67 Months

Another month! 67 months old! [[image:2014-yaya67month-06.jpg:Yaya the butterfly (note the antennae):center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions Food status: Yaya has been eating home made bread. Mostly the Cuban Bread (which looks and tastes like her favorite bread from Dorothy Lane Market, the french boule), but she did gobble up the schiacciata, which contained molasses and was brown. So that counts as a new food and she did get a new toy for that (the Peppa Pig ball, see below). Also she had a few licks of vanilla ice cream and an actual spoonful of it. Unfortunately she needed three mouthfuls to qualify for a new game/toy, and she refused to go to 3 mouthfuls, so she did not get anything for that. Now she declares vanilla ice cream her favorite (she had 1 taste of it and refused any more). What can we say? Reading status: same as […]

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Duelling Mobile Suits

Gundam Battle on the Dinner Table

Last week I made some Mobile Suit Gundam paper minis for Irfan to play with using pictures downloaded from the Gundam Wiki. He has deviced a turn-based Gundam battle game based on the minis. I arrayed the Anno Domini universe Gundams for a group photo, as can be seen above. Left to right: 0 Gundam, Gundam Exia, Gundam Dynames, Gundam Kyrios and Gundam Virtue. We played a one-on-one battle. My Build Strike Gundam vs. his Unicorn Gundam in a desert environment with boulders and one crater for cover. The Build Strike Gundam stats as written by Irfan. Only D6s are rolled. Weapon damage depletes hit points. The mobile suit is destroyed when its hit points reaches zero. The two Gundams from different universes face off in the crater. After his beam magnum blows my head off so I can’t use my Vulcan cannons, we engaged for beam sabre duel. Both beam sabre […]

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Teluk Senangin Picnic

During the trip back to Sitiawan, Atok and Opah thought it would be great for us to have a picnic at Teluk Senangin, a public beach accessible from the Sitiawan-Pantai Remis road. Because it was Chinese New Year, it would not be wise to have a picnic at Teluk Batik. In fact I don’t believe we have ever been to Teluk Batik during major holiday periods. There were many other visitors to the beach. But it was not packed. There was probably more visitors than usual because it was Chinese New Year and there was litter everywhere. The location did remind me of Teluk Batik before I left Sitiawan. Here are some photos from our excursion to the beach.

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Rafe’s 25 Month Birthday

The boy is twenty-five months old now! [[image:2014_0129_rafe02.jpg:Happy Adik!:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions Speech status: it is unbelievable how many words the boy can say. He is also formulating his own sentences and is a master of imitation. For instance, when we need to give Yaya a time out, we tell her to be quiet and to go sit on the sofa (her time-out area). Adik might run behind her, saying “be quiet, Yaya. Sit onna sofa!” and laughing. He is starting to talk back when he is being scolded. If we tell him “no, you can’t do [XYZ]”, he responds with “YES I CAN!!!”. In fact, “Yes I can” is his answer to every negative response that he receives, on some days. No Adik, don’t stand on the chair. Yes I can! No Adik, stop running with that stick in your hand. Yes I can! Adik, […]

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Ain’s Birthday Dinner

Ain levelled up yesterday. She’s gained a year, so we thought we’d splurge a bit on a proper birthday dinner. It would be a proper dinner with proper food, namely burgers. Meanwhile Irfan made his specialty ice cream cheese cake. [[image:2014-ain-birthday-01.jpg:Mixed flavour of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry:center:0]] That evening we went to this burger restaurant at the Ampang Waterfront. It seemed to be a great place to dine on burgers. If I were to go out and have burgers for dinner, this would be the place I’d go to. [[image:2014-ain-birthday-02.jpg:Wish I could do this for Ain every year… can’t even buy her a present:center:0]] Irfan and his Cik Su scour the menu for consumables. Irfan is happy with stuff smeared with tons of cheese. [[image:2014-ain-birthday-03.jpg:As I write this I hear ‘ass thrusters’ coming from the TV:center:0]] A fried egg (or perhaps the interstellar neural parasite that killed Jim Kirk’s brother […]

