The Storytelling Granddad

Don't you just love my dad! He reads to DS everynight, and here he is, reading to DD too. DD seems to be thoroughly enjoying the storytelling session. :)

DS Has Learnt to Wink!

Somehow, over the past week, DS has learnt to wink! Here he is, trying hard to wink, with the help of his finger over his eye. Hehe.


And he did it! :) Not the best wink in the world, considering how he has to scrunch up his face just to close one eye. But nevertheless, he did it! :P

DD's First Standing Pictures

While we were in Colorado Springs, DD stood up for the first time ever (with support, of course). She's a real shorty, so it's hilarious to see her standing already.



This picture below was taken 2 days later, in our apartment in Denver.

Colorado Springs - Garden of the Gods and Cave of the Winds

The Cave of the Winds, located in the hills above Manitou Springs, is supposed to be very beautiful and one of America's "most important show caves". Unfortunately, we were only able to drive all the way up the hill to the entrace of the cave, but didn't join the tour to explore the caves. The tour of the cave takes about an hour and I really don't think either of the kids will be able to tolerate being in a cave for an hour. We'll definitely be back when the kids are older and able to appreciate the beauty of the cave! :)

On the same day, we also went to Garden of the Gods. Once again, beautiful, open scenery with lots of rock formations. Truly beautiful.

Colorado Springs - Manitou Springs

We headed out to Colorado Springs last week, just an hours' drive from Denver. We stayed in Colorado Springs for 3 nights, and took the opportunity to tour around that area. All the places that we visited around Colorado Springs were so beautiful, we wished we could have stayed there for much longer!

I find myself using the words "beautiful", "breathtaking" and "awesome" a lot these days. Colorado is truly a very beautiful place with breathtaking sceneries. We are finding that the camera and video camera cannot capture enough the beauty of the natural landscapes here in Colorado. :)

First up, Manitou Springs. Manitou Springs is just located 4 miles (about 6.5km) west of Colorado Springs. There are still mineral springs throughout this town that are fed by the snows from the surrounding mountains.

Here's DS taking a feel of the cold, cold water at one of the mineral springs. This location was used by a mineral water company to bottle spring water. Of course, it's now a tourist site.

Behind us is a very interesting map of Manitou Springs. This map makes use of miniature houses, cars, buildings, etc. rather than just line drawings or pictures. This picture is also one of the few we have taken as a family of 4, with DD out of her infant carseat capsule for a change! :)

Many houses and building in Manitou Springs have light brownish walls and flat roofs, which are evidence of their Native American influence. "Manitou" is a Native American word for "spirit".

Interestingly (and we haven't figured out why yet), Manitou Springs seemed to be a placed where backpackers and "hippies" gather. In the 2 occasions that we went into Manitou Springs for lunch, we saw many these individuals gathering around chatting, playing games and generally having a good time, backpacks and dreadlocks in tow! :)

City of Golden

As DH approaches the end of his posting here in Denver, we've been taking some time off since last week to do a bit of touring of Colorado. Unfortunately, we can't go very far because DS and DD won't tolerate being in their carseats for hours and hours, but we're not complaining. :) The places we have visited or are planning to visit are just a few hours or less away from Denver and they are beautiful!

We took a day trip out to the city of Golden last week. Golden, just half an hour away from Denver, is a historic town with breathtaking mountain views all around. We had fun walking along the main street in Golden, where there were very interesting, quaint shops.


Golden is also home to Lookout Mountain Nature Center and Preserve. Here are some views from Lookout Mountain, on our way up to the Nature Center.




The Nature Center is a small but very educational place and we spent more than an hour there. DS enjoyed himself tremendously looking at all the stuffed animals (who were not specially killed for this purpose, by the way - they were donated to the center after they died of natural causes or accidentally killed on the roads). There were many touch-and-feel exhibits, like snake skin, deer fur, tree barks, etc. which DS had fun with. There was also an area set up like a viewing gallery, where high-powered binoculars were provided for viewing flora and wildlife in the mountain.

There, we met a very nice lady named Linda, who works at the Nature Center. She very kindly showed us around and provided DS lots of explanations to the items on display.

DD's First Taste of Food

We started DD on solid food yesterday, her first food being a carrot stick. :) I think she found her thumb to be tastier half the time, but that was a start, I guess! :P

For Kristina - Part 2

Kristina, I realised that I probably shouldn't compare your pocket dipes with Thirsties. That's like comparing apples and oranges. :) Thirsties are AIO with the pocket for stuffing an extra soaker, if needed. Anyhow, here are the pics.

Here's DD with your dipe, stuffed with a Happy Heiny's Stuffin (hemp soaker) without the extra oval. I love the melon color. It's such a bright and happy color! :)

Here's DD with a BumGenius 3.0 one size dipe. This is also a pocket dipe. Somehow, the outer and inner fabric is very thin, so the diaper looks slightly trimmer than yours. Here, I used BG's one size microfibre terry soaker, which is slightly bulkier than the HH Stuffin.

And here's the Thirsties AIO. I also placed a HH Stuffin oval in the pocket, but this dipe still looks pretty trim.

