It’s been months now since we last saw the chicken. I wonder whatever happened to it? Aside from having made it into the blog, and becoming one of the entry header pictures, did it also end up being somebody’s lovely free range roasted chicken dinner? Did it get repatriated to the countryside, and sent to a chicken-friendly environment? Did it get auctioned off to the highest bidder? Did it wander back home (wherever that might be) to be reunited with its family? Is it hobnobbing with Mel Gibson and the Chicken Run gang? Is it lolling in some warm climate (not the oven), getting a sun tan? Anyway, we have not seen the chicken for a loooong time. I sort of miss it. No more random yelling, no more worries about it pooping everywhere and eating the birdseed that Vin puts out for the birds and squirrels. Perhaps the chicken […]
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Happy Halloween!
Although today is Halloween, for some reason, our town decided to do Beggars Night last night. So we filled our candy bowl and awaited the trick or treaters. Of which there were three! Batman, Barbie, and I believe, some kind of Harry Potter (I was a little distracted when handing out the candy as Lily was trying to escape out the door). Our little Allie was kitted out but way too young to be out trawling for candy: [[image:allie93a.jpg:I want my Mummy!:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions Allie practised kicking/batting/grabbing the purple hanging critter: [[image:allie88a.jpg:Kick-n-grab, complicated maneuver:center:0]] [[image:allie89a.jpg:Bubbly with determination:center:0]] Hanging out on Daddy’s lap: [[image:allie92a.jpg:Where’s my share of the candy?:center:0]] [[image:allie91a.jpg:Thumb is better than candy?:center:0]] [[image:allie90a.jpg:Trick or treat!:center:0]] [[image:allie94a.jpg:Chilling out:center:0]] She then had her bath and it was bedtime for little girls. Happy Halloween, all! Don’t eat all the candy in one sitting! 🙂
Continue readingAllie’s 3 Month Birthday
Yesterday, Allie passed her first quarter-year mark. She turned three months old! Wheeeee! Of course this means pictures! 🙂 [[image:allie83a.jpg:Musing on Daddy’s shoulder:center:0]] You know the drill – there will be baby pictures aplenty to follow. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. 🙂 * Mouse over the pictures for captions Honestly, her day wasn’t much different from the day she had when she turned two months old. She comes down in the morning with Daddy and Lily, then comes back up to Mak for breakfast, then we all come downstairs. She spends a lot of time eating/napping while Mak works. She hangs out with Daddy too. And we both hounded her like paparazzi, trying to take pictures of her smiling. Allie is quite generous with her smiles and even giggles sometimes. But to get her to do so while the camera is on her – extremely difficult. It’s like she […]
Continue readingSelamat Hari Raya from Ohio
Selamat Hari Raya, maaf zahir batin from all of us in Ohio. We wish we could have been in Malaysia for the holiday, but we will have rendang and stuff here too (eventually when I get my act together). Lily did not show up for the picture taking session, and I had already changed out of my baju kurung, so here are Vin and Allie, wishing you all a wonderful month of Shawal. [[image:allie71a.jpg:Vin and Allie in their baju raya:center:0]] * Allie is wearing the baju raya that Opah and Tok got for her.
Continue readingAllie’s 2 Month Birthday
We can’t hardly believe it, but time has flown and last Monday, Allie was 2 months old! Here’s what she did on her 2 month birthday: * Mouse over pictures for captions She started the morning strolling around with her Daddy and Lily took a ride too. Mak got to sleep a little extra while this happened. [[image:allie59a.jpg:Strolling with Lily:center:0]] She also did a lot of lying on Mak’s lap, nursing/napping while Mak multitasked and worked. [[image:allie60a.jpg:Grinning up at her mother:center:0]] [[image:allie63a.jpg:Chewing on Mak’s shoulder:center:0]] Then some hanging out on Daddy’s lap. [[image:allie61a.jpg:I’m an airplane!! Wheeee!:center:0]] [[image:allie62a.jpg:I love to hang out on Daddy’s lap:center:0]] In the afternoon, a bit of mobile fun: [[image:allie64a.jpg:Fascinated and absorbed:center:0]] Here she is after her bath: [[image:allie65a.jpg:Sweet smelling in a sleep-n-play:center:0]] [[image:allie66a.jpg:Daddy combed my hair:center:0]] How about some gymini action? [[image:allie67a.jpg:I’m gonna get that elephant someday!!:center:0]] [[image:allie68a.jpg:Oooooh so many things to look at:center:0]] And before bed, […]
Continue readingSmiles for the weekend
Just a couple of pictures to brighten the weekend :-). She was caught smiling on video and I just captured a couple of stills. [[image:allie23a.jpg:Wide smile:center:0]] [[image:allie24a.jpg:Cheeky charmer:center:0]] The smiles are for you, Dale.
