17 months!

Once again....no photo to mark this date. (Strangely enough we have a lots of photos on this date but none of Meera!)

Physically do not have any measurements to record. But judging by how some of her clothes fit I'm guessing she's grown quite a bit (the dryer can only shrink so much!). Everyday she seems to change. I've tried to record some of it on video but very little success so far. The minute I whip out the video cam she wants to look at it so I can never get anything good to record. Her vocabulary has expanded: aside from 'hi' she can say 'bye' (sounds more like 'bai') and pao pao (when she wants to be carried). Funnily enough, her 'pao pao' is always said in a semi whisper sweet way even though she's normally screaming and crying at that point to be carried. It's like she immediately switches pitch and volume to say the word! Very cute and effective(!)

Another tooth (number 8) is making it's way out. This time round its the back left tooth (a molar?). Not sure when this started though since I was always looking out for the front left tooth to come out and never really bothered to check her gums. But today I was feeling around her gums and felt a pointy little bit.

Her schedule hasn't changed much (although at this point I can't really say there is a schedule). With all the things going on most days are erratic. But Meera has rolled with the punches. :)
She has been surprisingly adaptable. When we first arrived here she was waking in the middle of the night (still can't figure out why) but after a while she went back to sleeping through.

16 going on 17...

So I'm a little behind on the 16 month post. Hence the title...

Meera has changed so much! I'm pretty sure moving to Melbourne has a lot to do with that. Yesterday she said her first word....hi! Before this she does imitate certain sounds we make but nothing which I would classify as a proper word. But yesterday she said hi a number of times and occasionally along with a little wave. I made sure I recorded it and if I ever figure it out I'll try to post it online (don't hold your breath though).

As far as physical growth, I can't really say much. She looks about the same. Clothes still fit (So I'm guessing no major growth spurt). I spotted another tooth coming through...bottom right side. So this will be the 7th tooth so far. Compared to Aussie babies she's rather small sized!

Can see that she understands so much more nowadays. Signing has taken a back seat to all the things that's been going on. So pretty much the same stuff. She can sign cold (when we prompt her) but don't think she really gets what it means. But I can see that she really knows how to use her signs to get what she wants. Things like milk, cookie, down (when she wants to get off her chair) and finish (when she's done eating). Need to expand on this over the next few months.

Her daily schedule is quite variable right now. But generally speaking:

8.00 am : Wake up (earlier if it get's bright early - the blinds don't block out the sun)
8.15 am : Milk (7 oz.)
9.00 am : Breakfast
11.00 am: Light Lunch (she usually eats more when we go out for lunch)
12-1 pm: Jing's Lunch time so we go out with him
2.00 pm: Back home, milk than nap for about 2 hours
5.oo pm: Bath (it's quite cold here so only once a day)
6.00 pm: Dinner (again quite a light one since she'll eat a bit with us)
9.30 pm : Milk then bed

The schedule has changed quite a bit since our move here. Fortunately she seems to have adapted quite well. I used to keep quite a detailed record (or log) of her daily schedule (wake times, milk consumption, what she ate etc...) but not anymore. From here on it's all by memory (so it may be slightly inaccurate).

We only received our first shipment yesterday so for the past 2 weeks she's been eating a lot of jarred food and shop bought stuff. She managed quite well. I try to make sure she gets a lot of fruits (she loves kiwi and strawberries) but overall there's been a lot of chips (along with salt and oil) in her recent diet. Today was the first day I made porridge (just rice and carrot). I was afraid she wouldn't eat it since it's quite bland (no salt/ flavouring/ oil) but it seemed as if she couldn't get enough of it (kept asking for 'more' - another sign that she's mastered).

This is the first time I don't have a photo of her on the 26th (but 25 is close enough). Once again I blame it on the move! ;)

All our bags are packed...

for the move to Melbourne. Needless to say, the rest of our things will be coming by cargo (and man do we have a lot of things!)

Our flight departed KL on the 30th of July so we spent 5 nights before that in Westin (fully paid for by the company). As expected the 5 days were really jam packed with last minute errands so we didn't really get to enjoy the hotel stay. We did order in room service from Presto on the first night....


it was a really good dinner.

We were actually looking to stay in a service apartment but they were all fully booked (one hotel said it was 'Arab' season so many of the places were full). Luckily Westin had suites (I never knew that) so we got a one bedroom suite which had a small study (which fit Meera's cot). It also had a living area, kitchen and enclosed balcony for meals!

The five days there passed very quickly. Before I realised we had settled everything and were on our way to KLIA for our flight.

I decided it would be best to take the day time flight to Melbourne since I wasn't sure if Meera would sleep in the plane. And sure enough she slept a total of 45 minutes the entire 7.5 hour flight!

The company paid for Business Class seats so it was quite a comfortable trip (well, as much as it could be with a toddler) Overall though, Meera was quite good. She had her moments but the fact that I got to eat most of my meals and Jing managed to down quite a few glasses of champagne attest ot he fact that we were reasonably able to enjoy our flight (again keeping in mind we had a toddler with us).

As for Meera she was quite cheerful for most of the trip. There were a couple of meltdowns during take off and landing...she simply did not care to fasten her seatbelt. And when her naptime approached she got a bit cranky but considering her lack of sleep (I had to wake her at 6.30 am and she hardly napped after that) I can't say I blame her.

We landed in Melbourne around 7.30pm (it's 2 hours ahead here). It took a while to get our bags and stroller (which we gate checked but took ages to get back). By the time we reached the apartment it was almost 10!

The apartment is amazing. But that shall be part of my next post...