After asking him to do a reading test on stuff all over the house, standing at a distance, we came to the realisation that Irfan’s eyesight isn’t good at all. We took him to the optometrist to get his corneas measured, but instead they gave him more sight tests. The next day, Irfan was wearing new glasses and the world was much clearer to see than the day before. Too bad the optometrist couldn’t provide ruby-quartz lenses.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Family Pics
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.
The Wedding At Precinct 9
Irfan’s uncle on my side, known to him as Pak Alang gets married to Irfan’s now-Mak Alang. Atok took photographs as festivities were being held at their apartment in Putrajaya. Here are some photos from the event. The parking area and road immediately in front of the building was turned into the pelamin area. Pak Alang points at something offscreen, perhaps a giant mecha; maybe a Destroid Excalibur. It’s not a Putrajaya wedding if you don’t take pictures in front of one of its bridges. Where was Irfan all the while? Having a fever upstairs in the house, lying down in front of the TV. Later, he hijacks Pak Alang’s tengkolok to have his pictures taken. Congratulations, Pak Alang and Mak Alang.
Continue readingAllie’s 11 Month Birthday
Well, somebody’s pleased to be 11 months old!! [[image:allie297a.jpg:Wheee! I’m almost a year old!:center:0]] 🙂 That’s right, the girl was 11 months old last Monday, June 22, 2009. Another fun-filled month has gone by. It seems like I plan to do so much, but then suddenly it’s 8 PM, Allie’s bedtime and the day is done! And she is now 11 months and 6 days old. She sleeps through the night, enjoys music, and seems to be paying attention to the commercials on TV. She still has one tooth (but goodness, it is sharp!) although it looks like others may be coming soon. Allie is growing fast. She can now pull herself to a standing position if we give her a hand, and she is learning to balance and stands with little help. She can lean her back against the sofa and stand while holding objects in her hands. She […]
Continue readingBelated Happy Father’s Day!!
Sunday was Vin’s very first Father’s Day! I wasn’t on the ball enough to have gotten him a card, but Allie and I did pick out a couple of gifts for him (which arrived early so Allie was able to model them for Vin on Father’s Day). 🙂 Happy Father’s Day, babe!!! You are the best Papa anyone could ask for, and we both love you. [[image:allie277a.jpg:Happy Father’s Day, Papa! (And Hippos Go BERSERRRRRRRK):center:0]] [[image:allie276a.jpg:Loooooove Papa:center:0]] Note: Allie is wearing her new pink Chicago Cubs official onesie (Papa’s Father’s day gift). Also, a Happy Belated Father’s Day to Abah, Yope and all you awesome dads out there!!!
Continue reading
That Is One Big John Fruit
The last leg of the vacation was a couple of days back at Ain’s kampung at Pasir Mas, Kelantan. When we arrived, Irfan’s cousin Aiman and family were on their second-to-last day there before returning to Kuala Lumpur. They had a few hours together to play, with the Atok’s ball from Sitiawan, and the bubbles. That night Aiman slept over at his paternal grandmother’s house. They came to visit the next morning before leaving. Fruits were abundant. There were roadside stalls which sold tons of them. Ain bought a pineapple to be turned into pajeri nenas. Tok Bah and Tok Ma also bought mangosteens, as seen in the above photo. It had been a while since I had some. Irfan poses beside a jackfruit tree, where a large jackfruit waited to be cut down by Tok Bah. We brought the fruit with us back home. We are slowly eating the […]
Continue reading
Here There Be Mountains, Ryan
En route between Sitiawan, Perak and Pasir Mas, Kelantan we had to drive across the Titiwangsa mountain range. It was about one hundred kilometres between the towns of Gerik and Jeli, both major population centres that flanked the range where the federal road crosses over. There was a rest stop along the way where we bought lunch, though we did not eat there. Irfan, by the way, had just woke up from a long nap in the car. We drove further down the road to stop the car park of an abandoned army shooting range, which had an abandoned restaurant in front of it. I ate here once. Across the road was an abandoned army outpost which I hadn’t noticed before. While we had lunch Irfan blew bubbles:
