A day in the life of Camille Sui Hua Chan Goodman

3.00am I awake, cry a bit, no response, so decide to go back to sleep.
5.00am This time I’m really awake, so I decide to cry really hard.
5.05am Mum relents and lets me sleep in the middle of the bed (yeah!)
6.00am I awake from my short slumber and decide it’s time for brekkie. Wiggle, squirm, kick, cry a little, and if all else fails give Mum a whop in the face.
6.05am Mum gives up on any thought of sleep and makes me a breakfast of organic fig and sultana porridge (apparently it's good for me and fortunately it tastes good). Then believe it or not she gives me dark rye bread with Veggie. I decide to tolerate this, just to keep her happy and make her feel as though she is giving me adequate fibre in my diet.
7.00am to 9am. A boring time of the day where Mum is busy doing things: cleaning, hanging out washing, dishes etc. I hate it and make sure she knows it.
9.00am I’m dressed, hair ties in place and with clean teeth. Now the day begins. I’m never too sure just what Mum has planned. It might be any combination of the following: shopping at the supermarket, a trip to the park, reading at the library, or visitors at home. I quite like most of these activities, as long as Mum is able to give me her full and undivided attention (which I must say is sadly lacking on many occasions)
11.00am Lunch of pasta, bread, cheese, and if I’m lucky cake!
11.30am A morning sleep. Something I resist. I mean after all why would I want to waste time when there is so much to do. Unfortunately, once in the cot I have no alternative but to sleep, but I make sure it lasts no longer than 45 minutes. Ha, that will teach her!
12.15pm More food of some description
1.00pm Now the day really starts. Mum usually has something interesting organised for afternoons. Like playgroups, visits to people’s houses, like Nana's or Jo's or Holly and Gus's place. Sometimes I even catch up with an old mate from Suixi, Mei who’s just living down the road in Clifton Hill. I always have a great time, running around and exploring everything.
4.00pm Reluctantly when it’s over at around 4pm we return home. On occasion I will fall asleep in the car, but try to wake once the car reaches home, to prevent Mum from taking me upstairs for another one of those naps.
4.00 to 6.00pm Mum is usually most uncooperative (again!) at this time of the day. More chores like bringing in washing, unpacking dishwashers, preparing meals. Really boring stuff.
6.00 pm. Daddy’s home now and he really gives me a great welcome and lots of kisses and well deserved cuddles. We all share a happy meal together (provided I'm not too cranky).
6.30pm Bathtime. Once I’ve collected my special towel from the banister it’s time for the bath. Great time of the day. Mum actually sits down and gives her full and undivided attention. I have the opportunity to show her many of my bathtime tricks. Swimming, splashing, playing with the ducks. Surprisingly, I really enjoy sitting on the bathroom vanity and cleaning my teeth.
7.00pm After a nude dash up the stairs, I have my nightly massage, and am dressed for bed. I am allowed to select a couple of books to read. I usually choose my old favourites. Then it’s all over and I have no choice but to finally succumb and fall asleep.
Sweet dreams!!!

Little Miss Ten past Ten

With tenacity and determination I have managed to master the oh-so-very cute hair ties. Camille was initially less than impressed. But once she saw them in a mirror, even she decided they were worth the inconvenience of sitting still for a moment or two.

You may be wondering about the 10 past 10. Well according to her daddy, if you look at Camille’s hair ties you will notice they bear a striking resemblance to the time 10 past 10 (although on some days maybe a little like 15 past 11…… )

PS Even though I say so myself, I'm rather pleased that I've managed to convince Camille that teeth cleaning is lots of fun.

March 16th 2007 It’s Official: no more night time bottles!!

Whenever Camille woke during the night, any time between 12 and 3, I had the bottle ready. A thermos of hot water to top off the bottle of formula. A lovely warm bottle of milk for my little girl. As she drank, in a dazed and half asleep state, I would change her nappy. More often than not I found it hard to get back to sleep and spent the next day in a sleep deprived state.

But no more! To my horror I read that night time feeds of milk contribute to tooth decay. Camile has exceptionally beautiful teeth. So I without a moment’s hesitation I changed to water. As you can imagine, Camille was less than impressed when she took that bottle last Thursday night. One mouthful and that was it. After a few nights she obviously decided that it was no longer worth waking for. So now she sleeps the whole night through. Now, as any mother knows, that’s a cause for celebration. Yippee………….!

Chinese New Year: The Year of the Pig

Well at least we tried. It was so hot on Chinese New Year that the best we could manage was a visit to the local Chinese restaurant. Camille, Chloe, Tim and I ventured out in the heat to the air-conditioned Eastern Inn in Clifton Hill. No Chinese outfits, way too hot for that. However,we did manage the red envelopes. Camille enjoyed the spring rolls and fried rice. Low key but definitely good fun.

Fortunately the FCC get together was on a much milder day. Camille and I put on our red silk outfits and quite looked the part. The Suixi girls were reunited and all looked fabulously healthy and happy.

Camille spent most of the day on the playground equipment. Fortunately Camille had two devoted cousins, Chloe and Alex, who shadowed her as she went from slide, to swing, to Mum and back again.

Camille discovers food

"Another Twistie please!!"

"I'm not too sure about all these foods they've lined up for me!"

One of the great stresses Jo and I had in China was Camille’s refusal to eat. Towards the end of our trip some progress was made but only a few mouthfuls here and there. I seemed to be forever carrying around plastic containers of congee that were never eaten.

Two days after our return Camille ate a mouthful of scone in Daylesford. However, the real breakthrough occurred on the trip home when Camille discovered Twisties!

Needless to say there has been no looking back: risotto, spaghetti bolognase, burgen rye bread, plums, spanikopita, cake and of course the babychino.

As a result we now have a little girl who has chubbed up and is looking very healthy indeed.

The first year

Camille has now been home in Australia for 7 weeks. How quickly time has passed!! Sleep deprivation and exhaustion have prevented me from making many entries, so now it’s time to make amends.

I have decided to make the blog a record for Camille for when she grows older. A chapter for each year. That’s the plan anyway. So much has happened in such a short time………………