1 Yr... Almost

Daddy's girl turns 1 in 2 weeks. Time flies.

What's she up to nowadays? Being demanding. She demands to walk when she wants to walk. She demands that I give her something she's being eyeing when she's eyeing it. She demands to be carried whenever she feels like being carried. She demands that we play with her when she wants to play. She demands.

But she gives, too. She gives us cheeky smiles and amused smiles, and tonnes of fun and joy. Sometimes, I think she's amused because I'm so dumb and can't do babytalk as fluently as her, and I mess up all the meanings.

Walk... Walk... Timber!!!

Pictured above, Hanaa in her practice sessions. Just shy of 10 months, Hanaa has a record of being able to stand upright without support for 12 seconds if nothing distracts her, and walk four steps forwards.

Mommy's Girl

Like Mommy like Baby, eh?

Hands-Free-Kid

"Look! Hands-free! I'm ready to walk, Daddy" - Hanaa Wong (babytalk translated with lots of guess-work by Daddy)

How About A Casual Portrait Instead?

I think passport photos aren't her specialty. For this shot, Hanaa gave Daddy a hint of a smile. Daddy was lucky to capture even this little bit of it.

How About We Take A Passport Photo?

I did just that and... I think everyone will choose the same as I between the two portraits below as to which one is better.

2-Teeth Hanaa Trying to Run

She loves to get her feet on solid ground. Can stand fully on her own and can make lurching steps, but haven't mastered walking yet. She's trying to run, though.

Thanks to the bout of bad food poisoning grounding the daddy at home, the daddy's ever trigger-happy fingers have managed to snap more photos of Hanaa than in the last 2 months! So... picture diarrhea.

Exposed

Retro-hairstyle-free-n-breezy. Add on more toys and surrender daddy's camera strap, and we've got her attention.

Round round

Hanaa's brand new image. Styling by Anne: Unintentionally Chic.

はな

Can you see that she's a fan of anime? Well, she is. She loves Bleach.

Teething

6.5 months and just starting to teeth. No actual teeth peeking out just yet, but the gums are white and probably causing her some of her heatiness. Today, Mommy got a teething biscuit for little Hanaa who took it all in hand, literally.

Framed

Hanaa has become quite the expert at pulling down the bumpers around her cot so that she can get a look at what transpires on the other side. Sometimes, it ends up with her getting a well deserved bump on the head as she usually follows a "pull down" with a "charge"!

She's certainly playful, seems to have a fiery temper and lightning glee. She also has that "grown-up" kinda look when she's trying to analyze or observe things. All in all, she's one bundle of joy.

On The Move

Oh, yes! How could I forget to mention her latest development. It has made her slaves wary of her every move. Hanaa is now mobile.

5.5m+

Hanaa Wong Szeyi @ 5.5m+ is now armed with longer hair and even longer eye lashes which she wields as weapons to get her way.

In addition, she is secretly (or so she thinks) developing new weapons. Her mommy spied this latest development using peripheral vision, seeing Hanaa suspiciously rubbing the tip of her tongue over her lower gums. Daddy noticed that this new weapon seems to require lots of liquid in the form of saliva and food.

Hexagon?

I've been wondering how my Hanaa's face shape would be. I think I'll be wondering for many years to come.

But at this point, she does look a little hexagon doesn't she? Mommy says she's squarer than herself and therefore may be more like me. And here I am thinking that I'm not that square, too. So... hexagon?

Hanaa: Is that you, daddy?

Crawling around in her cot, Hanaa makes her way to her toys and pillows. Then the daddy calls her, "Hanaa Wong Szeyi!" She peers between her cot frame and spotted her daddy.

Hanaa: I Believe I Can Fly!

She would flap her wings at high speeds then somehow, she will be airborne. I wonder if she knows that she's being carried up up and a-fly. From her delight and continued flapping, you'd think she believes it's all her own achievement.

How's Baby Shaping Up?

Noticed any change to Hanaa? I see changes everyday and have been trying to capture some of it on digital film. Soon I'm gonna need a new harddisk as I'm filling up my current one fast.

I'm Missing It

Daddy's still not satisfied. I haven't been able to capture "that sleeping moment" to date, but in my opinion, this photo comes closer to it than the ones before.

Baby Hanaa's growing so fast, before I can capture the moment as she is, she's grown and changed a little. It's challenging to capture the special moments even with a digital camera, you know? You should try, too, and see if you meet with more success or satisfaction.

"Any Food For Me?"

In this respect, my girl is very much like me. When she's hungry, it'll be pretty obvious. She likes Enfalac A+, Nestle Banana Rusks and Heinz Apple juice. Her intake of the more exotic foods is still limited as she is just 5 months old.

Good Mood TIme

She throws her charm around generously when the mood takes her. Without warning, she can change from cries of complaints to smiles and laughter.

Most days, when I'm back from work, my girl would flash me a warm welcome smile much like this one. And believe you me, that's surely one of the best all time cures for work stress.

Bowed lips

Now where did she get those lips? Not from me, eh? She keeps her lips well moist thanks to plenty of saliva. Overwell moist. Very very over moist most of the time.

One Hot Girl!

My, oh my! Baby Hanaa is furious cause she has signaled for her milk 10 seconds ago and still hadn't received any. She's hot. She vents her fury on the poor handkerchief. She's now very vocal and more expressive. But I tell you, it's not rocket science to know that Hanaa wants something when she screams.

Oh, there you are!

Little Hanaa is very flexible. She would twist and turn, stretch and curl, bend and roll, all to try to get a better view or position.

