Pre-festive fun

We've been very busy in the lead up to Christmas! Apparently a strange phenomenon occurs in December where everyone tries to squeeze everything in before the 'end of the year'! Well we did our fair share of catching up and organising too. There were pressies to buy, lunches to share, cuddles to be had. Not to mention getting ready for my first holiday.

We are going to Scone for Christmas, followed by a week on the coast at MacMasters Beach. I haven't been that far from home before and for such a long time too! I am looking forward to it very much.

Here are some pictures from the recent week...

Below, hanging out with my Mothers Group friends.


It's so much fun ... I'm all smiles.


I even met the infamous Lord Gordo who is in Sydney for Christmas and New Year. We spent some quality time talking about South-East Asia, as he is living in Malaysia.


I can't believe how fast I'm growing. Here we thought we might compare the size of my head and hands with Dad's. Ok..I'm not growing quite THAT fast!


The world is certainly an interesting place with lots of wonderful things to look at. Right now my favourite past time is trying to string a 'sentence' together with the limited number of sounds I know. It seems to makes people smile at me and they talk back to encourage me I think. I am very happy to return the smiles.


Wishing everyone a very happy and safe Christmas. Hope the new year brings you all much joy and frivolity.

Stay tuned for the next update. My first Christmas!

Eddie x

Red Eggs and Ginger

This weekend the Woo and Mailer families celebrated my one month birthday. In chinese custom this is the 'Red Egg and Ginger' celebration. Everyone came to Sydney to cuddle me and ... well ... eat red eggs and ginger!  The eggs we supplied by Granny and Grandpa Mailer's chooks in Scone and they were delicious. Great family effort.

Traditionally this is the time parents announce the baby's name - but of course mine was announced earlier in my life! You maybe wondering how my middle name came about. My parents wanted to use my Mum's surname as the generation marker, just like my second cousin James Wu Shen Bignell. I was very lucky to have a number of people in Perth AND Singapore to help find my middle name - Woo-Zhi - which means integrity and determination.

 

This is me in a VERY special christening gown that is around 100 years old and completely hand stitched. My Daddy was christened in it, as was my Great Grandma!

Another costume change for dinner. It was my first restaurant dining experience and I was soooo well behaved. I fell asleep in a corner of the action-packed Marigold Chinese Restaurant! 

What a couple of weeks!

It's been a busy busy couple of weeks! Paw Paw (Ma Woo) has been visiting and has been looking after all our culinary needs with five-star class! I've only experienced it 'second-hand' but it's been pretty yum! We've also had a steady flow of visitors and I've been working hard at developing my social skills. 

So many people to cuddle me... so little time!

1. New booties from Aunty George and Uncle Parish. Thanks - they are too funky for words. (Not that I know any words at the moment!)

2. Morning exercises. Keeping my legs lean and mean by a few hundred air bicycle reps.

 

3. Entertaining my future girlfriend - Juno. I tried my best material on her. It needs a bit of work, but I was just so distracted with her ultra-cool hooded jumper. Here in this pic, I'm trying to hold her hand. Juno is acting like she doesn't care .. but she's really thinking 'We are so in-sync. Red stripes are the new black.'

(Sorry Zoe, we'll just at different stages in our lives.)

3. *yawn* So much action. I'm ready for a snooze.

4. *sigh* Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

More vital stats

We were at the Early Childhood Centre this morning for our second Parents Group meeting. We took the opportunity to use the 'facilities' and measure up the lil fella. 

Eddie is four weeks old today. How time flies!

Weight: 4.76 kgs

Height: approx 57 cm

We've been enjoying the Parents Group. It is great to hear everyone's stories and share our own moments from the week. Also, equally as enjoyable is that Eddie has been on his best behaviour each week!! Some in the group have termed this 'showbiz baby' behaviour. That is, all happy when out and about - turning on the charm while in the company of others. 

More photos

More often than not, my parents dress me up as a worm. When I wiggle they laugh at me. Although here I'm pondering the latest reports on the Global Financial Crisis - hypnotised by the soothing sound of Kerry O'Brien.

My space cadet impersonation. Blinking is soooo overrated.

