Bob The Builder

Watch enough of children's television programs and this will surely happen.

Bob the builder is now one of the family favourites! It joins the ranks of Elmo's World, Barney and Pocoyo!

Here's Bob's Official website.
http://www.bobthebuilder.com/uk/index.html

We also didn't know that there's a US version. I think the UK version (original) sounds better. Anyways, there was no real place where the lyrics can be found, so the Little One team here has provided this gift to all parents trying to sing along (or sing to their little ones) the theme song to Bob the Builder (without having to make things up)!

Bob the builder song lyrics (Original UK TV + website version):

Bob the builder
Can we fix it?
Bob the builder
Yes we can!

Scoop, Muck and Dizzy
And Rolly too
Lofty and Wendy
Join the crew

Bob and the gang
Have so much fun
Working together
They get the job done

Bob the builder
Can we fix it?
Bob the builder
Yes we can!

Pilchard and Bird
Travis and Spud
Playing together
Like good friends should

Bob the builder
Can we fix it?
Bob the builder
Yes we can!

Go to the website to hear this catchy song! It's guaranteed to stick in your head for a while.

For more on Bob and the gang, who have so much fun...
Check out their wiki.

Can we fix it?

Yes we can!

Alright... that's enough.
P.S. This is the page I now load when Samantha comes to visit me when I'm on the computer. She has a blast dancing to this tune.

Uncle

Samantha,
you almost said this word when calling Uncle Henry!

Rubik's Cube

Samantha,
you now can play with the Rubik's cube.

Here's what you do with it:
1. Take it apart!
2. Tell all the colours of the sides.

Sleep Patterns

Sleeping late.. Waking late in the morning.

wawabye.. wawabye...

zzz

Mummy

Dear Samantha,
You can now say "Mommy" and "Baby"!
(especially when you want something)

Daddy and Mommy

What is she doing?

What is she doing?
She's sitting on her Disney Pooh Push Cart (a wonderful gift from Little One's Daddy's friends).
We thank you all very much.

But what is she doing? hehe.




At times, she likes to sit there and have a ride.
She also likes making faces. Here's a combination of both!

Puppy

"Puppy"

This word has entered her vocabulary.

Oh no.

The Little One Dell 3100 Review

We recently unpacked, tested and installed a Dell Dimension 3100 Desktop PC. It was meant to a relative of ours. This then presented itself to be another good opportunity for a The Little One Review.

The Dell Dimension 3100 was ordered through the internet and shipped to our house. We had used a coupon as a further discount. Part of the benefits from a credit card company.

We have bought a couple of notebooks from Dell for friends and this was the first desktop.


The machine was well built and it was surprisingly quiet. Maybe it's because that there's only 1 fan for this desktop. There's also a large ventilation gap behind the front panel (directly behind the Dell logo at the front). Floating center console of the Volvo S40, anyone?

The back of the machine is also very neat. We had set it up in the living room to install windows and some applications.

The Little One was soon all over the PC! Seems that she likes gadgets. Or maybe it's just the boxes. When she was little (more little than currently), she loves boxes. Sitting in them, that is.

Let's start this baby up.

This piece goes here...

The rubber band goes there...

Turn up the volume... and


Welcome to the Little One's first OS installation screen!

Note: At this age, she's already very familiar with computers, the keyboard and the mouse. Check out her favourite links on the side bar!


The Little Gadgeteer, she is.

The Little One gives this PC a "Must touch everything" rating!

The Mega Sale starts tomorrow!

The Malaysian Mega Sale starts tomorrow and it'll run up to a month. A mega way to spend/save depending on which way you look at it.

Some picks for babies and toddlers are Mothercare (with additional discount voucher in today's Star paper) and Planet Enfants. Isetan also has a good selection of baby stuff.

Hunting for good shoes was a challenge for Samantha. Recently, she picked up a few pairs from her Singapore trip! Some good quality deals that you can't find here in Malaysia. Too bad.

The Little Twist

This is Samantha on a twist exerciser.

Exercise? Nah.

She just likes to dance!

16 Teeth

8 on top...
8 on the bottom...
that makes 16 teeth :)

Growth Chart

I had almost forgotten to post this.

