Sugar n spice and everything nice..

Dear Amir,

Contrary to the fact that Mama has 11 solid days of holidays during the CNY break, I didnt managed to squeeze a post of the happenings in between. I was busy holidaying. And no, I dont even celebrate CNY. Nonetheless, happy new year to those who celebrate and hope this Rat year bring lotsa good fortune for all.

Ok, so how what happenedlah?

First off, on Saturday before the CNY, we went to Melaka for my school reunion - it was our 10th anniversary and it was relatively the biggest do ever. I had fun, you had fun, in fact even Papa had fun! The coolness is I got to meet some of my ol, ol frens, juniors, teachers.. who mostly are still the same people as they were 10 years ago, except that some have spouses/baby in tow and gained or lose few kilos ("few" is definitely an understatement for some). The downside is the fact that the school is so run down that it got me feeling very emotional, who would have thought..heh! Anyway, we didnt managed to stay long and we left just before they started to hit the field. Missed the games, missed the dinner, missed the performances. All is not lost though cos we didnt miss the group photo session. Even you joined in, the only baby who managed to steal a spot in the shot.. hehe.. overexposed betul. No pics here tho cos i didnt bring the camera along, but Aunty Hetz got plenty good ones. Anyway, we're going to have another reunion just for our batch soon so you'll get to enjoy being passed from one aunty/uncle to another. Major attention seeker

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On Sunday morning, we made our way to Pangkor for the much anticipated vacation courtesy of Tok Pa. Tok Pa, Tok Ma, Uncle Yeh n Cho, Aunty Zetty, Gja and Farah were the gang for the trip.

Ferryride with the lot

The arrival of trouble in paradise

Happynya everybodee.. checking in

The first day we arrived, the whole gang went for few rounds of complimentary archery session. You were sound asleep in your stroller while we were at it. Right after archery I managed to to steal a quick time for time alone with Papa, sitting on a huge swing under a tree by the beach. How romantic! Naaaaah, not really, it was more childlike than romantic... i know i'm pathetic, but i really2 love that brief moment. It was refreshing.

Soon, we head to the pool for your first dip in the pool. First dip in the pool went grrreat, not at first, but it was great. I think we were all too excited about it that it was too overwhelming for your. So as soon as you hit the water and 'the crowd' surrounded you and cheer hard, you started wailing like it was a torturous thing. Kesian. So I pick you up again, snuggle a bit, let your feet play with the water, cleared away the excited 'fan club' and gave a second try. This time, you liked it and the rest is history.

My poor baby creating a scene at the poolside

Totally different self soon after

Loving it!

Tired, cold and HUNGRY. Alfresco dining by the beach

The rest of the trip was us at the pool/beach, pigging in the hotel room, rounds of hilarious monopoly and foosball sessions. You on the other hand have a ball of time being the center of attention of every single adult on the trip..and there were 9 of us!

The youngest dude sun bathing that day

This was you throughout our time at the beach - love the sun, dont u?

Sleepy beachboy

The mengada boy enjoying the attention - with Aunty Gja

All in all, it was an AWESOME trip. The good thing is you were equally enjoying every moment of it and didnt come out tan/burn after all the exposure to the sun. I dont know when we'll get to enjoy such (free) trip again. But looking at how much you enjoyed these kinda holidays, we'll try to make it as regular as possible (great excuse!). Tok Ma said you took after us very well, really know how to have fun, but she thinks it's too early for u to learn these things. Read : spoil brat alert.

Leaving Pangkor a happier and darker family

"I dont want to go home Mama"

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Your fren Yazid turned 1 recently. Aunty Hetz threw him a bday do on CNY. It was your 2nd bday party (I dont intend to keep a count after this). As usual, great and abudant food and great company. What more can I say? I also managed to meet some mummy bloggers, but somehow rasa malu to chat with them. Nonetheless, i found that they are cool people whom I can easily identify with, and the babies, oh so cute in person! It got me thinking, i think i should socialize with other mummies more. It's amazing how I can learn from other mothers simply by comparing stories. Afterall, I need to get you some playmates too since you havent been exposed to mixing with your peers. Anyway, at the bday party, I also learnt that you really hate the "Birthday Song" cos this time it's the third time you cry after we sang it. Which was very different from Yazid who just couldnt stop grinning when we sang him the song. Oh well, he's the bday boy afterall, Happy Bday Yazid! and congrats to the mom too. : )