For Kristina

OK, most of you can ignore this blog post. I'm putting up this post for my friend Kristina, who sews the most beautiful cloth diapers ever!!! She sewed 3 dipes for DD recently, and this is the feedback that I'm giving her about her diapers.

Kristina, I owe you the pics comparing DD wearing her Thirsties AIO/BumGenius/Bum-ware and your dipe. This is for comparison of the bulkiness of the dipes. I thought I had taken the pics, but I can't find them now.


Poo wick seen around the legh0les of the sage colored dipe. The wicking was pretty quick too, I think DD was sitting in it for 20 mins at most before I noticed the wicking on the outside.

Sorry, this is probably TMI, but I just wanted to show how the wicking happened - that it soaked across the inner gusset (probably exacerbated by the fact that the inner gusset isn't a snug fit), onto the outer gusset and then across into the PUL.

Here is DD wearing a Thirsties AIO. The inner gusset fits snugly. No poo leaks yet on the Thirsties AIO. (I hope I'm not jinxing myself here!)

Of course, your double gussets are a bit different from the Thirsties gussets. Yours are similar to a disposable dipe, in which both gussets should be snug against baby's skin (hence the inner gusset shouldn't be exposed like the Thirsties). In Thirsties AIO, only the inner gusset is snug against baby's skin (but the inner gusset is also PUL, so it's leak-proof), and the outer gusset serve to help keep the inner gusset stay snug against baby to prevent leaks.

This pic is to show how I was able to get a snug fit for the outer gusset against baby's thigh. But I couldn't get the inner gusset to fit snugly (see next pic). In my email, I was suggesting that you could probably tighten up the inner gusset slightly so that both gussets will be a snug fit.

The inner gusset still has a small gaping hole (ie not a snug fit) even though the outer gusset fitted snugly.

This is Bum-ware AI2. This shows just the dipe without the snap-in soaker.

Bum-ware AI2 with snap-in soaker beside it.

Bum-ware AI2 with snap-in soaker in place and extra lay-in soaker beside it.

I flipped up the soaker to show you how think it is. I think it's just made of 3 or 4 layers of flannel.

I have slight problems with stains on the inner of the orange velcro-closure dipe. Stains seem to hold and is harder to wash out, I suspect because the fibres on this fabric is longer. Do note that I rinse off as much poo (and yellow stains) as I can usually immediately after I change baby.

Here is a side-view comparison of the gussets of your dipe and a Thirsties AIO.

Body comparison of your dipe and Thirsties AIO. They are similar.

Front comparison of your dipe and Thirsties AIO. They are very similar in sizing and looks.

Front comparison of your dipe and Bum-ware AI2. Notice that Bum-ware covers the velcro tabs with PUL, which changes the look of the dipe if you were to do so too.

Velcro strip at the front of the dipe pilling. It looks like some lint has caught onto the velcro strip as well, but I don't seem to have that problem with Thirsties or Bum-ware.

Comparison of your velcro strip compared with Thirsties.

Comparison of pocket opening between your diep and Thirsties. The biggest difference is that yours opening at the back and Thirsties opens in front. Both I fine, IMO.

The Thirsties pocket close up. See how the microfleece overlaps at the pocket to close the pocket and prevent wicking.

Thirsties pocket again, opened.

DD "Mountain" Climbing

OK, I had to share this. I thought it was hilarious (you can hear me laughing hysterically in the background of the video). DD has been trying to climb over the pillows that we use to keep her "contained" on the bed or in one part of the living room, and she has succeeded recently.

DD's First Sip of Water

DD was unwell today (she caught the cold bug that has been infecting everyone in the family, DS was even sick twice in the past 2 weeks). She had a runny nose and got a little dehydrated. So we decided to give her some water. Although DD is already 7 months old, we've not started her on any solids or fluids other than mummy milk yet. Here she is taking her first sip of water ever, from a cup too!

Sesame Street - R Rated?!?

OK, everyone I know grew up watching Sesame Street. Now, they are saying that the earlier episodes of Sesame Street are not suitable for the preschoolers of today. Huh?

This makes for interesting read and brings back fond memories of my idle days in front of the television. :)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/magazine/18wwln-medium-t.html?ex=1353214800&en=f26b123710ae8691&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

DD and DH Reading - Not!

The experts say that it's never too early to start reading to your little one. DD seems rather interested in DH's book. That's really good! I think she's off to a fantastic start!

But wait! DD realises that she can do more than just read the book. It's looking rather yummy. DD's wondering whether the book will taste nicer than the usual teethers and rattles that Mummy gives her everyday.

Ha! Told you it would taste delicious! No wonder PaPa carries a book around with him all the time! So that's what books are for. Wonder why Mummy only gives me teethers and rattles?

Now, the following video shows what happens after:

DS and House-Cleaning

Wow, it has been ages since I last posted a message. Besides having difficulty uploading stuff onto blogger last week, we have also been taking turns to get sick since early in the week. Pesky cold bug!

Anyhow, here's a video that I really enjoy of DS "helping" me brush the bathroom floor. DS has always had a obsession with house-cleaning equipment - brooms, mops, vacuum cleaners (yes, he gets excited when he spots vacuum cleaners for sale in departmental stores), pails, etc.