Baby steps

1,2,3, PLOPPPP!!!!!



I think it's not bad for someone who just turned 10 mths. In fact I think it's pretty good!!

but then again, Im biased of coz! hhehe:)

Take your time, Irfan. We are in no hurry. We'll cheer u on, support your fall (if we r fast enuf) and give you plenty of time n space to learn.

as u can see, he's back in business.

the pathetic face and prayers did work after all.

but he didnt keep his promise. not even a teeny, weeny bit.

not only is he tearing magazines and chewing newspaper, he's more active than ever. he's just anywhere n everywhere! according to my very the wise mother 'irfan bayar balik hutang sakit'. he's covering up for the number of hours he has missed playing and making a mess when he was sick last 2 weeks.

and he has also found a new hobby now: CLIMBING!

i couldnt believe my ears when i was told by my mum that he could climb up the dining table on his own until i saw it with my very own eyes. i couldnt believe her too when she told me he got into and out of his walker by himself. UNTIL i saw it with my VERY OWN eyes! i've got it in video somehere. will put it up when i have the time coz i really dunt have the time rite now to wait for the video to be uploaded. poor mak has to keep up with him and stand by his side, guarding him almost all of his waking hours during the weekday. i dunno if all 10mth olds climb as much as he does. and here i was thinking that i could wait for him to turn one year old before i have to worry about him climbing. but i guess im wrong.


they grow up so fast, dunt they?

things aren't so peachy for me these couple of days. nope, i didnt bump my head big time and hence the size L handyplast. it's actually a fevr plaster which ayah said i should use so that my fever would go away. that's what i have; a fevr. im feeling just horrible. sometimes i feel very hot and other times, im just freezing cold. and i feel like i have something gooey stuck in my throat and i have a whopping cough that sounds very strange. and water keeps oozing out of my tiny nostrils. so uncomfortable. overall, it's just terrible!


Ayo yo, banyak sakit loh!!

oh god! im really burning up!!!. ibu takes my temp every few hours and so far it hasnt been good news. my highest temp was 39.5 and it has been going up n down. oh my, oh my, ibu looks worried and im just having a big fat headache.
And the heat; it just wouldnt go away. feels like a huge fire burning inside of me.



i dunt mean to be a whiny cry baby and make ibu n ayah carry me all the time, but sometimes i just cant control myself. i was thinking, maybe if i shout real loud and hit my head a couple of times, all the heat in me would just escape from each and every tiny pore in my body. i wish i wish.
but i soon learnt that didnt work out too well. the fever just wouldn't go away. so i resorted to saying a prayer.



Dear Allah, pls make my fever go away, I said. I promise to be a good boy and stop pulling ibu's hair and pulling ayah's specs away and chewing on them. I promise not to tear away all of ibu's magazines and albums. but i guess, my request is still pending. just like ibu's request to be a full time housewife and yet have lots n lots of money. that is also still pending.



so for now, i guess, this is the kind of face i can afford to put up. they said i have to take my medicine and be patient about the fever going away. nenek said, i have fever coz, im going to walk soon and grow all my teeth. but how come, kakak qistina has so many teeth, can walk so well and yet had fever a few mths ago. nenek always say strange things.
n by the way, i think ibu forgot to tell you that i have grown two teeth below. refer to the pic of me screaming above.


oh well, i've tried everything and the fever hasnt disappear yet. think im just going to sit here and be quiet for a while.
wait for ibu to take my temp again and wait for the verdict. meanwhile, i'll say a lil prayer again in a couple of mins.
think this pathetic face will speed up my request?
hope so. (sigh)

COLDPLAY

yes, we had tons of work. yes, it was monday nite and we had to be in sch by 7 the following day. BUT BUT BUT, it would jus be unforgivable to miss COLDPLAY!!!

so irfan was left with mum and my tons of work was completely forgotten as we attended the unforgettable concert. we had waited so long for this moment, and finally they came to town and we were there.

