Her First Few Independent Steps

I was lucky enough to be working from home today. I dare say very few dads get to witness their kid's first steps. We were kinda expecting it, she learns new tricks every time after a fever bout. Even though Meimei was at work today, she was greeted by Emily walking gingerly towards her and giving her a welcome hug. You can see the proud look on her face, coupled with 'melt-melt' eyes. I'm hitting myself for missing the chance to capture that moment on video.

It's been an exciting day. She is still unsure of herself and tries to hold my fingers. And once she grabs hold of them, she will dash across the hallway, knowing I'm there to hold her if she falls. I don't mind that she falls, it's all part and parcel of growing up. We just need to be careful that she doesn't fall face first and hit her jaw or teeth.

The saying is true ... kids grow up so fast. I'm already missing her baby smell and coo-ing sounds. *miss!

Exploring The World Outside The Playpen

We know the playpen will not hold her for too long. Every kid wants to explore the world, its a good thing since they learn through discovery. Now that Emily can stand on her own she is constantly crying for us to let her out. And you can see the utter delight on her face when she speed crawls around the house.

In the few brief times we let her out, she has already establish a few 'play spots'. The moment you let her down on her fours, she make a beeline for one of three places.

The Toys Storage

Its a good thing she hasn't figured out this is where we keep all her cookies and treats. She only knows to dig for her favourite toys on the right side.

The Coffee Table with Snacks

Somehow she has taken a liking to playing with the snacks at the coffee table. I suppose the coffee table is at a comfortable height for her to cruise about. She likes to pull the leaves on the artificial plants so we need to keep a constant watch.

The BookShelf

This is a small spot in her room. She'll pull out all the books and make a mess. Hopefully she can cultivate a healthy reading habit. 

Happy 1st Birthday Our Little One !!

The past year has been nothing but joy and excitement. Emily, you have brought such delight to the whole family, Papi, Mami, Ah Gong, Ah Ma, Nya-ong, Nya-ma, Yee Yee Ah Yi and more. Its amazing how time flies ... it was like only yesterday that Papi Mami were cradling you in our arms for the first time.

When you were born

March - A Pint Size Wonder

April - Blurping Required

May - Electrifying Look ... Zap Zap *Love

June - Tummy Times

July - Sitting Up

August - Bad Hair Days

September - Restlessness

October - The Naughtiness Begins

November - Oversized on Some Clothes

December - Showing some Teeth

January - Playtime Always

February - Venturing Out of Playpen

Over the past month, she has really come into her own. She has her distinct likes and dislikes ... and she makes sure you know about it too. I fight hard to keep her in-check but its going to be a long drawn out process. She has her Papi's stubbornness :-P

我爱吹吹风！

Can we buy this?

Striking my Super Model pose~

I Love Bath Time!!

Hey! Who Are You Staring At !??

Messy Eating is Fun !!

Happy Birthday Our Little One, may we have many many more years of fun and laughter together.

I Think We Found The Right One

Last Sunday was like any other day. I did my daily ritual of checking the property board webpage. I wasn't expecting to find anything, it's become more of a habit than a serious hunt. There are only 3 blocks we are interested in, which summed up to a meager 300 units. I'm realistic on the chance to find anything new.

"Hey, hmmm what's this ... it looks like a new listing. But wait its on page 5 ... new ones are typically in the first few pages. Oh looks like an unknown agency, must not have put in extra fees to get his advertisement in the front pages like the others. Never mind, pretty sure I've not seen these photos before." "It's listed at 650k negotiable. Ok, a little over budget but no harm taking a look." 

I immediately rang up our agent and ask her to organise a viewing. Although I was excited to see a new listing I was reserved as we had already missed a few units on sale. A little while later our agent asked if we were free in the evening for the viewing and we immediately said yes. Its a new listing so we were keen to get a first look at it. What attracted us even more was that it is of a South-West orientation which is exactly 2 floors above the 8th floor unit we were prepared to offer to buy just awhile earlier.

When we met our agent in the evening we found that we are actually the very first viewer and the seller has not even signed the agent agreement letter. At the back of my mind I was lamenting that this is going to be another drawn out process.  

