Sorry, this post is off topic (cross posted from my other blog), but I’m sure you’ll excuse me for it once you read what it’s about…

Even though we don’t really celebrate Christmas, it is still my favourite time of year.  The hubby accuses me of being a closet shopaholic so I guess I ought to confess that I love going holiday shopping.  If you do celebrate Christmas, then I’m sure this is probably one of the most expensive times of the year - what with Christmas presents to buy and holiday trips to plan over the long break…

Well, guess what?  eBillme is running a shopping confessions contest where you stand a chance of winning the grand prize of $15000.  I’m sure it goes without saying that the extra cash will really come in handy for the holidays.  All you have to do is share a secret shopping experience that you want to confess and enter it to: http://www.shopandconfess.com/. 

You can write a story, post a video (uploaded to Youtube), or use photos for your confession then submit your entry to the website above. 

All I ask in return for sharing this news with you is that you name my blog: http://figur8.net/baby as your referring website.  Good luck!  For more details about this contest, check out the video below:

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I used to pat myself on the back for doing a great job with managing Gavin’s toy buying expectations. We would go to the toy shop but I would never really have too much trouble getting him to leave the shop without buying a toy. In fact, I can’t remember a time when Gavin insisted that he must have a specific toy or threw tantrums when I wouldn’t let him buy it. Perhaps he’s still too young to be demanding about buying toys, perhaps he’s gotten used to the idea of going into toy shops and not necessarily getting a new toy every time - I guess only time will tell.

What surprised me was when I went shoe shopping to get a new pair of sandals. Gavin suddenly wanted to try on shoes as well so Daddy obliged by letting him put the shoe on his foot. After that, there was no separating the shoe from Gavin.  Although Gavin’s got a few pairs of shoes, Daddy decided it was okay to get him another pair (especially since he doesn’t seem to like wearing the last pair that we bought him - I should have suspected that Gavin wasn’t very keen on the shoe when he seemed rather ambivalent about keeping it on his foot). 

I digress… the only hesitation that Daddy had with buying the shoe that Gavin had chosen was that he didn’t really like the design, so he tried to get Gavin to try on another pair of shoes instead.  Our son, it would seem, has a very strong opinion of what he wants and doesn’t want.  This was the shoe he wanted and no other:

In fact, he liked the shoe so much, we couldn’t even take the shoe off to cut the tag without him screaming his head off.  Personally, I quite agree with Gavin - about the shoes that is, not the screaming head off bit.  I thought the shoes he chose were rather cute, too.  Not only that, but they also fit his foot really well (unlike the other shoes that tend to slip off his foot very easily).

This hasn’t been the first time he reacted this way towards shoes.  We were in a sports shop one time when Gavin suddenly bent down and tried to take off his own shoes so he could try on a shoe in the shop.  At that time, we were already thinking of buying him a new pair of sandals so we looked around the shop for something appropriate.  When we couldn’t find one, we had to leave the shop empty-handed and I thought Gavin’s tantrum at the time was due to the fact that he had been so geared up to get a new pair of shoes that he was just disappointed about not getting anything.

Now I’m wondering…  are the tantrums because he’s just really likes shoes and doesn’t feel that way about toys or was it because I was able to manage his expectations in the toy shop and but not in the shoe shop?  It might also be worth noting that he doesn’t go berserk over sandals - just the covered up shoes.  We’ve bought him three pairs of sandals that he seems rather ambivalent about, but this is the second pair of covered shoes we’ve bought him that he insisted on wearing out of the shop.

Perhaps it’s time to employ the tactics I’ve been using with the toys…  Whenever we go out, I always bring Gavin to the toy department and let him browse the toys to his heart’s content.  Then we would walk away to see something else without buying a new toy, so he gets used to the idea that he doesn’t always get a new toys when we go window shopping.  So let’s try taking him window shopping for shoes more often and see if I can manage his shoe expectations - watch this space…

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Ever since Gavin was young, he has demonstrated a sense for brand loyalty. It began with Starbucks after I started feeding him sips from my Starbucks hot chocolate. After that, he would start pointing at Starbucks whenever we passed it, indicating he wanted hot chocolate.

