We've been parents for a lil more than two years now. There's still plenty to learn and much more I have not gone through. For sure having a kid makes you think about the future a lot more and also makes you doubt your capabilities from time to time.

For me the hardest part about being a parent is being a good role model. Especially now that irfan is two, he copies everyting and absorbs everything like a sponge. He's sounding more and more like us and it's scary. The intonation of his words, the phrases he uses..those are words said by people in the house. He has learnt so much from us, without us even specifically teaching him and he will continue to pick up habits, he will pick up our reactions and react almost the same way.
He is already doing that now. Im recognising more and more of myself in him.
The other night, he wanted to take his toy car from the middle room so he asked me to switch on the lights for him to find it. I was already almost dozing off on my bed and so I said, "(yawn)Ibu tired...I want to sleep..." Yes, the typical response from si pemalas ni. :) He insisted a couple of times and in the end I had to go swicth on the lights so that he would just let me sleep.

And what do I know, the other day, I asked him to clean up his toys and what did he do? You guessed it...he walked nonchalantly to my bed, plonked himself on the bed, yawned a loud fake yawn..and said," Iman tired...want to shleep.."

And now that i think about it, Im sure he must have heard me say that a couple of times, even to his daddy coz that is my overused phrase at home. I never before gave a thought to that phrase till I hear someone else say it back to me.

I can cite so many other instances...but thank god, not all are bad habits. The other day, while we were at the airport, he was running around as he always does at the airport. And of course, like an accident waiting to happen, he bumped into an uncle and irfan fell flat. The uncle helped him up and after getting up, he looked up at the uncle and said, "Sorry!"
Firstly, I didnt expect that from him and secondly, the intonation of that sorry is so familiar.

So I learn. ANd I am more aware now of the things I say and do. This is just the beginning and we still have a long way to go. At the end of the day, do I possess the qualities that I expect out of him? Or would I just be all talk and show all the opposite actions?

I suppose being a parent helps us in that constant ongoing struggle towards becoming a better person.

So the other day, when we were at jakarta, alim and I had a lil squabble in front of irfan. We were in our room and now, i cant even remember what the squabble was about. So anyway, in the middle of our squabble, I realised that the lil boy was pretty quiet so I glanced over and saw him leaning against the coffee table. His arms was crossed, he had a long face and he was rolling his eyes. You know lah, kids his age are really tiny copy cats and they want to do everything we do, even including getting angry. Obviously he didnt want to be left out in our squabble and was eager to join in. He then went, "hmph!!" , folded his arms and rolled his eyes again in his attempt to be included in the argument too!
he looked damn funny and we were trying our darnest to contain our laughter coz we were supposed to be in the middle of a squabble mahhh....must maintainnn

so anyway, rite after that, we went to alim's parents room coz we were going out for lunch or something. You know how irfan is talking so much now and expanding his words into phrases and sentences, ...So the minute we entered their room, irfan opened his big mouth and said,
" Ibu angry"
%#@*!At that point, I wished he couldnt talk yet!
So I said, "Ya ibu angry WITH YOU coz u very naughty!"
!!!!!!!!!
Pfft!!!
Betul tak boleh simpan secret lah budak ni!

And Im sure one day very very very soon, he would be able to complete that sentence with just two more words that can make the whole difference: "Ibu angry WITH AYAH" and I'd be dead. Habislah, smua secret dia bilang nenek and atok dia!

Being able to talk can be dangerous hor!!
Now must teach him how to keep secret....how ah?
every secret leaked, go to naughty corner?
*scratches head*

Debut performance

For obvious reasons, this one didn't quite make it to the Asian Idol...:)

Sabah- Land below the wind
It's all about culture and nature...

We went for a short trip to Sabah. This time round, we had more people going..as they say the more the merrier:) irfan was excited to have company which means double the kecohness!

Monsopiad Cultural Village
Kadazhan Head Hunters









On the way to Mount Kinabalu.
The sky was grey and cloudy and it rained along the way. So we couldnt get to see much of the highest mountain in SEA.


Glad to have each other.... :)

Oh and by the way....

Happy Birthday QistiNA-NUT!!!!!!
:)

Ok...so another year is ending and the holiays are here again. Yes, the much awaited holidays are here. Life is really a cycle..or maybe it's just for me, maybe i really need to do something radical to break this monotony. Sometimes i feel like i should sidestep from the conveyor belt a little and see where I land..but of course, as always Im too chicken for that.

so life goes on as life always does. and im grateful for that. that i must say.
but it's getting a lil monotonous and expected. The year was a hectic one, nothing new to that. i felt like i accelerated at full speed and going at that bullet train speed, i couldnt really see what was in front of me but all i had to do and all i could do was press on and accelerated through the madness. And then end of the year comes, like it always does and I slow down, take a breather only to expect the same tornado to hit me again come january. And life goes on like that.

