9 more hours to go sweethearts, then we will be reunited Insya Allah. We went shopping and bought a few things to bring back to Bintulu. We did laundry, ironed our clothes, packed our bags and most importantly, packed the EBM that I have been storing over the past 2 weeks for my beloved Khadeeja. I hope Makyeng will be relieved to receive new stocks!
My sayangs,
Can't wait to see you girls, oh Allah, I hope they will be meeting me at the airport tomorrow. Because each passing minute that is bringing us closer feels like a month away. My babies, please wake up early and see Mak tomorrow.
Love you girls so many many many times! Sweet dreams my little butterflies.
This year I strove to write a letter to both of you for each month you turned older. I'm sorry that I missed last month's update. It may be trivial to most people but to me, it means that I have lost the chance to capture the little memories I have with each of you, and the big milestones that you achieved as your bright minds absorb new knowledge and skills.
Khadeeja crawling under a table at a relative's house! |
My adorable mess :) |
My precocious Khadeeja,
At 8 months old, you have grown 6 teeth, learnt how to stand and even how to climb. Yes, climbing. When other babies this age have just mastered the skill of sitting on their own, you have gone beyond that and are now climbing out of your walker. Mommy pengsan!
Climbing out of the walker! |
My super adventurous Khadeeja |
Both crying when fighting |
Loving your first swing ride all by yourself! |
Helping mak to clean the bowl after baking is done |
And then there's my beautiful little Khayla,
If Khadeeja is the apple of my eyes, then you are my rainbow that lifts up even the gloomiest of my days. Khayla, once upon a time, I used to fret because you weren't talking in full sentences when others your age have done so. Last month you stopped going to school, but strangely your vocabulary started to improve and you are now talking properly. To make it more amazing is, you chose to speak in English, even though we spoke in our mother's tongue to you.
Among your favourite expressions are, 'I have an idea!' 'I have another idea!' 'So how leh?' (a mixture of English and Mandarin), 'I see...' and the most frequently used, 'Khadeeja, no. Dangerous!'
'Don't run, mak. Dangerous!' while running herself. Hehe |
The most adorable thing about you and your little speech is the fact that when you do something nice to others, you would prompt them to thank you. Like, when you give a toy to Khadeeja you would stand in her face and repeatedly say, 'Thank you Khadeeja?' And since your baby sister still could not understand the concept of gratitude, I had to step in and thank you on behalf. Only when you receive your thanks, you would move away and continue your life.
Sharing your book with adik |
Darling,
Back to your English-speaking nature. Your father thinks you prefer English because you love watching BabyTV, and the cartoons speak English and nothing but English! Maybe you don't give a flip about this now, but some day when you grew up and became a rebellious teenager, I'm pretty sure you will bring this up and place the blame totally on us o_O
My sweetheart,
One thing that has not changed since you were a baby is your fondness for going out and exploring the world. Ok, I'm sure by the time you can read this letter, you will roll your eyes at me and point out that it's a typical 2-years-old behaviour. So what's new? Gee mak, can you come up with a much more original observation? I know, I know, Mommy's being lame… But you have to know that at this time I'm too much preoccupied with my studies and the fact that I could still notice your development takes quite a bit of effort ok sayang.
Going out to the mall - your favourite pastime ever |
But one thing for sure, I would always have my eyes on you and Khadeeja. When you both went to bed, I would spend a few minutes stroking your hair, thinking - God, they grow up so fast. I wish they would stay babies for a while longer. Please, let them be my babies for the rest of my life.
I love you both, most passionately, fiercely and tenderly.
Love,
Mak
Hush adik, go to sleep. Makyeng is tired after a long journey today. Thank God for technology nowadays, I could make video calls and watch you girls from afar. Khayla, have you stopped jumping on the bed? It's time to sleep ok. Khadeeja, no crying. Else mak will start to cry too.
To my little angels on earth,
Last couple of weeks you both turned a month older, Alhamdulillah. It's almost hard to believe that a lifetime away I was just obsessed about work, but now I'm obsessed about your milestones and oh boy, what many milestones you girls have achieved so far!
