Too cute to resist!

I went shopping the other day at a British store called NEXT, and here are a couple of things I just couldn't resist. The best part was they were on sale!

Baby's first pair of shoes ... and socks. Aren't they cute??? The shoes are for "pre-walkers", between 3 and 6 months old.

Mommy-to-be, at five months

Taken on 2 September 2006, just before my cousin's wedding dinner
(pardon the wrong date on the camera)

Smile!

A windy morning at the Abu Dhabi Corniche with Adrian & Jessie's baby girl Rachel






At Tony Roma's, Ibn Battuta Mall Dubai

Ultrasound Picture

Here's a picture of a scanned image of our baby's head at 18 weeks, 6 days. If you look close enough at the bottom of the picture (the white line where his body is), that is his spinal cord.

Check out the pointed nose and the rounded head! Hehe! Our little fellow!

All Things Blue

Dev and I took advantage of the Dubai Shopping Festival sale in Dubai and went on a shopping spree for our little one at The BabyShop and Mothercare. We also got a Peg-Perego stroller, which is packed neatly in a box, to be checked in with our luggage when we head home to Malaysia next month. Nonetheless, I managed to get a picture of the exact stroller off the internet, just for you.

Here's a peek of what we have so far.

The complete feeding set

The baby stroller, which can accommodate a baby's weight up to 18kg, approximately 4 years old












Baby's first nursery rhymes book and music CD

A gift from our visiting Malaysian friend Audra

Christmas Eve Dinner

Dev and I hosted a dinner for eight close friends on Christmas Eve, and it all started with the idea of roasting a turkey together with a couple from Malaysia Adrian and Jessie. Adrian and Jessie celebrate Christmas, but Dev and I don't, and because Adrian and Jessie suggested having roast turkey, Dev and I went all out to get everything we needed for a wonderful and memorable Christmas Eve dinner.

Jessie was exhausted from the flight from Malaysia to Dubai that morning so she missed dinner that evening, and Adrian came over with our friend Nurul. We had Deep and his girlfriend Svenja, our neighbours Kurt and Ian, as well as Malaysian cabin-crew-in-training, now with Etihad, Shoba and Rowina.

Thanks to online recipes, our very first Christmas Eve dinner was a success! Check out our roast turkey and baked stuffing!

Menu for the Evening:
Roast turkey, baked stuffing, baked corn on the cob, grilled garlic bread, fried spring rolls and sarmosas, and potato salad and "bubur kacang hijau" (Malaysian dessert - green peas boiled with coconut milk and sugar) made by Shoba, not forgetting my version of the Virgin Sangria!

Ian, Kurt and I enjoyed our non-alcoholic drinks. Both the guys had to work the next morning, so the Sangria was the only drink they could have. Hehe!

Dev landing a helping hand in basting the almost-done turkey

After the rain in Abu Dhabi

Pictures were taken from our apartment after the heavy down pour in Abu Dhabi.

Gathering in Malacca

Dev's parents hosted a party on 18 November, a wet Saturday, in their hometown Malacca. Thankfully the rain stopped before the guests arrived. It was a wonderful weather for a garden dinner party. The food was fantastic, and so was the company of family members and friends.


My brother-in-law Ben & Delphine
My nieces Charlene & Delphine clowning around
Delphine posing sweetly for the camera!
My Mom & Dad, and a close shot of my sister Jasmina
The proud-father-to-be!

It was a surprised birthday shout out for my brother Justin, who blew out 26 candles that evening.

Virgin Sangria

For people like me who can't take any amount of alcohol during pregnancy, I have discovered a recipe for sangria, without the alcohol. This recipe is from one of the pregnancy books I am reading. It will be my drink on X'mas Eve!

VIRGIN SANGRIA

Ingredients

3 cups unsweetened grape juice
3/4 cups apple juice concentrate
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 small unpeeled lemon; sliced and seeded
1 small unpeeled orange; sliced and seeded
1 small unpeeled apple; cored, cut into eights
1 3/4 cups soda / sparkling water

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients except the soda/sparkling water in a large pitcher. Stir well, and chill. Add soda/sparkling water just before serving. Serve over ice in wineglasses.

Pikelets

I was first introduced to "pikelets" (pronounced pai-ke-lets) by Rosie, one of my good friends here in Abu Dhabi who loves feeding me and Dev! I went online a few days later and decided to get the recipe from the internet, and today, I made my very own pikelets!

These are guaranteed no-fail pikelets, so the recipe says, and it is proven!

Ingredients
1 cup self raising flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda (baking soda)
1/2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar
3/4 cup milk
1 egg - beaten
30 g melted butter
Butter/oil for cooking

Preparation
Add lemon juice/vinegar to milk. Stand to one side. Melt butter in microwave or over hot water. Mix flour, bicarbonate soda and sugar. Add butter, milk and egg to dry ingredients, mix well to remove all lumps.

Heat pan over medium heat. Drop 1 tbsp of mixture into fry pan for each pikelet. Cook for about 1 minute, turn and cook other side for 1 minute.

Serve with jam and butter or other condiments as preferred. It is delicious when you spread butter first and then jam over butter. Yummie!

As simple as A-B-C! Happy pikelet-ing! Hehe!

* Image of pikelets taken from yahoo image gallery. Mine didn't look as good as the ones in the picture *

Seasons Greetings

It's the time of the year where the holiday spirit is shared with one another throughout the world. Over here in Abu Dhabi, the temperature has been dropping, and the wind is very chilly. With the air-condition switched off, we are wearing socks all day long to keep warm (in the desert!) The cold season will last until March next year. It sure feels like X'mas now!

Six days from today, Dev and I will be driving to Dubai International Airport to welcome our friends Adrian, Jessie and their baby girl Rachel from Malaysia (we stay in the same neighbourhood in Subang Jaya) for a week's holiday in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. That is also our reason for hosting a X'mas dinner for the very first time, turkey included!

As first-timers, Dev and I are attempting on roasting a whole turkey (the turkey is in our freezer now). We will be having around 8 guests, and we will be serving roast turkey, stuffing baked separately-not in the turkey, garlic bread, corn on the cob, fried spring rolls, potato salad and a dessert-thanks to our friends Shoba and Rowina who have volunteered to prepare them, not forgetting the authentic home-made brandy fruit cake from Malaysia! Some spirits will be shared too-for those who will be drinking, there will be Jack Daniels, Bacardi and wine. I am thinking of preparing a pitcher of sangria with fruit wedges. It is made by adding wine to soda and a couple of citrus mixtures.

On the 25th, we will be heading to a friend's place for some real X'mas treats, including a roasted piglet!

We will update next with images of our friends and our little dinner, provided no one gets sick from the food or drinks! Hehe! To all my friends and relatives out there, HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS & A BLESSED NEW YEAR!

With love,
Dev & Jac