One more month before the big T-W-O! Whee! [[image:2013_1129_rafe23.jpg:Slightly amused at all the fuss:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions I don’t know how we got here, but here we are a month before Adik’s second birthday. The child is growing like a little weed! He has continued his obsession with the alphabet, and these days he not only wants to read them but he wants to write them. He loves to (attempt to) write letters using crayons and pens, and he loves the alphabet tracing app on the big thing. He seems to want to read right to left (time to introduce arabic letters?) but other than that, his progress is amazing. And to those out there yelling out the tiger mom-ness of it all, this is all Adik-fueled. He wants to do it and forces us to help him achieve his goals. So there! 🙂 Speech status: […]
Continue readingAuthor Archive: sila
64 Months
So we are now at 64 months! [[image:2013-yaya64month-04.jpg:Love this shot!:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions Food status: Yaya tried one new food this month! Honey. She finger tasted it. I have hopefully convinced her that she should try eating pancakes with honey when I next make it. Let’s see if that actually happens (she has refused maple syrup on many occasions). She did attempt to eat carrots. The first bite went down well. The second bite, well, it came back up and so did everything else. ‘Nuff said. This time it was not on purpose, but it was still disappointing. So no new game or toy for her for the carrot attempt. We had a 2-week (almost) work trip in November, so it was quite a busy (and exhausting) time for us. Also Thanksgiving which fell on Adik’s 23 month birthday. But all in all a good month. […]
Continue readingHalloween Shenanigans
All Hallow’s Eve, an event that was eagerly awaited in the Renstrom household – at least by one little girl in particular. And this year, Papa said we could get a pumpkin and carve it (after some begging on the part of the particular little girl). [[image:2013_halloween_12.jpg:Happy Halloween!:center:0]] Let us begin with the process of carving a jack-o-lantern. I confess, I have never actually done this or watched this done (other than on television) so I was quite interested in the proceedings. So here’s how it went: [[image:2013_halloween_01.jpg:After you cut a hole in the top, you scoop out the insides:center:0]] [[image:2013_halloween_02.jpg:Adik wants to help too:center:0]] [[image:2013_halloween_03.jpg:Adik inspects the now emptied out pumpkin:center:0]] [[image:2013_halloween_04.jpg:A gratuitous smiling baby picture thrown in just for fun:center:0]] [[image:2013_halloween_05.jpg:Next, Yaya draws a face on the pumpkin:center:0]] [[image:2013_halloween_06.jpg:Adik wants to play with the pumpkin’s innards:center:0]] [[image:2013_halloween_07.jpg:Here’s Yaya’s masterpiece:center:0]] [[image:2013_halloween_08.jpg:Which was too complicated to execute so Vin had […]
Continue readingRafe’s 22 Month Birthday
Only two months until the big second birthday for the boy! 🙂 [[image:2013_1029_rafe18.jpg:Happy Adik!:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions So another month has passed, and in two short months, the boy will turn two. It is just amazing how quickly time has flown and how busy (and exhausted) we always seem to be! Where does the time go? As always, we are thankful for backdated entries. Alphabets are still big with Adik. He knows all his letters still of course, and is very happy to yell them out when he sees them, sing his songs and whatnot. But he doesn’t seem to be quite as obsessed – meaning he doesn’t play his alphabet songs all day long, just half of the day. He still loves to come into the office to sit in the piles of books that he has repeatedly pulled off the shelves such that Vin […]
Continue reading63 Months
Sixty-three months now! [[image:2013-yaya63month-03.jpg:Trying on her Bollywood Princess costume:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions So this month, Yaya had some adventures in trying new foods! First, there was the disastrous attempt at eating an apple. Yaya suggested it herself and then welched out of it, and after two hours of holding on to the apple, we placed it in her mouth and she purposely threw up to get away from it. [[image:2013-yaya63month-02.jpg:Crying because she doesn’t want to eat the apple nor does she want to let us take it away from her:center:0]] But after that debacle, she felt really really badly (it was her own idea to begin with, after all). So she made up for it by eating miniscule slices of strawberry for two days in a row. And then she also ate a tiny bit of the white part of a hard boiled egg (which she […]
Continue readingPainting Plates
Since Yaya loves doing artwork so much (just like a certain Pak Yope of hers), we found a place nearby, Paintbrush Pottery, where you can choose something ceramic (a plate, figurine, etc.), paint it, and they would fire it up and glaze it for you. It was a nice Saturday afternoon surprise activity for Yaya. She wasted no time in choosing an owl plate to paint and an angry bird figurine for Adik. [[image:2013_paintpot01.jpg:Painting the owl plate:center:0]] However, Adik was not overly interested in all the painting. [[image:2013_paintpot02.jpg:Adik plays with Papa’s phone:center:0]] It was a bit of a challenge in the beginning. Yaya is used to just painting willy-nilly, but with pottery, you have to think about it in advance, plan it and then paint it. Meaning, you need to paint all the light colors first and gradually get to the dark colors. Also, each color needed to be painted […]