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66 Months

66 months! Five and a half years old! Whee! [[image:2014-yaya66month-02.jpg:My baby girl!:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions Food status: No real new foods this month. I forgot to report that last month she also tried a candy cane. This month, she took a small finger taste of the frosting on my birthday cake, but she didn’t go back for seconds. And she has tried the frosting before, so it wasn’t completely new. But that was it for new foods. She claims she will eat chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. So we will have to make it sometime. Unfortunately we still have too much birthday cake in the freezer so I’m not really feeling like I need to bake us yet another cake! Reading status: same as last month. Baby steps in getting her confident. I’m trying to just include it in every day life – e.g., if we […]

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The One with the Party and the Forgotten Cake

So two weeks after Adik turned two, we had a small gathering at our house with friends and neighbors. [[image:2014_adik2ndbday07.jpg:Birthday boy happily riding Rocky the Rocking Giraffe:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions It was a fun time and we got to hang out and catch up with people. Adik had had a good 2-year checkup, weighing 29 lbs 4 oz (75th percentile), and measuring 36 3/4 inches tall (99th percentile). So anyways, here are some pictures at the party:  [[image:2014_adik2ndbday01.jpg:Presents!:center:0]] [[image:2014_adik2ndbday03.jpg:Starting to open the presents:center:0]] [[image:2014_adik2ndbday02.jpg:The guys:center:0]] [[image:2014_adik2ndbday06.jpg:Yaya chatting with the ladies:center:0]]  The kids do not wait to play with the presents: [[image:2014_adik2ndbday04.jpg:Adik rides Benny the Bull in his new Mickey Mouse slippers:center:0]] [[image:2014_adik2ndbday05.jpg:Yay! Rocking giraffe!:center:0]] [[image:2014_adik2ndbday08.jpg:The kids with the 11th Doctor Who Mr Potato Head:center:0]] So, you ask, where are the pictures of the children crowded around a birthday cake with lit candles? Where are the adorable […]

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Rafe’s 24 Month Birthday (aka Second Birthday)

And so the boy is now two years old! The big T-W-O! Twenty-four months have passed so quickly! [[image:2013_1229_rafe03.jpg:Angel baby:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions So I was looking at Yaya’s 24 month entry to see what kind of things she was up to, and to see pictures of her as a two-year-old. One thing jumped right out – Yaya only had eleven teeth at age 2. Very different from her little brother who probably has close to his quota of twenty milk teeth! It really is interesting to note the differences between the children, both in physical developments as well as interests. Speech status: Adik is trying to speak in full sentences more and more. For example, he has changed from just saying “Have it?” to ask for something to now saying “Let me have it”. We hear “No, YA-YA!!” all the time and he now thinks […]

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Christmas 2013

So this year we decided to participate in the Christmas tradition. Yaya is old enough now to enjoy it and in fact, she asked for it. So here we go! Our first family Christmas. Also, since we have had a lot of work travels in recent months, we decided to forgo our usual end of year trip (someplace warm, usually) and stayed home instead. So bring it on! We start with the obligatory photo with Santa: [[image:2013_christmas31.jpg:Yaya was happy but luckily Adik did not cry (he thinks Santa is an evil overlord):center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions We begin with a build up to the big day. Progression of the Christmas tree (artificial as Yaya was sad that if we had a real tree, it would die), decorations, and presents under the tree in the week leading up to Christmas. We pretty much wrapped a few presents every […]

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65 Months

65 months! Five years and five months have passed. [[image:2013-yaya65month-07.jpg:Beautiful smile:center:0]] * Mouse over pictures for captions Food status: A few new tastes! Yaya tried hot chocolate (during the snow adventures), finger tasted cookie frosting and also ate circle toast with a little nutella (under a generous slather of regular butter). So three new things. Baby steps, I suppose. But we are pleased with her. Sadly, none of the foods was at all healthy, but on the plus side she did not ask for more after she completed the tastes. Hopefully we will have more to report this next month and in the new year. Yaya is becoming a great big sister – always keen to teach Adik stuff, read to him, etc. She is still the second most dangerous thing for him (note Adik’s black eye from last month’s accident), but on the other hand, Adik is the single […]

