Makan Time!

On Monday, February 2 2009, Allie was introduced to solids. Her doctor had cleared her for her first taste of non-milk at her 6-month checkup the week before, but we were snowed in for a week so did not get out to the grocery store for the recommended first food: rice cereal. Per the literature, every new food is to be introduced by itself for 4 consecutive days to check for allergies so Allie would eat rice cereal every day for the next 4 days. Here she is, happily (and unsuspectingly?) hanging out while I prepared her lunch. [[image:makan01.jpg:Before Makan:center:0]]  Note: Makan means “to eat”. And of course, please mouse over the pictures for added captions. First, preparing the food. [[image:makan02.jpg:Rice Cereal:center:0]]  [[image:makan03.jpg:Dry cereal in a bowl:center:0]] For the purposes of the very first makan, I used Vin’s yellow bowl, that his mother gave to him to take to college. […]

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Lines of Communications

Commemorating Sila’s birthday on the 29th, we have here a series of screencaptures taken from Skype on Atok Irfan & Alya’s computer in Sitiawan The proliferation of the internet and its communication applications has been one of the most amazing things to be invented in the last decade or so. I remember in the early 90s, when my sister’s vacation was over and she had to return to the States, it was the saddest time ever for me. Nowadays, or at least the last couple of times Sila and Vin were  on their way out of here, I was all like, “Going? OK, see ya when you get home.” So here are Alya, Alya’s Mom and Dad in webcam view. Alya catches sight of the webcam and is intrigued. Perhaps it tastes good. Grab the sucka! [[image:alya-skype-jan2009-01.jpg:Incoming flyer!:center:0]] [[image:alya-skype-jan2009-02.jpg:Attempting to acquire target:center:0]] Who are these strangle people crowded in the […]

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Allie’s 6 Month Birthday

It happened! Last Thursday, January 22, 2009 (also Yong’s birthday, happy birthday Yong!), Allie was six months old! She is filling her (and our) waking moments with giggles, squeals, chuckles and lots of love. She is an excellent hugger and cuddler, but hasn’t quite yet mastered kissing, and she can be quite the babbler. She still enjoys tossing her toys overboard and making us pick them up for her, and she is getting quite good at manipulating toys, books and such. Vin’s and my glasses are rarely without her fingerprints on the lenses somewhere. Some biggies: she rolled over on her own steam! Yayyy!! She can practically sit on her own (we need to help her balance a little but she holds herself upright quite well). We are done with the stories of Ambrose Bierce (the Civil War short stories turned out to be too disturbing for us) and we […]

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Allie’s 5 Month Birthday

Yet another month has passed! On Monday, Allie was five months old. She is growing into her own little person, smiling and reaching out for a favorite toy, and able to spend more and more time amusing herself. She has a bedtime and a daily routine. She listens to short stories by Ambrose Bierce at nights and seems to enjoy watching football (American football) on TV (oh no!!!). She giggles and squeals and sings and is generally a good-humored baby. She is getting quite good at manipulating things with her hands, including picking up and sucking on the rubber ducky at bathtime. She finds it amusing to drop a succession of toys onto the floor when she sits in the stroller, and watch us pick them up and hand them back to her. In short, she is a total joy. And of course, pictures! * Mouse over the pictures for […]

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December Musings

Here we are, December again. There was snow on the ground last week, and it has since melted. However, as I write this entry, it has begun to snow again. Winter has arrived, even though it is not yet December 21st. This bums me out majorly… 🙁 The difference this year is that our lives are filled with happiness as Allie grows and grows. Every day she learns new things. Every day she seems a little bigger, a little stronger, and a little cuter. And even the bleakest, snowiest days don’t seem quite so bad. [[image:allie116a.jpg:Giggle giggle:center:0]] And before I forget, a belated Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha to everyone! Parenthood is definitely one of the coolest things in the world. I never really understood it (only imagined it), but watching your child change daily, reading parenting books, trying out what the books say and seeing her react, it’s just amazing. […]