To the sweetest baby in the world named Khadeeja,
The day that I feared has finally arrived - all of a sudden you started to talk back to us and giving your own opinion! Not funny that you love repeating us telling you 'No' - 'No Khadeeja, don't climb the TV cabinet!' 'No Khadeeja, don't eat that thing from the floor!' 'No Khadeeja, don't pull your sister's hair!' And you cheerfully replied, 'Na, na, na, na...' Occasionally you said, 'Ta, ta, ta...' too. Sometimes when you get all excited you punctuated your babbles with loud shrieks and flapping of arms to stress your point. All in all, you are the most expressive baby I've come by and that worries me a little because it means the day we argue on every single thing from boys to clothes to how to fry an egg are fast approaching!
Last month also had been a challenging month as it was the fasting month and we were super busy supplying food at the campus. What made it challenging was not the cooking or the food packing, no. It was because you simply hate to be left on your own even though I was just a few meters away in the kitchen. When I put you on the floor or in your walker, you started to wail and cry big fat tears that will turn to a full-blast tantrum till you were blue in the face. You can really cry hard till no voice came out - you were that determined to force me to stop my work and carry you.
I could ignore your cries if you just stay put in one place but no. Since you could crawl and stand up against my legs, you made it difficult for me to ignore you! So in the end I had no choice but to schedule my tasks in short bursts and scuttle around doing a lot of things while you took short naps, but oh boy, it was exhausting!
My sweetheart,
On the bright side, you have become less fussy and could sit quietly in your car seat as we made our daily trips to the city campus in the evening. The reason is because you have shown strong interest in this awesome thing called baby CD which I put on in the car before we started our journey. You love watching this CD of nursery rhymes called 'The Wheels on the Bus' series and could get so preoccupied with it throughout the journey! :D The moment I put you in the car seat you would automatically looked at the TV screen expecting to see the cartoon played!
And you also gained so many admirers on campus who think you are the best stress-buster. You are probably the most popular person on campus as we got so many requests from fellow students wanting to carry you during break time. There's this lady from China who adores you so much that she would stop by every day just to say hello and kiss you :) awww...
My precious gem,
Another happy progress is your enthusiasm at trying out new food - the flavour of the month happened to be puréed avocado which you love with a gusto. You also love trying out various other food from jelly to noodle, and I hope your healthy appetite will continue on, Amin.
Uncle Sodep helping to feed you |
Khayla at her first school trip |
After fetching you from school, you normally refuse to leave the car and walk by yourself to our apartment. This is where my parenting skill have evolved - at first I used force and we would have a screaming fit and huge tantrums as I attempted to drag you upstairs while balancing Khadeeja on my hip. On days I don't have the energy to fight with a feisty 2-year-old, I would simply carry both of you upstairs but it became terribly exhausting during fasting month.
So, I changed tactics to bribing you to a short trip to the playground. You love the playground! Mention the word 'playground' and your stubborn demeanour resolve, and you would skip your way to the playground :)
'See-saw, mak...' |
My super adorable tot,
In terms of food, you are a typical two-year-old true and true. You and food don't get along well unless the food is coated in sugar, chocolate or cheese - otherwise known as 'junk food' or 'snack'. The best healthy food you could stomach are raisins (your all-time favourite snack which you could finish the whole box in one sitting), and certain fruits (apple, banana, corn). Other than that, you are happy to go without food. Whenever it's mealtime, I have to chase you to get you to eat a spoonful of rice, and if I am lucky, I could get you to eat chicken or fish with rice. So far, any attempts at getting you to eat vegetable have been futile. Seriously, secretly I think your teacher was just trying to cover your back when she mentioned that you could finish your greens at school, where else at home you would rather vomit than eat anything green! (except the green M&Ms!)
Another thing my dear, is your relationship with your sister. Somehow, this month you are back to treating your sister like an annoying bug. Why, Khayla? I simply could not understand why you could not get along with Khadeeja where else Khadeeja simply adores you. Whenever Khadeeja was happily playing (or poking around with stuffs at the tv cabinet like any curious 7-month-olds), you get upset easily and would pull her with a loud command, 'No, Khadeeja!' Then Khadeeja would tumble down, sometimes knocking her head on the floor with a surprised look on her face, before wailing in hurt!
I get very upset too. I would pull you back, and demand why you treat Khadeeja like that. You have that 'uh-oh, I've done something bad and I just realise it' look on your face. As a punishment, you would have to sit in a corner. After a while, I would call you and you would kiss my hand and caress Khadeeja's head to say you are sorry, but half an hour later, you would do the same thing again!