what more can i say. the concert was just amazing, the atmosphere was crazy and the set images and lighting was just great!!! we screamed our lungs out, all out of tune no less and we didnt care. yellow huge big balls bounced amongst the crowd as they sang YELLOw and chris martin ended the song with a pop on the ball using his guitar and strings of glitter came right out from the balloons much to the screams of everyone.

for that 1 and a half hours, we were just drowned by the music and atmosphere. they took us away. u should have been there, everyone should have been there!!

now listening to coldplay will never be the same. m getting goosebumps all over, just thinking of last nite.

the concert was just too great to miss. u must have been nuts not to be there!!!

Swim Baby Swim

Irfan loves water. he cries and make a fuss when his bath time is over, insisting to stay in the toilet somemore. hmm, wat else he likes?
swimming of coz!



macam real ajer! he really looks as if he could swim. but we didnt dare let him go and find out for sure.



getting all excited with abang haris.

im up to my neck with work at the moment. july is a busy busy busy month. the recent june holidays wasnt much of a holiday either but we did manage to squeeze some time for a short break nearby. we tried to maximise watever lil time we have to spend time with irfan and each other.


kayaking in the evening


reckless drivers


pit stop; by the beach


irfan, with nenek and haris


ready to go diving, err sorry, swimming



despite the gallons of water he must have swallowed, he was super excited and extremely thrilled by his first swimming experience.

we would definitely bring him swimming again.

if only time wasnt a problem.

9th June 2006

Happy Birthday my luv,
I wish we are together on this special day,
But you have to be some place
irfan and I shall wait for you,
so till we meet again,
we are missing you like never before.

Happy Birthday my luv.

Speaker's Corner?? or Singapore Idol??

Speaker's Corner?? or Singapore Idol??






We were celebrating Nenek Yah's birthday at Fig&Olive and couldnt resist the empty stage..... So with the help of the roadies, Irfan tried his hand at being the next Singapore Idol. Hehe....

And this one wants to make it into the Guinness Book of Records for the world's looooooongest.....................



.....tongue. Can make it or not?

Home Made Jokes

So in the car yesterday, the dear husband told me a joke. u see, jokes coming from him are usually silly, self composed ones which usually leaves me either tak faham langsung or half amused.
But this one, I just got to give it to him!! It left me laughing in stitches. KWAWWAHHAHAHHAA!!

I'm not sure if it has the same effect when it's written out like this, but it was damn funny when it was told by him! HHHAHAA!!

HIM:
Ok, satu hari Doraemon tengah jalan jalan, then dia terjumpa Hello Kitty. Doraemon berkata, "Hi Kitty!"
Hello Kitty buat bodoh aje.
Ok kenapa Hello Kitty tak jawab?

ME:
(thinks for a while) sebab nama dia 'Hello Kitty' bukan "Hi Kitty" !!!!! (I was pretty excited with my answer coz i tot it was quite the clever~~)

HIM:
Bukan!
Pasal Hello Kitty takde MULUT!!!!!!! KWAWAKWAWKAWAAAA!!!

ME:
KWAKAWAKWAAAAA!!! ya ya this time funny funny!!

HIM:
Ok lah, so Hello Kitty sedih sebab dia takde mulut. So dia pun jahit sebentuk mulut kat muka dia. The next day, dia terjumpa Doraemon lagi. Sebab Hello Kitty skarang dah ada mulut, Hello Kitty cakap to Doraemon, " Hello Doraemon!" .
Doraemon buat bodoh aje.
Ok kenapa si Doraemon tak jawab?

ME:
(pause for a while to think)
Sebab Doraemon tak faham English. Dia cuma tau cakap Jepun! (quite clever rite my answer~~:)

HIM:
Bukan!(burst out laughing even before he could complete his sentence)
Pasal.......
Doraemon takde TELINGA!!!!! KWWAKWAKWAWAWAWA!!!!!!