18 Months Ago...
Length: 47cm Weight: 2.88Kg

18 Months Since then...
Height: 82cm Weight: 10.3Kg

Well, she's tall, but slightly under in the weight department (Although my arm/shoulder is starting to disagree on that). This chart may also not be suited for Asians, but it is still an indicator.

Check your (or friend's) baby/toddler's growth here at BabyCenter's growth chart.

Please. Cheese.

Samantha has learned to say "Please" (with some prompting).

Especially when she's asking for her favourite snack at the moment. Cheese.

The Asia Lantern Carnival 2006 Review

Yesterday, we went to the Asia Lantern Carnival 2006 at Bukit Jalil. We've been to a previous one before a couple of years back and thought that this would be fun as well.

After a good seafood dinner, we headed towards Bukit Jalil. Soon we were jammed up from the Kesas highway to the stadium entrance. Were there actually so many people going there? Apparently so. This event is even supported by Tourism Malaysia.

After getting a parking spot, walking uphill and paying RM5 for the entrance fees, we were greeted by a mass of people. There were light displays (lanterns) and rows of stall tents where lots of people were selling their goods.

Overall it was slightly disappointing. It's more of a pasar malam at the stadium car park with a few big and interesting light displays. If you want to check it out, this carnival runs up to the end of the month.

The previous one a couple of years back was much better. There was even a Chinese acrobat and highwire show then.

Conclusion:
Samantha had a good time.
Worth going? Well, we will save you the time and entrance fee.
Check out the photos below.

All dressed to go

All dressed and ready to go. Hat, backpack and.. can you see the little doggie?

Little Razr

Remember her mobile phone review?

Right now, she's mastered mommy's Motorola V3i Razr!

Here's the slide picture evidence!

Ring Ring...

Here's what she can do now.
Call you!

18 Months Ago

18 months ago...
...The Little One arrived.

She weighed in at 2.88kg and at a length of 47cm. Our bundle of joy arrived in this world with eyes open and curiously exploring her initial surroundings. Light. Air. Touch. Sounds.

Here's what she looked like during her first few moments in this world. Resting after being checked out by the nurses.

Six months later, she was still a curious little one. Not much hair yet still :)

At 12 months, she's learning quickly and growing fast!

Here we are now, at 18 months. It's an amazing time for all of us.

K

Maxi Wagon Review

Now a part of Mega Brands!

These toys are a huge hit now! There's everywhere and they are taking over the Lego that some of us are so fond of. Well, at least for the little ones. Megabloks actually have a full range of toys from 0+ onwards.

Mah2 bought her a toy. It's the Maxi Wagon from Megabloks. It had to be checked and changed a few times since the folks at Toys R Us didn't really take care of the toys and the bloks seemed to be old or scratched. It must have been repackaged, and tied up again for sale as new. Oh well, this wagon's blocks were changed a few times until we were satisfied.

What's the Maxi Wagon?
Well, it's a very colourful and sturdy wagon. It contains 50 blocks (seems like random blocks without any toy figurines but we managed to get 2. That's another story altogether :). It is nothing like the cheaper looking and priced block push wagons that are on sale at Giant or Carrefour. We've actually been searching for some sort of block toy for Samantha. This seems to be the best. I guess we get what we paid for. It's even an award winning model!

Product Description:
Designed for your pint-sized pre-school builder, this pull-along wagon contains 50 Maxi Mega Bloks' pieces. Hours of fun and building excitement combine in one rugged wagon.

Awards
2006 - Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award
2005 - Dr. Toy, Best Classic Toys Program

Award Winner

Name: Wagon

Brand: Maxi™

Model: 670

Age of Builder : 1 - 5 years

Pieces: 50

Price Range: US $ 25.00 - $ 35.00

What are the top learning benefits?
Imagination, Problem Solving Abilities, Focus & Attention, Confidence and Fine Motor Skills. Now, who wouldn't want that?

Review by Samantha
Samantha was actually eyeing this toy for some time. From our past forays into toy departments, she seems to like these toys but we had always come out empty handed. She even likes to stack these Megablok toys. Stacking the blocks? Nope, stacking the toys and moving them off the shelves at the department store. The boat, the helicopter, the truck.. all moved off the shelves. Then she sits on them :) hehe.

The wagon seemed to be the best fit for her. Literally! Although it's not recommended to sit in the wagon, it's so cute!