The next big brand Gavin decided he liked was anything with Thomas and Friends. He would go berserk whenever he got a new Thomas and Friends product – be it a toy, a VCD or a towel with a picture of Thomas on it.

His godmother recently gave him a Thomas pillow case and he started dancing with joy. I think the exuberance he displayed when he received it spoke volumes about how grateful he was to receive this present. When I asked him to say “thank you” to godma, he signed “thank you” enthusiastically several times.

During a grocery shopping trip, I discovered another brand preference Gavin had developed. The first bottled juice we introduced him to was by the brand “Peel Fresh”. It wasn’t long before he would start looking for “Peel Fresh” in the supermarkets whenever we go shopping.

After my most recent food poisoning episode, I seem to have developed an affinity for drinking orange juice, so I started buying the 2L cartons of juice instead of the 1L cartons. For some strange reason, Village Grocers in Bangsar Village only sell the 1L cartons of Peel Fresh. Since they didn’t have the 2L cartons, I decided to get Sunkist instead. Even though I had put two 2L cartons into the trolley, Gavin kept pointing to the Peel Fresh carton, indicating that that was the one he wanted.

Over the weekend, we took a family trip to Teluk Intan to visit some of hubby’s relatives. Among the stuff we brought with us was a tin of Milo. When Gavin saw the Milo tin, he started saying “Mi. Mi.” - ever since that day, he has been saying “Mi” whenever he sees the Milo logo.

So here are a couple more brands that have just found themselves in the history books of Gavin’s Choice Awards:

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One of the things about having a child is that you discover all sorts of interesting places that you would never have known about if you didn’t have a child.  Okay, okay - places I would never have known about if I didn’t have Gavin because I wouldn’t have bothered heading out in that area to check it out.

For instance, a couple of weeks back (before he started getting fussy in the carseat), I decided to take Gavin to the park at KLCC.  I figured it was a good place to go because we could always hop back into the cool, air-conditioned corridors of the mall if it got too hot, at the same time giving Gavin a chance to spend some time outdoors.  I remembered the playground because I walked past it a few years back when I was walking to the 2003 Asian X-Games.

The playground is even bigger than I remembered, with lots of play area for Gavin to run around in.  I wanted to take an aerial shot of the playground just to show how extensive the place was but unfortunately, you can’t see it from the shopping mall and there was no vantage point high enough to get a good photo.

Gavin had a blast crawling through the tunnels and exploring the playground.

Okay, I knew about the park and the playground, but what I didn’t know about was the wading pool for kids:

Still not sure if I would take Gavin to play there to swim, but it looks pretty nice, don’t you think?

KLCC seems to be rivalling Midvalley as the shopping mall to take a child.  While Midvalley still has the upperhand in terms of shop availability (which is probably more important to the adult rather than the child), it can’t compete with the fact that KLCC has an outdoor park and wading pool within walking distance.

Even if you don’t want to go to the park, KLCC also has a Toys ‘R’ Us (albeit, a much smaller one) on the Concourse area where Times Book Shop used to be.  If you get bored of Toys ‘R’ Us, there’s always the toy department of Isetan which now offers a Lego play area.  In fact, MegaBloks took a leaf out of Lego’s book and started their own MegaBloks play area in what was formerly the nursing room:

Recently, I noticed that Thomas and Friends had also set up a train set in the play area.  I guess the marketing department have realised that children who get to play with the toys tend to pester their parents to buy it so they can play at home, too.

Besides Isetan, there’s Parkson’s toy department which also contains a Lego play area and a VTech video game console.  Finally, there is Toy City near the Sony end of the mall.  By the time you get through all that, your toddler will be more than ready to go home for a nap.

So yeah, KLCC shopping mall has just become my new favourite place to take Gavin shopping…

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Gavin’s girlfriend is coming back for a holiday in September and he’s already been shopping around for a welcome back present - although he looks a little kiam siap (read: stingy) in this video since he keeps putting the shoes back after checking out the prices. 