The place wasn't too bad, but it still needed an overhaul. We were hoping they had kept the original compressed marble flooring but sadly its now ceramic tiles on the common areas and laminates in the bedroom. We are gonna have to change the tiles which adds a big sum to the renovation. As for the rest of the place, its pretty much needing work like another of the other units in the area. These are 36 year old flats so not much can be expected in terms of their condition.

Once we were done and at the void deck, our agent ask if we would like to offer. I had been giving it some thought earlier in the day once we found the orientation of this unit. I made an educated guess that the 8th floor had sold for about 620k and the 12th floor for 640k. That would make 630k a reasonable price to offer and thats what I did. I had been ready to offer 630k anyways for the 8th floor unit just a few weeks ago and offering the same for a unit 2 floors up felt like a quick bargain. Plus its the top of my price range for any unit, if we don't get this I was prepared to call it quits. So with the non-negotiable offer made, we went off for dinner.

Now what happen next was an amazing chain of events.

We were at Changi for dinner an hour after the viewing when our agent suddenly gave us a call. She wanted to collect a 1k cheque for the OTP "to show that we are making a genuine offer". But since we were not home she cut a cheque instead on our behalf. I found it odd that she was in such a hurry but I supposed it didn't hurt to get the offer through officially.

It was close to midnight when I received another message from our agent with good news. Gosh ... did we really get the unit?? We agreed to meet up the next day to run through the paperwork. I could barely sleep that night thinking that we had clinched what is likely one of the fastest sale in the area.

The next day when I checked the property board webpage again, the listing for the unit was already taken down.  Many kudos to the seller agent for having the upmost integrity to stop any other buyer enquiries since they have accepted our offer. It's rare to see such decency in our era.

When our agent came on Monday night to go through the documents she shared that there was another buyer who came after us and they had wanted a 2nd viewing on Monday. So she had stayed with the buyer agent till close to midnight the day before to seal the deal and prevent that 2nd viewing from happening. I have to give her props for getting it done, its truly money well spent on her commission for this to happen. I had feared that the buyer may be peddling our offer to other potential buyers to obtain a higher price. I'm sure our agent had a big part in making sure that didn't happen.

Because there is a 7 days cooling off period, the OTP isn't effective till 6th of March. It was a nervous 7 days wait as I was afraid some rich buyer would come in with a better offer and cut us from the deal. Thankfully it didn't happen and today we officially start the purchasing process. As the buyer wants a 2 month extension and adding another 2 months for renovation, it'll be December before we can move in. But thats ok, what's important is that we've gotten our hands on a home in our dream location. Here's the start to our next amazing life journey.

The Flu Bug Scare

We are at Thomson again today as Emily has been having a fever since last evening. It was rather weird she is sick since we didn't bring her out of the house since last weekend.

Today was a little different from normal where the paediatrician would only ask for a blood test. Emily had to go through an extra urine and an mucus test. What came out of them was a little shocking. She has contracted a lesser subtype of H1N1. The moment we heard it we suspected that it came from my in-laws. They had just flown in from Hong Kong on Tuesday and may have been silent carriers.

As we were coming to terms with the severity of her illness, our paediatrician immediately prescribed Tamiflu and warned us that Emily will be having nightmares as we go through the course of the medication. It says on the box "may cause transient restlessness / delusion". "Goodness ... the medicine must be potent to have such side effects." Typically you wouldn't give a baby any strong medicine. So to be on Tamiflu means this is no common flu. That thought further push the seriousness of Emily's condition.

I messaged my colleague to let her know I'll be working from home the moment we got home. If it is as the doc described, we are going to have tough nights over the next 5 days of medication. 

招财猫

Emily has an odd fascination with them and will wave her hands like them. She is our 招财猫.

Its Hard To Find A New Place

I've been watching the property boards like a hawk over the past year.  It's become a regular ritual to check every morning. We are trying to move close to my in-laws so there are only a paltry 3 blocks we are eyeing. These are point block units in an old town so they are either over-priced or the reasonably priced ones are pretty scarce and snapped up very quickly. So I set my search criteria and bookmarked the page in hopes I'll chance on a good unit.