I sound like im blabbering...and the reason im doing so is coz, the other more sane half of me is away in some jungle, doing his part for the beloved country. so irfan and I are on our own, left to entertain each other and drown our sorrows in elmo dvds and toy cars and trains. We take comfort in each other for these 2 weeks and right now, irfan is asleep so i'm left alone, which as u can see resulted in me blabbering.

irfan is really growing, though i keep forgetting that sometimes. Everyone is bugging me with the 'when is the next one?' question...i suppose it's just human nature. i guess now is a good time, the age gap is ok, and besides im itching for that 3 mths leave. but for some reason i keep putting it off..oh well.. we'll see.

yesterday was our 3 years anniversary, and i kept asking myself, " only three years?" I felt like we've been married forever, ok not forever but maybe 6 years at least? Not sure why I feel this way...anyway, he was in camp, so we couldnt celebrate and i spent the day with irfan, helping him put out imaginary fire from his fire truck and then looked for ants halfway through. exciting huh? actually it's either that or sit down and chat with my mum about family squabbles..oh man, save me from that! I had enufff of analysing and reanalysing one poblms after another with her for the year! at times, I just don't get what the problem is..but basically, evryone wants to think they are right. that is always the case. I dont get why it's so demeaning to be wrong...dont they see that at the end of your life, when you are old, weak and peeing in your own pants, it doesnt even matter! ( sorry for the strong emotions displayed, im just tired of hearing about the mindless squabbles)

orite, i'll continue with that some other time, when im in a bad mood. for now im just counting the days to sat, when he will be back...and he can go look for ants instead. :)

With September drawing to a close, it would be incomplete if there is nothing in the entries about the many important dates in September.
3 wedding anniversaries; my parent's, brother's and sis's and 3 birthdays; haris's and of coz, irfan's and mine.
As usual, it was a family affair with mostly us entertaining ourselves and of coz the youngest fella got the most hoo haa. Knowing how much he loves birthdays; singing birthday songs, blowing the candles, cutting the cake and opening up the presents, we could not let the day go uncelebrated. So the usual people came over to make his day....and mine too;)


with party hats and banner, no less :) hehhe


with his fav people


waiting for his birthday song


singing his birthday song

and they made me open up layers and layers of newspapers, only to find that my present was not even in the box! and then they planted clues around my house, (entah bila masa buat keje ni smua)and made me find the clues leading to my present. macam treasure hunt gitulah.
Nasib baik worth it! Loved the present!


No..not in here...it's not a printer..Thank God!!

irfan got mega huge presents this year. all kinds of transportation lah dia dapat for his birthday.
from cik zali and cik ros


from alim's parents


alim's parents was quite sweet to remember my birthday and they brought us to buka puasa at carousel the following day and got me and irfan pressies. i didnt quite expect the present this year....


Do u see goldheart?:) hehe

And on his birthday itself, alim's mum came to our place after buka and brought him a cake and his uncle gave him yet another humongous present.... a fire engine thingy.
he was elated beyond words of coz while i was like...mana nak letak lagi satu benda besau ni?!!!


Happy giler!!!

i think he need to park all these at the carpark outside coz my house looks more like toys r us now.


Super excited- AGAIN!


Sing birthday song- AGAIN! and still excited

cake blowing-AGAIN!- and still with so much gusto

he refused to take out the helmet and the CWO lookalike vest..sampailah tertido...gasak dia lah.

so that's getting another year older...:)

September Morning

It's so nice to wake up to a wet monday morning and not be anywhere.

It's so nice to wake up to a rainy day and be greeted by a small round face, with a big smile revealing lines of funny looking teeth,
followed by wet, splurging kisses complete with sound effect.

He's happy we are not going anywhere this morning, looks into our eyes, as if in disbelieve and then smiles a huge smile, before planting 2 kisses each for the both of us.

And he said and pointed, "Ayah, Ibu, Iman(he can't pronounce Irfan, so Iman is how he calls himself for now), stressing the point that we are indeed together this morning, in bed.

Isnt it a great morning?

We laid there for much longer, relishing the fact that we don't need to be out of bed, that our attendance is not being recorded today, that the hours and minutes belonged to us, just for now.

the bed is just so comfortable, he hugs us again and again, then gets bored and crawls under the sheets and made both of us do the same. He made a haunting sound which meant to scare but sounded just so silly that we burst out laughing and starting tickling him all over. He tumbles on us, giggling uncontrollably.