Continue readingIn Ike’s Path
You’ve all heard about Ike and the devastation it wreaked in Texas and other places. Well, Ike came through here last Sunday. It was very strange – bright sunny day, and huge wind gusts. We lost power around 2 or 3 PM, and when my wireless router finally conked out after the TV and all other appliances died, we felt totally cut off from the world. Never mind that we still had the phone and the cell phones. It just felt so weird. Luckily Vin has a little battery operated transistor radio – we caught the end of the Reds game (very windy there too!) and then at the post-game program, heard that over 700,000 Duke Energy customer had lost power. That translated to about 1.5 million people in the Greater Cincinnati area without electricity. Also that the wind gusts translated to a Category 1 hurricane, basically. Can you imagine […]
Continue readingSome Allie Firsts
Allie is 8 weeks old today! See her enjoying the mobile in her cradle this morning! She looks at the animals intently and occasionally tries to squirm onto her belly (which she still can’t do on her own steam, but she can turn herself onto her side). Happy first 8 weeks, Allie! [[image:allie58a.jpg:First 8 weeks:center:0]] Here are some more firsts for Allie: [[image:allie44a.jpg:One of the first hanging out on Daddy’s lap:center:0]] [[image:allie46a.jpg:First article of clothing made by Opah:center:0]] [[image:allie47a.jpg:After Allie’s first sponge bath:center:0]] [[image:allie45a.jpg:Allie’s first proper bath (after her umbilical cord finally fell out):center:0]] [[image:allie50a.jpg:First fingernail trim (done by Opah):center:0]] [[image:allie48a.jpg:First encounter with the Gymini:center:0]] [[image:allie49a.jpg:Allie on her 4-week birthday:center:0]] Thus concludes a snippet of the firsts that we’ve experienced with Allie.
Continue readingWinging Home
A little over 24 hours ago, we said goodbye to Tok and Opah at the airport. Hard to believe that 2 months have passed. And Allie is now 6 weeks and 2 days old. Tok and Opah helped us so much, not just with Allie, but with everything else that we had to cope with. [[image:allie51a.jpg:At the airport:center:0]] [[image:allie52a.jpg:Sleeping soundly:center:0]] Both Allie and Lily misses Tok and Opah! This morning, there was no Opah to feed Lily her breakfast and no Tok to entertain her! There was no “changing of the guard” of Vin supporting me and Allie at night to Opah taking on that role during the day. After all, they should be arriving in Singapore soon! Anyway, some pictures of Tok and Opah with Allie and Lily: [[image:allie53a.jpg:Tok and Opah with Allie:center:0]] [[image:allie54a.jpg:Another shot:center:0]] [[image:allie55a.jpg:Opah, Allie and Lily:center:0]] [[image:lily24.jpg:Tok and Lily sleeping:center:0]] [[image:allie56a.jpg:Tok and Allie:center:0]] [[image:allie57a.jpg:Opah and Allie:center:0]] We […]
Continue readingAllie’s 1 Month Birthday
It has been an exciting time for us: Allie has been a fun and also challenging addition to the family. Everything we do is according to her schedule, so it has been hard to keep the blog updated with what we have been up to. I’ll try to do some more detailed updates of what’s been happening since Allie’s 1-week birthday blog. But for now, a quick pictorial of Alya who turned 1 month old last Friday (August 22). (As always, hover over the pictures for captions) [[image:allie39a.jpg:I’m a month old now!:center:0]] It has been an exciting, sleep-deprived month, but it has definitely been a lot of fun. Every day is new, and every day Allie grows a little more, learns something new, and begins to respond more to us. As Vin put it, she has reduced all of us adults into a bunch of babbling fools, but if she […]
Continue readingAllie’s 1 Week Birthday
Yesterday, Allie was one week old. We had a short excursion for her (and my) one-week follow up visit at the hospital. And to commemorate her 1-week birthday, I picked out some pictures that were taken by Allie’s Atok. [[image:allie10a.jpg:One week ago I was born:center:0]] For those of you who would rather not be inundated with baby pictures, you may stop here. All others, yup, you asked for it, and here they are! More pictures!! Of Allie on her 1-week birthday. * Mouse over the pictures for captions [[image:allie14a.jpg:Dressed to go to the hospital:center:0]] [[image:allie15a.jpg:Hey, couldn’t my Mak have tied the ribbon on my hat?:center:0]] [[image:allie16a.jpg:What trouble can I get into today?:center:0]] [[image:allie18a.jpg:Hey, I can hold my head up, I can get in trouble!:center:0]] [[image:allie21a.jpg:Are you questioning me?:center:0]] [[image:allie22a.jpg:I’ll show you!:center:0]] [[image:allie17a.jpg:Thpttt!! Gotcha!:center:0]] [[image:allie19a.jpg:I told you I could get you:center:0]] [[image:allie20a.jpg:But really, I am angelic:center:0]] I couldn’t help it guys. […]
