homemade red bean paste

the canned red bean paste are too sweet for my liking. Finally found a recipe from: http://justonecookbook.com/blog/how-to/how-to-make-anko-red-bean-paste/ which goes through the whole making process step by step. I've always wanted to make this. Tasted quite good!

Baby J full moon celebrations

Our first trip to Melbourne was to Baby J's full moon celebrations. We weren't sure how Baby A was going to take it. She did alright though. Slept in the car seat there and back. Cried a little on the way back. I realised how hard it is to photograph children! Y said I was the only person who probably took blurred photos with a dslr camera. In the whole midst of taking other people's photos, we didn't take any of ourselves. Yish.

J and Baby A -- i thought this shot was very well taken!

C and his lovely 2 girls

T and her 6 month old baby girl 

Baby J who was asleep for most of his celebrations

Is she doing it yet?

looking at faces and smiling

Reading up on developmental milestones for baby means that I'm looking at baby and thinking, 'Why AREN'T you doing these things yet?!'

sitting supported

pancakes

still exploring new recipes. I thought it'll be nice to make pancakes but had always bought the store bought premix, added water, shake and panfry them. Found an easy online recipe. Turned out not too sweet at all :)

pancake stack

added my own homemade red bean paste to the pancake. Yum. 

Baby Blessing Ceremony

We went down to Federation Square on the 18th May 2013 for the Baby Blessing Ceremony as part of Buddha's Day Celebration organised by BLIA (Victoria). Buddha's Day is a yearly event to celebrate Vesak Day (Buddha's birth, enlighenment, life) in Melbourne.

There were alot of babies. The ceremony started off with the Venerables chanting homage then the Heart Sutra. Then everyone lined up to be blessed by the Venerables. There was a souvenir of wrist rosary (child size) and a certificate of participation for the child. Balloons were also given out and pictures taken.

Blessing by the Venerables

Wrist rosary. Baby was really tired by now

toys

It was sunny the other day so the toys decided to have a dunk in the pail and have a sunbath. Bub can now put the toys in her mouth. 

Westfield Geelong parents room

located just outside myers on the first floor probably deserves a rating of 5 stars for parents room.

I ventured in yesterday and the room was as big as the neighbouring female toilets. Has a sink, filtered water tap, microwave, a 2 seater couch, a toddler play area with a TV (childproof lock), 2 cubicles each with an armchair and a side table for breast feeding and a curtain (like in fitting rooms in clothes stores), nappy change table with hand sanitiser on the wall, and a parent and child toilet. The parent room was well lit and clean and no nappy smell at all. The door was a sliding door with a control button mechanism so it doesn't open all the time when someone walks pass.

Great job, Westfield Geelong!

Baby care rooms in melbourne

https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/babycare is a list of baby care rooms compiled by Australia breastfeeding association. Not updated and highly inadequate.

Interesting how one develops a blind spot when the issue does not apply to you.
We made a trip down to federation square to join in the Buddha's day celebration, specifically the baby blessing ceremony (nb, babies abound!).

Bub then cries frantically to be fed. There is a baby change room near the male, female, disabled toilets near the atruim but nowhere to feed bub. All I need is a seat, a clean quiet private room, clearly marked to feed bub. Sure I'm 'allowed' to feed bub anywhere, but I'm not comfortable. And not everyone out there is comfortable to watch us or walk by us. Our last resort was going to be in the car in the carpark (I had stashed my nursing pillow there before we left home).

We ended up in the change/ store room of the volunteers organizing Buddhas day because I knew some of them. Crisis averted.

I reckon I should compile a better list of available rooms.

Do you know where these nursing mothers rooms are? What would you like in these rooms?

Cool business idea

Here is a really cool business idea: mamatongsoup.com
For those living in USA and wanting to enjoy some of the benefits of the chinese confinement foods, here's a business that would send prepackaged soups to you. Great for baby shower gifts too!

She links us to www.thechinesesouplady.com to a family in hongkong who have put up so many soup recipes and actually tell you what those chinese herbal ingredients are and for. Very informative!

Firsts... box of infant nappies

Bub has outgrown the newborn sized nappies already (they go up to 5kg). So it's onto the next sized nappies -- infant size...

photobooks

Got a voucher to do up photobooks from photobookshop.com. The vouchers were $29 for 60 pages for a 22cm x 28cm photobook which would have otherwise have cost $101. So I thought it was a great saving! Did one with our Bali pictures and did another one with our wedding in Malaysia photos. They are going to go onto the shelf for easy viewing :)

Tomato fried rice

was trying out the new camera to see if i get better food photographs :) this was lunch.

New camera!

Hubby bought a camera (second hand), but new to us. Now we can take better pictures! We decided that a professional photo shoot for a newborn was too expensive, and that money was probably better spent on a new camera. 

I never could capture her feet in good detail with the other cameras that we've got. Now I get to keep a picture of her tiny feet! She's growing up so quickly now. She's managed to turn from her tummy to her back today. Another milestone!