Little Jen's First Birthday Cake

This came a little late but better late than never. I have been searching for birthday cake to celebrate Little Jen's birthday since almost a month away from his big day. Tried looking online and then searching for nice-looking yummy cakes in stores nearby but hmm.. after going all over the place, I decided on the good ol' Secret Recipe.

It was not only Little Jen who would be celebrating his birthday. His Daddy too. His Daddy likes the Expresso Cheese Cake and that cake was a memorable one for us. I bought him that cake the first time we celebrated his birthday as a couple and we took almost a week to finish pinching on every crumbs left. Only two of us.. Yummy.

This time, we could not take coffee since Little Jen should not be taking caffeine-laced food. Hubby likes cheese cakes and Little Jen likes chocolate (yes, it choc contains caffeine too but I guess this is exceptional.. haha..) and for a healthy touch, we may have some kind of fruit on the cake.

Just nice, there was a new Secret flavour - Choc Cheese Berries! Oh, written on the cake -  Dearest Hubby and Lil Disaster a.k.a. Little Jen (*smile*).

That was the final choice and oh, I added a Little Dinosour on the cake cause Hubby liked to nickname himself as Yoshimi (Yoshi stands for a cute Dino) and there was also a Little Baby to represent Little Jen.

Happy Hubby, Buzzy Mummy and Little Jen for a Happy Family Picture!

And then.. now you see..

Now you don't.. Almost.. Buzzy Mummy got to blow the 1-Year Old candle for Little Jen since he had not idea what to do with it.

And.. a happy beginning to a new year for Little Jen and Hubby.. (*wink*).

Little Jen's First Book

Hubby and I both enjoy reading a lot. So, I am thinking that my Little Jen will enjoy reading as well. So, we bought him Bedtime Stories and Rhymes.

Of course at the age of 11 months old, he can see neither see anything familiar on all the pages in the book, nor can he relate them to things he sees in his daily life. 

Still, he enjoys flipping the pages of the book, excited with the way the pages turn. I have tried reading to him but he does not have the patience to even wait for me to finish a short rhyme. He wants to enjoy things the way he likes - By flipping, pointing at certain pictures and shouting, "Arrgh!!!" as if he just discovered something really interesting (*smile*).

He had the books for weeks and one fine day, as I thought I could trust him not to tear the pages, he tore one and shouted happily. What an achievement!



Oh what to do.. This is Little Jen a.k.a. Little Disaster. Will just buy him another book when he is older then.

Little Jen - Teething Issue

I have been eyeing Little Jen's gums since the time I found the new molar tooth sprouting. It seems like his gums are swollen especially those near his 3 bottom incisors. Tried to offer him his Avent Stage 3 Teether but he only bit on the fish shaped teether for a while and then totally forgot about it. 

Little Jen's New Tooth at 11 Months Old

Yeah! Finally, what a long wait! Waited for Little Jen's next tooth to appear after his last of the 7 teeth appeared when he was 7 months old. We waited for more than 4 months for one of his molar tooth to grow out of his gums. It is one of the top molar tooth.

Just in case you have lost touch with the school lesson on types of teeth we have, can refer to the below picture from Tooth Growth and Development:

Little Jen has 7 of his Incisors out already. The Canines have not appeared yet and now, he has his first Molar out. Hopefully the rest will follow soon so that Little Jen can get a taste of real solid food.

I also found from Wikipedia on the growth pattern of Deciduous Teeth (aka Baby Teeth) and it says that babies usually have their incisors within 6-16 months of age and then canine teeth within 16-23 months. Their molars will appear when they are 13-33 months old.

Interesting to know that my Little Jen is teething well.

When will my baby start walking?

I have been asking in Online Forums and also whenever I meet up with any young parents or speak to any on the phone - How old was your child when he/she started walking without support?

So far the earliest I heard was about 8 months old and this lady told me that her friend bragged about it to her when her daughter was only able to walk by the time she was about 12 months old. She however told me that once when she consulted the Paediatrician, he told her that it is no use forcing a child to walk. The leg muscles may not be strong enough to hold their own body weight and this can cause more harm than good.

Once I asked another friend of mine on the phone. He immediately claimed that his son was a late bloomer as he only started walking without support by the time he was 17 months old. However, he then recognized my concern and mentioned that he was not even worried when his son was only able to turn himself at about 7 months old, which was also quite late. What a great father he is, I could sense it. He advised to be patient and when babies are ready to walk, they will and soon, you will be running after them. "No need to ask any other people and compare cause every baby is special."

He told me that his wife had a colleague who had always checked with his wife whenever the baby started to achieve something new. It seemed like a frequent reminder of how slow his baby was. The lady was telling her that her son was able to eat this by this age and crawl by the time he was 4 months old and walk by the time he was 7 months old. It sounds so much like a miracle that you can expect the Mummy to tell you next time that the son is already flying!

After speaking to some parents, well, my Little Jen is not slow at all. He is just being very very cautious not to fall down = Smart boy! (*Laugh*). 11 months  old already able to walk 3-4 steps without support.. what else can I ask for (*smile*).

Little Jen is 11 Months Old

Little Jen turns 11 months old yesterday and we are all really looking forward to his very first birthday.

In the past 11 months, he had shown tremendous growth mentally, physically and of course, emotionally as well. He still does not know how to stand and walk without support now. However, I am in no rush as I believe that he will know how to when the time comes. Without any support, he can take a staggering 3 steps and stand for about 5 seconds at max.

Teeth-wise.. The same, he still has 7 teeth and the rest have not sprouted yet. Nonetheless, he is already taking in a lot of solids like porridge, bread, biscuits and his favourite - fruits. With only 7 teeth, I have already bought him a tiny toothbrush for him to toy around.

His weight is about 9kg now, nowhere near 10 yet but since he is within the healthy weight range, it is okay although he has not put on much weight for the past few months.

He is not used to being with my own parents and when I leave him at home while I run some errands outside, he will start fussing and crying all the time. Once recently, he actually stopped crying and according to my Mum, he suddenly seemed to thought of some great idea and started scrambling up the staircase. However, when he was on the first floor, he started crying out loud again. Buzzy Mummy knew what Little Jen was trying to do. He thought of climbing upstairs so that he could find Mummy. He does that a few times a day when he wants to see Mummy at home. I am working from home and I work upstairs whereas he is always downstairs with my Mother-In-Law. It is such an amazing feeling to know how much he appreciates Mummy (*smile*). By the way, trying to teach him some sort of emotional independence and this proves how much he has developed mentally.

Buzzy Mummy thinks about Little Jen every second she is away as well. Love..