Melody photo update

Its been super tiring and busy lately. So quite backdated with my words but here are some photo updates.


First off its Bath time: Melody really loves those bubbles and she has been the only one in the house having any bathtub time!


The missus and I are also teaching Melody the importance of brushing her teeth though apparently she prefers my toothbrush instead of hers!



The indoor playground we got for Melody as a birthday present has been a source of cute little smiles! She loves it so terribly much!


Food....glorious food! Like me, my daughter simply eats anything and everything. Thankfully unlike her mother, Melody seems to pretty much like her broccoli, though I wonder if that will be the case when she grows older.


Melody does however take after her mother in the creative section (thank God!), for you see my little aspiring Picasso giving the original a run for his money.


My sweetie Melody fell asleep in my arms as we watched TV, and to think I was more engrossed in the cartoon than she was!


Now my princess Melody has also inherited the Missus' intensity as you can see from her face!


Well hoped you enjoyed that mini photo update! More to come I promise though it may take a while!

Bloggers Unite: Refugees Unite

Like in my previous Bloggers Unite post, I will seek to keep to the theme of my blog - Children.

Since the beginning, the world has seen many wars. From sticks and stones, modern warfare has become more sophisticated with missiles and a whole lot of other deadly capabilities. However amidst all that, one thing has remained constant throughout all the many wars that the world has seen - Refugees. No matter how small or large, ancient or modern that a war is, it has led to people being displaced from their homes and it has made them refugees. While the act of fleeing from conflict is normally intended to be a temporary measure, sadly many refugees have remained refugees for many years. Look at the Palestinians in Lebanon, the Iraqis who fled when the US dropped their bombs, or the 2.5 million people in Darfur who had to flee! Many of these refugees want to go back to their homelands, but have been unable to. Worse still, as refugees in another country, they have no rights and they literally have nothing.

So what happens to the children? Nothing happens, literally. They get nothing and they learn nothing. Imagine being a child refugee in a refugee camp, which normally has one of the worst living conditions. Imagine spending your entire childhood wasting away in cramped conditions and separated from your family (Many refugees only managed to flee alone). They don't get to complete their education, their childhood developmental stages become warped and screwed, at the same time they will grow up with this huge trauma ingrained in their minds for the rest of their lives.

It has been said that children are future, yet what future is there when the present alone is so uncertain for these child refugees? Would they even live to see what the future may bring? Yet after all the trauma they have gone through, they would grow up stronger and more determined in life, but only if they are given the chance to survive NOW. So help if you can or pray at the least for an extra helping hand out there to bring these poor children along the way.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELODY

My baby Melody has officially turned 1 YEAR OLD on 9 Nov 2008!

Looking back, it has been an amazing one year since I first cradled sweet little baby Melody in my arms. She really has grown and has indeed changed so much. Only last month she start walking unaided and before her birthday yesterday, she was already giving a go at running.

We had a little birthday party and the missus called a couple of friends with kids that were around Melody's age so they could have a little playtime together.

As usual lots of photos were taken but sadly none have been loaded into the computers yet. So hang in there, I will be posting them soon.

All Hail Baby Melody!

ALL HAIL BABY MELODY!

It would appear that my baby daughter has taken over the Russian cabinet.

Haha just toying around with Photofunia.

Didn't have much photos with me but this is what I came out with:

An update since a long time (plus more photos of Melody)

It has been an extremely long time since my last update. It has been super duper busy so without further ado her are some of the happenings lately:

1. We sent Susan (our 1st maid) back, got a 2nd maid and sent her back also. It has been super stressful, I shan't go into the details......for those who have heard take heed ya?

2. Cat is expecting again...............Melody will be having a baby brother on 22 Jan 08!!!!!

3. Lastly and most importantly Melody has grown and grown!!!!!!! Check out the pictures:

Baby Melody Wee is growing and growing!

Melody is GROWING AND TEETHING!

Melody is growing bigger and bigger! If she keeps growing at this rate, she'd probably be a giant pretty soon. Melody's last checkup put her at the 97th percentile of her age group in both weight and height. While I can be assured that she is not fat, my fear is that she has inherited my size which comes with size 13 feet! Can you imagine a girl with size 13 feet? Imagine all the teasing she will have to endure??!!!

Anyway Melody growing fast, at 7 months, she hasn't mastered crawling but it appears that it is not her priority for the moment. Somehow there are early indications that she is a non-conformist. Melody doesn't appear to be that enthusiastic about perfectic her crawl technique but has focused on standing & walking. When forced into the crawling position, she protests by attempting a forward roll. Melody's activity-level as reach new heights and it clearly shows that she has inherited nothing of my laid-back nature but rather 101% of her mother's hyperactive-bordering-on-ADHD genes. Oh well, it is probably for the better. When you're at the 97th percentile of your age-group, being more active will keep you relatively slim I suppose.

Mummy has been trigger happy recently and her are some of her shots:

First off, you know what they say about children, especially babies, they don't give two hoots about your schedule! (Be it whether you are sleeping or not!)

Being the usual fashionista, Mummy attempts to make my baby melody look grown up!

Standing still is Melody's first love. Soon she will be running and so will I...................

Melody has perfected the dreamy look. The look of innocence that just makes you want to pick her up and cuddle her in our arms!
.............

Parenting Stress

I think I am suffering the parenting blues.

Don't get me wrong, though it is why I haven't been posting lately, but I have been thoroughly enjoying parenthood. Baby Melody is growing by the minute, and getting more and more active by the day. It is really amazing to watch how a fragile baby transform to a "super" bouncer who just can't wait to hit the ground running. Life itself is indeed a mysterious thing.

