be other instances of the Lost Bib in the near future. Ha Ha

Our First Ever Crocs

Os and I splurged on $40 (tax included) Crocs footwears today. I've been wanting to buy this ever since it started some 3 years ago. But I didn't since I didn't like the designs that were present then. Now, they branched out their designs and came up not only the classic design, but a variety more. Os opted for the slip in one, called Schutes, with a wide exposing the toes. It looks similar to his Adidas slippers but this has more cushion and he loves it the first time he tried it on. The price for the past 3 years is still the same. So we thought that it will be go on sale anymore. For me, the design I chose is the Athens. I love the color and it's very soft and cushion-y. Crocs footwear is known for its slip resistance and non-marking on the sole of the slipper though it's soft. There are other products from Crocs but I don't see them sold anywhere else except online.