She was off the blocks when it came to blocks! She sorted them out, stuck them together, stacked them, gave them away (to those watching her play), and even put them back into the wagon when done! She likes the small cube the best, stacking them up vertically. I guess it's a good fit for the size of her hands.

The pull along wagon handle is also very sturdy and she can pull her toy wagon around her play land aka our house. When done, the wagon is parked in the garage (Lack coffee table from Ikea).



The Good:

• Great stuff for toddlers
• Excellent quality
• Sturdy wagon
• Good sized blocks

The Bad:

• Slightly pricey but it's the quality that counts (see The Good Stuff).
• It seems that these are never on sale. Controlled item?
• Random blocks in the package?
  

Conclusion:
Great toy for toddlers (and adults alike). It'll last for years and can be passed on to the next little one. Adults can play too. Hey, we were all once little ones :)

A Little One Review
K

Happy New Half Year

Samantha is 1 year 5 months 3 weeks and 1 day old today.
Time does fly by.

Make the most of today.
Make the most of the present you are given.
Seize the day.
Tell your loved ones that you love them.
Give your family members hugs.
Call a long lost friend.

Approaching 18 months. The Little One is not a Little Toddler!
K

Dog's World

It's a dog's world.



Have you got a favourite toy?

K

The Little One is in Singapore!

Yesterday, Samantha, Melissa and my mom went down to Singapore!

They took the Aeroline bus. Yup, business class on wheels!

K

Orange?

Samantha likes oranges!

What she likes to do is suck out the juice. It can get rather messy so I put this towel over her.

Here she is, in her new chair.

Thai Restaurant

Last weekend we went to a Thai restaurant in Damansara. Had makan with Sammi's yeh2.

Otak otak, anyone?

Samantha and Ryan looking at the mini koi pond

Ooo.. Fish!

Hair trim

She had a trim of her fringe last weekend. Makes her look younger and taller! :)

K

"Pec" and smile

It was 4am on a Monday morning. The Little One was tossing about in bed trying to get to a comfortable position to sleep. I guess she was hungry. She then woke up and sat up. I asked her if she wanted milk. She nodded.

Carried her out of bed and walked past the dresser with the table fan. She then said "pec" and pointed. She pointed to my spectacles, on the dresser where I normally put them before I go to bed. "Pec" again.

I put on my glasses and she smiled. A cute little smile in her daze of an early morning hunger wake up call.

Later, she finished her milk and went back to dreamland.

Bliss is a nice word.
K

Chocolate and Vanilla

Samantha now drinks both the chocolate and vanilla flavours of Pediasure.
She didn't like vanilla for a while.

Anyone know where we can get Pediasure at a good price? Everything is going up!

K

Three Little Kitties

We've found 3 little kittens at the back of the house!

Hello Kitties!!! :-)

This is Samantha's first encounter with kittens. She has seen cats from a distance before but not kittens this up close. As usual her eyes lit up with curious delight as the kittens cried out for their mommy. We can see that she was cautious yet very curious at this new experience.

Meow! mew! mew!

I hope the mommy cat comes back soon. The kittens are hungry!

Bubble bath?

... bubble bath :)

Where peas come from

Samantha likes to eat Peas. Yes, you know, Peas.
The humble little green pea is a delight for her. She has had it by itself, steamed, with fried rice, with fried noodles and even with porridge!

However she had never seem the peas from a pod before. Yesterday yehyeh was in town and we went out for dinner! We ordered a 'san kong tau fu' which had some snow peas in there. She didnt know what the green vege was but when we peeled it to reveal the peas inside, her eyes lit up with delight! Peas!

Now she knows... where peas come from.

Smile

The video link was available yesterday. For those with sharp eyes, you would have already enjoyed this. Here it is for everyone now.



Do you think she can be an actress?
K

The "Where Is" Game

Samantha playing the "Where Is" game. She's getting better everyday! Her vocabulary is growing at an amazing rate. So is her comprehension of actions, facial expressions as well as the concept of cause-and-effect. Amazing Little One.



K

Whatcha doin?

Here's a useful tip for those with digital cameras equiped with a swivel screen (the screen that can be rotated 180 degrees to face the subject).

It's very fun for the little ones to look at!

What is Samantha doing? :)

Videos galore!