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Gavin went to Singapore on the weekend.  The hubby was down for work, so Gavin and I tagged along for a holiday so I could catch up with my BFF and her son.  It was great to see our boys playing together - they got on like a house on fire and played “chase” through Suntec Mall.  Gavin’s even learned a new word - “Jack”.

On Saturday we took him to the zoo.  At eighteen months, we were hoping he would now enjoy looking at the animals instead of the materials used to create the enclosures which seemed to fascinate him most when he was last at the zoo at about eight months. 

Although we had an improvement in that he was at least looking at the animals, he didn’t seem particularly thrilled to be at the zoo.  He seemed mildly amused by the animals the hubby and I excitedly pointed out ot him.  If anything, you would have thought it was hubby and I who were the kids and Gavin the adult.

I thought he would enjoy the zoo because he seems rather keen to see the dogs and the birds at home.  Instead, what interested him most at the zoo were the fish that happened to be in the enclosures with the other animals. 

Even the water creatures, like the hippos didn’t particularly interest him.  Neither did the larger animals, like the giraffes - which we paid $5 to get closer to so Gavin could feed them. 

Any smiles that we caught were incidental rather than any real thrill to be at the zoo.

Contrary to my expectation that he would be keen and rearing to run around the zoo, he seemed to want to be carried all the time. 

After about an hour and a half, he looked like he was ready to leave.  By the time we got into the car, he had a bit of breastmilk and he was out like a light - which surprised us because he is usually full of energy and it usually takes him about five to six hours after waking before he’s ready to go down for a nap.

Perhaps it was the heat, perhaps it was the excessive visual stimuli that overwhelmed him.  Whatever the case, I think we would be better off taking him to the aquarium next time.  We’ll save the zoo for when he turns two.  Perhaps by then, he’ll be more excited to see the land animals.

Ironically, we took him shopping on Sunday morning before heading back to KL and I could have sworn he seemed a lot happier and enthusiastic about running around the mall.  Looks like we have a city boy - at least for now…

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While shopping at Jusco with my SIL2, I discovered a Thomas and Friends railway set that cost only RM69.90!  It comes with three vehicles and a railway track with various structures on it (check it out below):

When you consider that most Thomas and Friends railway sets like these cost anywhere from RM100 upwards, this set is a steal!  Not to mention, it’s a Tomy toy (Tomy products are usually rather expensive) - I was half expecting it to be manufactured by some unknown company.  I couldn’t believe it was so cheap that I kept asking my SIL2 if she thought it really contained all the stuff it showed in the picture on the box.  If you’re a mother of a Thomas fan, you’ll understand my surprise, considering a set of extra railway tracks can cost as much as RM50!

Because I couldn’t believe that it could actually be so cheap, we opened the box to take a peek inside.  Indeed it really contained what it showed on the box.  Since there were about six or seven boxes on the shelf and it appeared to be a normal price item, I decided to bring the hubby along to get his agreement to buy it for Gavin first.  We didn’t get back to Jusco again until three or four days later and by then all the boxes were completely sold out!

We saw another similar set going for RM89.90 (which was a set with a helicopter) and the hubby thought it was another case of my failing memory at work.  For a while there, I was starting to wonder myself, although I was sure the box I saw wasn’t as big as the one that cost RM89.90, although it looked almost the same.  I also had this vague idea that there was no helicopter.

Then yesterday, when I was at Isetan with Gavin, I saw the railway set again and it did cost RM69.90 - no mistake:

The only pitfall to this set is that it is a stand-alone set.  You can’t add on to it. 

For what you get with this price, I reckon it’s still worth it, though.

It’s available at Isetan, KLCC.  There were still about four boxes left when I was there yesterday, although for the price it is retailing at, I wouldn’t be surprise if these go as quickly as the ones in Jusco…

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One of the lessons in life I have always wanted to teach Gavin is the value of money and how to spend wisely.  I had originally planned to begin this lesson by fostering a good habit of being able to window shop for toys without necessarily having to buy a toy at every visit.  This plan seemed to be working out just fine until I discovered that it had one serious flaw in it…

Gavin is not the one who refuses to leave the shop without buying the toy, I am.

