Bird Park and New Words

We brought Little N to the Bird Park last weekend.

We headed over pretty late.. reached the bird park around 3pm.. with just enough time to watch a penguin feeding session, take a tram ride and catch parts of 2 shows they had...

It was pretty enjoyable though.

I've not been to the bird park for at least 10 years.. The last time I was there was for a team dinner so it wasn't like I saw any birds apart from the flamingoes. My real last trip was probably more like 20 years ago!

Little N seemed to enjoy the Bird Park a lot though. She stared at the penguins.. pointed to the hawks flying above during a show and flapped her hands with the pelicans.

Over the last few weeks, the things she understands seemed to have grown exponentially. From the basic few key words she seemed to understand only a month back, her vocabulary seemed to have grown.

Currently, here are some of the words I observed that she knows:

• She can point at pictures of the following - penguin, apple, orange, leaf, butterfly, zebra, elephant, ice-cream, duck, cow, key, sun, star, clock, watch, smiley face, milk bottle, heart
• She can point at the following objects -  clock (probably her favourite word), alarm clock, watch, fan, air-con, stairs, chair, table, television, balloon, ball, dental floss, hand soap, hand towel, mirror, Elmo, teddy bear, phone, Eeyore, moon
• She can signal the following - bye bye, hallo, wheels on the bus, bell on the bus, honk on the bus (all from the same song), star, shake, brush hair
• She can also point to her own ear, hair, pat her stomach, point to my toes and my bellybutton

It's so fun to see her pick up new things! Penguin is the word she learnt from the Bird Park trip. We showed her the brochure when we got home and asked "Where are the penguins?" When she pointed to it, I almost fell off my chair. She consistently pointed to the penguins each time I asked.. so I guess.. she really does know it after all!

At almost 10.5 months old

My Weekend Routine

Saturdays

• Wake up at 630 or 7, depending of what time Little N wakes. How I wish she has a concept of sleeping in during weekends! I suppose that will come one day... 
• Feed Little N
• Take a shower, pack Little N's breakfast whilst The Husband plays with her
• Have breakfast outside together with Little N
• Attend a 75min class together with Little N
• Go home and cook Little N's lunch whilst she naps
• Catch a break myself if she naps longer
• Pack Little N's lunch and then go out for lunch
• Go home after lunch and bathe Little N
• Play, read and crawl around with Little N until about 4pm
• Feed Little N milk and hopes she takes an afternoon nap. If she does, I'd cook her dinner and do some housework
• If she naps quite well, I'd have a bit of me-time to either take a catnap or have some tea
• If she doesn't nap, I give up after about 60-90 mins and will cook her dinner and then play her her until dinner time
• Feed Little N dinner and then bathe her
• Read to Little N, bring her out to the balcony to take a look at the birds going home and then put her to sleep
• Depending on whether she took a nap in the afternoon, it may take anything between 15mins to 60mins to get her to sleep
• Have dinner with The Husband at home (We usually pack back)
• There are some evenings where Little N will wake between 9pm to 12 midnight. If she wakes, carry or feed her so she goes back to la-la land
• Spend some me-time surfing the internet, reading or just lazing around before going to bed
• Wake up around 1 to 2 times in the night.. bad nights I'd wake up to 3 times..

Sunday

• Very similar to Saturdays except we go to church in the morning and then go out for brunch after church
• The rest of the day is similar to Saturday

 A busy Little N playing with blocks..

My Weekday Routine

Little N is turning 10 months soon.

I think that one day, I might actually forget this so I thought I should write down how my daily routine has been like since I started working.

On weekdays

• Wake up at 6-ish to her whimpers in the other room
• Feed her and then play with her until 7, when The Husband takes over for 15 mins whilst I shower
• The Husband leaves for work at 715
• Continue playing with her until about 8, when my mum comes by after her morning exercise to pick Little N up to spend the day at her place
• Do my laundry or some other housework (pick up toys, clear the diaper bin..) and then leave for work
• Eat breakfast as I navigate through the morning traffic to work
• Clear my never ending emails (what do people do before emails?), administrative stuff and some actual work if I'm lucky in the morning
• Have a meeting with my team
• Go to the nursing room at about 11am for 15 mins and then rush back for meetings
• Go out for a good lunch at about 1230pm (I insist on having a nice lunch on most days - it keeps me sane. On the days that I can't help but have to pack lunch in to work from my desk, I feel miserable. There are other days when I'd spend my lunch running some errands.. but even that helps me take some time away from work in the day, so I don't really mind)
• Start my meetings from around 2pm
• Use 15mins of the 30 mins I've set aside in my calendar to go to the nursing room again at around 3pm. Spend the other 10mins or so following up on some matters from my earlier meetings
• Continue with more meetings (over the phone)
• Finish off my last call in the office at 6pm. Try to resolve some issues or send out a last email from office and leave by around 630pm
• Pack chilled milk and drive home 
• Say hi to my parents and Little N at home.. Change and get a run down of Little N's day from my mum before she goes home
• Spend some time reading to Little N and then feed her before she sleeps for the day
• The Husband usually returns after she sleeps with dinner and we'd have dinner together before I start my calls again at 830pm
• On days where I have calls starting from 8pm, I'd have dinner after my calls end
• Most days, I'd have about 1-1.5 hrs of meetings in the evenings
• Take a shower if I didn't have time to do so before my meeting starts 
• There are some evenings where Little N will wake between 9pm to 12 midnight. If she wakes, carry or feed her so she goes back to la-la land
• Spend some me-time surfing the internet, reading or just lazing around before going to bed
• Wake up around 1 to 2 times in the night.. bad nights I'd wake up to 3 times..
• On good days, she won't wake and I'd get at least 6 hours of continuous sleep. The frequency of good days though over the last 2 months is about 4 nights over the entire 2 months.

I am very impressed by mothers who can cook, bake and still maintain their hobbies... or even serve in church.

My plants are dying, I have not cooked for the longest time (not for adults), my house is messy and my laundry is piling up all the time.

I do wish I have more energy to do other stuff.. I suppose you just have to make yourself do it.. no matter how tired you are.. to break out of the normal routine.

To be continued..