steam train rides

a warm and sunny day was forecasted last Saturday. there are a few activities we have in mind for boo. we could visit the Sydney Aquarium, check out the Sydney Winter Festival, take an hour drive out of Sydney for some mandarin picking at an orchard or go catch the steam trains run by the Sydney Live Steam Locomotive Society. we opted for the steam train as it is only open from 1:30pm to 4:30pm every third saturday of the month and if we missed it this month, we'd have to wait for next month and who knows if the weather will be nice. 

this is actually not our first visit. we have previously been here back in the Easter long weekend with some friends. both Jim and i had the wrong footwear on so we couldn't go on any rides with boo. lucky he was happy to go with the other kids and their parents. 

there are three miniature railways that offer rides on miniature steam trains. we got there about half past three and the place is packed. everyone was making the most of the glorious weather to be outdoor. the queues to the three train lines were quite long. each of these railways offer different route and scene. some longer than the others and some goes over a miniature bridge. we picked the shortest queue and within ten minutes, boo and Jim got on the miniature train. they have two miniature trains for each railway so the queue moved fairly quickly. boo didn't mind the queue so they went on all the three railways.

this weekend, we're going to the Sydney Aquarium.

to baby #2: 32 weeks

in less than 2 months,  you'll be in my arms baby #2. so far,  your daddy and i have been taking it easy in terms of prepping for your arrival. but the past two weeks,  i came to the realisation that it is probably time i start. 

anyway, below are what i got up to so far:

_ i'm slowly moving your brother's stuff from the nursery to his big boy room vacating the nursery for you even though you won't be sleeping in it till you are about 4 months. you'll be sleeping in a bassinet in our room next to me.

_ newborn nappies were on sale last week so i picked up some. we should have enough nappies for the first few weeks and if you are anything like your brother, you would move on to the next size in a matter of weeks.

_ i knitted two hats for you. both in neutral colours. one of them might be a bit big but we'll see. your brother was very excited when i showed him. he was even more excited when i made one for him too.

_ you'll be wearing mainly hand me downs onesies from your brother but i have bought some new ones for you. most importantly,  your going home outfit is sorted. i had to get a gender neutral owl print onesie and i hope you'd like it.

_ i bought two wraps today. one of them in grey and the other a navy theme red and blue. two wraps is probably not enough but i've made two out of some printed flannelette i bought from spotlight.

_ i started thinking about what i wanna pack in my hospital bag. i'm trying to think back to the time when i had your brother. trying to remember the things that are useful and things i don't need to worry about.

i've been feeling a little tired the past week. it's my own fault though. i ran out of elivit at the end of last week and i kept forgetting to get them. i thought not taking the supplements for a few days wouldn't matter but man was i wrong. i was feeling exhausted most of the day and i also had frequent dizzy spell. 

i can feel you movements more and more. you are such a strong little kicker and at times, you don't stop moving. sometimes when i rest my hands on the bump, not only can i feel your kick, i can also see my hand moves as you kicked it. every time a pointy bit sticks out, i like to feel it and try to imagine if it was your elbow or your knee. 

as you continue to grow, going to sleep and bending over is getting more and more uncomfortable. we had a few bad nights when it took me about half an hour to settle into a comfortable position only to be woken up by the urge to go to the bathroom and when i come back to bed, i had to try to settle back into a comfortable while i battle with your daddy's snoring. i can't imagine this bump getting any bigger but i know it will and it is a good thing i guess. it means you are growing well. 

everyone is excited to meet you especially me. good thing i have an appointment with Dr Ford tomorrow :) 

today you are two and a half

to my boo boo bear, today you are two and a half

_ you are talking more and more and we can now have proper conversations. some of your pronunciations are still not very clear (to outsiders) but daddy and mummy can understand you just fine. 

_ you love playing with cars and your favourite at the moment is Lightning McQueen. you watch bits and pieces of the movie pretty much every day. you are so familiar with the movie that you can remember some of the lines. we probably let you watch too much tv. 

_ we've just been away in Malaysia for two weeks and you make me so proud on our eight hour flight on the plane. while you didn't napped as long as we have hoped for, you were a dream to travel with. you were not bothered by being confined to your seats, you did not cry or whinge one bit throughout the entire flight there and back. daddy was quite exhausted keeping you entertained though. 

_ you are slowly getting better at managing your anger at daycare. after a few biting incidents, i've had to remind you every morning that you cannot bite other kids. bribing you with the iPad seems to work. it's funny when the first thing you say to me when you see me in the afternoon is "mummy i no biting, i good boy, i play iPad"? 

_ you moved to your big boy room last month and so far you've been quite good. i was worried we might have to train you to sleep by yourself again when we come back from our holiday but you're fine. it's like you can differentiate when we are holiday and when we are home. 

_ nowadays, you like to do some of the things going up the stairs, getting in and out of the car seat and taking your clothes off for bath time. you would say to me "mummy you no touch me, i help myself". i'm not looking forward to the day when you don't need me anymore._ mummy is going to miss the one on one time we have left before your little brother/sister arrives. 

to baby #2: 29 weeks

29 weeks already. which means we'll be meeting you in just over ten weeks if you arrive on time like your brother. 

what have we been up to since i last wrote about you? well, we spent two weeks in Malaysia spending time with your grandparents, your aunties and your cousin. we ate a lot and daddy shopped a lot. it's a bummer i don't know your gender or i would have shopped a lot too. 

at the beginning of the pregnancy, i was quite convinced that you are a she baby. purely because it felt so different this time around. the never ending morning sickness in the first trimester, the way i'm carrying and also my cravings (or the lack of). but as we enter the last trimester, i actually think i'm carrying a boy baby. my bump has gotten much bigger but the shape also resembles a lot like when i was pregnant with your brother and you are such as active baby like your brother, kicking and turning all the time. either way, i assure you that you will be loved just as much. 

your brother is getting very excited about meeting you. he's been asking me a lot about when you will "come out" and every time he asks me about you, i would ask him whether he will hold you, cuddle you, love you, share his toys with you and share his mummy with you. so far, he's been saying yes to everything. the other day, we visited a friend who's just had a baby and i asked your brother if i could hold the baby. surprisingly, he says yes and was quite curious about the baby. 

daddy did a mini maternity/family photo shoot for me and your aunties while we were in Malaysia. it's such a special time for the family when all three of us are pregnant at the same time. aunty Jessie is ten weeks ahead of me (and she's due anytime now) and the size of our bumps are quite similar (oops) and aunty Brenda is only two weeks behind me but her bump is much smaller than mine (oops oops!) we shall see which of these babies weighs the most when you are all born. i didn't enjoy the photo shoot as much as i liked to because it was so hot and humid and i didn't bring any fancy outfit or any outfit which i'm comfortable in. i've asked daddy to do another one for me in Sydney. we might do one closer to the due date just like we did when i was pregnant with your brother. 

i have an appointment with Dr Ford tomorrow. it's been five weeks since i "saw" you through the scan so i'm looking forward to the appointment to finally see you again. just before we left for Malaysia, i did a fasting glucose blood test. Dr Ford seems quite relax about it and is quite confident that i don't have gestational diabetes but i'm a little concerned given the amount of weight i've put on this time around (to date, i've put on about 12kgs and i only put on a total of 14kgs when i was pregnant with your brother). i'm keeping my fingers crossed the result is all clear tomorrow. i'm planning to work up to 38 weeks like i did when i was pregnant with your brother but i think i better double check with Dr Ford tomorrow. i'm 80% sure he would say it's fine given this pregnancy has been going so smooth but 20% of me is worried you might come early given you've been measuring slightly ahead of due date the passed few visits.