Gyros

A delicious meal that I was happy to share with my parents. Gyro roast pork, green salad, tzatziki (with mint from the garden) and spicy ajvar.

My new Uggs

One of Mummy's conspiracy theories is that she was actually picked up from the wheelie bin outside an Inuit igloo. That, combined with Papa's abnormal sweat gene, which I seem to have inherited, means that I am much more cold-tolerant than my tropical relatives could ever imagine. Indeed, my month in the tropics (which my recalcitrant Mummy has yet to blog about) was only made bearable by the copious application of air-conditioning. However, the recent dip in temperatures has proven a bit nippy, even for this household. So I'm thrilled with these fabulous Ugg boots, a gift from my great-aunt in Sydney.

They are lined with sheepskin and are lovely and toasty! Despite my best efforts, the Velcro closing stayed secure. Don't they go perfectly with my jeggings?

A trip to North Yorkshire

The first part of our travels this summer (first week of August) brought us to North Yorkshire. This was my first proper holiday. Mummy had a singing gig and Papa was chauffeur and babysitter. We stayed in a residential college with a sports complex, where I was almost literally thrown into the deep end. I am sorry to report that things did not go swimmingly.

Fortunately, new experiences of the gastronomic variety were much better received. Here's some of the fun stuff that I tried for the first time around Yorkshire :

- scallops, salmon, haddock, pork pie pastry
- peas, pea puree (adult version), potato, green olive tapenade
- watercress
- tiramisu, Sachertorte

Lobster risotto, seafood platter, beef dripping fried chips

I got to try some of the fish from the seafood platter pictured. There was also a gorgeous plate of scallops but my parents were too busy watching me for possible shellfish allergy and concomitant anaphylactic shock to take a photograph. 

I enjoyed all the exciting new foods. But evidently, my parents forgot to read the chapter in the childcare manual that says you should only introduce potential allergens like shellfish, wheat, eggs, chocolate, caffeine and alcohol when the child is at least a year old.

Do real men eat cupcakes?

I am also pleased to report that my parents survived the logistical challenge of transporting me around the country. It did involve packing half the contents of the house into the car, and my paraphernalia - non-collapsible buggy, Bumbo, travel cot, car seat, toys, clothes and toiletries - filled virtually every available crevice. Bring on the next challenge, I say!

Happy Birthday!

Today's my first birthday!

I started the day with a refreshing drink from the tap. What a difference from a year ago, lying in neonatal intensive care being fed via a nasogastric tube.

Then my Ah Ma presented me with a lovely red envelope. What fun! I love shredding paper and then eating it (excellent roughage, try it sometime!) so I was most delighted with this tribute and clung tightly to it. Then that spoilsport Mummy had to come and confiscate the red packet, muttering something about junior ISAs. Ah Ma was kind enough to give me another red envelope, one that felt lighter - perhaps it was empty?

Paradigm shift

The second month on solids saw a paradigm shift of seismic proportions. A few weeks before the super-duper hospital grade double electric pump was due to be returned to Medela, I decided to start drinking straight from the tap. I suppose seven and a half months of pumping 6-8 times a day was an  adequate demonstration of maternal devotion. I guess there are not that many babies who learnt how to eat breadsticks before learning how to latch on.

New foods at this stage :

- apricots, dates, plums, tomatoes
- butternut squash, daikon (Japanese radish)
- sparkling mineral water (drunk from Papa's mug)
- Greek yogurt, buffalo mozzarella, Parmesan, tofu, salmon, poppyseeds
- very tiny tasting portions of hash browns, the cream filling of a belgian chocolate eclair
- toilet paper

Food rejected: rice porridge with chicken, organic Red Gem lettuce

Spam in Allium

This is all that remained of the post-christening refreshments.

We had them in the chapel vestry so when drawing up the menu, attention had to be paid to the logistics involved. The refreshments had to be equally tasty eaten cold, not too fussy, not too fragile, and easily transportable as they would have to be schlepped on public transport, together with five bottles of fizzy, non-alcoholic equivalent, ice, champagne goblets and a baby in a buggy.

As the last oven tray was sitting cooling ready to be packed, Mummy realized that there was also an irresistible opportunity to make a gastronomic pun on one of my middle names. So the chorizo, chive and spring onion tartlets became 'Spam in Allium' and the decadent Nutella brownies 'O Nutella (de)Lux(e)'. Sadly blood oranges were not in season for some 'O Agrum Convivium'.

Here's what else was on the menu:

- Buffalo mozzarella, vine tomato and basil sticks
- Feta and artichoke tarts
- Puff pastry pinwheels with assorted fillings, including prosciutto, ajvar (Balkan red pepper tapenade) and salami, black olive paste, Maltese sundried tomato tapenade
- Spicy crab dip with onion crackers
- Whisky sticky toffee cake

While the rest of the menu was devoid of execreable puns, there was an additional reference to my creation myth. The Maltese sundried tomato tapenade came from Margot's, the Valletta pizzeria where some members of the choir celebrated their successful tour, exactly nine months before my official due date.

First month on solids

I turned six months old on the 4th of June 2012. That night, Mummy finished the last pump of the day at 3.30am, a little later than usual. Perhaps because she was tired, she ended up spilling 50ml of breast milk all over her laptop. There was warm, sticky breast milk oozing out of every crevice of the laptop!  She wiped off as much of it as she could. The next morning however, the laptop refused to start up.

Mummy took this as a divine sign that I should start eating solid food. The first week was traumatic for both of us. I didn't like the feel of the spoon in my mouth and yearned for the comfort of my best friend Tommy Tippee. I think it would have helped if she had used a proper weaning spoon, instead of improvising with the white plastic spoon that came with the bottle of Calpol...

Things got better once a proper weaning spoon was procured for me (a lovely yellow and green one from Boots; no stereotypical girly pink for me, thanks). Here are the foods I have eaten so far :

- carrot, sweet potato, swede, white asparagus
- apple, banana, pear, nectarine, peach, mango, avocado
- bread, breadstick, chicken, roast beef
- 2 spoonfuls of freshly squeezed orange juice

Not bad for the first month on solids, if I do say so myself!