The rare moment when you could be sweet to Khadeeja |
Both sisters enjoying apple slices |
My cheeky Khayla,
Baby girl,
Smiling with each other |
Well, sweethearts, I love you both dearly.
With all my heart,
Mak
Dear sweethearts,
My chubby, jolly baby early in the morning |
You are no longer sleeping fitfully throughout the night as you did when you were four months old. Several times you woke up searching for my boob and the way you suckled so hungrily and so enthusiastically sent an alarm signal to my brains - this baby of mine is ready to be weaned! Where did those few months go, how fast time flies!
So far you have had a taste of banana (which you love), carrot (which you don't, and kept spitting it out with the most outrageous sound!), mango (you enjoy having it in the baby feeder, which you can hold yourself and shove in your mouth) and sweet potatoes. Occasionally I gave you baby cereal rice as well, which most of the time you eagerly finished without much complaints.
Someone's sitting in baby chair for the first time! |
My super-adorable baby,
This month also marked another significant milestone - you could sit unassisted. This way, you enjoy your toys so much more because you can busy your hands pushing buttons and cranking sticks on the toys :) While you were on your front, you could also push yourself up in half-sitting position - almost like doing a one-hand pumping!
I can sit! |
Exploring the tea leaves at Cameron Highland |
Yes, for a five months old baby, you love exploring every niche, nook, corner and whatnots of this house. Everything fascinate you even for just a short while. To make it worse, your hands are super-quick to grab at things - even your sister's hair and especially her favourite possessions. Then all hell break loose and I ended up having two babies bawling out their lungs!
Wanting to grab the lit birthday candle while your sister protested |
Sadly to say, you hate travelling that the moment we buckle you up in the car seat you scream, twist your body in protest and cry big fat dramatic tears! It isn't the idea of motion-sickness that makes you miserable - no. It's the fact that you have to sit quietly in the car seat, or in our hands when your father grew tired of hearing you throwing fits in your car seat - that sent you to the edge. Being confined is a dreadful experience to you because you can't be mobile and explore your surrounding. Our recent trip to Cameron Highland was an excitement until the time we have to travel in the car - and then I wished that I have a time machine so that we could spent just a moment in the car on our way back to KL.
Not such a happy traveller |
She made this Mother's Day card herself! |
This month you are ultra-happy because two great things happened - one, you had 2 weeks school break and therefore did not have to battle it out with your father on having to wake up early and taking a shower to go to school (joy, joy!). Two, Mak Yeng is here and that means you can go for 'walk-walk' every day! Mak Yeng and you shared the same passion for car ride and window-shopping, so it is no surprise that you are her favourite granddaughter.
So many wonderful things happened this month as well - you've perfected the 'Gwiyomi' act, went swimming almost every day and you even surprised us when you sing the national anthem. You continued to add a lot of words in your expanding vocabulary, which you enjoyed pointing out and exclaiming them whenever we came across one.
You exclaimed, 'Aahh… Stobeli!' when you saw this replica of strawberries |
You like the idea of blowing candles and singing 'Happy Birthday' |
I'm sorry that this has been very much overdue darling daughters. I am not sure what is wrong with Blogspot because I've typed a lot of words lovingly to depict the progress made by both of you and I've no idea where did all those words gone to! Grr… Perhaps I should switch to Wordpress now, eh? EH?
Ok, sabar… I'll give Blogspot another chance this time.
This month both of you turned a month older. A month is just another month for grown-ups like Mak and Bapak, but for both of you, it means one of you can sing Twinkle-twinkle Little Star in a more coherent manner, and the other has outgrown a lot of those cute little one-sies.
Khadeeja my chubby-licious baby,
I'm just so madly, deeply and irrevocably in love with you, sayang! For a two-month old baby, you are quite advanced in terms of social development. Perhaps because my pregnancy hormones this time were less raging and I was not such a dragon when I was pregger with you? I don't know, but I'm so enjoying you right now. Why you ask?
First. There's your chubby cheeks, just asking to be kissed and smooched all the time. Then those chunky arms and legs, making me feel so 'geram' and always asking to be picked up. Your eyes, always lit up with joy whenever you see me approaching. And the highlight of my day, your beautiful smile that you bestowed so generously on anyone who greets and coos with you.
Those lovely coos. Have I not mentioned those cooing sounds you started making this month? You are one very friendly baby, sweetheart. When I bathe you, when I pick you up and when I cuddle with you, you are full of coos. Sometimes we ended up engaged in deep conversations where I asked you questions about your day and you answer me earnestly in coos. I know that your day has been so damned great when you coo so much to me.