Every morning should be like this.
Every single morning.

The story of the busy, buzzing bumble bee
The search of one's own kind..

Do you recognise this bumble bee?
He was spotted in a school recently.


HELOOOOOOOO!! Teehee hee:)



Me? Im the bumble bee?

He was invited to a fairytale ball at TKP
Not sure which fairytale has a character of a busy buzzing bumble bee
But he didnt care did he?
Upon reaching, he spread his wings under a tree
And tried to find his new identity.


Then he met a princess.
She gave him a ball


he accepted it gleefully.


No wonder they call it fairytale ball. We get free balls! Yippeee!

Soon he was surrounded by more princesses.



But alas, none of them wanted him as prince.
He was a little too short for them.
besides, none of them wanted to have anything to do with yellow stripes, squirly antennaes and a yellow pointed tail.
But he didn't care did he?
Coz he was proud to be a busy, buzzing bumble bee.

he wondered if there is any of his kind around.



Off he went and he met,
a witch, snow white and a dwarf,none of which are bees...



a fairy and a human auntie..not bees either.....



Tigger..he was almost fooled by the stripes!



he drew a little


and darted off again




Soon he was tired and rested for a drink
and THEN he spotted one of his kind!!!! he smiled from antennae to antennae!!!!



he ran to her...
only to find....
she isnt a pure buzzing, busy bumble bee!!
she had a head of a bee but a body of a fairy!
he was disgusted. before he could escape, the giant fairybee grabbed him and took a snap!


Yucks! A crossbreed!!!!

so disgusted was he that he wanted to leave...



but this bee is indeed a funny bee.
barely a minute later, he forgot that he was angry.
Off he went again, buzzing busily as bees would be.
And soon he found a tree.
With flowers, all so pretty.
He smiled cheerfully
coz he's just so happy to be a bee, flying free in TKP.





THE END!

hehhee..well, my school had a fairytale ball, an event for primary 1 pupils. The kids and parents are supposed to come, dressed based on a fairytale theme. So I menyebok and brought Irfan along. We rented the costume 30 minutes before the ball started and straightaway brought him to my school. he refused to take the costume out even after we reached home. He really looked liked a busy bee, darting around being his usual tak tau diam self.
When he first put it on, we really had a good laugh coz he really looked so funny in it. He was looking in the mirror at the costume shop and going, "lawaaa, lawaaa". Terus bekenan, tak nak bukak.It was the first costume he tried coz I asked the sales guy if he had any costumes for 2 year olds and there wasnt that many. They had peter pan too but after trying the bee, he refused to take it out and didnt want to try anything else. So dengan costume tu jugak we went straight to the ball.
Of course, he was one of the smallest at the ball coz it's for primary 1 after all, so he got quite an overwhelming attention from others. After a while, when he saw people coming towards him, he just starting running the opposite direction.

Heh, he just looked funny to me.:)

Yes, we were some of the thousands who thronged the streets to catch the fireworks and bits of the parade. Very the on, hor!


Happy Birfday Singapore!!


The Usual Suspects. Kesian Irfan terselit.


Apa pesen ni?


Nenek's classic camera.


Waahhhh...

I was so dead tired when I got back. Felt like the sun sapped me off all my energy...
Crowd and heat is a bad combi for me..luckily the company saved the day. :)

Anyway, this is really a basi entry. Next up, would be a story about a bumble bee. Don't miss it!!!!

I can't wait for national day to be over. That would mean I have one major task to strike off from my 'to-do'list this year. I am in charge of National Day this year and it's my school's tradition to have entrepreneurship day on the same day too. And we didnt employ any vendor this year so I had to come up with the training booklet and look into the logistics and all that stuffs..which is giving me major headache and makes me wonder time n time again, WHYYY exactly am I doing all these?!

im feeling more and more like an events manager these days. maybe i should change my profession. do they earn more?

so im really looking forward to 8th August, 12pm, when the whole entrepreneurship day cum national day would be over. and then the looooong weekend!! yes I can't wait!
I just need the break to REST!

And on to something random- THE CURE didnt quite cure my 'blues' away last nite. But for a while, it did take my mind away from some unnecessary thoughts.

