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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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 […]
Continue reading66 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 […]
Continue readingReturn to Orange Beach – The Other Stuff
So now that we are done with the beach pictures and the pool pictures, here are some of the other fun pictures taken during our trip to Orange Beach. [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach56.jpg:Peanut buttery baby:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions One of the good things about vacation is the opportunity for all of us to sit and have breakfast together without the need to rush anywhere. It is always a fun time. The following is a compilation of photos taken at breakfast (on different days, obviously) in Orange Beach: [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach02.jpg:Adik loved to feed himself peanut butter from the single-serving peanut butter container:center:0]] [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach13.jpg:Yaya always helps Papa put sugar and cream in his coffee:center:0]] [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach14.jpg:The siblings are finding each other’s “bee-bo” (belly button):center:0]] Adik learnt that Yaya does not want to eat peanut butter and starts to tease her with it: [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach24.jpg:Have some peanut butter, Yaya!:center:0]] [[image:2013_sep_orangebeach25.jpg:Yaya stays far away from the […]
Continue reading62 Months
Sixty-two months since the girl was born! [[image:2013-yaya62month-02.jpg:Artsy Yaya in her tent-fort:center:0]] The hat was a gift from Pak Yope and Wan Yong way back in 2010. 🙂 * Mouse over the pictures for captions As I mentioned in the sixty-one month entry, I’m continuing with Yaya’s monthly posts but minimizing the chatter. We have pretty much been maintaining the status quo. No new foods were eaten, steady progress on reading, writing and arithmetic. Lot of artwork done in the house. All good things. Yaya now travels with an entourage of “imaginary friends”, all of whom are cartoon characters from her favorite tv shows. New ones keep popping up. She even made paper teddy bears for imaginary Peep, Chirp and Quack to sleep with and some of her imaginary friends sleep with real stuffed animals. Yaya is a good big sister and plays with her brother all the time. She […]
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Picnic at Sungai Gabai
It had been awhile since we went for a picnic at the waterfalls of Ulu Langat. So last Sunday, we went for a morning drive out to the country and headed for the Sungai Gabai picnic area near the small town of Sungai Lui. Ain had made mee goreng the previous night for the picnic. I was worried that there would be excessive traffic because of the three-day Malaysia Day holiday weekend, but because it was early in the morning the roads were clear and parking was relaively easy. However, there were a lot of visitors already there at the picnic site. We have been at Sungai Gabai once before, but I could barely remember the earlier visit. We would remember this visit as we got wet in the river and had mee goreng there. Also, because we took photos and there’s a blog post about this visit. So yeah, […]
Continue readingSelamat Hari Raya 2013
We wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Eid Mubarak! [[image:2013-aidilfitri-10.jpg:Chuffed that it’s Hari Raya!:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions Just a quick one with pictures. We begin with a photoshoot of the kids wearing their Raya finery (thank you Opah and Atok!): [[image:2013-aidilfitri-08.jpg:Happy Adik in his baju melayu:center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-09.jpg:Eid camaraderie:center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-11.jpg:Another good one of the kids together:center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-01.jpg:This is Yaya’s impression of a Malaysian girl (aka “where did I go wrong?”):center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-13.jpg:Yaya talks Papa into posing like that too!:center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-12.jpg:Yaya and Papa, normally this time:center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-16.jpg:Adik in the kitchen:center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-14.jpg:I love this photo – too bad it’s blurry!:center:0]] [[image:2013-aidilfitri-15.jpg:Togetherness is the Raya message:center:0]] The above pictures were taken on the day that the package arrived from Malaysia. On the actual first day of Raya, I worked. But I did make beef rendang and nasi minyak: [[image:2013-aidilfitri-03.jpg:Somewhat traditional Eid food:center:0]] No kuih […]
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Bye Tim
