[[image:irfan-chess-player01.jpg:Armored Knight takes Cyborg Pawn with Charged Plasma Bolt:center:0]] Irfan’s Cik Emma got a free chessboard after a trip to the PC Fair at KLCC. So I spent a short while teaching Irfan to play chess, showing him how the various pieces move across the board. I checkmated him quite easily in the first game. However, if I remember my last games (which might have been with Sila, about a quarter of a million years ago), I get wiped off the board pretty easily because I usually carry out suicide runs which in the end leaves me with nothing but one or two pawns guarding my king.
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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.
Allie’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. […]
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The End of Aiman’s First Year
Irfan’s cousin Aiman’s celebrated his first birthday last Sunday. So they gladly played together after the birthday meal. Here’s Irfan allowing Aiman to maul him on the floor.
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The Arrival of Allie: A Photojournal
We finally received some photos of the first hour of Alya Jean Renstrom, emailed by Allie’s dad, and here they are for your viewing pleasure. The first thing Ain and I said at the same time was that she looks a lot like Irfan when he was born.
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Communications As If It’s Science Fiction
Earlier today (well, about 5 minutes ago) Hisham, Ain and Irfan talked with Sila, Vin, Atok Irfan and Opah Irfan for almost an hour with one of those new-fangled tee vee phones. (Well, we used Skype.) We could hear them perfectly but not vise versa… no idea why. Irfan showed off his drawing skills live to the other side of the planet. Atok Irfan is contemplating installing a webcam on his machine at home. Here’s a screencap of what transpired.
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*
Continue readingOn To The Far Side Of The Planet, Redux
Irfan’s grandparents left Malaysia at 2245 local time for Singapore, which is their first leg on the trip to Middletown to visit Sila. An attempt to catch the ERL from Bandar Tasik Selatan to the KLIA was scrubbed because of the Monday back-from-work rush hour. So we jumped directly to the district of Sepang where many a visible flying machines dotted the sky on their way to and from the airport. There was a minor hitch with one of the luggage, which required a new baby padlock. But thereafter, everything went smoothly. [[image:klia_july2008_00.jpg:Checking in at the counter:center:0]] [[image:klia_july2008_01.jpg:New padlock being tested by Atok:center:0]]We went to the surau for Maghrib and then to the Food Garden (a food court, not a real garden… maybe someday, but not today) for a bit of dinner. Also, Irfan’s Opah Ngah and a friend joined us for a while. [[image:klia_july2008_02.jpg:Irfan playing with the trolley:center:0]] [[image:klia_july2008_03.jpg:Irfan […]
Continue readingDinner With Irfan’s Tok and Opah Unggai
Irfan’s grandparents are here from Sitiawan and have been spending several days with us. Tonight they will be heading for Middletown where they will spend the next two months with Vin, Sila and their upcoming child. On Saturday, Irfan’s great-uncle and great-aunt, designated Tok Unggai and Opah Unggai arrived all the way from Taiping to spend the night at the Tenth Floor. We were soon joined by their daughter and son-in-law, designated Cik Da and Pak Long Fadzil. Opah Unggai recently had a promotion and had decided to treat us for dinner. Ain and I thought the Thai restaurant in the Pandan Indah sprawl close by would be great for the dinner. Night fell and we headed for the restaurant where we had sweet and sour siakap, steamed siakap, kailan ikan masin, kerabu mangga, tom yam campur and telur bungkus. [[image:opah_unggai_belanja01.jpg:The ones belanja-ing in the foreground:center:0]] [[image:opah_unggai_belanja02.jpg:Ain uses a holographic […]
Continue readingThirty Eight Weeks
Time for the bi-weekly update. Thirty eight weeks have passed. I am constantly surprised at how much larger I keep getting, but I’m assured by the doctors that we are where we should be. It probably doesn’t help that I am chowing down on oreo cookies as I write this entry! 😉 Weekly check up this morning went well – things are good. Getting close – pretty much any time now, although they are predicting that the baby might even go beyond the due date. Yikes to how big the baby might end up if I go beyond the due date! But anyway, Mak and Abah will be arriving next week, so we are excited. We are painting the nursery and will be picking up some baby gear this weekend (you know we can’t leave the hospital with the baby without a car seat – that’s part of the rules). […]
Continue readingBoy or Girl? DON’T TELL US! – Part 5
Technically, in the U.S. healthcare system, we would be done with ultrasounds and see the baby for real when (s)he is born. However, at last week’s checkup, the doctor thought the baby might be large so we were sent to get an extra ultrasound to get a baseline of the estimated size of the baby. Not to mention, we have a history of high birth weights in both our families (Vin was 10 lb 3 oz – 4.5 kg, and Yope was 9 lbs and has a big head!). This morning we went for the ultrasound. Here’s the news. As of this morning, the estimated weight of the baby in utero is 8 lb 4 oz (+/- 15 oz). So the range right now is 7 lb 5 oz to 9 lb 3 oz (3.3-4.2 kg). This is NOT the estimated birth weight, mind you. This is the estimated weight […]
Continue readingThirty Six Weeks
Another two weeks have passed, and again, I have grown like crazy. I feel like I should have a man with a top hat standing around yelling “Come one, come all!! Witness the amazing growing Sila!!!! Limited engagement!!!” What more can I say but look! [[image:36week1.jpg:Whoa, nelly!:center:0]] A couple more angles so you can appreciate the belly-ness of the situation: [[image:36week2.jpg:There’s a baby in there!:center:0]] [[image:36week3.jpg:You can even tell by looking at me head-on:center:0]] And for a little fun, the big brown blur is obviously my belly, but look how cute the little ceramic turtle is! 🙂 [[image:36week4.jpg:Turtle on the moon:center:0]] What thoughts about pregnancy? 1) We’ve been to 3 out of the 4 childbirth classes and feel a lot more prepared and familiar with the process. 2) With 4 weeks left, I shudder to think how large I will be before the baby graces us with his/her presence. 3) […]
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Top Incisors Have Been Extracted
For the second time, Irfan visited the dentist with two loose upper incisors. According to the dentist, it would hurt to pull them out directly unlike before. So without further ado the doctor brandished a needle which was epic in size. Irfan took it all in stride and within five minutes the two teeth were out of there. Irfan bit on the gauze to stop the bleeding, but when asked if it hurt, he just smiled and shook his head. What a trooper.
Continue readingThirty Four Weeks
OK, I know I usually do an update on the belly progress every four weeks, but now in the last few weeks of the third trimester, it seems like it’s growing exponentially. I think my belly is growing on a daily basis! Check it out! [[image:34week1.jpg:Lookit how big I am!:center:0]] [[image:34week2.jpg:Seriously!:center:0]] The thing is, in the last 3 weeks I only gained 2 1/2 lbs! But it sure feels like I grew much bigger. How about some more thoughts on pregnancy: 1) Remember the large pot-bellied men question I had from the Halfway Mark? Now a follow up question: What fills it to make it so big? I mean, right now I’m filled to the brim with baby+amniotic sac+amniotic fluid and all kinds of stuff so I swish when I move around. What about the large pot-bellied men? What’s in there? How does it feel? Does it swish? 2) I […]
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