ME:
KWAKWAWWWAHAHHHAHHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

Sometimes it makes me wonder what is REALLLY going on in that lil, unassuming brain of his!

Standing Short

eversince he pulled himself up to stand at 6 mths, there was no turning back.
the 7th month was all about standing up; with boths holding on to something, with one hand and with no hands, just the belly leaning against a table.
he has bumped his head countless times and i suppose that didnt stop him from making use of his feet to stand; a new discovery for him as opposed to chewing on his toes. he has finally learnt that feet isnt meant for chewing but for an even greater purpose.so all in the house has to be more vigilant now. we've each had some great saves but unfortunately, there were some moments when he escaped our eyes and ended up wailing with a prized bump on the forehead.



the cot had to be lowered for obvious reasons.

it must have been sheer satisfaction when he managed to grab those darn mobiles that have been teasing him from up there for many many months. For 7mths he struggled to grab it while the fish and the crab and their friends turned round n round to that irritating music. AHHH...FINALLY!!!

and so with his new skill learnt, this is how i spent my hours after work,

getting ready to catch his fall, at the slightest signal of his wobbly butt and knees caving in.

Im not sure I'm looking forward to him walking. hehe

for more stories, if this hasnt bore you already, go here

now with all his developments charted on this blog, I wouldnt be stumped anymore when the next mother i meet in the nursery room ask me when my baby started turning over, crawling, stand up. I must have sounded like an incompetent mother when i stammered each time to come up with the exact mth. As excited as I am about his developments, I dunt think it matters if he crawled or walk at 8mths or 18mths and i dunt quite get it why it matters to some out there. 5, 10, 28 years from now, it wouldnt matter and no one would bother. has anyone asked you recently when you started crawling?!!! according to my mum i started walking at 10 mths, but hey look at me, I'm no genius am I? So let those poor babies develop at their own pace. their schedules are already packed with practice, practice and more practice. slowly but surely they will learn what they are supposed to. :)

Irfan is turning 8 mths tomorrow. his 8 mths have been jam packed with modules after modules of achieving one development after another. I realize babies are really busy beings; so much skills to learn, to perfect. and the amazing thing is we dunt have to teach them anything, just sit back, provide a conducive but guided environment and beamed in pride and excitement over their accomplishments.

before i start forgetting all these; here's a recap:


At 1 mth old. So tiny and definitely immobile.


At 3 mths. Started turning over. The beginning of his mobility and disappearing acts.The ceiling is no longer his only view. Now the floor will be his new fascination.


At 4 mths. Lifts chest of ground. On all fours, butt moving forward and backward but still stationary. Glides using stomach and legs to move around.
Gets stuck everywhere and end up at the oddest of places.


At 5mths. Irfan started crawling. So did all of us. shadowing behind him, shouted in alarm at the slightest signal of him going to fall forward, faced squashed to the ceramic tiles. he mastered it soon after, as we panted to keep up, especially irfan's grannies.


At 5 mths still, started sitting up without support. Finally, got a view of his toys and the world around him from a different perspective.






At 6mths, he sat and crawled confidently. starting pulling himself up to stand. and his cot shrinked into half as he realised he has indeed grown into a little giant. captivated by the new view from his cot.

ok let's try a lil video here...
watch for ureself how irfan laughs..
premiering nur irfan alim in video; moving and alive, laughing like a drunken hyena for a full 1 minute.





apparently, he finds a bean bag fallling from my dad's head very funny. an old man, balancing a bean bag on his head, then repeatedly nodding his head to make the bean bag fall...yeah that's pretty hilarious!

Blue

"When I'm feeling blue,




All I have to do...


Is take a look at YOU...







..then I'm not so blue..."

Silly pics.

Totally forgot about these pics till my bro asked to see them.

Irfan the furry rabbit


Irfan the horseback rider "Yeeeehaaah"


Irfan being eaten by a lion. "Help!Help!"


