In honor of Laura and Roberto’s visit to Chicago, we decided to spend the weekend there. Laura and I have been working together for a few years now, but we have never met in person since Laura lives in Argentina. We drove up and had dinner with Laura, Roberto, and the Chicago contingent of Jen, Mike and Scott: [[image:2013_may_chicago03.jpg:Laura, Mike, Scott, Jen and Yaya:center:0]] Despite being at the famed Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza place, neither child ate the cheesy goodness that night. * Mouse over the pictures for captions But Jen and Yaya renewed their friendship and sealed it with post-it flag manicures [[image:2013_may_chicago01.jpg:Lovely long post-it flag press on nails:center:0]] [[image:2013_may_chicago02.jpg:They really do look like nails!:center:0]] [[image:2013_may_chicago04.jpg:Adik happily draws and eats cheerios:center:0]] Yaya and Adik get their first train ride (of any sort). The El route that we took included being underground as well as elevated! Yay! [[image:2013_may_chicago05.jpg:On the […]
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On top of spaghetti all covered with cheese
A list of our family’s adventures through this simulated universe. Strangely, this is represented by several methods. Firstly, my thoughts in words and then a host of two-dimensional images configured for the human visible spectrum. Finally the blog itself as a medium of information. Also, sometimes there is cake.
Irfan Meets a River
On the way back from Pasir Mas, Irfan met a river. It was raging force of nature filled with teh tarik after a sustained rainfall in the mountains. We just came from over the mountain. This is no pond and there’s no melody coming from it. Yay! Tiny maelstroms! I wonder if you walk down the stairway there’s a forcefield that protects you as you descend down into the depths towards the hidden fortress of the river folk. There might probably have been adventure on the other side of the swollen river. Soon after we resumed our journey home.
Continue readingRafe’s 16 Month Birthday
After another fast-paced month, Adik is now 16 months old. He seems to have grown so quickly – when I look back at pictures of him as a newborn I can hardly believe it is the same baby as he is becoming more and more of a person in his own right. We saw that with Yaya, and continue to see it with her, and now we are seeing it with Adik and this is definitely the greatest gift anyone can ever receive – the opportunity to watch our children grow and become their own little persons. 🙂 Especially when they are as funny as our Adik is getting to be! [[image:2013_0429_rafe02.jpg:Jelingan manja (coy glance):center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions As far as I can tell Adik still has eight teeth, although i think I saw at least one more starting to cut through (bottom jaw, probably a […]
Continue readingBeach Escapade: Part I
So we went to the beach in April! We went to Orange Beach, AL. Neither Vin nor I’d ever been (not just to Orange Beach but to Alabama in general) so this was a first. We had an amazing time! [[image:2013_april_orangebeach12.jpg:Family portrait on the beach:center:0]] Oh Adik! Why didn’t you look up? Anyway, I had been planning a short entry with a few pictures of our fabulous time in Orange Beach, but I ended up with way too many photos and a chronic inability to edit it anymore. I think we must refrain from taking so many pictures next time. Some of them actually turn out quite nice. * Mouse over pictures for captions So rather than being all talky talky, let’s let the photos speak for themselves. We begin with Day 2 of traveling – waking up in Athens, AL and then driving the rest of the way to […]
Continue reading57 Months
The countdown is on to Yaya’s fifth birthday! 3 more months! Time passes so quickly – I can’t believe how big Yaya has gotten. Where did my little newborn baby go? 🙂 [[image:2013-yaya57month-09.jpg:Happy girl at the playground:center:0]] * Mouse over the photos for captions Food status: Yaya gnawed on a piece of bread and ate several crusts! Of course, it was the (pricey) artisanal loaf, the French Boule from the Dorothy Lane Market, but it was definitely good. We didn’t even say anything or encourage her to do it, she was biting into the bread and enjoyed it so much she ate it all, even the crusts! We rewarded her for it to hopefully encourage her to continue trying new stuff. Also, she ate another bite of pancake (she had more fun making it rather than eating it, but one bite is better than none) and she also had about […]
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Darkness Falls
Power outages used to be part of normal, everyday life back when we were growing up in Sitiawan. Not that there were blackouts every night, but perhaps once or twice a month (although my memory on the matter might be imprecise). The point was that we were prepared for total darkness when the power went out and it happened often enough to have the experience be a lasting memory. It almost never blacks out at the Tenth Floor, but last night most of this sector of town fell into darkness. Power outages are a rare event here. Over the many years we have lived here, there might have been less than five power outages that happened at night. Candles had to be lit. Irfan had a good time studying the candle and its flame. The view outside was pretty dark although the central sector of Pandan Indah had power. Compare […]
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EX-TER-MI-NATE! EX-TER-MI-NATE!