Now at 4m+, she is very well responsive to sounds, movement, objects and people. She would often try to locate faces then flash a smile or two at the person if it strikes her fancy, or mumble an "Oo" or two.

"I'm not sleepy yet" - "Yes you are"

Sometimes, Baby just doesn't seem to require sleep. Usually it takes quite a bit of persuasion to get Hanaa to sleep.

Yesterday was special, though. During San Yi-Yi's visit, baby entertained herself, rolled onto her tummy and snoozed all on her own.

2 Sleepy Heads

I think being "sleepy" is now the norm. Pictured here are 2 of the resident sleepy heads in my household. I, too, am perpetually sleepy.

Hanaa is now a day away from reaching 4 months. Her sleeping hours have grown up to 6 hours at a stretch between 0000 hrs to 0800 hrs. The correlation between baby's increase in hours and her parent's sleepy head condition is: the longer baby sleeps at a stretch at night, the less sleepy her mommy and daddy are.

I heard from some parents that as their babies progressed from newborn to 1yr old, their babies' sleep durations are increasingly short per nap in the night. I'm surprised to hear this as my baby seems to be on the opposite track. Based on Hanaa's great mood in the mornings, I believe she's doing just fine.

Almond Eyes?

Does my baby have almond-shaped eyes? Hazel? I've no idea what shape those are, but here again, I just have to share another picture of Hanaa with her mesmerizing eyes.

The other feature I'm closely monitoring now is Hanaa's eyebrows. I wait to see if it would more closely resemble mine or my wife's.

Sleep Little One

It's bedtime but Hanaa not only refuses to sleep, she still beams her twin globes searchingly. Her frog begins to sing, and so, the Poh-Poh looks on as Baby listens to her musical frog.

What's So Funny?

Daddy can't figure out what Hanaa finds so funny. Hear her laugh at http://sueanney.multiply.com/video/item/5.

You Love The Bug, Baby

Just for the record, baby, you did love bugs when you were 3m+. Mommy and Daddy has to prepare something else for you to devour before you sprout teeth and actually start shredding your toys.

Take On Something Your Own Size!

Lamaze is a fascinating brand selling books and toys for babies. Fascinating in my opinion because they obviously choose good materials. However, like in the case of this toy strapped to baby's wrist, it's a bug. Bite the bug? Hanaa sure loves it. But.... bug???! Maybe they should start producing strawberries, pears, nuts, or something less "lively".

I See U

See her glorious eyes? They are the eyes responsible for the enslavement of her Daddy. They wink, they beam, they wonder, they stare, and they drop huge tears, proportional to the size of the globes, I guess.

Did you know that the size of the human eye pupil does vary? Some have slightly smaller diameters while others seem to fill into the whites. In Hanaa's case, I think her eyes are simply large in every way.

I came across many a baby's eyes large and beaming like my Hanaa's. Have you?

Now That's More Like It

Hanaa loves to be carried in this position. She loves this pose for burping, for lodging complaints, for bouncing, for sight-seeing, etc.. Her favourite pose.

Like This?

"You want me to feed myself?" Hanaa asks. "I think I can manage."

Must I Do Everything Myself?

Maybe it was because it was a new bottle, maybe because the bottle was not the usual clear plastic, maybe because it was a Sunday and she was feeling "high", maybe because Mommy was so encouraging, maybe all of these reasons, maybe others....

Whatever the reason, obviously Baby got the idea that she is to hold bottles in the future. She sure seems to want to negotiate about that though.

Listen to Hanaa!

Hanaa tries to say "'ello" on http://sueanney.multiply.com/video/item/2 .

Catch It

Look at Hanaa's hand. Tiny, eh? But they are a lot bigger and more developed than when I first held them 3 months ago. Time flies.

Am I a fool to ask for more, when I've already been given a girl? No, I am not asking for another baby... not just yet, anyway, but I am asking for time to slow down just a bit for me to catch it.

I go to work early in the morning and then I come home in time for dinner. A good 10 to 12 hours gone. In that time, Hanaa has already given her mommy ear splitting cries, laughter, conversation, singing, done her "business" and... grown. I have missed it. Day on day, I miss out.

If time was tangible, I would reach out and catch it, much the same as my wife here holds Baby's hand. I would reach for it to be a part of all I have and would miss.

Whoosh!

HUD business. This heads up display business isn't easy. Not only for Baby, but for the parents, too. Why? Cause we watch as Baby struggles and tries hard to push and push and push, until finally she tires and the head falls onto the mattress nose-first. We listen to her "whooshes" of breath, "oo"s, "uu"s and "aa"s and little sputtering "hek hek" coughs as she builds up her energy to make a push.

She succeeded. To move one step forward on hands and knees just before reaching 3 months old. Good girl. Daddy's Girl. Mommy's Girl.

Head's Up!

Curiosity struck the cat. "I can lift my head up higher than you, Mimi!" For her first time, today, Hanaa manages to keep her head held up for about 5 seconds to better glare at her cat before tiring. She did it a few more times later just to impress upon Mimi the Cat that she is Hanaa the Boss.

Proof of Magic

I held Hanaa. Today, 2 months and 22 days later, I wonder. My wife, too, wonders. Sometimes, baby Hanaa would have this serene gaze that grows into a teasing little smile. And it makes me wonder anew.

We sometime wonder when did our darling princess arrive. She's not the centre of our universe. Far from it. She's the orchestrator of our universe. As I search the depths of her eyes, I breem with joy enhanced with a flavour of the faerie. More than love is in the air, I say. There's magic at work here.

We R 3

In 2004, there was but one. In 2005, one became two. Come 2006, two became three. Seems like the Wong Family is a fantastic index to invest in, doesn't it?