Before last week, we had viewed 3 units in the vicinity. The first one was what prompted us to put up our current home for sale. Its on a high 20th floor with unblocked North-East orientation. Meimei liked it very much but its priced at a steep 680k while in a condition which needed a 60-70k overhaul to move in. We were unsure if we could afford it and the unit has been on the market for more than 6 months due to the pricing. So I took a risk and decided on a wait and see approach.

We were ready to take up a 100k delta so we put up ours for sale at 580k. However it was evident early on that we would not be able to get such an offer unless a miracle happens. A few months into our sale, our agent updated us that a 32 year old single mainland Chinese had bought the unit. It seems his rich parents are buying it for him, else he wouldn't be able to qualify to buy given he is single and yet to reach 35. Meimei was extremely disappointed on hearing the news.

We had a viewing for the 2nd unit just as we were told about the first. Its on the 8th floor with South-West orientation. Since the 20th floor unit is sold we took a hard look at the unit. It's first owner condition ... and given that the flats are 35 years old, you can imagine the state they are in. Meimei wasn't really keen on it at the asking price of 615k but we didn't really have a choice. We made an offer of 590k to test the owner's base price but it was a no-go. It seems the owners are staying at a condo and they had been renting out the unit previously. Now that the prices are good they are putting it up for sale and in no hurry to sell.

A fortnight after the 8th floor unit, another unit came on the market. It's on the 12th floor with North-West orientation. Although the owners were calling a ridiculous 680k asking price, we went down to have a look anyways. The condition is just as bad as the previous 2 ... and it's bathrooms are still the traditional squat toilets! At this price, we might as well have bought the 20th floor one. Prices are getting crazier and crazier by the day.

On the same day as we were going to see the 12th floor unit I noticed that the advertisement for the same 8th floor unit now had a 625k starting price. It looks like someone has met the asking price of 615k and yet the owner is attempting to fish for a higher price. Meimei and I were highly irritated on seeing this blatant price gouging. But ... there wasn't a thing we could do. The units here are in very high demand, if we can't come up with the cash someone else would surely do. Meimei was adamant that she would not offer anything higher than 600k. I, on the other hand, was prepared to offer 630k as coincidently we had received a firm offer of 520k for our place. And given the rapidly escalating prices of our target units, the sooner we secure one the better.

I called up our agent and ask her to check with the seller agent on the pricing, with the intention to see if we can make a 620k offer. Oddly enough the seller agent refused to reply and our agent advised us to look for another unit. She has a gut feel that the place is already sold and offered her opinion. "At this price it really makes no sense. I would not advise you to offer anything above 600k. Anyways my colleague tells me that the owners for the unit directly above this 8th floor one is looking to sell too."

I was disappointed to hear that we missed the 8th floor unit. But at the same time we were excited that the 9th floor one may be available. Imagine buying over the 8th floor unit, renovated it and then have to suffer through a bout of renovation on the floor above. That thought gave us a little relief about losing the 8th floor one. The caveat to this is that the 9th floor sale is uncertain. The owner has a tenant staying till May but am thinking of selling due to tenant issues. Hence the earliest we might start the offer is in early June.

So we are now patiently waiting for the 9th floor unit to come onto the market. Hopefully prices have not sky rocket till levels we can no longer afford in the coming months.

The Simple Things - Standing Without Support

It happened so fast that we couldn't whip out our phones in time to capture the moment. She did it again couple of times at random, getting braver each time. We tried to coax her into showcasing her new found skill but she wasn't to be persuaded.

It always exciting to see a development moment, especially when you know you are catching the very first attempt. Very soon she will be walking unassisted, whilst we follow her closely in case she falls. I can imagine how tiring that is gonna be, yet am eagerly waiting for it to happen.

Driving Into A Bicycle

Before anyone gets the idea that I ran into a cyclist with my vehicle, I loudly pronounce that I did not. In fact its the other way around. A bicycle ran into me on my way home from work. It was an unfortunate accident. 

I'm thankful I instinctively swerve to the right ... else I would have ran over his legs. He was bleeding on his arms and legs as he broke his fall. Other than being shaken by the whole incident he was pretty much ok.

As for me, there are dents and large scratches on my bonnet. I highly doubt any cyclist would have 3rd party insurance so there was nothing more I could do but shrug it off. The cyclist apologised so I wasn't going to bring it any further. I'm just glad both of us walked away from it fine.