I chased Irfan down two aisles at the supermarket with a toilet plunger saying. “EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!” I was sad that the egg beaters weren’t close by.
Continue readingThe Cousins’ Weekend Sleepover
We spent most of the weekend at Baby Zara’s where Irfan and Aiman had a fun time together playing and watching cartoons. Once in a while they played with Zara as well, so she wouldn’t feel left out. Irfan even carried Zara around once in a while. [[image:cousins-weekend01.jpg:Zara on the sofa like a boss:center:0]] We all went out to the Chicken Rice Shop for dinner where the children enjoyed themselves. How much did the cousins enjoy themselves? By this much! [[image:cousins-weekend02.jpg:The chikin was delicious too:center:0]] Even Ain had extended talks with her niece. I don’t think they understood one another, but it looked like they were having fun conversing over the weekend. [[image:cousins-weekend03.jpg:I think my aunt wants me to get a job:center:0]] Everyone was so well-occupied I managed to draw 8 pieces of artwork over the two days, drawing at the laptop with the graphic tablet. [[image:cousins-weekend04.jpg:All the cousins on […]
Continue readingRafe’s 15 Month Birthday
Adik is now 15 months old! One and a quarter years old! Since I’m always late with the entries and happily backdating it, I wonder if I should even mention that anymore. Ah well. 🙂 [[image:2013_0329_rafe13.jpg:Hi y’alls!:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions We have confirmation of at least eight teeth now! Adik has four times as many teeth as Yaya did at this age, I think! And he is very close to being able to climb onto the sofa. He’s attempted it and can do it if there’s something on the floor boosting his height a little bit. It’s not long now, seriously. He runs around confidently. We have to make sure that he wears his little robeez shoes so his feet do not slip on the tile floor (a.k.a. “the brown floor”), otherwise he keeps wiping out every time he maneuvers a corner at great speed. It […]
Continue reading56 Months
Yaya is now four months away from her first half decade! 56 months now! Where did all that time go? [[image:2013-yaya56month-13.jpg:Marveling on the merry-go-round:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions Food status: something weird happened at the grocery store. Yaya surreptitiously took a bite of a carrot at the produce aisle. She chewed a bit and then ended up spitting it out (into my hand, ew!) but she randomly took a bite of an unwashed, unpeeled, unprepared carrot! How odd is that? After we advised her against taking a bite of unwashed produce, and encouraging her to give carrots a proper try next time (meaning: washed, peeled, perhaps even cooked or with dressing, etc.), we did reward her for trying something new with a game. Right or wrong, we didn’t want to stifle her experimentation with food by not following through on our promises. Sadly she did not try […]
Continue readingYaya and Adik’s Snowy Adventure
So it started snowing the evening of March 5, 2013, and we ended up getting a significant amount (about 5 inches accumulation), and it stuck around for a few days before temperatures rose and everything melted. I, of course, cursed like the dickens, but Yaya was ecstatic and thoroughly enjoyed the snow. She finally got to go out and build a snowman! The other snowfalls this winter had either been too powdery to make snowmen, or too little snow had accumulated for proper snowman building, or we left town before Yaya could build one. [[image:2013_yasnow_01.jpg:Snowy view from the upstairs front window:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions Here are a few pictures of the yard in the snow: [[image:2013_yasnow_02.jpg:Front yard, lonely mailbox by the unploughed street:center:0]] [[image:2013_yasnow_03.jpg:Snow in the back yard:center:0]] The kids went out to play and Vin shoveled a little. It was too cold and powdery at […]
Continue readingRafe’s 14 Month Birthday
