More Milestones

October has been a pretty eventful month for Jesse. Ok. Maybe not for Jesse, but we're pretty excited with Jesse's developments.

TEETHING
As of last week, he's got 8 little incisors. And he knows how to use them. Usually, he puts them to good use - to chomp off Daddy's pizza, or to crush Pringles chips. Occasionally, however, whenever I roughhouse with the little fella he'd take a bite out of me in his excitement. Note to self: Wear a shirt at all times. A stray nipple is a nice target for a little bite-test.

CLAPPING
We've been teaching Jesse to clap forever. Somehow it never quite sunk in. But we'd usually clap at him in encouragement of any little clever thing he does. Two weeks back, the boy suddenly decided to clap. Now he claps at every little clever thing he does. Heh. How's that for narcissism? He also claps along with music from his toys.

WALKING
This is by far our most exciting milestone. Yesterday, the boy upped and took five steps all on his own. It was intriguing to watch him manoeuvre himself on his little legs. Standing in a mid-crouch position he negotiated his first walk one step at a time, each time looking at us for signs of approval. Oh boy, did we cheer! He was a little shaky but it looks like he'll be doing it a lot from now own. *ulp*

DRINKING
Just a few days after I blogged about his refusal to hold his own bottle, Jesse decided to show me a thing or two. Not only is he holding his own bottle now, he's holding it in one hand. The other hand is usually on a remote control, or scratching his balls. Hehh. Typical male!

FEEDING
Jesse had decided that he would feed us every time we fed him his meals. As you can imagine, it's a messy affair. He'd grab his spoon, poke it into his porridge or whatever it was we're feeing him and stuff the spoon into our mouths. It's as though he's telling us that he'd only eat it if we'd eat it ourselves. The boy would even say, "Ummm!" just to encourage us. Note to self: Pumpkin is messy.

He's growing up pretty fast. Before you know it, he'll be borrowing the car, or getting married or something. *sniff* I think I'm having a bout of premature Mid-Life Crisis!

Meatloaf

not this meatloaf

Mae and I are fans of Meat Loaf. That's Meat Loaf the rocker, not meatloaf the meat by-product! So there we were one fine evening quietly enjoying a little Meatloaf on the car radio when Mae was suddenly overcome by a flash of brilliance.

"You know what?" Mae spoke with sage-like knowing. She did not wait for me to probe further. This one was almost bursting out from the corners of her mouth, "Meat Loaf calls himself 'Meat Loaf' because it's cool."

And just like that, the floodgates of wisdom sprang open, overwhelming me into speechlessness; if there's such a word. And before I could even regain my composure, Mae imparted more of her deep thoughts. "If Meat Loaf called himself Sausage," she reasoned, "no one would buy his albums!"

Heheheh. How can I not love this woman, who brings so much joy into my life?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Oh, btw, that picture of a meatloaf was one I had last year in this restaurant below my office. Unfortunately, these guys didn't stick around for too long. But since we're on the subject, is it just me or has anyone noticed that the so-called meatloaf we get in Malaysia is often always just a large slab of luncheon meat? Are there any good places to have authentic meatloaf?

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Of late, I had developed a raging desire to clog up my arteries with cholesterol and stuff my face with calories. Thanks in no large part to a barrage of visual attack to my senses - and all from one single blog, too! And so on Sunday we made our way to Kanna Curry House, their Kepong chapter which is a mere 5 minutes from my house. (This will be the death of me!).

As we sat down to eat, we settled Jesse in a Baby Chair. Now at his stage in his life, there isn't much that can hold his attention long enough for us to have a decent meal. But thankfully, since we almost always eat in lowbrow baby-friendly places owned by nice, understanding proprietors, Jesse usually gets a set of plastic cutlery and plate to occupy him for awhile. This time, however, the waiter gave our boy a Banana Leaf and a spoon. And Jesse, being Jesse is all ecstatic.

Seeing his enthusiasm, the other waiters soon started giving him other stuff. Pretty soon, he had on his banana leaf, a clump of rice, a little bit of veggie and a few pieces of Papadam. And he just went wild getting rice and crackers all over himself. It was a mess! But for the first time ever, Mae, Roma and I had our meals uninterrupted.

That's when we realised that Jesse just wants to eat with us, doing everything we do, and probably hoping to eat everything we eat. Heh. Since we were on a roll, we decided that it would be a good time to feed him too. And voila, whaddaya know, the boy eats more than he's ever eaten - probably thinking he was eating Kanna's famous Banana Leaf Rice. *sigh*

So there ya have it; a great parenting tip, courtesy of Kanna Curry House. If you're having trouble getting your kid to eat, let him eat together with you. You can even let him eat some of your food. Just be sure to hold the curry.

The Hand That Rocks The Cradle

This morning on the way out of the house, Jesse got a little bit sticky. He was clinging on to Mommy for dear life. And so Mae cuddled him, rocked back and forth on her feet, and sang to him.

"You know I love yooouu..." Mae sang to the boy tenderly. Jesse pressed his little face into Mommy neck, listening intently to his mother's soothing voice and taking in every word. And then I recognised the tune. It was a little Boyz II Men number.

That's when Mae let it rip, "Mama you're the queeeen of my heaaaaaart...."

"Hey," I scowled at Mae, "no singing propaganda to the boy!"

Mae gave me a wily smile that sent a shiver down my spine. She then turned to Jesse, held him up to her so that his eyes met hers. "Mommy is the queen of your heart, isn't she?" The boy chuckled cheerfully. And at that moment I knew I was always going to be outnumbered in my own home. If democracy had its way, I'd always be outvoted by my wife and her son. Ouch!