At the same time, I have begun to find myself overwhelmed by some sort of stress. It is terrible but somehow I find myself worrying more and more. My daughter is my responsibility and it is like a huge "burden" (don't know if it is the best word) is pressing on me. But ironically I personally find it a happy burden/worry.

Let me explain:

The stresses of parenthood that have overwhelmed me has mainly to do with Melody's well-being. From the cliched worry if I can provide financially for her, to the fears of SIDS (google it if you don't know, I can't bring myself to type it) I seem to have morphed into a kan cheong (worry wort) parent. Yet despite this, I relish every moment and have not hated a single moment of worry. Sigh.....such is the irony of parenthood.

Oh well.........update on Melody. She is growing well and can now turn (and turn and turn) as well as sit up quite well.

She even insists on feeding herself! Talk about being independent!


You heard about different teaching methods and situations where both parents have different ideas of what to teach their children. Well:


The missus has great aspirations for Melody and is teaching her to sing!

While I have decided to start with the basics of BLOWING BUBBLES!!!!

And to end off.......................................................


Such welcoming smiles when I reach home soothes even the toughest of days!

Bloggers Unite For Human Rights - 15 May 2008

Ever since I became a father on 9 Nov 2007, I have cherished and loved every minute of it. This beautiful gift I received also came with some new found responsibility. Everytime I hold my daughter, my mind is filled with future plans and dreams for her. She is my responsibility, and I will do everything and anything within my abilities to ensure she has the best that life can offer. In my personal opinion, as parents and adults, we are supposed to carers, teachers, mentors and many more positive examples for the little ones. This is something, I personally believe should come naturally, especially once we become parents. However, if you look around the world today, many children are suffering. They have been exploited as child labour or soldiers, prostituted for sick-minded individuals who think that money can buy anything and have even been raped by their own parents. This is something that should never be tolerated. I have never understood how a father can have the heart to raped his own daughter. To me, no punishment in our global legal system will ever be enough to punish such monsters who prey on their own flesh and blood. Defenceless, impressionable young children deserve a happy childhood. We OWE them a living because we brought them into this world!

Although many of us are mere individuals without any significant clout, I believe that human rights for children around the world can improve drastically as long as we have the conviction to. Spreading the word one person at a time is a potent enough action that can bring about a tremendous positive change.

Always remember that the children are our future and their present are our responsibility. There are no problem children, only problem parents.

(Preview) Bloggers Unite For Human Rights on 15 May 2008

It's 15 May 2008 guys and it is the day all bloggers UNITE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS! An idea mooted by Blog Catalog and it aims to harness the power of the internet community to create awareness for various causes.

For those who know me intimately may probably be taken aback by my participation in such a thing. I must admit that since becoming a father, I have become a little bit more serious and worry slightly more about the future. Why? I don't really know, my only guess is that a heightened sense of responsibility does come about once one becomes a parent, for me at least.

In tune with the theme of this blog, my take on human rights will be with regards to children. So stay tuned for my take on Human Rights for Children tomorrow.

Melody is feeling cranky!

Oooh my poor lil princess melody has been soooo cranky today. She has been slightly feverish but I am unsure if it is because of a virus or if it is because she is teething. She has been crying non stop and will only sleep when carried. The moment we try to put her down on the bed, she lets out screams of protest as if to say "Are you STUPID?!!!! Why put me down if I was sleeping soundly and comfortably in your arms??!". Sigh..........carrying her I do not mind........but it is not knowing what is causing her crankiness and slight fever that drives me insane. Maybe I am a "kan cheong" (read: worry wort) parent. But can I help it?

Oh well...........she has finally gone to sleep (on the bed) and we will bring her to the doctor if her fever persists tomorrow.

Here are some photographs for you to judge if:



Melody looks like Daddy? Or.......
Like Mummy?
So take a good look and let me know!

Blog catalog

Not exactly an update on Mel..............but just to let you know.................this blog has been added to Blog Catalog.

We've gotten a maid.

We have finally gotten a maid. Despite my almost-violent protests and objections, I succumbed to the missus' pleas and agreed. It has been almost a week since Susan (our maid) arrived and I must admit that I am pretty pleased. She is extremely hardworking and seems capable enough. Though I still kind of feel uncomfortable with another stranger in the house, but hopefully I will get used to it as time goes by. The good thing is that I have a bit more time now that Susan does all the housework, therefore I should be posting more frequently from now on.

Getting a maid has been quite positive, but it has also made me realise one thing. I am quite the protective and "jealous" parent. I found myself getting upset cause my lil princess was spending more time with the missus and the maid than with me. Well I work and that can't be helped (for now.......for those who are in the know, you get my point) and baby melody sleeps at about 8pm. Therefore, I only get about 1 to 2 hours of bonding time with her. Hmmmm with all I have heard about the power of a mother's love, I guess a father's love can be quite potent as well!

Apologies for all the rantings..................this blog is solely devoted to my lil princess melody and I shall try to keep it this way.

Melody is turning 6 months in a couple of days and she has indeed grown. She currently weighs in at a hefty 8-plus kg and seems to have a boundless amount of energy. Jumping and jumping, turning and turning..............plus (the cutest thing to me now) her incessant babblings! Cliched maybe................but it just warms my heart and brings a smile to my face no matter how shitty the day has been.

We just had to splurge on our lil princess. I have gone on this insane "my melody acquisition" spree.................apart from the enormous My Melody that you see, I also bought the full set of two-plates-one fork-one spoon-two mugs that Kiddy Palace carried..............all with MY MELODY PRINTED ON IT!

We have also started Melody on some solids...............something she totally loves! Feed her a tad too slowly and she will not hesitate to show her displeasure!

We are also training her to feed herself................heh but it appears she has yet to understand that its either the bottle or the hand........not both at once!.......