And here it is not even a third of the way through March and Adik’s 14 month entry is here! As always, thanks to the gods of backdated entries! [[image:2013-adik14month-02.jpg:Look at all my teeth!:center:0]] Adik has at least seven teeth, possibly eight (although the eighth is unconfirmed at this point). * Mouse over the pictures for captions The boy is running now! He falls down quite a bit but it doesn’t keep him down for long. Up he gets and off he goes, to the races! He even tries dangerous stunts like walking with a towel over his head covering his face as he thinks that that is funny. We have to help to steer him so he does not bump into things like furniture and walls. It is amazing how far he’s come with becoming mobile. He used to trip and fall over even the smallest things, but he […]
Continue reading55 Months
And so Yaya is now 55 months old. Five more months before her first half decade! [[image:2013-yaya55month-05.jpg:Let’s make orange juice!:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions Food status: no change. Although I did catch her tasting one of her own boogers, and she almost tasted a strawberry ice lolly. I did not however, reward her with a new toy for the little booger stunt. A small win: she ate pizza by picking it up and biting into it like a regular person (like Peppa Pig, apparently). Normally we have to cut the slice up into little fork-sized pieces. God forbid that the child gets her hands dirty in order to eat! We felt that having her handle her food with her own hands was a big win though. Also, Yaya has been helping Papa squeeze oranges and tangerines into juice. Sadly she will not taste the fruits of her […]
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Happenings at the Beginnings of the Year of the Snake
Meanwhile, the three-night balik kampung back to Sitiawan for Chinese New Year was somewhat enjoyable. The traffic was not too bad, and no one lost their sanity. We left the city early, during the time where no one is sure they’re awake or they’re dreaming, and often, you’d wish for the other. Fortunately there was no sign of Mi-Go shadowing us from above. Nor of any Shantak. Also, I prepared awesome tunes for the return trip. Well, awesome to me, that is. On the first night we ate out with Atok and Opah. We tried out a new restaurant which had some tasty Thai food. It was not made of Thai people. On Sunday morning, the Sitiawan contingent, made up of Atok, Opah, Ain, Irfan and I had a Skype chat with the Ohio contingent which consisted of Ayah Cik, Cik Dik, Yaya and Little Adik Rafe. Rafe, now foot […]
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Cousin Zara Naps On Irfan
Baby Zara Arissa is back home in the Klang Valley for the first time in her life. We went to visit her to see how she was adapting to new environment. She seems to be doing pretty well. She had a fun time with her brother Aiman and her cousin Irfan. But she was unable to go out to the playground with the boys, what with her still not foot mobile yet. Irfan returned with a very soiled baju melayu (he had one on since Friday prayers at noon), so he had to borrow Ayah Long’s shirt and kain pelekat for the evening. Zara thought she’d hang out on Irfan’s lap. Oh yes. Her cousin has a very comfortable lap. In fact, don’t move, cousin, til I’m settled in on your lap. Very comfortabl… zzzzzz. Irfan was happy that his cousin liked her stay on his lap, though his butt […]
Continue readingRafe’s 13 Month Birthday
Another month, another very late blog entry! Again, we give thanks to the gods of backdated entries (whee!). [[image:2013_0129_rafe27.jpg:Drooly cutie pie:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions This month, Adik went from walking a few steps in a row to a pretty consistent walker. He walks all over the house and can easily go from the living room to the office without falling over or resorting to crawling. However, when there is a need for speed, he does go down on all fours to zoom away. He is so funny when he walks though – that toddler walk, hands up in the air for balance and kind of a pirate-like rolling gait. Utterly adorable! Last seen in this house when Yaya was toddling around. Despite its cuteness, it gets the job done. Adik has now found his feet and has gotten fairly confident on them. This means we are […]
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