Irfan really surprises me sometimes. Opening the door as I reach home from work and seeing him just brightens up my day, no matter how shitty I felt just minutes before that. It's amazing how being tiny and cute has that effect on people. Today, when I got back from work, as usual I asked my mum, "Irfan naughty tak?!" My mum was busy watchin some filipino drama serial and so as expected, she ignored me. Instead the lil twerp answered, "POK POK" and showed his hand. Ok let me translate that to you. It means someone hit his hand. So I asked my mum, "Mak pukul tangan dia tadi eh?" Of course I had to ask her 2 or 3 times coz, like I said she was engrossed in her filipino drama. When she finally heard my question, she was quite shocked and asked how did I know. True enuf she did coz Irfan was being naughty. He actually threw his toy fishing rod out of the window when both his nenek and atok were not fast enugh to grab the rod!

Tak sangka pandai ngadu!!
And i suppose he understood my question when i asked my mum if he was naughty. And that he knew the repercussions of being naughty. you get 'POK'!

Slowly Im discovering that he knows more than we think he knows and that is indeed a pleasant surprise!

My poor parents, having to be on their toes all the time. I suppose one lil fella is enuf to make them huff and puff ....

Ok tll later!

OF CRAYONS AND SUCH



Irfan is turning two. He has been ready for school for a long time now.
The confines of our tiny house and the company of my parents is just not enough for him anymore. His mind is just waiting to be stimulated. And for us, we really believe the earlier he goes to school, the better it is for his development.

I realize, Im fussy about school. That's about the only reason why he isnt in school earlier. Which brand of education is gd for him? Montessori? Music and Art? Secular + religious, drama, play? a bit of everything?

It's only a 3 hour playskool, and yet im already thinking so much. If possible, i would want a closer look at their curriculum, themes and how well the various skills are integrated into their themes. And the reading porgramme! That's important to me! so u see, Im really fussy. During our visits to some playskools, I've asked so many questions. about this n dat..Looks like im turning out to be the nightmare parent whom i so want to avoid in school as a teacher myself! OH_OH! :0

Nanti dah masuk primary 1 macam mana agaknyer eh?

I have sooo many considerations, but If i were to choose, I would look for a really engaging teacher who can bring characters in a book come alive and make every other mundane thing look so interesting! I think that's extremely important for a lil kid with a constantly restless mind and itchy fingers. Just someone who can capture his limited attention would already be good.

His daddy just wants him to go to school so that he can be disciplined and follow a certain routine in a school setting rather than be home and watch Harry Potter or drive my mum insane with his non-stop activities.

He's such a Harry Potter fan, one of the youngest, perhaps? Macam paham ajer tengok Harry Potter. He can sit quiely for over 2 hours watching the whole thing, without moving an inch, mouth agape, all wide-eyed. The picture of Harry Potter and company on the CD cover is enough to make him squeal in delight and clapping his hands enthusiastically. Recently he has repeatedly taken my mum's sayur serai from the kitchen, held the bottom end in his hand and pointed it to us, made the sound of an explosion and squealed, "API". It took us a while to realise that the serai was indeed his magic wand.

For his daddy, that's a signal for him to go to school and make better use of his free time.

So come August, he will go to 3 hour playschool. I'm really excited about it! I just hope he would enjoy school and be as engaged in school as he is, watching Harry Potter.

Can't wait to see how he would behave in school. Can't wait to see how the teachers would react to his antics. That should be fun!


Yes teacher, Im listening to you..


See, Im not eating the clay. Im rolling it into a snake.


I will remember to draw on paper. No floor, no wall, no floor, no wall. ok ok I get it.


I'd be good. I promise.
Goodbye Harry Potter. Im starting on my own adventure.

Ok pics of london and paris are up.
Go to designitoo.multiply.com to see.

Till later.

PICTURES

ok, so the switzerland pics are up.
Go to designitoo.multiply.com to view.

i'll upload paris and london some other time...
gotta clear school work first..plenty of things to do:((

Just some pics from the recent trip.
I think it would be a long while before I upload the rest.
Feeling kinda lazy...


Irfan met a girl called Alex, at the stonehenge.
They ran around the vast green fields, and turned and tumbled together.


we managed to catch him for a family pic. he was still smiling from all that flirting with alex. :)


then there was danielle, at the london eye. Danielle liked him so much and they played and played while the london eye went round and round.
Irfan looking a lil perplexed from the threesome. Heh.


they met again at madame tussaud's, much to their delight!


then there was the french boy at eiffel tower. we didnt catch his name.


language was no barrier as they shared their toys and gave each other a brotherly hug.


and the big brother from india who couldnt stop cuddling irfan.


and the swiss girls at the park.


outside louvre museum




caught him, grabbed him and took a pic before he runs off again..


Buckingham palace


Switzerland!


At jungfrau, top of europe.
That's irfan saying 'juk' 'juk' (SEJUK)



Lying down, refusing to get up.


He was so still that someone said, "I think he's frozen."


the 3 of us.

more later. :)