There has been quite a few updates including video updates this past couple of days. Be sure to check out the June archives to see all of them!

K

PD for the weekend Part 2

It's Sunday morning. Daddy was sleeping. Samantha got up early!
Samantha and mommy went down to the beach and then later we all went to the pool!

It was her first experience at the beach, with sand between her toes, and with the waves coming in. Mommy said that she was quite nervous and cautious as she approached the water. Her toes curled up to grip the sand as the water came close :) Then she asked for mommy to rescue her from the water.

Here are photos from Sunday:

PD for the weekend Part 1

Last weekend, we went to Port Dickson.
This is Samantha's second trip there. 2nd? Yes, it was her second view at the sea. This time she got to play in it!

She had a good nap before we arrived at Semenyih. Then it was off to Port Dickson. Port Dickson (or PD as known by the locals) was about 2 hours drive away. It had been a while since I saw large, wide and clean beaches but I must say that PD did surprise me this time. May it was because we went to another part of PD. By the time we arrived, it was low tide and the sun was setting as we checked into the holiday apartment. Berjaya time sharing style that is.

The car was packed but we had a good time there. Time for an MPV in the future?
The Saturday night pasar malam was bustling and it provided us dinner ;)

Here are the photos from the first day (17th June, Saturday):

A Rocking Moose?

Just watch the video...

The Recorder Maestro

Samantha like music!
She now plays the recorder.

The Piano Maestro

She even plays the piano! In her own special way.
We wonder if she would like to go to a music school or play group.
There's one we found that offers a trial.
She's only almost 18 months old!

Making Faces

Samantha really has an eye for the camera. Both in front or behind the lens! Here she is.. making some faces and acting out some imaginary play! This video was taken on 13th June 2006.

Running... Boo!

Action!
"Run.... Squeal... Boo!"

Where is the car?

Earlier this week, Samantha had a real fun time with the camera. It's good that we took some good videos from her play!

Where is the car?

The Little Ikea One Part 3

Samantha likes this push toy! Ikea designs are simple yet amusing.

The Little Ikea One Part 2

She seems to like this push toy!

The Little Ikea One Part 1

Here is the first part of a series of videos taken when we were at Ikea. Samantha was having fun at the Children's Corner. Ikea really has provided a lot to keep children entertained. It's called good marketing!



Samantha trying out some of the toys!

More blogs!!

Samantha,
some of your aunties and uncles (hehe) have begun their blogging. I've added their links.

K,
Deedee

Playful week

Like what you see? Give her some hugs!

Say "Daddy"

"Deedeeeee!"

as she comes back into the house, after going out with Mommy and Mama.

K :-))

The Little MacGyver

She's like a little MacGyver! She likes to tinker with gadgets and now she can remove batteries from our Astro remote!

First, take the controller

Here's where the batteries go

Oh! I took one out!

Hmm.. will mommy and daddy scold me?

Mommy! (hugging mommy)

Falling asleep

Reading the papers can be a little tiring... even for Little Ones.

Sleep baby sleep zzz zzz

Dancing Queen

Well, she's more like a dancing princess!

She can now...
... twist,
... shake,
... swing (arms),
... turn (round and round, anticlockwise only),
... turn arms (like driving a car),
... move arms more (like running on the spot).

She's gettin' jiggy with it!

Mobile Phone Review

Here's the Little One's Mobile Phone.

Dimensions: Same as the Nokia 3330.
Looks: Very, very similar to the Nokia 3330.
Weight: Lighter than the Nokia 3330 (see battery note)
Battery Life: Battery in afterlife.

Screen : This is where the phone surpasses the Nokia's original monochrome screen. The screen is a beautiful 160x160, true colour, photo realistic view. Currently, you can see the screen saver mode with a picture of Samantha.
Screen modes: Screen saver only.

Performance: It's limitess battery supply allows for Little Ones to chat endlessly in baby speak. English is also used sometimes.

Conclusion: This is Samantha's phone and she knows how to use it! It's a must have for Little One communications. Fits nicely in her Mamy Poko or Enfa backpack as well. It receives our highest rating of "Highly Recommended".

Say "Baby"

K: "Baby?"
Samantha: "Baby."