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While in Pangkor, we received a couple of good news. Aunty Zetty got accepted to MRSM, Uncle Wan passed all his recent papers, so he'll be graduating soon. When we came back the next day, Uncle Yeh pulak received his results, he too passed his papers hence will be returning to Australia for just a few more before he is finished. So Tok Ma and Tok Pa decided on an impromtu kenduri doa selamat for all the good results and the good things that God has granted us lately. It was a small do, but as usual the food (nasi dagang, nasi kerabu, ayam percik, sate) was glorious. We had very2 close family and neighbours over. That nite, due to popular demand, you don a 'cheetah' suit bought by Tok Ma, complete with a cape and tail. Aunty Gja's nephew, Zinerra instantly called you a 'cat'! Sadly, we didnt capture any photo of you, guess the good food took too much of our attention.

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Too much of good things and I'm tired of writing. Today is Valentines Day. Your Papa and me does not celebrate Valentines Day cos it is too much a commercialized thing. Anyhow for those who celebrate, Happy Vday to all of you.

My little Valentines

A wedding and two malls

Dear Amir,

It's Monday and Mama is jaded.. heh, wat else is new?

So much for weekend-full of stuff..

On Saturday, we went on a short road trip to Port Dickson to attend a wedding of a relative. It was a convoy of 4 cars which includes your Tok, An, Tok Nek, granduncle and grandauntie, uncles and aunties and your three restless cousins :) It was scorching hot Saturday, not a good day to attend a wedding in PD. Nonetheless, you pulled a happy face and was delighted at every ohh and ahh ppl were making at u. Excited sgt! We noticed that you took a strong liking to Pakcik, probably because he looks a lot like Papa - the much leaner and clean shaven version..haha

After the wedding, your tired and whiney cousins forced the whole convoy to go to the beach at freaking 2.30pm. Mama chose the antisocial route and stayed in the airconditioned car with you cos you were already soundly asleep by then, plus I hate to expose you to the harsh sun and UV. From afar I saw how happy your cousins, especially Abg Aiman, were. Mak Long told me to be prepared for such days in the future :P (the whiney part, not the happy part)

Returning from PD, everyone followed us back to our house. This was the first time our house accomodated that many (hungry) people at once. It was chaotic. Good type of chaos though especially for you cos you were thoroughly entertained by all of them. Your cousins are beginning to find you entertaining too. They covered you with kisses and laughed out loud when they hear you giggle in response. Abg Amirul, who's barely 2 yrs old also played peek-a-boo with you and boy, you were really into it. It was heart-melting scenelah.

Tok Njang and family stayed over and left for Cameron Highland very early in the morning on Sunday. So Sunday was a bright and early day for us. We later went to Bangsar cos Mama got an alumni committee meeting to attend. While waiting, you took a stroll around Bangsar Village and Bangsar Park with Papa. Bangsar was no place for us lah Amir.. everything on sale seems...'out of reach' though Mama almost bought you the cute little denim jeans and Papa was itching on the cute little pyjama sets. You were behaving well through out, making no fuss, sitting happily in your stroller untill Mama and Papa decided to have a quiet time reading our mags in Starbucks - that was when you decided to buat perangai and refused to sit and start blowing bubbles all over my shirt.

Hmm... looking forward to next weekend.. :P

Penang

Dear Amir,

You're sick today so I took leave and stay home. Poor you caught Tok Ma's bug since last nite so you were sneezing and coughing away when i came back home yesterday. Kesiannya, I feel really helpless hearing your heavy breath..
but doc said everthing is ok and with your medication you should be fine in no time. In fact you dont behave like a sick baby at all, you were smiling and chuckling when the doctor examine you, in fact you too were listening attentively when doc were explaining the prescription.. even he cant concentrate looking at ur curious little face.. hehe

Since you're sound asleep now, here's the story on Penang...
Well, first off, we went to Penang by ferry.. much to your Papa's delight. He was brimming with happiness when I agreed to take the ferry instead of the bridge. I thought u are too small to know the difference and enjoy it, little did i know that there's another 'little boy' in the car who will be amused by the ferry ride.. heheheh.. well, anyway, i'm glad we took the ride cos the bridge's traffic was bad and it made your Papa's day :)

Being in Penang is always nostalgic. Mama spend 18 mths of my life as a student there.. with some of my dearest friends (who are breeding some of YOUR friends now), doing some of the silliest and most pathetic thing on earth. I'll share it with you when you're much older, perhaps in another entry. Your papa also spend some part of his youth (haha) here.. so you know how the ride from the jetty to town to bt feringghi went.. loaded with description of things we use to do here n there.. you, on the other hand, was so peacefully asleep.