Continue readingReturn to Orange Beach – The Other Stuff
So now that we are done with the beach pictures and the pool pictures, here are some of the other fun pictures taken during our trip to Orange Beach. [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach56.jpg:Peanut buttery baby:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions One of the good things about vacation is the opportunity for all of us to sit and have breakfast together without the need to rush anywhere. It is always a fun time. The following is a compilation of photos taken at breakfast (on different days, obviously) in Orange Beach: [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach02.jpg:Adik loved to feed himself peanut butter from the single-serving peanut butter container:center:0]] [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach13.jpg:Yaya always helps Papa put sugar and cream in his coffee:center:0]] [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach14.jpg:The siblings are finding each other’s “bee-bo” (belly button):center:0]] Adik learnt that Yaya does not want to eat peanut butter and starts to tease her with it: [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach24.jpg:Have some peanut butter, Yaya!:center:0]] [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach25.jpg:Yaya stays far away from the […]
Continue readingReturn to Orange Beach – The Pool
So the beach pictures are done. Now for some pictures of the fun we had at the hotel pool in Orange Beach, AL. [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach01.jpg:Love this shot of Adik:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions We got new water wings for Yaya and a little boat for Adik at the Publix across the way: [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach09.jpg:Adik enjoying his boat:center:0]] [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach10.jpg:Splashed himself all wet:center:0]] [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach11.jpg:Yaya loves her new water wings:center:0]] [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach12.jpg:Yaya gives Adik a tow:center:0]] [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach22.jpg:Dangerously pushing Adik forwards while he gerams the water (she can tip his face right into the water this way):center:0]] [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach23.jpg:Keeping his head area dry:center:0]] [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach38.jpg:Obsessing with pouring water in and out of the toy while Yaya practises her swimming moves:center:0]] [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach39.jpg:Papa and Adik:center:0]] The pool was our way of getting the kids off the beach. And it was also nice to hang out in the pool in the evening after the lunch/rest/naptime. We had an excellent […]
Continue readingReturn to Orange Beach – The Beach
Contrary to popular belief, the beach in Orange Beach, AL is actually not orange. In fact, the sand was beautiful, white, fine sand. Wheee! We loved it so much when we went there in April that we decided to go back there for a longer almost week-long vacation there in September. At the time of this entry, it has been almost a month since we were there, but given my track record it’s a wonder it’s only been delayed a few weeks. Hehe [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach35.jpg:The kids playing on the beach:center:0]] We chose to go after the Labor Day weekend, so not only was it fairly quiet, and we had the beach mostly to ourselves, but it was still hot and summery. And with off-season rates, well, it was icing on the cake. We drove down to Alabama in a 2-day road trip (each way), arriving on Sunday September 8th and leaving […]
Continue readingRafe’s 21 Month Birthday
And the boy is now 21 months old! 3 more months and he’s two! Wheee! [[image:2013_0929_rafe17.jpg:Giggle giggle:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions Again, I am so very late writing this entry. No need to make excuses, you all know how it is, right? And Adik seems to have come a long way in a month. Our little hero now knows all the letters of the alphabet! A-Z, in capital letters and small letters! We can’t believe it. In fact, he’s obsessed! He can’t get enough of it. He is yelling out all the letters that he sees, and singing the ABC song (including the techno-rap youtube stuff that he loves) and all around just totally immersing himself in the written language. He’s even saying the alphabets in his sleep, poor lamb. 🙂 And the truth is, I only remember teaching him O and S. He just picked up […]
Continue reading62 Months
Sixty-two months since the girl was born! [[image:2013-yaya62month-02.jpg:Artsy Yaya in her tent-fort:center:0]] The hat was a gift from Pak Yope and Wan Yong way back in 2010. 🙂 * Mouse over the pictures for captions As I mentioned in the sixty-one month entry, I’m continuing with Yaya’s monthly posts but minimizing the chatter. We have pretty much been maintaining the status quo. No new foods were eaten, steady progress on reading, writing and arithmetic. Lot of artwork done in the house. All good things. Yaya now travels with an entourage of “imaginary friends”, all of whom are cartoon characters from her favorite tv shows. New ones keep popping up. She even made paper teddy bears for imaginary Peep, Chirp and Quack to sleep with and some of her imaginary friends sleep with real stuffed animals. Yaya is a good big sister and plays with her brother all the time. She […]