Continue readingSome Assembly Required – Part 1
First thing we assembled for the baby is the changing table (one of the lovely gifts received). Lily, of course, has been very curious about all the goings-on with regard to new boxes and newly assembled stuff. * Mouse over for captions [[image:lstuff02.jpg:Lily claiming the box:center:0]] [[image:lstuff01.jpg:Roly-poly on the box:center:0]] After reading the manual, Vin and I put together the changing table (sorry no “in progress” pictures since we were just trying to accomplish the task). [[image:lstuff03.jpg:Completed!:center:0]] [[image:lstuff04.jpg:Wait! What’s this new thing?:center:0]] [[image:lstuff05.jpg:Well, it’s pretty comfortable:center:0]] [[image:lstuff06.jpg:Testing for sturdiness:center:0]] [[image:lstuff07.jpg:Naptime:center:0]]
Continue readingForty Weeks…
…and baby still hasn’t arrived yet. Mak and Abah have been here over a week (11 days already!). We’re all in a holding pattern, waiting for the arrival of this stubborn little one. 🙂 Pictures then: [[image:40week2.jpg:Belly still growing!:center:0]] [[image:40week1.jpg:Another angle for the belly:center:0]] Sorry, I was kind of sleepy when the pictures were taken. Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. Happy Caturday!! 🙂
Continue readingNursery – Part 1
So to while away the time until the baby arrives, how about a look at the nursery? It’s almost finished – but here’s a view of it from the beginning until what it looks like right now. * Mouse over the pictures for captions First, the original paintjob: [[image:nursery01.jpg:Purple!!!:center:0]] [[image:nursery02.jpg:Twin bunk beds:center:0]] [[image:nursery03.jpg:Seriously purple walls:center:0]] Seriously, the picture doesn’t show how dark that purple actually was. There were two colors, dark dark purple, and lavender, and both are more suitable for teenaged girls (that’s who last occupied this room). For a baby, I wanted brighter and happier colors. So Vin started work (since the doctor nixed the idea of me on a ladder, Vin did most of the hard work). I did help though – couldn’t keep out of it. 🙂 [[image:nursery04.jpg:Taking fixtures off the wall:center:0]] [[image:nursery06.jpg:Replacing purple with “Macadamia”:center:0]] [[image:nursery07.jpg:Macadamia-colored walls:center:0]] [[image:nursery05.jpg:Halfway done:center:0]] [[image:nursery08.jpg:Here’s where we stopped:center:0]] Then Mak […]
Continue readingPajeri Nenas!
Just a quick note to say, yay-yay Mak and Abah are here! Annnnnnd, Mak made her world famous pajeri nenas. Here we are enjoying our dinner: [[image:pajeri3.jpg:Vin, Mak & Abah:center:0]] Abah shows off the lovely pajeri nenas and the baked chicken: [[image:pajeri4.jpg:Showing off the food:center:0]] [[image:pajeri5.jpg:My plate in the foreground, Abah’s in the background:center:0]] And this post is to make Hisham salivate as pajeri nenas is one of his favorite dishes. 🙂 p.s. – still no baby yet… *sigh*
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This Summer’s Opera Report
Unlike last year, this summer we did not purchase season tickets to the Cincinnati Opera. Not because we didn’t want to go to the opera or anything, but since opera season is during the summer, and since the baby might be presenting his/herself right smack during the opera season, we decided to play it by ear. As it was, I had to convince Vin that if we went to the opera in June, we would STILL make it to the hospital if I went into labor. 😉 We went to see Madame Butterfly in mid-June. It was gorgeous, and beautifully performed, and at the end I cried and cried (of course). No sign of labor. 😛 We had seen a performance of it with Mei and Colin in England (community theater version) and so we were familiar with the story and the music. But this performance, done by professionals, really […]
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