Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday to Dad!

D, my partner-in-all-things-Jordy turned 32 on Monday! Seeing as he had to spend most of it at work (poor thing), Jordy and I conspired to make his evening a fun one.

We got him a great cake (Ferrero Rocher with rum base from Swiss Bake) and 'cos it was a special night, Jordy got to stay up way past his bedtime, till 8.30pm! Then it was present-opening time, and first D opened the interim present from me, the new U2 album (interim because I'm letting him choose his real present himself - new headphones), then he opened Jordy's present. Cufflinks with little compasses in them (Jordy said it was so he would have something new to play with at Friday lunches).

All in all a lovely evening, and made better because D's cousin Gina and her son Joshua (which would make Joshua, err, Jordy's second cousin?) were due in later that night en route to London.

The next day, Jordy and Joshua played together, mostly companionably beside each other, like so:


And other times, err, Jordy kinda got a bit territorial and then it looked like this:


But still not much crying was heard in the Turnip household despite there being two babies barely two months apart in age. Migoodness, won't they treasure these pictures when their older!

Talented Mr Jordy (or, Personality with a Capital P)

Jordy surveys the Malaccan skyline

This has been a HUGE few days for Jordy. Since I last posted, the little molecule (his new nickname, coined after I misheard his Granddad Adrian calling him a little miracle one morning) has grown into a new little person. In the last seven or eight days, Jordy has:

1. Sprouted a little tooth on his bottom gum
2. Pulled himself to standing in his cot, and against various pieces of furniture
3. Started babbling and talking throughout the day - he can say "dadada", "tatata", "mamama", "gagaga", "wawawa", "bababa", and he uses these interchangeably throughout the day. From once a silent baby, he is now a regular little talk show host wannabe. This happened almost overnight!
4. Become a lot more personable and is more interested in other humans!
5. Developed leg muscles in a big way! He walked on the entire balance beam at Gymboree (while supported by Granddad), and can even stand by himself for a heart-stopping moment in the bath. YIPES!

Jordy before his sudden interest in humans. With the lovely staff at the Dutch Harbour Cafe in Malacca

Jordy's Granddad Adrian and his wife Sally have come all the way from New Zealand to meet the little man! We promptly plan our first overseas (or rather overland) trip with Jordy to celebrate. Destination? The nearby Malaysian town of Malacca. We travel over Easter weekend and here are the major highlights (and major occurences):

* After a seamless transition through Singapore immigration, we encounter a massive, EPIC bottleneck at the Malaysian side. Four and a half hours worth of traffic jam. To travel THREE kilometres. Throw in a teething baby and a new, unbroken-in car seat and whad'ya got? Family fun in the sun! Truth be told, it really wasn't all that bad as a) we hadn't expected the jam and hence didn't have time to ponder the hideousness of being stuck in traffic for that long, so it was kind of a novel experience; b) we borrowed my parents' new Toyota Wish which had a (blessed-mother-of-God) DVD player so a LOT of Baby Einstein was played; c) Jordy was a real brick (he weathered through a seven plus hour car journey in the end, the little molecule!).

* Jordy's first overnight stay away from home. He settled beautifully into the cot the hotel provided (he woke up briefly both nights but went back to sleep) and generally was a most adaptable kid. Truly wonderful little traveller. He even good-naturedly hung out at four to five cafes/restaurants every day, while we had gastronomic feast after feast that is Malacca.

* Going for lots of walks all around Malacca, along boardwalks, up hills, over deep monsoon drains, manic night markets, and up a sky tower for 360 degree view of the city.

* Going to sleep on his Granddad's shoulder for his morning naps (what can I say? Granddad Adrian has a soporific effect on Jordy).

* Subsisting on jarred baby food for the whole time (I'm including this as a highlight only 'cos from a purely homecooked-food kinda kid, I was worried about the whole travelling with a baby who is not fully weaned business, but now I swear by Only Organic, a New Zealand brand of organic baby food. Jordy loved the Pasta Bolognese, Mango Banana Bliss and Fruit Muesli).

Hugely succesful trip and we're all very proud of Jordy (and ourselves of course!)

Then on Tuesday, Granddad Adrian and Sally came and hung out with Jordy and I at his weekly Gymboree class! Jordy had great fun being swung around and boogie-ing with his Grandad. Sally took lots of photos and cheered Jordy on. Jordy even managed to crawl up a long ramp all by himself!

Jordy navigates the curvy balance beam with Granddad's help

From gym to pool - Jordy (and us!) then hung out with Gong Gong and Mama at the pool. This was his longest paddle yet. He kicked and splashed and generally had heaps of fun, and didn't come out of the pool until night fell! He did holler and yell when we tried to bath and change him though. Oh yes, have I said already? Jordy hates lying down now. HATES IT. Nappy changing time is like a pro-wrestling match with a very robust and vigorous Jordy kicking and twisting this way and that, and a very harried mum trying to out-maneouvre him.

Splish splash I was taking a bath!

And then today, D took the day off (whoopee!) and we proceed to JORDY'S INAUGURAL VISIT TO THE ZOO. I know, lots of caps lock in this post but it is truly warranted. Believe me. He loved the zoo. And was just a little brick :) Highlights include

* Jordy's day of transport adventure - he went there by car (slept most of the way), was pushed around in a stroller, cruised along on a battery-powered boat, and hung out in a breezy tram.

* Gaping at a beautiful, flecked butterfly when it landed on his meaty little thigh! That was in the biodome which was one of his favourite exhibits I think

* Staring intently at schools of fish at the pygmy hippopotamus enclosure

Three generations of Turner men on a private cruise

We spent more than five hours at the zoo today, and Jordy was just perfectly behaved the whole time. I know, I know, quit gushing already about the bub but I just can't help it. He was SO GOOD.

The Baby and the Tram

D and I are going to become Friends of the Zoo, as we see ourselves spending rather a lot of time there in the coming years. Phew! Okay am a bit too exhausted to carry on typing. It's just been such an eventful few days. Oh... and HAPPY BELATED EIGHTH MONTH BIRTHDAY, JORDY!

Counting fish

Big Boy Goes Shopping

Agh! Jordy is growing up very quickly! Just last week, Sandy, mum of the delicious Olive, and one of the mums in our regular Monday mum and bubs group said while we were shopping in Giant that Jordy might be ready for a jaunt in a shopping trolley. Hmm, I'd never even thought of that possibility so was rather excited by the prospect!

Well, today, at IKEA (where we went to while away a blisteringly hot afternoon) he slipped into the front seat of the trolley like a pro! He enjoyed the view from his lofty perch for almost 20 minutes, after which he started to make a few noises. I thought plying him with the many wonderful treasures at the IKEA kids' section would cheer him up, but no, he would look at each new toy neutrally then look back at me with one eyebrow raised as if to say, "that all you got?".

And so then I whipped out my miracle pack from within my diaper bag. Since last week, I haven't left home EVER without a slice of softmeal bread in a Ziploc bag. It's the panacea to all Jordy afflictions at the moment!

To demonstrate my point, peruse the picture below if you will. Yes, I know it was taken rather shakily, but that was because I was shaking with laughter myself. Couldn't help it, Jordy's palpable glee at eating bread was just so... contagious.



He was so visibly excited about the whole eating-bread-in-a-trolley-business, two ladies at IKEA came over to us and cooed and clapped while the little guy alternately dangled and kicked his legs much to their amusement. Ah Jordy, wonders never cease.