Upon arrival at the hotel, Mama went camera crazy upon seeing the XXXL family bed. You too were very joyful.. chuckling non stop when i lay you on the bed.. (Thanks for inviting us to share the huge room Tok Pa!) And the chuckling and fooling around continues with your Papa.. but immediately stop when we brought u down to the beach. Guess u're too young for the beach or the poolside.. i read somewhere that the UV would be harsh on your skin too, so we kept it brief and afterall, you're not at all pleased with the outdoor anyway.

Back in the hotel room, your mood took a 360 degrees turn.. we gave u a good warm bath and off to slumberland you went..i guess that was penang for you cos for the rest of the trip it was just us eating and you sleeping..haha..talk about a great holiday. Actually, we left u to Tok Ma the next day and went on a little date on our own (more like rushing around 2 shopping malls looking for your Papa's sandal - to no avail)

The journey back was really tiring.. cos we only left Penang at 3.30pm, after a very heavy buffet lunch, courtesy of Tok Pa and only arrive home at 9pm. You were easily irritated along the way, cant blame u, the weather was hot and i think you've had enough.

Balik Kampung

We had an eventful weekend last week, didn’t we? Of course you wont remember anything but I think you enjoyed yourself too. It was your first balik kampong trip and our first holiday as a family of three in Penang.

The journey back to Alor Setar on Deepavali morning was a cool and peaceful one. We only stopped halfway at Sg Perak to change diapers and eat and the rest of the way.. you were sound asleep. Good boy!

An (aka Wan) was your favorite person in Alor Setar. By the way, An is the name your cousins gave Wan well before you arrive, simply because they cant pronounce Wan correctly. He took you for a walk around the house compound every morning and attempted to talk to you in ‘bahasa KL’ whenever he catch you around the house. You were equivalently chatty with him. You guys made hilarious conversations. I promise I’ll get Papa to teach you some utara words when you grow older but it wont compare to the Kelantanese vocab u’ll master soon lah :)

Being back in kampong during ‘off-peak’ season like this have it perks.. you get their full attention all right. Well first, we have Tok’s notorious pasembot, then home made lepat pisang which Tok Nek prepared (sooo yummy.. I’m hooked) and our room were equipped with two fans ok, in place for the aircon, in case my putera lilin cant stand the heat. But I guess it wasn’t that bad la, u slept well like usual although u were nagging occasionally. Speaking of nags, yeap, that’s your new skill, with very serious frowning face on, mulut muncung2, you will nag on top of your voice, as though mengadu about something that isn’t right.

Mama also had a funny experience on my own. For the first time ever, I got to bathe you in the conventional baby bath tub while sitting on the oh-so-small stool! I think the current practice of bathing u in your ergonomically designed tub while standing has spoilt me lah. Anyway, you had fun cos you get to play with more water and sit in the tub longer (while mama struggle to ensure that you are clean while not trying to drown you).

Papa brought back his camera to take pics of you and the Alor Setar clans but good food and too much lazing around got the better of him.. sigh. Anyway, An, Tok and Tok Nek will be coming end of this mth to stay at our new hse, probably till Raya Haji. Mama nervous jugak ni, but I think I have ample time to learn your Tok Ma’s nasi beriyani that An has requested again and again..

I’ll write about our holiday tomorrowlah.. need to worry about the nasi beriyani jap.

I'm out and about

Dear Amir,

We went on your first social outing today. It was to our favourite place, The Curve. It may be familiar to you cos this is where i spend most of my pregnant weekends, going in and out baby stores there.

It was Tok Pa and Tok Ma anniversary actually, so it was a whole family outing. Tok Ma was not really sure at first cos you and I havent passed the 40 days mark yet, but we end up spending the whole day over there jugak, browsing around both Ikano and Ikea!

You were cooperative though and by the look of it u seems to enjoy the pram ride.. well u slept most of the time and woke up only for feeds. Speaking of feeds, Che' Su got so excited about using the nursing room.. dia yg lebih2 nak tukar diapersla apa la..

Taking a break with Papa