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Allie’s 4 Month Birthday

And just like that, another month has gone by. Alya turned 4 months old yesterday. It seems so unreal that she is now 4 months old, and able to do more and more, and becoming her own little person. She now squeals and babbles regularly, sometimes going into the only-dogs-can-hear-her register. She is starting to sleep better at nights (and thus, so are we), and wakes up happy and smiling (as do her parents). She’s really tugging and yanking at the hanging animals on the gymini, and has been busily at work massacreing Yellow Belly (the little hanging insect at her right-hand side off the car seat handle) and the Bee Buzzer. She can almost sit up on her own (I need to give her very little support), and she can stand and support her weight if we hold her up. She’s just learning new things every day! It’s totally […]

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Hair! The Sequel

So, I finally did it! a) I got a haircut b) I left Allie at home with Vin for the first time. Oh my. It was more than a little nerve-wracking. Vin had expressed milk in the fridge, and a baby in a good mood. I was showered and dressed to go out. So. I left without her. It was quite strange, I felt discombobulated and scattered. Like I had forgotten something. I kept checking my pockets and my purse. (Was I expecting to find Allie on my person somewhere? I don’t know). Anyway, it was a successful outing. Hair that desperately needed to be cut (can we say post-partum hair loss? aka telogen effluvium) got cut, and I didn’t have any real separation anxiety attacks. And when I came home, Vin had kept a detailed note of what he and Allie did together. Wasn’t that sweet of him? So […]

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Happy Halloween!

Although today is Halloween, for some reason, our town decided to do Beggars Night last night. So we filled our candy bowl and awaited the trick or treaters. Of which there were three! Batman, Barbie, and I believe, some kind of Harry Potter (I was a little distracted when handing out the candy as Lily was trying to escape out the door). Our little Allie was kitted out but way too young to be out trawling for candy: [[image:allie93a.jpg:I want my Mummy!:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions Allie practised kicking/batting/grabbing the purple hanging critter: [[image:allie88a.jpg:Kick-n-grab, complicated maneuver:center:0]] [[image:allie89a.jpg:Bubbly with determination:center:0]] Hanging out on Daddy’s lap: [[image:allie92a.jpg:Where’s my share of the candy?:center:0]] [[image:allie91a.jpg:Thumb is better than candy?:center:0]] [[image:allie90a.jpg:Trick or treat!:center:0]] [[image:allie94a.jpg:Chilling out:center:0]] She then had her bath and it was bedtime for little girls. Happy Halloween, all! Don’t eat all the candy in one sitting! 🙂

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Allie’s 3 Month Birthday

Yesterday, Allie passed her first quarter-year mark. She turned three months old! Wheeeee! Of course this means pictures! 🙂 [[image:allie83a.jpg:Musing on Daddy’s shoulder:center:0]] You know the drill – there will be baby pictures aplenty to follow. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. 🙂 * Mouse over the pictures for captions Honestly, her day wasn’t much different from the day she had when she turned two months old. She comes down in the morning with Daddy and Lily, then comes back up to Mak for breakfast, then we all come downstairs. She spends a lot of time eating/napping while Mak works. She hangs out with Daddy too. And we both hounded her like paparazzi, trying to take pictures of her smiling. Allie is quite generous with her smiles and even giggles sometimes. But to get her to do so while the camera is on her – extremely difficult. It’s like she […]

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Selamat Hari Raya from Ohio

Selamat Hari Raya, maaf zahir batin from all of us in Ohio. We wish we could have been in Malaysia for the holiday, but we will have rendang and stuff here too (eventually when I get my act together). Lily did not show up for the picture taking session, and I had already changed out of my baju kurung, so here are Vin and Allie, wishing you all a wonderful month of Shawal. [[image:allie71a.jpg:Vin and Allie in their baju raya:center:0]] * Allie is wearing the baju raya that Opah and Tok got for her.