Continue reading
The Monkey-Swamps Of Lumut
What are these monkeys up to? Where do they come from? Do they have insurance? It was late afternoon when Irfan, Ain and I went for a drive toward Lumut. We drove through the little tourist town which was jam-packed with visitors from out of town. It was after all the school holidays. After getting through the traffic jam, we drove to the area beside the old defunct Lumut Hospital where we could walk on the sand, see ferries head out toward Pangkor Island and view frigates at their dock at the naval base. Then from Lumut we headed Sitiawan-wards but took a detour to the Mangrove Park. It looked far better than it used to. The walkways had been extended to other parts of the mangrove jungle and there were lamps everywhere. Everything looked shiny and tourist-friendly. There were lots of visitors that day, even a recently-married couple taking […]
Continue reading
LOL! PraWNED!!!111
Once upon a time, Atok and Opah told us of a little out of the way place named Bagan Nakhoda Omar, Harbour of Captain Omar in Anglic. Who was Nakhoda Omar and ship did he captain? I’d like to know that as well… On our way to Sitiawan for school holidays, we thought we’d stop there for lunch. It was a warm sunny day, but not sweltering at all. There was a cool breeze coming from the sea and we took a table under the undulating shadow of some coconut trees. We ordered the specialty that Atok and Opah told us about: fried meals with prawns. Ain & I ordered nasi goreng and Irfan the meehoon goreng. While waiting for lunch to be cooked, Irfan explored the area around the food stalls, chasing a small monitor lizard into a pool under the gazebo where most of the tables were situated. […]
Continue readingAllie’s 10 Month Birthday
My goodness, I can’t believe that is is already June. Allie was 10 months old on May 22nd, and yes, I know it is now June but here it is, Allie’s 10-month birthday post. It’s later than it usually is because the month of May has been very busy for our little family. So let’s get to it. Allie is 10 months and 11 days old today! 45 weeks! She has been ex-utero longer now than she was in-utero. She sleeps through the night most nights and has a grand total of one tooth! Wheeeeee! [[image:allie264a.jpg:Blueberry-stained and happy:center:0]] Can you see the tooth in the picture above? Allie’s personality is definitely becoming more and more defined. She is mostly easy-going and easy to please. She sits by herself to play often, and loves to be read to and sung to. She now stands (with help) and “dances” to the Bingo […]
Continue reading
A Sporting Event For Irfan’s School
Irfan handed us the letter from school early this week saying that Friday morning is sports day! The pre-school and Years 1, 2 and 3 classes’ sports day to be precise. The older primary kids will have theirs on Sunday. Early Friday morning, Irfan’s mom and dad was there, all eager to see Irfan in action on the field. His year only had one game, which was pulling a ball across the field with a hoop. Nothing much to talk about there, so here’s a bunch of pictures with accompanying captions. Above: Can you spot Irfan during the initial assembly of short humans? Above: Irfan and friends walks in a column from the assembly area toward the school field. Above: In the very hot sun… very, very hot sun… Irfan’s class 1 Ikhlas during the walk-by. Above: Waiting under the kids’ tent, Irfan traded is now-empty tumbler of orange juice […]
Continue readingAllie’s 9 Month Birthday
I feel like a broken record, but it’s true, time has passed so very quickly. Unbeknownst to us (seemingly), 40 weeks have passed. Allie has now been ex utero as long as she was in utero. She was 9 months old last Wednesday, April 22nd! So it makes her now, 9 months and 1 week old today. 40 weeks altogether. Woo! Her personality shines through strongly, and she most definitely is her own person with definite thoughts in her head about what she likes/dislikes, what she wants and when she wants it. It really is a balancing act to love her and give her everything, without becoming over-indulgent. Plus when she bats those eyelids of hers and smiles, how can we resist? 😉 [[image:allie236a.jpg:9-month-old Allie cons the ‘rents:center:0]] Before Allie was born, I thought that she would be the most important thing to us, and that we would love her […]
Continue reading
Which Shoe Is The 7-year-old’s?
