iPad App Review - The New Baby

~ Posted on Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 5:33 PM ~

I have been very blessed with being able to review so many iPad apps from Oceanhouse Media and while browsing through their many selections of apps, I saw this app and decided to try my luck requesting to review it. I was about 8 months pregnant with Alyson then and thought it might be a good way to introduce Ben to the idea of baby when she arrives soon.  Anyway, my review as below...

* Title: The New Baby
* Price: $1.99
* Category: Books
* Released: Jan 13, 2011
* Current Version: 1.08 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
* Size: 11.4 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: Oceanhouse Media, Inc.
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

Description from the product page:

"As the story unfolds our funny young hero, Little Critter, has to get used to a new baby sister. This is a problem as the baby doesn't pay attention when he reads to her. She always cries when he makes silly faces and she can't understand the jokes he tells. It seems like an impossible task, but Little Critter finally figures out what you CAN do with a new baby, and in the process becomes a very good brother!"

How good an iPad app to me is based on how often Ben goes back to playing and/or using it. And as for this app, oh well, Ben listens to it almost every day! (and more if we allow him to use the iPad more often!)

What's good?

* It is engaging and interactive and I love that we can also touch the objects in each page on the screen and the words pop out to tell you what it is!

* I like the storyline where it tells how the Little Critter get used to having a baby sister in the house now and I hope that Ben can relate himself to Little Critter's situation as we have our newborn baby girl in the house now.

* There are some pages which got Ben's attention and reactions such as the page where the baby makes funny smell (she poops) and we love the page below:

Everytime we reach this page, Ben goes 'Mummy carry baby Alyson!'

* What's not so good?

* I would love to see more interactions between the baby and Little Critter's daddy as well.

* I would prefer the mouse character to be something more relevant to the baby or household items such as a teddy bear or ball or something instead of the mouse (Ben doesn't like it and did not play the find the mouse game in the app)

You can purchase the "The New Baby" app from the iTunes App Store.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code by the sponsor to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"

My BFF

~ Posted on Monday, October 3, 2011 at 12:25 PM ~

 

This post contains quite a number of headless photos.

(Okay, okay, before you decide to exit out of this post, it is NOT a grotesque post,

more like I actually had to trim off the upper body portion of the pictures shown in this post.)

Reason is due to my BFF being a very personal person (she doesn't even have a profile picture in her Facebook!) and I totally respect that principle of hers (cos I'm kinda like that too, only I masked my paranoia of being stalked by ermm.. showing more pictures of Ben? Theeheeeeheeee...)

So anyway, a bit intro on how she was so privileged (ehem ehem... sorry, can't resist bragging... it's the ego I tell you!) got to be my BFF...


She was just 4 days older than me, although I was quite often mistaken as the older one, thanks to us being vertically challenged by 3 inches difference.

We met at high school, were classmates together towards the last couple of our high school years. Sat near each other during classes. Hang out with our other friends after school, at McDonalds, doing revisions and sometimes playing UNO cards to pass the time.

At 16 years old during school holidays, we worked at the same departmental stores as part-time sales promoter to earn some spare cash for our own expenses when school holidays are over.

At 17 years old plus, she (and another close friend of ours then) accompanied me for my 1st date meeting with my hubby then PEN PAL.

At 18 years old, while waiting for our final exam results, we again worked at the same departmental store but we were under different clothing brands though still on the same floor. She even helped matchmake me with my hubby who is then starting to court me.

Then we drifted apart after we got our high school results, she continued on with her A levels and university and I went to a college, got my IT Diploma, jobless for a while, then worked part-time at a souvenir shop before finally managed to find a job in the IT line.

After about 4 years plus, our paths crossed again when I recommended her to my company (the subsidiary I'm working with happens to have a vacancy), she didn't get to work at the same subsidiary as mine (unit trust) but she was offered a post for the insurance subsidiary. Because the IT department were centralised under Group IT, we ended up working in the same office floor, in fact, her cubicle is just a table away from mine.

Those days were fun, at least we get to complain and share our work grouses. We go for our lunch together, go home often together (her house is about 20 minutes further than mine). We went to the company dinner together.

Picture below from left to right: My BFF in white and black floral dress, me in peachy chiffon dress.

And then she left to another insurance company, while I left to join the banking industry (both of us still in IT line of course) but we still kept in touch, going out for drinks and chatting whenever we can (together with my hubby then boyfriend)

When my hubby's dad passed away in 2004, she attended the funeral wake even though she had to travel far, taking trains and carpooling with our friends who are going as well.

When my parents passed away in 2006 and 2007, she was there to support me too.

When I got married in Nov 2007, she attended my registration of marriage ceremony.

Picture below from left to right: Hubby, me with my bouquet of red roses and my BFF.

When I got pregnant in middle of 2008, we double dated (me with hubby, she with her boyfriend) and took a short 3D 2N trip to Cameron Highlands to celebrate my last holiday before Ben arrives. I was 5 months pregnant with Ben when we went for that fun holiday.

Picture below from left to right: Me posing with Ben in my tummy, my BFF.

Picture below from left to right: Me posing with Ben in my somehow very obvious big tummy, my BFF.

When her dad passed away in February 2010, no matter how we got nagged by my superstitious MIL (it was nearing Chinese New Year then and old folks have this superstitious crappy thinking that we should not attend functions like this before happy festival - bah humbug...), hubby and I made sure we attend the funeral wake and gave her the support she needed in times of sorrow.

And one time, after visiting a friend of hubby who recently gave birth (went to gave some advice to the new mum on breastfeeding matters), we went over to my BFF house and invited her along to join our dinner at a mall near her house. She gladly joins us (even though she gotta work the next day), then we walked around after dinner and hubby even managed to pester her to take Ben for a walk.

Picture below of my BFF walking with Ben...
Look at my little man bossing her around, showing her which directions to go!

It was a nice sight to see her tagging along after with Ben, it's not often we get to see Ben getting so comfy with someone so quickly!

Picture below: Look at how happy Ben is!

I just want to dedicate this post to my BFF,

thank you for being such a good and loyal friend to us.

It's nice to be able to have a BFF which you can talk to about anything and my BFF is a super good listener and we can just continue talking about stuff that happens long ago, kinda like we could just pick up where we left off long ago and resume chatting about the stuff as if it happens recently.

We wish you all the best in your life, be it work wise, family wise or relationship wise.

Read: 3 John 1:2 (NIV), Proverbs 18:24 (NIV), Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV)

** P.s: Go and settle down already girl! We want to see you holding hands with your little prince and/or princess soon!

Maybe our kids can continue to be BFF too! :D

Still and always will love you loads girl!

Friends You Love ** FYI, this post was originally posted in Sept 2010 and I'm reposting this as an entry to the "The World's Greatest BFF" contest

Alyson is 1 Month Old Today!

~ Posted on Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 11:28 AM ~

Happy 1 month old to our dearest little Miss Alyson!

May God continue to watch over you and blesses you in everything you do!

Love from mummy, daddy and Benjamin ko-ko (aka brother in Chinese)