Irfan was still up at 12 am, marvelling over the majestic Mustaffa centre. It must have seemed like the whole universe to that lil mind of his. So much to see, plenty to process and he was pretty much game for anything.
More about that nite here.

Last week was a really busy week.
Too much to tell, but i dunt have the luxury of time now, so the pics will do the talking.

International Friendship Day was celebrated with much fanfare, balloons, confettis and mega carnival.
Tara Andrews walked in class with a long rifle and the most adorable cowgirl costume evr.


The New Zelandander cowgirl in my class.
Can't resist a picture with her.


Gadis Melayu and Gadis Lembu


The rest of the motley crew. From all over the globe...

But the highlight of last week, was the SYF Malay dance Competition. We brought back the Gold. I'm really proud of the students who showed determination and confidence.
All the hard work paid off after all.



Things like these made me remember why i join the teaching profession in the first place. It's all about the irritating but undeniably adorable kids. They are the only reason which make my work a lot more enjoyable.

Yep its him. And he will eat for a copy of Wallpaper*.

Sometime in the future



My parents must have felt like how i do now. It was them in the picture many years ago. Im beginning to see things which i didnt before.
Loving your child too much can be detrimental. But u just cant help it.
In your eyes, you want to believe your child is the smartest, the cutest, the brightest. Even the critic that I am.
You hope for the greatest things for your child.
It's every parent's wish to see their child succeed in life.

I understand now why some parents cover up their child's flaws even when its so obvious to others.
I understand too why most parents brag about their child. I might be guilty of that too.

I cant imagine how heartbreaking it must feel, when your child grows up to be what you fear most.

You would probably look back and think of pictures such as these...
and probably still look at him in the same doting way,
no matter what or how he turned out to be...
and no matter what others say, be it society, professionals or kpo neighbours and relatives.

In the end, you'd believe what you want to, even if it is the furthest from the truth.

Belle of the Ball

We were sitting around, listening to songs when he said tis song's for me...

"You tried to be polite,
thinking you were right,
only to find you're unkind

but ironically,
You will always be
belle of the ball,
At least to me"
-Symmetry by Mew

when he said the song's for me, i laughed out loud.
go read the lyrics again.
Flattery peppered with some ugly truth.
nuthing typically sweet which a typical husband dedicates to his beloved wife.
but then again, thats him.
but im smiling anyway, more like laughing out loud.
coz yeah, its so very true, i gotta give it to him. bulls eye.
thats me. trying my best to be polite but cant hide the fact that im evil to him on most days.
i always think im right. yep no doubt about that.
he noes me best. yes i cant hide.

and thats him, at least to him, im the belle of the ball,
despite all else.
ironic, cupid must have been blind.
and thank god for that.

a song like that for me just makes me wanna punch the guy and hug him all at the same time.

but i think i noe which i'd rather do...;)

The life of a Sinagporean working mother

My mind is occupied by tiny bits and pieces of incoherent thoughts. I think it is time to rant. i'm too lazy to think through things and write in pretty sentences. so i shall just type what comes to mind, at this minute, this second. it will be confusing, im sure. it will be long. im certain.

i wonder why is it i spend 90% of my time, energy, brain cells, emotion on something less important. Maybe I am saying this because i have no passion in what im doing. Maybe Im saying this because I have found a new love. and it is NOT my job. i wake up every morning as if im yanked out of bed, walk to a certain place, complete certain tasks, go home, my mind still bogged by work and sees nothing else. Im not happy with this arrangement of my life but im not sure how to change it. Irfan is not even schooling yet but it makes me wonder how i'm going to be a good parent at this rate im going. how do u working mothers do it? im sure something or someone is shortchanged. Most of the time its probably ourselves. i know, i would get through the days. i noe i will. but i am not sure if im happy with just getting through the days.

there should be more to life than being a proficient juggler.