So, which one of these belongs to Irfan? Maybe it’s quite easy to spot thanks to the design, but there doesn’t seem to be any 7-year-olds in the house with us according to this photo.
Continue readingHold the applause, please
So, she put her hands together and clapped her hands. She makes a little clapping noise and everything. She started it on her own on Saturday (April 4th), and has been happily clapping her hands since then. [[image:allie222a.jpg:Clap!:center:0]] [[image:allie223a.jpg:Clap again!:center:0]] Vin and I really didn’t try to actively teach Allie to clap her hands. We only spottily sang “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands”. Somehow, she figured it out. Allie had been banging two objects together (one in each hand) for weeks now, and had also been holding my hands and making them clap together. Maybe it was research? Whatever the case, let’s sing together and Allie will clap: Tepuk amai-amaiBelalang kupu-kupuTepuk Alya pandaiMama upah susu OK. Now you may applaud. 🙂
Continue readingAllie’s 8 Month Birthday
This past month has also gone by in a whirlwind. I can’t believe it, but Allie is now 8 months old (last Sunday, March 22)! She’s just continuing to grow and develop before our eyes, and we feel blessed to have her in our lives. [[image:allie198a.jpg:The birthday girl:center:0]] Allie sits like a professional now, able to balance while she plays with her toys, reaching with impressive yoga-like stretching ability to pick up the toys that she has thrown everywhere. She expresses her emotions in so many different ways (not just crying). She giggles and squeals, hugs and kisses, and kicks her feet happily. She loves peekaboo, and loves to run around in the house in our arms, chasing and being chased by each other. She rolls all around the floor as her means of “crawling” – she does get where she wants to go! When she sees you walk in […]
Continue readingAiman Joins Irfan In The Pool
Earlier this month, Irfan’s cousin Aiman came to join Irfan for a quick dunk in the pool. Ain whipped up some bihun goreng with keropok, and off we went to a mini-picnic. Aiman came prepared with arm floats and trunks. At first he eyes the giant bathtub, probably wondering if it was scientifically possible to have a bathtub that big. [[image:2009-03-aiman-swims01.jpg:… but the trunks are a couple of sizes too big:center:0]] Then, his dad, also known as Irfan’s Ayah Long, began submergence procedure. Theoretically, he would not be taken to crush depth. Not even on a lark. [[image:2009-03-aiman-swims02.jpg:10 degrees down bubble:center:0]] Meanwhile, the elder Irfan orbits his cousin, at the same time having his own brand of fun. Splashing water. Spinning in the pool. Couple of other stuff too…[[image:2009-03-aiman-swims03.jpg:It was a nice, sunny day:center:0]] Thanks to Youtube, Irfan now knows the Mark Harris style of propelling yourself through the water. […]
Continue readingAllie’s 7 Month Birthday
Last Sunday, February 22, Allie was seven months old. I know I can’t believe how quickly time is flying by, and that it is already March 1st. How did that happen? It feels like we just celebrated the new year, no? And I don’t mean Chinese New Year, either. I mean Times Square, ball dropping, happy 2009! I am hardly even used to writing “09” on my checks (cheques to us Malaysians) and it is already March. 🙂 [[image:allie186a.jpg:Reaching for the camera:center:0]] At any rate, Allie has progressed further in this last month. We are done with reading stories from the Crab Orchard Review at bedtime. Now we are reading another short story anthology (I forget what year the book covers but I know that Michael Chabon edited it). For the most part, Allie sleeps well – from her 8 PM bedtime to 6:30 AM, with usually only one night-time […]
Continue reading