On this special day...

On Rosabelle's actual birthday on 24 October, it was the nanny's off-day since it was a Saturday, so Wayne and I were left to take care of her meals and make the day a special one for her. She had a different breakfast (not the usual egg) of avocado with soya bean milk, as well as left-over pandan cake from the day before.

Then, it was time to go out on her morning walk, and she was happy to go into her tricycle, dancing along happily to the music from it, pressing the button whenever I ask her to 'play some music'.

After the usual rounds and meeting her friends in the yard, she came up for her lunch, and amazingly, she ate very well and quickly, not having to hold/play with things, finishing her meal within half an hour. Our girl has really grown bigger and more sensible, eating her foods well, eh? Well, it gave her more time to play with Daddy dearest, and she likes to nestle her head into Wayne's neck and pat/love him...everybody go 'Awwwww'...

After waking up from her afternoon nap, I nursed her for awhile, and she actually again fell asleep, waking up only 30 minutes later at 5:45pm. It was too late to prepare her dinner, and it being a special day, we decided to bring her out to eat, so there she is, waiting happily and expectantly for her birthday dinner celebration.

We needed to choose somewhere clean and quiet, so we brought her to Prima Taste/Swensen's restaurant off Sanlitun (we'd been there without her before), offering Singapore food.

This is our very good girl seated in the high chair, and I think she was hungry, as she shouted very loudly and quickly 'Mamamamamama' when the food arrived.

I purposely ordered food she could pinch bites off - fish and chips (removed the fried/breaded portion from the fish), mushroom chicken burger (took the chicken, steamed broccoli and carrot, and roasted potato, as well as almost all of one side of the burger bread), Hainanese chicken, and steamed cai xin. I 'rinsed' both chicken in a bowl of hot water first to remove any excess sauce/oil, and brought along a pair of food scissors to cut the food into small pieces for her.

She actually enjoyed the dinner very much, eating big spoonfuls very quickly! Hmmm... must be the novelty of new surroundings and new types of foods. I tasted her leftovers after she was done, and the tastes weren't very strong, so it's not as if she ate alot/quickly just because of the salt etc.

We also gave her her favourite mango (brought it along) after her meal, and took a family shot as well.

She looks so matured propping her chin on the palm! And she also 'performed' very well, indicating to the waitresses 'one' when asked her age, patting her chest when asked where she is, pretending to make a call when asked to, and pointing out her nose and eyes. So hilarious, but Wayne and I swear that overnight, our girl seems to be more sensible and aware of what we ask her to say or do...

Given the success and fun of this birthday dinner outside, Wayne and I have decided that once a week, on the nanny's off day, we will bring Rosabelle for an outside meal to let her try/experience new things, but we'll probably make it lunch instead of dinner, as it's a hectic rush to feed her the iron supplement, get her bathed and ready for sleep by the time we get back.

After a year of age, I'm keen to slowly open her to new foods/tastes as well, so bon appetito, my girl, and hope you enjoyed the simple birthday dinner we planned for you!