Maybe i dunt like my job. maybe i dunt like certain areas of my job. maybe i dunt like the place where im working. maybe im just being lazy. maybe i expect everything to come easy.

or like always, maybe im thinking too much.

almost all working mothers go through this, so why am i complaining?

but all i do noe is work is taking too much of my time. work is also invading too much of my thoughts. i lay in bed at night and im thinking about work. higher pay equates to higher responsibility, more headache that spills over at home, eats up on your family time. and i dunt think i want to spend the rest of my life that way.
we all agree that family is the most important, our top most priority. but why is it that on the average weekday, i spent 11 hours of my day working and maximum 8 hours of sleeping, so what does that leave me? 5 waking hours each day to spend with the husband n irfan. dat is if he is still awake. that's pretty sad isnt it? im pretty sure, many working parents are also in the same shoes.

i've heard it so many times.
some of us r too busy that we dunt even have time to reflect and think about all those time that have passed at work. its just an automatic mechanism in us. to go work. get back from work. look into our kids n husband's needs and continue the routine tomorrow. yes i noe im lucky to have a husband who does the housework and takes care of irfan better than me. im ever thankful for that. but the point im making is not about the lack of time and energy for houswork (I dunt even want to go there) but the lack of LIBERTY to have more ENJOYABLE time with our own family.

and enough talk about QUALITY TIME with the family, pls. when u dunt even have the time in the first place, when your bodies are tired and your mind is still thinking about work, what QUALITY time do you want to talk about?!

and so its back to juggling. back to how well u can juggle before one of the balls hit you and you fall flat on your face. and see everything which you've tried all these years to keep in the air, hit the floor one by one. and guess who gets the blame? YOU. for being a poor juggler. for not being able to educate your kids with the right morals. for letting your kids slipped. when all you have been doing your whole life was trying your best to KEEP UP!

i noe im looking at it from the most depressing perspective.

but watever it is, i noe i will get used to these. i know one day it will all be so routined that i will be too tired to complain. N i worry for that day. i worry that one day i will see this routine as just HOW LIFE IS. coz i dunt think this is how i want it.

if i have a choice i wouldnt want it this way. wait a minute i DO have a choice. everyone does.

but over here, in this sunny island, our choices are pretty much very limited.

but the question is, am i brave enough to make THAT choice?

and at what expense?

China Boy turned Shaolin Monk

i'm losing my enthusiasm to give my best in my work lately, and so i shall refrain from talking about work and other unhappy things. coz i'd rather talk about the boy who is always in my mind.

i dunt think i have mentioned here before that irfan had been shaved clean a couple of weeks back. he had flakes on his scalp and shaving it off did help. besides i was curious to see how he looked bald. seconds after all his hair fell from his head, i missed him with hair and regretted my decision a lil bit.

but of course, he was oblivious to what his parents had done to his image.
coz despite looking like the Shaolin monk,



he was still as chirpy as ever.



irfan can't be left alone these days. put him down, and barely a few minutes later, he will end up at a different place. he has learnt to turn over and back, and inch himself forward or more like sideways. put him on the stinky, thin Hello Kitty matress and soon he'll end up.......


"Erm..i have no idea how i got here EITHER. Are you angry with me?"

on the floor, with hands either underneath the TV console or the sofa, looking as puzzled as I am as to how he got there.

so i have to be extra vigilant now. the other day, his hand got stuck in between the pillowcase. i dunt know how long its been there before i heard him screaming. only to see him stuck and struggling.



look at his left hand. tsk. macam manalah boleh termasok kat situ.

my parents are back and so it was time for my MIL to return home and pass the lil one back to my mum.



i think he missed her.
but im sure she misses him more.

and oh, for more photos and irfan antics, you might want to visit the site that irfan's uncle, paman Hakim, had created for him. go here. For the most part, it is like an update of what irfan was up to when i was at work. I was surprised to see it too.

till later...