:-)

Balancing

She's now trying to stand on her car... her chair... on my foot....
Q: Samantha, what are you doing??
A: ... seeking a balanced life ;)

btw, I wonder if she likes to watch the World Cup!

K

Vocabulary at 17 months

Checkpoint 17 months:
Here's a list of the recognizable words she uses:

1. Oh!
   
2. ma
3. mommom
4. deedee (while screaming, wanting something)
   
5. paa
6. eye-tsch (light)
7. atch (watch)
8. car (car)
   
9. bar (sounds like pa, but I think she means Barney)
10. Mo (Elmo!)
    
11. mmm (with a nod) indicating agreement
12. sssst (stir. normally used when she's watching us prepare her formula)
13. por
14. mermaid (yup.. from her Ladybird Little Mermaid storybook)
15. bor (ball)
16. bye (as in bye bye... usually accompanied with a wave)
17. no more (with hands opened up)
    
18. and countless others.. which she sometimes randomly cycles through and sometimes do really sound like real words, in English, Cantonese or even Mandarin!

She does recognize a lot of items and can point them out, when we play the "Where is..." game!

Ahhh.. time to build a-word-a-day for Little Ones :)

17 months! She's almost 1.5 years old. Time indeed flies.
Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Hats!

Samantha now likes to wear hats.. well kinda :)
She's also added that to her increasing vocabulary!

How does she look?

Taken in Bali (25.4.2006)

Pocoyo...

Do you know Pocoyo?
Pocoyo means 'little me'. The show is on Disney Playhouse Channel. It's such a great little children's show.

Samantha is beginning to like this series.
He's also almost as cute as the Little One :)

I like to put my hands up when dancing!

Ola!

Slideshow added

The slideshow has been added to Jaden's Full Moon!

Sorry for the delay. Blogger appeard to be stuffed up earlier.

K.

Have some DollBrandNoodles?

Today is dollbrandnoodles! day!

What a happy day!
A kiss for you!
Blow your candles ya!
The Little One
Go get yourself a pack and enjoy it!

Have a great day!
The Little One Team :)

P.S. It is also World Environment Day. Check out the photo gallery.

Hej Kids at Ikea

An early start to the day. Today, Samantha had discovered a new use for the water scoop. How does she look?

It was such a hot, hot day today. Almost felt like a sauna in the house. Almost unbearable. Almost going insane. So we decided to go to somewhere much cooler. Where things are a cool blue and yellow. Yup, we went to Sweden. Well.. the local slice of Sweden.


Ikea at Ikano Power Center is a really nice place. It was really crowded today as it was a holiday weekend (Agung's Birthday weekend). We managed to get seated a the cafeteria and had some snacks.




Hej Kids :)

Swedish meatballs and potatoes.. yummy!

I can eat by myself now (and make less of a mess)

These guys have thought of everything!

Well, these guys at Ikea have thought about almost everything. I wonder why doesn't every other place have such things. It says much about the thought process being put into the little details such as

... a children's play area (with seating around it for the parents or guardians to look over the kids while have a meal.

... children's utensils and baby bottle heating facilities and even a microwave for heating baby food.

... a mother's area for more feeding privacy.

... Baby care rooms! Why doesn't every shopping complex put emphasis on baby care rooms. They must realise that parents (almost everyone) do go shopping with their kids/toddlers/babies. And they didn't attached it exclusively to the Ladies room. There are fathers who have to change the little ones too.

... and a whole bunch of other things, like paper and pencil next to the public phones (so that you can take down your cab number or other details), separate recycling bins and clean rest rooms.

I wonder how Sweden would be like. Smaland?

It would be a nice trip for all of us.

Jaden's Full Moon

Looks like the web is being flooded with Jaden's Full Moon postings :)
Here's Samantha at the event!



Other postings at Misty and ScoobyChin's blogs.

Cheers,
Team Little One

Playhouse Disney Channel

Samantha, this is how you look when you watch Playhouse Disney Channel.

P.S. You had a fall yesterday and had a small cut your lip :(

Ooooo...

Here's one of her favourite expressions, the "Oooo" It is accompanied by a soft "Oooo" as well. ;)
Often used when, she had discovered something new, saw something fall down or wanted to tell someone something.

Oooo!

Peek-a-boo!

Lately, she's learning to frown. *sigh*
Must have picked it up from us.