Tummy time!!

Liam Timbrell came to visit. He made funny noises. I can't wait to gurgle and laugh like he does. 

In the blue corner...

Two lovely ladies from the Leichhardt Early Childhood Centre came over on Thursday for a home visit. Part of the visit involved weighing and measuring Eddie to see how he was progressing.

Here are Eddie's 'vital stats' when we left hospital..

Weight - 3.65 kg

Length - 52 cm

Vital stats at 2 weeks...

Weight - 4.25 kg

Length - 55.5 cm

Way to go Eddie!

Mung's trifecta

The monitoring of "Mung's trifecta" continues into the second week of his existence: 

1. eating... check

2. sleeping... check

3. passing of waste ... check (double threat)

Everyone's happy!

Speaking of a trifecta and horse racing... we took a punt on the Melbourne Cup using the sum of Eddie's birth date. Each way on #12 - BAUER. (That is: 3+0+1+0+0+8 = 12.) As it turns out our little lucky charm made us some money! An unbelievable run up the last home straight  from BAUER to come second to VIEWED - but only by a nose! He slept through the race of course - but much excitement was had by his parents! And to think ... Eddie's already paying his way!

There are short periods of wakefulness in between the trifecta activities listed above. This is when we have staring competitions with Eddie. We win most of them - with the end of the match usually marked by Eddie losing control of his focus and going cross-eyed! Of course hours go by and all you've really done is stared continuously at the lil man and it certainly doesn't matter if he's staring back or not. 

Previously you'd barely find me waking early in the morning for anything less than a trip to the airport to catch a flight somewhere. Now - you hardly notice the time of day. The small gurgling sounds of Eddie waking signal the joy of a cuddle and some more staring time at this precious being. 

More photos ...

1. Custom made 'MUNG' t-shirt from Aunty Linda and Aunty DC

Early Snaps of Eddie Mailer

Eddie spends much time pondering his new world.

"Could it be true that I am the simple result of cells interacting and mutating, creating a life form of such complexity that despite creating a brain that probably has the computational resources to understand the puzzle, we cannot come close to even understanding the very brain we are using to crack the code! It's a toughy."

"Do you think tartan and red and white stripes work or what?"

Champy the dog is taking the arrival of the new family member very well. So far, the interaction has been keen sniffing and a general sense of "whatever, I'm still choice".

Arrival

There are times where one must take a stand, declare enough is enough, grab the stick and draw that line.

Mung decided that his this time was last Wednesday October 30. Despite the relative luxury of the womb,  the unwavering hospitality of the Hotel Umbilical, Mung wanted to "move on" and taste the outside.

He eventually arrived on Thursday morning at 2.06am, a time which we hope doesn't become the norm in terms of turning up to expected occasions. Talk about leave a light on.

His name is Eddie (or Edward if you prefer) and he weighed in at 3920 grams and 51 centimetres long. He is beautiful, healthy and miraculous. 

Mung - In Utero

In true 'Mungbean's World' style - following are the scans showing his development in utero. We don't have a scanner - so I just took photos of the scans. Apologies for the poor quality.

Here's the first scan that coined the nickname - Mungbean. 

(9 weeks)

12 week scans: 

(Yes - he could well be picking his nose in the second scan!)

19 week scan:

34 week scan: (3D)

Intro

Hello,

We've started this blog as a way to share Mungbean's world with you. It's our first attempt at blogging - so bear with us as we learn on the fly.

So - why the name 'Mungbean'? 

Well, at our first scan - what we saw was an image resembling a little mungbean. That was the 20 March 2008. The name stuck and it was better than using the term 'it' or saying 'he/she' everytime we needed to. One of the funniest things about the nickname is hearing both sets of grandparents using it in conversation! Priceless.

So - what's with our profile image?

Well, it's one of our favourite family portraits. I'm sure it's the first of many! Taken in Tokyo - just the three of us. 

So - when is Mung due to enter the world?

Tomorrow (that is - Tues 30 Sept) we have gestated for 37 weeks, which makes 21 October 2008 our the 'expected due date'. How time flies.

*sigh* First post complete.