We continue our adventures in Orange Beach, AL with a beautiful sunny day! It more than made up for the rainy afternoon that we had: [[image:2013_april_orangebeach44.jpg:What a beautiful day:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for captions After a quick breakfast, we are on the beach! Vin makes his own sandcastle since Yaya insists on making sand-cement in her buckets and not being able to get the sand out. [[image:2013_april_orangebeach25.jpg:King of his castle:center:0]] [[image:2013_april_orangebeach26.jpg:Adik continues to geram the sand:center:0]] [[image:2013_april_orangebeach27.jpg:Striking down Mama’s castle:center:0]] [[image:2013_april_orangebeach28.jpg:Build me more castles to tear down, Mama!:center:0]] [[image:2013_april_orangebeach29.jpg:Happy boy loves the sand:center:0]] [[image:2013_april_orangebeach30.jpg:Yaya paddles while Papa takes a stroll:center:0]] [[image:2013_april_orangebeach31.jpg:Adik loves being buried:center:0]] [[image:2013_april_orangebeach32.jpg:Let’s throw sand!:center:0]] [[image:2013_april_orangebeach33.jpg:Papa ensures that Yaya isn’t pulled out to sea:center:0]] [[image:2013_april_orangebeach34.jpg:My family:center:0]] [[image:2013_april_orangebeach35.jpg:Adik wades in the surf:center:0]] Adik loved the sea – he kept running into the surf and giggling as the waves crashed around him. He stayed in until he started […]
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Friends in the Windy City
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 […]
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 readingRafe’s 7 Month Birthday
And so the boy is 7 months old (and a bit, but thank god for backdated entries, right?) 😉 [[image:2012_0729_rafe07.jpg:Flanked by his sister’s cats Purrsley and Duchess:center:0]] *Mouse over pictures for captions Unbelievably, another month has flown by and Adik is growing and developing so quickly. Last month’s rolling and lunging has quickly become a fast-moving commando crawl. The child is mobile! He’s happy to just roam around the house. We do have to make sure he doesn’t get trampled by Yaya (who of course is oblivious of the fact that she could actually hurt her brother if she steps on him), and it doesn’t help that he always wants to follow her around and try to do what she’s doing. But it’s awfully fun to watch his little personality appear and see the things that catch his attention (and then gets taken away from him by Yaya) and the […]
Continue readingThe Amazing Adventures of Yaya, Adik and Auntie Jo – Part 2
So, here is the second part of Jo’s visit. The second half of her trip was just as fun and action-packed. But first we come home and relax a little after the excitement of Indiana. [[image:2012-jovisit-23.jpg:Yaya, Auntie Jo and Adik (and Purrsley) play “trains”:center:0]] * Mouse over the pictures for more captions [[image:2012-jovisit-22.jpg:Both kids got milk!:center:0]] [[image:2012-jovisit-38.jpg:The Amazing Flying Adik!!:center:0]] We drove up to Canada during the second weekend of Jo’s visit. It was both Victoria Day weekend and Auntie Vera’s birthday that Monday! There was another family reunion, this time in London, ONT. The last reunion in Canada took place almost five years ago! This will be the first time the Canadian family gets to meet Yaya and Adik in person! Also the first time Yaya and Adik go to Michigan and Ontario. While Yaya has already been to Malaysia and has crossed international borders, this would be Adik’s […]
Continue readingThe Amazing Adventures of Yaya, Adik and Auntie Jo – Part 1
We had a nice treat when the kids’ Auntie Jo visited all the way from Leeds! Yaya had lots of time to play with Jo, and Jo had lots of time to cuddle Adik. And still spend some time with Vin and me ;-). The last time Jo visited was at Yaya’s 2nd birthday, and this time with not as hot weather in May, it was just as much fun. [[image:2012-jovisit-02.jpg:Jo with Yaya and Adik:center:0]] * Mouse over pictures for captions We hung out at home for the first few days, chilling and letting the kids get to know their Aunt. Yaya took to her right away and showed her her room, and included Jo in all the games, and gave Jo her own roles to play in the play-acting games. [[image:2012-jovisit-01.jpg:This shirt that Auntie Jo gave Yaya has an “attached tutu”!!:center:0]] [[image:2012-jovisit-03.jpg:Let’s all make Adik laugh!:center:0]] [[image:2012-jovisit-04.jpg:Auntie Jo gives […]
Continue reading35 Months
Can we just pretend that this is on time? Or at least not so late that the girl is almost 36 months old? No excuses really. Anyway, here is our 35 month old Yaya (almost 3 years old now!!!! wooooo!). [[image:2011-0622-yaya24.jpg:I’m in a hotel crib!:center:0]] June was so long ago I barely remember it. We drove home from the work outing in New Jersey on June 2nd, and had lovely weather (for a change). No complaints from me. But we had a busy month though. Lots of work (for Mama) and then on the week leading up to the big 35 month birthday, we did a ton of traveling, and this time for fun! Yay! First vacation of 2011! But before we get to that, quick report: food intake unchanged. Still very limited options of what she will eat. Potty training: Yaya 4000, Mama and Papa 0. So that means […]