'Let's coo, Mak...' |
Dear Khayla,
Last month was the first time you were away from me. Since I had to stay in KL until I had my urut session, you went back with Makyeng alone and I was racked with worry and pangs of missing my firstborn daughter. On the first day, I called Makyeng and pestered her with a lot of questions like, 'Did she cry? Did she ask for me? Did she ask for her Bapak?' But mom assured me that you are not at all thinking of us, but are delighted to find a house full of cats and hey, your tricycle from last August! Over the past few days after that, your grandmother had been keeping me updated with your new explorations and discoveries, and various outings in the Kancil that you tremendously enjoyed.
This month you started going to kindergarten after three months of staying at home. I was worried that you would not be able to adapt yourself back to school life. The first day was rather an anxious moment for me, and as we left you at the very posh kindergarten (of course, nothing but the best for you) you were bewildered and started to cry. But those cries were not for long. When I picked you up from school, you were all smiles. The next day, you looked forward to going to school again because they had so many toys I guess? LOL. Teachers told me that you have been wonderful and even better than other newcomers. Not only you did not cry, you also can drink from a cup unassisted and joined in with class activities. Did you hear that? You, the youngest of them all, top them by not crying on your first week at school!
I'm beyond proud - I feel like shouting on the rooftop that I have the best babies in the world!
There. That's what being two years old is all about. Boundless of energy, and SINGING. My goodness, there was never a moment when you did not sing. You sing and hum all the time, and you memorise all your favourite nursery tunes namely TTLS (Twinkle-twinkle Little Star), OMHAF (Old McDonald Has A Farm, IBS (Itsy-Bitsy Spider), and even throw in an occasional Row, Row, Row Your Boat and the rain song (Rain, Rain, Go Away).
In addition to singing, you have started to show strong interest in scribbling. Give you a crayon and a colouring book, and you are one happy toddler. So happy that you also scribbled my very expensive cabinet surface! *pengsan*
Wow. Time sure flies fast, dear ones. I am now mother to two beautiful baby girls since a month ago! What an exhilarating feeling it is :)
Let me start with Khadeeja, my younger child.
Khadeeja - Day 3 |
My second child born on the first day of the second month in 1434H of the Islamic calendar (1.2.34). Also, the second child of ours to be born on our wedding anniversary (15 December 2012). You are named after Saidatina Khadijah R.A., the beloved wife of Rasulullah S.A.W. She was a wise businesswoman as well as a strong and loyal woman who stood by her husband. Khadeeja, my strong little one who was a survivor since you were a teeny-weeny embryo. Haha! Remember that rough trip into the jungle when you were just a little over 4 weeks in my tummy? With you, I never had to worry about your survival, not even the hardest of bumps can faze you! Roarrr! Khadeeja, the warrior!
Khadeeja - Day 4 |
With that kind of strong determination to survive, you also show a strong character to match. You came out screaming as loud as a baby could cry the moment my gynae pulled you out of my open tummy. It's like you were complaining, 'What abomination is this to disturb my slumber in my warm cocoon?' It's no wonder - you came out a week or two earlier than you were supposed to so I get your utter indignation, child. But let's not dwell too much on it, ok?
If that is not enough proof that you are one fierce dragon (born in the year of dragon, perhaps that's the reason?), you have no qualms about turning your cries several octaves higher until you were shrieking in total fury whenever you were being ignored. Like, 'I want milk now please? Now, now, NOW, NOWWWWWWW!!!!' 'A minute, please wait, I need to pee, I need to drink first, or any other excuses are not tolerated AT ALL. Phew. Khadeeja, can we work on that temper of yours when you realise that Mommy is the one with the ultimate power?
I woke up on the wrong side of the crib this morning... |
My darling baby,
Despite your strong character, you have the loveliest smile with the cutest dimple on your right cheek. Courtesy of Mommy, of course! Now I can understand the adage, 'When you smile, the world smiles with you'. You are that cute that I have two people telling me that looking at you make them feel like having a baby of their own!