There’s my guilty confession…  When it comes to putting away the toys and leaving the shop, I have to say that Gavin behaves admirably.  The biggest stumbling block is me because I think I am more eager to buy the toy than Gavin desires to own it.

The funny thing is that I’ve never really been a shopaholic.  I like to know exactly what I’m looking for, get it and come home.  Yet, my obsession with toys appears to be bordering on pathological.

When I was a child, my mother was rather strict when it came to toys - so strict, in fact, that my brother and I hardly had any toys.  One Chinese New Year, my cousin came to stay with us and during a shopping trip to Singapore, we spent our New Year Ang Pow money on toys without telling my mother.  When we got home, she confiscated the new toys my brother and I bought (she gave them away!) and made us stand in a corner while my cousin happily played with his toys.

Yes, I was seriously scarred by this incident because I now seem to be obsessed with having toys.

The hubby has always said I live vicariously through Gavin and for once, it seems, he might be right.  Every time I take Gavin on a shopping trip (albeit a window shopping trip), I always find toys that I really want to buy.  Yes, I know, I need help.

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The hubby has been talking about getting a watch for me for some time now, especially since I keep asking everyone what time it is so I can monitor Gavin’s naps and sleeping patterns.  Finally, we settled on a Baby G because:

1. It’s practical - I can wear it on a daily basis.
2. It’s not too expensive so it won’t be too damaging if Gavin decides he wants to play with it and accidentally drops it.
3. It’s shock proof and scratch proof - ideal for a Mum with an inquisitive toddler in tow.

So here’s my new Baby G, limited edition, that we bought from Isetan, Lot 10:

I’m rather annoyed with Isetan because they were selling it at RM399 in Lot 10, but Isetan KLCC was selling it at RM369!  How can they have such discrepencies in price from the same group?  Casio was also running a promotion with HSBC credit cards offering an additional 10% off the marked price, which Isetan Lot 10 did not participate in either.  I can’t believe that the one time we didn’t shop around and we got caught for nearly RM70!

Anyway, it turns out the watch wasn’t for me because Gavin claimed it almost instantaneously.  I could barely try the watch on my hand before he insisted on wearing it.  Since we were buying it, I let him wear it all the way home.  The next day, I discreetly put the watch on but Gavin’s eyes were too quick for it.  He demanded again to have the watch on his hand.  Here he is running around the house with my watch:

Daddy was somewhat disturbed by his son’s partiality for a pink watch so we tried to get him a Happy Feet Swatch watch only to have Gavin decline the Swatch rather adamantly.  We tried again with a Mickey Mouse Casio and even that was rejected.  In the end, Gavin got a blue version of my watch which he happily wears.

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It seems like every time we go hunting for something that we want to buy for Gavin we can never find it.  After we managed to source it from another country, or buy another version of it, the original brand we were looking for turns up all over the place.

Last year, we were hunting high and low for Crayola crayons for Gavin.  We looked everywhere - Toys ‘R’ Us, Parkson, Isetan, Jusco, Ikea, and most of the baby shops we came across - and we found zip.  Finally, we got my SIL who was coming back from Australia for a holiday to get a pack for Gavin.  We also ended up buying him a set from a brand called Pelikan.

Lately, everywhere I look seems to be selling Crayola crayons…  Isn’t that typical?

The reason why we wanted Crayola was because they had fat crayons making it easier for young children to hold and manipulate.  Most other crayons here were the thin, pencil-thickness type which are much harder for a child to handle with their current level of manual dexterity.  The other reason (the more significant one) is because Crayola is non-toxic.  Of course, they also sell other non-toxic crayons here, but after reading all the scary news articles about products made from China containing questionable contents, you can understand why we get a little skeptical of any product designed for Gavin’s use.

Anyway, here’s what the artist Gav has to show for himself (note: I helped him write his name, but the rest he did himself):

And here’s the artist at work:

What do you think?  Is he a Picasso in the making?

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