Continue reading32 Months
Well, this month I am (yet again) late with the entry. The girl is now 2 years and 8 months old – she’s 2 and 2/3 years old! Not long to the big 3! She’s quite the character: [[image:20110322-yaya29.jpg:Hi everyone!!!:center:0]] I have no real excuse – sure, lots of work and all that. But it’s both work and procrastination I suppose. This has been another quick month – we had another trip to New Jersey (and in fact Yaya’s 32-month birthday happened while we were there!), and the month does go by extra quickly when we’re on the road. Yaya continues to amaze us with all the talking and singing. When we’re home we still listen to music while we eat dinner, and there’s lots of drawing. Yaya still refuses to eat most things – no change there. And sadly, we’ve had quite a snowy March. Seriously depressing. We are all getting cabin […]
Continue readingWinging 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 […]
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 […]
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A Night Out In The City…
… and the city is known as Tehran. Last week I spent a better part of a week (for work purposes) in Iran. The first photo of the entry two days ago showed Azadi Tower of Tehran, close to Mehrabad Airport, which now only handles domestic flights. Tehran was a bustling city, there were plenty of Peugeot cars as well as their national Khodro cars. It seemed to me that it’s actually safer in Tehran than in Kuala Lumpur. I saw plenty of young women walking alone, presumably back from work with their briefcases, at night. I wouldn’t walk alone at some places in KL’s inner city. There were many malls in the city much like the ones in central KL, selling everything from Gucci to Versace. Families with infants and preschoolers walk the streets at night to have dinner at the many fast food outlets there. Everyone was friendly, […]
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Where Have I Been?
The last week or so, I have been on a trip. Any guesses as to where? It’s in the Middle East, populated by friendly folk, and the food is fantastic. Here are four photos all laid out to be more clues to the location. Stay tuned for the answer as well as more photos.
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The Mercedes-Benz Museum
After the second day of training, we were all brought on a bus through the cold but sunny afternoon weather from our training centre out near Hausen to the city of Stuttgart where we came upon this futuristic looking building: The Mercedes-Benz Museum. The entrance door of the museum greeted us like some Federation building of the 23rd century. After paying for the tickets you have to take the awesome looking lift there which will transport you to the top floor. From there you will have to slowly walk down the building which is engineered in a double helix structure on the outer walls, taking you past some fantastic Mercedes-Benz vehicles from old to new. There are also pictures on the wall that show famous historical events pertaining to the era of the cars featured. From 1895 is the Benz Omnibus. It only goes up to 12mph so I have […]
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Kehren Sie Nach Deutschland Zurück
It was a cold Sunday morning when we arrived in Germany. It wasn’t as cold as it was two Februaries ago when snow surrounded Munich airport, but it was chilly enough for a bunch of Malaysians. But instead of staying over at Tiefenbronn (which was close by) I was given a room at Hotel-Gasthof Hirsch. And no, I can’t speak, read or write in German. The title came about after a quick visit to an free online translator website. Here I am freezing my butt off on a Sunday afternoon, when the town seemed as if it was totally deserted. I wish Kuala Lumpur would be like this every Sunday morning: The Hirsch is a series of three buildings. The middle and the main building (where reception and the restaurant is situated) is where the sign hangs with the figure of the hart. The balcony is connected to Sudriman’s room. […]
Continue readingPerth – Part 4
It’s now our third day in Perth, and it is one day before EJ and Indra’s wedding. We start off the day when EJ came to pick us up in a rental van. We then drive down to Cottesloe where Hsu and David are staying. [[image:oz45.jpg:EJ and Vin by the van:center:0]] [[image:oz46.jpg:View from the street:center:0]] [[image:oz50.jpg:Beautiful beach:center:0]] [[image:oz47.jpg:Pete, David and Hsu admiring the view:center:0]] [[image:oz48.jpg:EJ and Vin by the beach:center:0]] [[image:oz49.jpg:Group photo:center:0]] We did have to walk on the beach and feel the water (which was a little cold). [[image:oz51.jpg:Walking on the beach:center:0]] We decide to have lunch by the beach. Can you blame us? [[image:oz54.jpg:EJ and Hsu:center:0]] [[image:oz55.jpg:Pete and David:center:0]] [[image:oz56.jpg:Vin, EJ, David and Hsu relaxing after lunch:center:0]] [[image:oz53.jpg:Unexpected and rowdy guests:center:0]] I guess, Down Under, pine needles grow upwards for a reason? [[image:oz52.jpg:Pine tree:center:0]] This one is for Abah: [[image:oz57.jpg:Some kind of MG?:center:0]] After we hung out for […]
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