Growing up

Dear Amir,

Lately i've noticed that you have grown so much in so many aspect. Two days ago, we were just lying in bed and I playfully asked where's your 'tangan', then you showed me your hand, 'kaki?, then you showed me your feet. I was so surprised and i asked Tok Ma if she teached you any of these. Tok Ma said you must have picked it up from our daily conversations cos she did not specifically teach you any of those. Today, I witnessed how you try to switch on the TV when Uncle Cho asked you to, and according to him he did not show you how.

Last weekend, we were in the car when i showed you a few busses that were passing us, then you go 'Baaa... baaa...' at every single big moving vehicle. Today, on the way to Tok Ma, i pointed to a lorry and said 'lorry' a few times. I noticed that you were paying very close attention to my mouth, and few lorries later, you went 'loll...lollo..loww..' Now that's fast!

You've also grown very keen to music. You like to dance to it, in your very own funny way.. almost like the Kiwi's haka steps. You will wiggle you arms, shake your head, stomp you feet when it's a fast number but will only sway your body left and right when it's a slow song.. hmm.. clever! You've also learned how to make the 'shame..shame..' gesture just by having us show you twice!

Looking all 'grown up' with your 'grown up' friends (Tok De Lah's clan)

Tok Ma said it's normal with kids your age, blink twice and you'll miss it. I guess i can say similar thing is happening to me, careerwise. Now that i'm handling things more or less on my own (with help of the awesome Aunty Gja n Aunty M), i realised that i'm unconsciously learning a lot of things at a mind numbing speed - about business, people and most important about myself. For some reason, i feel that i've grown as a person with this realisation. And i'm not talking about my expanding tummy!

In fact i feel 'older' la these past few days.. older in a very good way. How timely : )

We have a kakak now

Dear Amir,

Three days ago, we fetched a pleasant surprise, in the form of 'kakak', our new helper. It was quite hilarious because we did not really expect that we would have a helper this soon. And we always thought that she would be stationed in Tok Ma's house cos there's nothing much to do around this house anyway (listen to me NOW!). But Tok Ma has other plans, so kakak is now a new occupant in this quiet house of ours. It kinda left us a bit err.. shocked.

Nonetheless, her existence definitely made my life easier although everything pertaining to you is still handled by me. Tonight I was able to cook dinner peacefully, with all the bawang already peeled and all, table laid out and not having to do dishes/clean the stove later on. I know it may not be a big deal. In fact, to some extent i feel that we are quite lavish to have a helper at this stage in our life. But then again, the main idea is that she'd be helping Tok Ma with you and some of her house chores so it made her almost a must even though Tok Ma said she is fine.

The funny thing about having kakak around is

1. I'm always nervous about what to ask her to do especially early in the morning, cos we wake up late, almost never have bfast at home and immediately rush to Tok Ma's when we are conscious enough to face the world

2. Papa keeps on worrying about giving her what she may lack, ie toiletteries, towel, food, a radio in the room perhaps, some mags/newspaper, a friendly conversation with me, food, some playtime with you, instruction about the alarm system in the house, cloth hanger, bedside lamp, alarm clock, food.. Today, I finally told him to relax.. cos he might be get a nervous breakdown if he keeps on like this.. haha

3. You became super excited and playful with us/her as if she is a guest and you need to charm her with all your might. You showed her your toys, played peek-a-boo, walk and run around the room then go back to watch her do her work, scream in excitement for no reason when she's around, run up to her and point towards her while looking at me and grin..

Tok Pa said, what's important is you are ok with her. Which is an understatement. You salam and kissed her hand on the first day, called her 'kakak' (no kidding!) by the next day and now you've became her shadow and have no problem when left alone with her.

I guess it's always easier for kids. As for me and Papa, the culture shock may take a while. Haha..

Hari Raya 2008

And we're baaaack!

After 10 full days of Raya break. Sigh..

Dear Amir,

Where do i start? It was your second Raya this time. We went back to Alor Setar two days before Raya and the journey back home was really smooth as it was drizzling and you were asleep in your carseat most of the time.

You enjoyed being in Alor Setar mainly because you were the center of attention most of the times. Your uncles, Pak Cik, Pak Ngah and Pak Teh were all back from KL. You get along well with them. Your favourite being Pak Cik, i think cos he looks a lot like Papa. Mak Long arrived on 2nd day of Raya. It was indeed a full house and i bet your Tok and An shared your joy with all their presence.

With pakcik

Tok made ketupat daun palas, rendang daging and serunding, as usual. I made some rendang ayam to accompany the ketupat. I let you have a taste of the ketupat, and it became your favourite food for the rest of our stay there. Tok Nek on the other hand prepared her notorious nasi tomato. You had a taste of that too and was also into it.

On the first day of Raya, the three of us went green. hehe. It was your first baju melayu and you were one little dashing guy wearing it! We couldnt stop snapping pics of you! And the songkok, surprisingly, it doesnt bother you one bit. Of course it lasted only till noon cos by then you went cranky, had a cool shower, went topless and slept for 2 hours. I guess that's the only upset, the heat. Of course, the fact that aircondless environment really gets to you especially at nite that sometimes i let you sleep topless right smack facing the stand fan.

On second day, your cousins arrived from Taiping. You instantly clicked with them and became their shadow for the rest of the days. You were super hyper around them and insist to be part of their activities all the time. When they eat, you'll eat, when they bathe, you'll stand by the bathroom and watch, when they read, you'll sit next to them and listen, and when they really play with you.. you simply go crazy! You'd be screaming on top of your voice, clapping away, laughing when they laugh. The setback is that it makes you so tired at nite that it's difficult to put you to sleep. Plus the heat is not helping, although you were bathed again and again. So while your cousins were around, your bedtime went as crazy as 2am! It drives my ketupat-stuffed head crazy too!

Anyway, I guess the highlight of our Raya was eating non stop (isnt it always abt food anyway??) and playing tourist around Alor Setar. We were quite adventurous this time too and let you have a go at eveything we ate. Kuey teow iman, the popular keow teow by the roadside near Tok's place (which was enjoyed by you while seating on a stool, next to a makeshift stall, by the roadside, just like org besar-besar..hehe), laksa, nasi minyak at a kenduri, all the different kerepek and kuih raya and manymanymany other things.

Minus the binky, you look like all grown up waiting patiently for your kuey teow

A day before we left Alor Setar, Papa drove us around the town. We went to the Menara Alor Setar, Kuala Kedah, Pekan Rabu, etc. We also checked out the new Tesco this one day cos mainly it's too hot elsewhere, and for the first time you didnt refuse the trolley's babyseat. You also slept while seating in the trolley while we were browsing around Giant (yeah, another one of those hot days). I realised it just in time to hold your floppy sleepy head. It was so cute and pitiful.

Well, all in all, it's a great Raya. Tiring, fattening, broke-ing, the usual weariness of Raya yet all is good. I have to admit though that a weeklong break can get too long with a cranky toddler late nite EVERY nite for the whole week. But as much as i yearn for our aircond bedroom back home (i'm terribly spoilt, i know), i feel sad when we left kampung that day. Especially when we're the last to leave. Leaving Tok, An and Mak Su in the quiet house again. I can only imagine how they must have felt sending us away, one after another, after what seems to be a weeklong of fullhouse party.

But of course, i also have to admit that i was veryveryvery looking forward to our Penang trip on the way back, which was also filled with many gastronomical delights : )

But that's for another post.