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First Snowfall of the Winter

So we actually missed the first snowfall in Ohio (in November) this year while we were away at work in Pennsylvania. But when we were in Pennsylvania (again, for work) in December, snow caught up with us. This entry is basically just some fun photos taken during the snowfall, and afterwards. Most of the photos were taken on the Sunday afternoon (you might remember the Eagles Sunday afternoon game with snow flurries that severely limited visibility on TV?), but some were taken in the days after. [[image:2013_decsnow09.jpg:Let’s play in the snow!:center:0]] As always, please mouse over the pictures for captions. [[image:2013_decsnow01.jpg:Adik wants to know what this stuff is:center:0]] [[image:2013_decsnow03.jpg:He’s intrigued by the stuff and keeps walking to make footprints:center:0]] And yay! Adik still fits into Yaya’s old snowsuit! He has outgrown the lovely one that he received from Abang Reza (and that is now going to be handed off to […]

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Amusements at the New Ducky Hotel

So we have spent many days at the new Ducky Hotel in the past three months. We played in the snow, and amused ourselves in all kinds of ways. This entry is just a bunch of fun photos of the activities at the new Ducky Hotel (that would be the Homewood Suites in Lansdale, PA). Our Old Ducky Hotel was in Cranford, NJ. 🙂 [[image:2013_dechotel01.jpg:Smiling as brightly as the sun:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions Let’s be pirates! [[image:2013_dechotel03.jpg:Dancing peg-leggedly?:center:0]] [[image:2013_dechotel04.jpg:Cheese!:center:0]] [[image:2013_dechotel05.jpg:Arr mateys!:center:0]] [[image:2013_dechotel06.jpg:Pirates have all the fun!:center:0]] And now let us have fun with Papa and Mama’s shoes! [[image:2013_dechotel07.jpg:Shoe on a leash:center:0]] [[image:2013_dechotel08.jpg:Pulling it onto the sofa by its laces:center:0]] [[image:2013_dechotel09.jpg:Doodling on Papa’s sneakers (a new “canvas”, get it?):center:0]] [[image:2013_dechotel10.jpg:Coloring the underside of Mama’s shoes:center:0]] [[image:2013_dechotel11.jpg:Walking around in Mama’s shoes:center:0]] [[image:2013_dechotel12.jpg:Attack Papa!:center:0]] [[image:2013_dechotel13.jpg:”I clapping!”:center:0]] Also very popular, activities on the sofa: [[image:2013_dechotel16.jpg:Napping on the sofa (with pillows […]

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Selamat Pengantin Baru Cik Ma and Farid

Irfan’s Cik Ma and Uncle Farid got married on the 11th at Pondok Lubuk Tapah; and thus Uncle Farid was upgraded to Irfan’s second Ayah Cik. Since I had an exam the previous day, I arrived just in time for the festivities. Here are some photos from the wedding festivities. [[image:cikma-wedding01.jpg::center:0]] When everyone was busy sometimes Irfan babysat Zara. [[image:cikma-wedding02.jpg::center:0]] Aqad completed, Ayah Cik and Cik Ma were now husband and wife.I photographed stuff in the back. [[image:cikma-wedding03.jpg::center:0]] The newlyweds bersanding at the pelamin. Cik Su F had Cik Ma’s wing. [[image:cikma-wedding04.jpg::center:0]] All the tweens of the extended family also got to pose at the pelamin, even Irfan.Later that day they all played musical chairs under the rambutan tree. [[image:cikma-wedding05.jpg::center:0]] Then on the 15th, the family gathered at Jitra for the festivies at Farid’s place in Jitra. [[image:cikma-wedding06.jpg::center:0]] Atok Irfan took a group photo of the close extended family before […]

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33 years of friendship

Dinner with Tsing and Michelle

Tsing, Michelle and their kids visited us for dinner last night. Having us as one of their regular stops during their vacation never fails to warm my heart. The last time they were back there were two children in two. This time there’s three! Unfortunately I did not take a photo of baby Ezra because he was busy playing the keyboard, then sleeping.

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Rafe’s 23 Month Birthday

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: […]

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