Like they say, the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.

Elin's Pandan Chicken: A USJ Subang Buka Puasa Special

elin's pandan chicken
THIS IS HALAL!
This is a special plug. Elin is a single mother of three school-going kids, one of whom is my lovely little god-daughther. Today, she supports the family by helping maintain the cleanliness of a friend's office by day and making Pandan Chicken - a legacy of her Nyonya heritage. She's also a Muslim, which makes her Pandan Chicken quite halal for consumption. Which also makes this a really great and appropriate Buka Puasa treat!

Now Elin is pretty innovative given that her foray into the F&B industry is only just a recent development. She sells these tasty little nuggets as a frozen product, neatly packed into microwave-safe plastic containers and well, frozen in her very own freezer. Take this home and all you need to do is pop 'em into a wok of boiling oil and voila! instant Pandan Chicken just like Bibik Kim Neo used to make. Instant, being anything from 2 - 5 minutes, of course.


Pandan Chicken, if you have ever tasted the stuff, is marvel of Asian cuisine - something that is simple, yet simply delectable. A choice cut of boneless chicken dark meat lends the dish a tender, springy texture. Marinated with a broad hint of Tumeric (Kunyit), Elin's Pandan Chicken exudes a tasty, savoury flavour with a tinge of spicy hotness. But as any good connoisseur of Asian cooking will tell you, the coup-de-grace of any Pandan Chicken is in its pandan leaf wrapping. Upon cooking, the leaf-wrapping of the chicken will envelope every single morsel of the stuff with its wonderous aroma. And with every piece of Elin's Pandan Chicken, you can savour this wholesome goodness in your very own dining room.

So yes, buy a box of Elin's Pandan Chicken at a paltry sum of RM10.00 for a box of 10 bite-sized pieces. (Actually they're a little bigger than bite-size unless, of course, you have a humongous huge mouth! Impress your family and friends, and show your mother-in-law a thing or two when you serve up Elin's Pandan Chicken at dinner tonight. To order, call Elin at 012-919 3070 and you can pick up her yummy Pandan Chicken at UEP Goodyear Court 2, Subang USJ 6/1. And if you order a little bit more, she'll even find a way to drop them off at your house.

So if you fancy a little change in the menu or would simply like to make Raya a little better for this little family, do give Elin a call. You'll get a taste of some really nice Pandan Chicken. And as a bonus, you'll even get my eternal gratitude, and those of my entire family. And hey, if you enjoy it, please don't forget to pass the word. Selamat Berbuka Puasa.

No Self-Service

Just like every parent in the world, Mae and I sometimes think that we have a little genius on our hands. But on other days, we're not so sure.

Jesse is thirteen and one half months old. And yet, he seems to have no idea how to hold his milk bottle on his own. As you can imagine, we have to hold the bottle for him at every feed. Occasionally, we try to educate the boy. We'd pick him his hands and have him hold the bottle. But that never works. He just pulls away. Other times we just give him the whole bottle. But instead of tipping it to drink, he'd just gnaw at the nipple. It's frustrating!

Yet, his motor skills seem to be fine. He can always open and close a mineral water bottle on his own. Heck, he can even stuff it in Mommy's mouth with deadly precision - though I suspect this is a defense mechanism against a nagging mother. Heh!

When it comes to the milk bottle, we wonder is he's a little dopey. It's either that or he's just incredibly smart and conniving. I mean, why hold a bottle when you can have someone hold it for you?

I'm considering taping the bottle to his hands. If that doesn't work, at least we'd still be entertained.

Attack of the Worms

Captain's log from the Starship Intrepid, Stardate 071005. Reporting from the Earth's Orbit in the Solar System.

The situation has gotten dire over the last 48 hours. The worms have breached our vessel and are now attacking from within. These insidious creatures are all around, and they are invisible to the naked eye. We have no visual of the enemy. We are fighting blind, and our defenses are helpless against such a devious adversary. Our encounter with the Bug Colony of the Lunar System is a pale comparison to the threat we now face. First Mate, Lt. Mae has begun to show symptoms, even as Petty Officer Sgt. Jesse's condition deteriorates. If the situation persists, I fear that this might be the last transmission that I make. To anyone find this log, may you never have to endure such horror. Godspeed.

Okay, okay, we got worms! Well, actually Jesse's got worms. Apparently, all kids after the age of one should have a good collection of worms in them. So, our doctor recommends that we deworm him. And since we're doing that, my stepmom suggests that we get rid of our worms too, since we're handling the kid and we could very well pass some new ones on to him.

So, yes, in the next couple of days, Jesse, Mae, Roma and I will have worms crawling out of our asses. Now close your eyes and picture that... Mmmm....

Entertainer

jesse takes the stage

The boy has become somewhat of an entertainer. He'd recently learnt to stand on his own. Even though he's a little too chicken to actually stand confidently, he still manages to stay standing for a minute or two. And naturally, we egg him on just to see if he'd take a step or two.

"C'mon boy, walk-walk," Mae and I would cheer him on. He'd usually just grin and sit back down on the floor where it's safe. But if you held him up by his hands, whoooo, the boy'd be walking tall.

Yesterday, at Mae's cousin's wedding luncheon, Roma takes the boy walking around the foyer of the restaurant. She then slowly eases her hands away and leaves the boy standing on his own. "Come Jesse, walk-walk," she said gesturing to him in her newly-learnt language.

And then the boy gives us this cheeky look, raises his hands and starts swinging his little body from side to side - drawing laughter from all of us and enjoying every moment of his stardom. Heh.

But no, Jesse still can't walk yet. But the boy can surely dance.