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Allie’s 2 Month Birthday

We can’t hardly believe it, but time has flown and last Monday, Allie was 2 months old! Here’s what she did on her 2 month birthday: * Mouse over pictures for captions She started the morning strolling around with her Daddy and Lily took a ride too. Mak got to sleep a little extra while this happened.  [[image:allie59a.jpg:Strolling with Lily:center:0]] She also did a lot of lying on Mak’s lap, nursing/napping while Mak multitasked and worked. [[image:allie60a.jpg:Grinning up at her mother:center:0]] [[image:allie63a.jpg:Chewing on Mak’s shoulder:center:0]] Then some hanging out on Daddy’s lap. [[image:allie61a.jpg:I’m an airplane!! Wheeee!:center:0]] [[image:allie62a.jpg:I love to hang out on Daddy’s lap:center:0]] In the afternoon, a bit of mobile fun: [[image:allie64a.jpg:Fascinated and absorbed:center:0]] Here she is after her bath: [[image:allie65a.jpg:Sweet smelling in a sleep-n-play:center:0]] [[image:allie66a.jpg:Daddy combed my hair:center:0]] How about some gymini action? [[image:allie67a.jpg:I’m gonna get that elephant someday!!:center:0]] [[image:allie68a.jpg:Oooooh so many things to look at:center:0]] And before bed, […]

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Smiles for the weekend

Just a couple of pictures to brighten the weekend :-). She was caught smiling on video and I just captured a couple of stills. [[image:allie23a.jpg:Wide smile:center:0]] [[image:allie24a.jpg:Cheeky charmer:center:0]] The smiles are for you, Dale.

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Some Allie Firsts

Allie is 8 weeks old today! See her enjoying the mobile in her cradle this morning! She looks at the animals intently and occasionally tries to squirm onto her belly (which she still can’t do on her own steam, but she can turn herself onto her side). Happy first 8 weeks, Allie! [[image:allie58a.jpg:First 8 weeks:center:0]] Here are some more firsts for Allie: [[image:allie44a.jpg:One of the first hanging out on Daddy’s lap:center:0]] [[image:allie46a.jpg:First article of clothing made by Opah:center:0]] [[image:allie47a.jpg:After Allie’s first sponge bath:center:0]] [[image:allie45a.jpg:Allie’s first proper bath (after her umbilical cord finally fell out):center:0]] [[image:allie50a.jpg:First fingernail trim (done by Opah):center:0]] [[image:allie48a.jpg:First encounter with the Gymini:center:0]] [[image:allie49a.jpg:Allie on her 4-week birthday:center:0]] Thus concludes a snippet of the firsts that we’ve experienced with Allie.

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Winging Home

A little over 24 hours ago, we said goodbye to Tok and Opah at the airport. Hard to believe that 2 months have passed. And Allie is now 6 weeks and 2 days old. Tok and Opah helped us so much, not just with Allie, but with everything else that we had to cope with. [[image:allie51a.jpg:At the airport:center:0]] [[image:allie52a.jpg:Sleeping soundly:center:0]] Both Allie and Lily misses Tok and Opah! This morning, there was no Opah to feed Lily her breakfast and no Tok to entertain her! There was no “changing of the guard” of Vin supporting me and Allie at night to Opah taking on that role during the day. After all, they should be arriving in Singapore soon! Anyway, some pictures of Tok and Opah with Allie and Lily: [[image:allie53a.jpg:Tok and Opah with Allie:center:0]] [[image:allie54a.jpg:Another shot:center:0]] [[image:allie55a.jpg:Opah, Allie and Lily:center:0]] [[image:lily24.jpg:Tok and Lily sleeping:center:0]] [[image:allie56a.jpg:Tok and Allie:center:0]] [[image:allie57a.jpg:Opah and Allie:center:0]] We […]

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Allie’s 1 Month Birthday

It has been an exciting time for us: Allie has been a fun and also challenging addition to the family. Everything we do is according to her schedule, so it has been hard to keep the blog updated with what we have been up to. I’ll try to do some more detailed updates of what’s been happening since Allie’s 1-week birthday blog. But for now, a quick pictorial of Alya who turned 1 month old last Friday (August 22). (As always, hover over the pictures for captions) [[image:allie39a.jpg:I’m a month old now!:center:0]] It has been an exciting, sleep-deprived month, but it has definitely been a lot of fun. Every day is new, and every day Allie grows a little more, learns something new, and begins to respond more to us. As Vin put it, she has reduced all of us adults into a bunch of babbling fools, but if she […]

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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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