Khadeeja - Day 19 |
My pumpkin pie with a dash of chilli powder,
Now let's talk about your milestones this month. Today marks your first of the many more birthday months. Happy one month old, sweetheart! Throughout this month, you've learned to:
1. Lift your head briefly when on your tummy and a lot longer when you are in upright position (yeay, baby!)
2. Gaze around you in interest for a few seconds before starting to look for Mommy's nipples to suck on for the umpteenth time
3. Coo when your sister teased you or when you don't agree with our complaints about your constant need to be carried and nursed
4. This may sound unbelievable but you can flip yourself from your side to your tummy position when you notice that I get too far from you. First attempt is to stretch your body, then bat your hands to reach out to me and finally all the stretching and batting will result in the body flip. Hey, aren't babies supposed to flip from back to front when they are around 3 months old?
5. Recognize who is not mommy.
Being fascinated with your fist (Khadeeja, Day 29) |
Today, after sending off grandma and sister to the airport, you had your first month checkup and the doctor gave your health a clean bill and also your first month jab. You glared at the sweet doctor, screwed up your face and wailed! Ah, life with you will be an adventurous one for me, Khadeeja.
Khadeeja - Day 32 |
Now to my firstborn, Khayla.
My dearest Khayla,
You have been a big sister for a month now. Your first reaction to Khadeeja was total indifference, like, oh a baby. I'll just play a bit till the baby goes away. So it was kind of amusing to watch you when you realize that the baby did not go away but instead went home with us to stay permanently. That's when you started to show your jealousy.
Practising to be a big sister a day before Khadeeja was born |
You tried to push her away when I nursed Khadeeja. You shouted, 'Hey, kennen!' (Translated - 'hey, cannot!') to protest that she slept on the bed with us. You demanded to be breastfeed also. And everything that is Khadeeja's now belongs to you e.g. her toys and her pacifiers. Especially her pacifiers.
Refused to let Khadeeja lie down in the cot and claiming her pacifier as yours |
Then two weeks later, you realized that she wasn't going away. That she is part of the family now. That's when you start to show concerns and care towards Khadeeja. Like calling us to pick the baby when she cried. Or shushing the baby yourself. Or even shoving a pacifier to her wailing mouth. Or trying to feed her with a bottle of milk (yours or hers, whichever first you laid eyes on). Or helping grandma to throw away Khadeeja's soiled diapers in the waste bin. Welcome to the world of big sister, Khayla!
Big sister and small sister! |
My lapis lazuli,
The day Khadeeja was born you seemed to grow up overnight. No longer we see you as a small and fragile little girl, but of a boisterous and funny two-year-old that you are. You can understand a lot of things now, except when we said 'Cannot!' Or 'Pick up your toys!'
Your vocab also grew with you. You can call Mak Yeng, say bye-bye, orange, bubble, bear-bear, nenen, Mak, Bapak and a few other words which mostly you mimic from us.
One day we were playing bubbles and they burst. You turned to me, hands spread apart and said the first complete sentence, 'Abis dah bubble!' (Bubble is finished!) Girl, not only you stringed together words to form a sentence, the words were also in perfect order, not all jumbled up! Bravo!
Entertaining your baby sister |
Not only you can speak in full sentence you can sing to a tune from Babytv. Twinkle-twinkle little star is your favourite (and mine too). You know 80% of the words and will sing along to the song. You can understand the cartoons on Babytv and will laugh at the funny parts. The other day you also identified out loud a cartoon character called 'Yum-Yum' from 'The Cuddlies'. I secretly wondered whether a gear that got stuck in your brain had suddenly become unstuck and that's why you have been soaking up all the new knowledge overnight!
You love going out especially for car rides. You cried if ever anyone went out the door without offering to bring you out. You excitedly shouted, 'Walk-walk!' Then ran over to the cabinet where your shoes were kept, opened the cabinet yourself and put on your shoes on your own. Most of the time you put on the shoes correctly.
Saying 'bye-bye' because you wanted to follow Mak Yeng 'walk-walk' |
And you are very funny at this age. You love being chased by Daddy. You love mimicking people's sentence, you are just like a parrot! You also have a fake laugh to make others laugh!
Often you insist to be treated like a big girl |
Khayla my not-so-baby-anymore baby,
All-in-all, you provide me with the light side of life and a whole lot of sanity when things get exhausting.
Khadeeja my fierce but adorable little baby,
You reminded me that I am awesome, and worthy to be loved, by you.
To both my girls,
I love being your mother. What's life without you both, but a colorless world? Thank You, Allah for these two girls.
Khayla & Khadeeja - my precious gems |
Love you both millions of time,
Mak