Tim the Turtle had grown too big to reside in its tank. And there is no surplus space in the house for a bigger tank. Which meant it was time to say goodbye to Tim. Thankfully we had the foresight to scout for release locations in the city beforehand and had already decided on the lake at Ampang Hilir Park. The lake was large for a body of water mere kilometres away from the Kuala Lumpur City Centre. It shot to the top of the list of release locations because it was big and had a sizeable population of red-eared sliders (and assorted fish) within its waters. We also hoped Tim would find a girlfriend some day. Or a boyfriend. We never really determined if Tim was a male or a female. If Tim was female, its name would have been a contraction of “Timah”. When we opened up Tim’s […]
Continue readingChicago: The Children’s Museum
So on the second day in Chicago, it was freezing cold (high of 38 F / 4 C – in May!!!!) so we decided to do something indoors. We went to the Children’s Museum which conveniently, was a short (and cold and windy) walk away from the hotel. As it turned out, it was one of the best things ever! Yaya had a fabulous time and still talks about it. [[image:2013_may_chicago23.jpg:Hard-hat Yaya:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions At the museum, Vin and I pretty much had to separate. One of us stayed with Yaya and the other with Adik, and at some points we switched up. So there aren’t very many pictures of the kids together. However there are plenty of pictures: [[image:2013_may_chicago24.jpg:On a CTA Bus:center:0]] [[image:2013_may_chicago25.jpg:At a treehouse:center:0]] [[image:2013_may_chicago26.jpg:Fishing for toy fishies:center:0]] [[image:2013_may_chicago27.jpg:Adik and Vin at the cushioned baby play area:center:0]] [[image:2013_may_chicago28.jpg:Telescoping for Mama:center:0]] [[image:2013_may_chicago29.jpg:Look at all […]
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 […]
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 […]
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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 […]
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Another Ain Birthday
Last night, Cik Ma & Cik Su took us out for Ain’s belated birthday dinner! Sometimes I can’t believe I’ve known Ain for so long and it seems like we’ve only met yesterday. But most of the times, I’m grateful for her and I know why life put her by my side. For her strength and resilience, I can’t see anyone else in that position. Happy birthday, Bini jadi. And thanks for the chicken, Cik Ma & Cik Su!
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Irfan Treks to an Exhibition
Irfan went to the National Science Centre. Star Trek the Exhibition was being housed there for the time being. Shane managed to go to Star Wars Identities which looked better, but I takes what I gets. They didn’t beam us aboard, we had to walk up the steps and push the door open. Thankfully, this procedure did not need the use of a Heisenberg compensator. There’s a reason why most of these photos aren’t in the exhibition hall. Taking of pictures are not allowed inside. We’ve never been to the science centre before, and we’ve discovered reasons to return in the future when we can. There are a lot of great interactive science exhibitions that are child-friendly. I’d bet Yaya would love to explore the science exhibits. Them’s fighting words below! Did I say photography was not allowed? I managed to sneak a couple of shots. I couldn’t pass an […]
Continue readingWeekend Babbies
The past weekend was a weekend of babbies. On both Saturday and Sunday, we went visiting a family event at a relative’s place. And at each place there was a cousin for Irfan to play with. Saturday: Nuraz Aariz Ain’s cousin Akram held a housewarming makan-makan at their place. Although the feast was held at the condominium’s rec house by the pool, we went down to their house to meet young Nuraz Aariz. [[image:babby-weekend01.jpg::center:0]] He was so excited, and had to be reminded that the makan-makan for him is milk, and not Ain’s face. [[image:babby-weekend02.jpg::center:0]] He was also appreciative of Irfan being there. [[image:babby-weekend03.jpg::center:0]] After the visit, we went home in the rain. Sunday: Ahmad Fahim My cousin’s Firdaus’s wedding brought the Unggais from Perak, and with them young Ahmad Fahim! It was an extraordinarily warm day so he was pretty uncomfortable, but he still obliged us with many a […]
Continue readingJogging at a Park
I have no idea why they named this park Taman Pudu Ulu when Pudu proper is some leagues in that direction. Anything so close to Jalan Loke Yew should not be known as “Ulu”. The Deepavali morning was cool and sunny, perfect for a run. The park has multi-jogging tracks built allowing one to run along winding paths around trees, hillocks, fountains and exercise machines, which are thankfully still mostly serviceable. City Hall maintains a small forest on the southern side of the park. When I say forest, I mean a mini-tropical jungle which you wouldn’t want to go exploring in without a machete. Finally, there are eateries easily accessed from both ends of the park. Which means teh tarik time after the exercise.
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