Continue readingRafe’s 20 Month Birthday
Our intrepid hero is now 20 months old! Whee! [[image:2013_0829_rafe16.jpg:Cheeeeeeese!:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions Where to start? I have left this entry to be written so late that I have to be sure that I am not documenting things that happened in the 21st month (yes, I am that late!). Perhaps I should just keep it brief and let the pictures shine. A few things I am sure of: * Adik has at least 14 teeth now * Food status: Adik loves his peanut butter and toast. Or peanut butter straight up. But he’s game to try what’s on your plate, if he’s in the mood. Lately he’s eaten a lot of peanut butter on a toasted bagel * Speech status: There is nothing that this child cannot say! If he wants to say it, that is. His vocabulary seems to be growing in leaps and bounds. […]
Continue reading61 Months
And so the girl is now sixty one months old! 🙂 [[image:2013-yaya61month-04.jpg:Let’s ride the scooter!:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions I debated whether or not to stop the girl’s monthly blog entries, given that she is now five (and 1 month!) and every month isn’t particularly different anymore. As it turns out, I am not quite ready to give it up yet. I admit it: I enjoy putting down a few words every month to commemorate the day that Yaya was born. And now, looking back, I am very glad that I’ve done this, and that I’m also doing this for Adik. However, I thought that it is time to kind of do a bit less, given that Yaya is no longer a newborn and that every month no longer brings a lot of changes. So while I will be posting an entry every month, I want to […]
Continue readingSelamat Hari Raya 2013
We wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Eid Mubarak! [[image:2013-aidilfitri-10.jpg:Chuffed that it’s Hari Raya!:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions Just a quick one with pictures. We begin with a photoshoot of the kids wearing their Raya finery (thank you Opah and Atok!): [[image:2013-aidilfitri-08.jpg:Happy Adik in his baju melayu:center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-09.jpg:Eid camaraderie:center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-11.jpg:Another good one of the kids together:center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-01.jpg:This is Yaya’s impression of a Malaysian girl (aka “where did I go wrong?”):center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-13.jpg:Yaya talks Papa into posing like that too!:center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-12.jpg:Yaya and Papa, normally this time:center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-16.jpg:Adik in the kitchen:center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-14.jpg:I love this photo – too bad it’s blurry!:center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-15.jpg:Togetherness is the Raya message:center:0]] The above pictures were taken on the day that the package arrived from Malaysia. On the actual first day of Raya, I worked. But I did make beef rendang and nasi minyak: [[image:2013-aidilfitri-03.jpg:Somewhat traditional Eid food:center:0]] No kuih […]
Continue readingThe One with the Actual Birthday and then the Party
So on Yaya’s fifth birthday, we went to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton as her birthday treat. We had originally thought about going to the zoo but the fact that it was a cold and rainy day (seriously? This has never happened in July to have a spring-like rainy day) forced a change of plans. However, it turned out to be an awesome experience, and since we are now members of the museum, we look forward to repeat trips there. [[image:2013_yaya5th_25.jpg:Yaya is all dressed up to go out on her birthday:center:0]] I love the above photo as you see how happy Adik is for his sister. Also contained in this entry are a few photos taken a week or so later when we had Yaya’s birthday party. Vin and I were so busy running around on that day that we took maybe 5-6 photos in total. For the […]
Continue readingFun Yaya and Adik pictures from July
So it seems we took way too many photos in July and there were a few with the kids together that I couldn’t fit into either of the “usual” blog entries, and they were too cute to not post. So here it is. No stories, no information. Just some gratuitous pictures of the kids (and I snuck in some photos taken during Vin’s birthday as well). [[image:2013jul-yanda-03.jpg:Happilly spinning on the office chair:center:0]] [[image:2013jul-yanda-01.jpg:On Papa’s napping chair:center:0]] [[image:2013jul-yanda-02.jpg:No sign of a nap though:center:0]] [[image:2013jul-yanda-04.jpg:Yaya could not wait for Papa’s cake ceremony, Adik blew a candle out:center:0]] [[image:2013jul-yanda-05.jpg:Papa blows out the remaining candle:center:0]] [[image:2013jul-yanda-06.jpg:Let’s all blow (/spit?) on the cake!:center:0]] [[image:2013jul-yanda-07.jpg:Sitting by the rocks:center:0]] [[image:2013jul-yanda-08.jpg:Fun in the pillow fort on our bed:center:0]] [[image:2013jul-yanda-09.jpg:More fun on the bed:center:0]] [[image:2013jul-yanda-10.jpg:Plotting something together?:center:0]] [[image:2013jul-yanda-11.jpg:Sayang Adik! Love Adik!:center:0]] [[image:2013jul-yanda-12.jpg:What did naughty Adik do to Yaya?:center:0]] [[image:2013jul-yanda-13.jpg:Awww, all is forgiven:center:0]] That’s it. Thanks for watching! 🙂
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