11 Months - Almost To A Year

She continues to be a handful. She doesn't sleep much so everyone has to keep her entertained constantly.

Hi~!!

My Pirate Look ... Arghhh!

Can I have another one?

Eating is Hard Work!

Do I look like Girl-Girl now?

Maybe I'll be a Pianist with I grow up

The Staring Incident

Emily stares. I don't think she does it intentionally but rather more as a concentrated look to catch every detail of what's going on. I like that she knows how to catch a person's eye but the prolonged gaze can sometimes be uncomfortable.

We were at Coffee Bean today for breakfast. It's Chinese New Year's eve and everywhere else was packed. We found a spot close to the far side where there was only an uncle at the sofa playing with his phone. We didn't want her calls to distract others from their leisurely day. Plus we had brought porridge so we wanted to keep the mess away from the crowds.

Initially it was just a casual look to her back. Then she caught the uncle staring intently at his phone. And then for the next 20-30 minutes she just stared constantly at him. We didn't give much attention to it as we were busy with our own breakfast and maid was feeding Emily.

The next thing that happen was a shock ... in a embarrassing and funny way. The uncle that Emily was staring at the last half hour actually came over and handed out an Ang Pow to her! Hahahahaha he must have caught Emily's eyes  whenever he looked up from his phone. I guess she must have made him uneasy ... you know, the feeling when someone just hold their gaze at you perpetually. It was a good thing he took it in the right way and offer Emily a gift instead.

We tried to stop him but he was having none of it. He handed Emily the Ang Pow, which she happily grabbed, and walked off while Meimei and I keep saying "No sir you don't have to". We couldn't help but laugh at the whole situation hahaha. I hope she doesn't get into any more trouble with the staring ... the next time might not end as good as this.

CNY 2015 - Reunion Dinner

Mother-In-Law cooked up a feast. Better than eating at any restaurant.

She Bit Me

I was putting Emily into the car seat. I felt a suddenly piercing pain on my palm.  She was biting me. I shake my arm a little to try to break free. Thankfully she didn't persist. I was dumbfounded.

How can my little princess be so violent? What if she does this when we start putting her into nursery? Is this how she displays her anger and resentment?

A lot of questions flowed through my mind as I grimaced in pain. Gosh ... I really hope this is a passing phase. No one likes a biting baby.

Continuing The Fun At Work

I started a job with a lot of what I was looking for in an ideal job a year ago today.

1) Individual contributor role
Being a manager is an easy job. Being a good one takes serious work, commitment and sacrifices. After many years of managing teams, I like the change of pace. Focusing on just your own work without worrying about the performance of others takes a lot off the pressure and stress since outcomes are purely down to your own efforts. It's an even bigger plus when they give you the same pay grade as a manager ;-)

2) Pure systems implementation with zero operational responsibilities
Ahhh finally after years of working ridiculous hours during month end, this job's crazy hours is no longer pegged to the calendar days but on stages of the project. I think I was put into the role as the existing lead couldn't handle all the project activities. So because I wasn't the main focal lead for the implementation I had the luxury of better hours since I'm nothing more than a supporting role to the lead.

3) Proximity to home
I go home for lunch everyday. That's enough reason for envy for most folks. Nothing beats having home cooked food, even if most of the time it's just the leftovers. And I get to play with Emily when I'm home so that's another big plus.

4) Nice colleagues
I think I mentioned this in an earlier post. It's a factory plant so I suppose folks are more cordial here than in a corporate office. Also my boss has kids so she is more understanding when I have to work from home on some days when I pull an all nighter watching over Emily.

The contract was for a year because the original plan was to roll out the 2 Singapore in 2015. However due to a total meltdown in an earlier rollout in Hungary, they froze all rollouts in 2015 and we are now rescheduled for Aug 2016. So they offered me a year and half extension to Jun 2017.

It's nice that they wanted me to stay but I am also realistic as to how long this tenure will be. As with all projects, things can go south pretty quickly, e.g. change in project priorities, change in operating climate and restrictions on budget etc. They can release me any time with a month's notice. But until then I am pretty comfortable here. The work is fun and manageable. So I just stay put as long as I can and enjoy the ride.

A Prize For Walking

Walked enough to redeem the 1st tier prize for National Steps Challenge.