new year

The Hijri new year had just begun and the other new year is coming soon. I just want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a good and eventful year ahead.

It's also a time to reflect on the past year, on what have been achieved so far and how we can improve further, on all aspects of our life. So, looking back - having started in January 2008 - this blog is almost 1 year old. Yeay!! Although, as you can see, the number of posts have constantly decreased month to month, I still feel that writing posts in this blog brings a lot of joy to myself primarily, and hopefully to others as well.

It just started as a small project for our little family to document the developments of the beautiful little baby that we welcomed into our life. I didn't want to take blogging too seriously, so while there's so much doom and gloom and seriousness hapening all around us in the world today, we'll just focus on our own little fun and games.

a prosperous year ahead, hopefully

Looking forward to the next year, there's so much to look forward to. The little baby is now an active toddler, shouting god-knows-what in her own language while doing all sort of stuff and trying to imitate the adults. Oh, it's gonna be a lot of fun and we hope we can share them all in the next year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!

aidiladha@terengganu

So this year's Aidiladha was spent at Baba's kampung halaman in Terengganu. It was a long journey, the highlight of which of me poo-poo-ing right after we left the rest area. Umi and Baba had to endure 20 full minutes of 'fresh' smell inside the car before we found a suitable place to stop and change.

We had a stopover at Rumbia Resort Villa @ Paka where we regrouped with the others. The place is managed by AyahNgah's company, so we had a nice bungalow all to the seven of us. We were treated to a nice dinner, and woke up the next morning with another great meal for breakfast. Well, we expect no less since AyahNgah's company is primarily in F&B.

playing near the swimming pool right after breakfast..


..wanting to jump right into the water..


..until Umi had to drag me away from there all crying

Next day, we went to KT to go sight-seeing (and some shopping as well!). The Monsoon Cup was going on at the same time, but we only watched the action from afar. Umi and Baba wasn't too interested, plus there was a large crowd to manouevre. There were also free rides on the bot penampang just for ppl to watch the sailing action from up close, which we passed. Our first stop.. Pasar Besar Kedai Payang!!

Umi, I want that one up there!


Pakcik, bagi diskaun sikit bole tak?

Next we went to the Taman Tamadun Islam, where there were small versions of many masjids from around the world. We didn't actually go in, but we spent some time near the Masjid Kristal and the nearby park where I had my lunch before everyone else.

adegan di perantauan by me.. sungguh syahdu (haha.. amik ayat from ibuhannah)


running around the place like nobody's business

After that it was time for the adults to have their lunch, so we made a stopover to a nearby restaurant. Check out the skillz that Baba has taught me:

angkat tangan!!


tutup mata!!


bukak mulut!!

The next day, it was Aidiladha. We had a nice meal after solat raya with sate, nasi himpit and nasi dagang all on the menu. After that, Baba and the men in the family went for the qurban and brought home seekor lembu kurban untuk dilapah (don't know how to translate this). It's all done at home kampung style...

Warning: The following pictures may contain disturbing images. Viewer discretion is advised!!

men at work


Baba in the thick of the action

The next day was our last day before we journey back to KL and resume our lives and the end of our holiday. Boo-hoo! The three of us spent some time in the morning at the beach. Yeaayyy beach!! It was the monsoon season and the waves was banging the shores. Baba wanted so much to dive into the water and body-surf, but the fear of being a front page news somehow held him back.

lovin' the beach


we'll miss you, Terengganu!

More pictures can be viewed here.

year end

smile for the world

Just for the sake of updating, cos it's been a while. This year end, Baba and Umi is so busy with work (and also non-work) things. After coming back from Terengganu, there were so many things to do at home and the office. The economy's not doing so well, but life must go on. Even though both Umi and Baba are working in banking, we're not so worried. Rezeki di tangan Allah...

However, I'm growing up as usual. More teeth popping up. More screaming around in the house. More extreme actions. More climbing here and there...

Sometimes I wonder how Nenek keeps up with me 5 days a week

People are finishing off their holidays. Next week (the Christmas week), we're going off for another family holiday in Rompin... can't wait for that!!

Nuffnang Friso Family Day Out @ kizsports OU

We had such fun at kizsports for the Nuffnang Friso Family Day Out the other day. Umi and Baba pun excited terlebih before we got there. Once we were there, I got a free t-shirt for the event. Even the smallest size was still too big for me, but that was fine, as long as I get to play and play and play!!

small kid, big shirt, huge playland

The kids were grouped according to the sticker colours, and I got the blue one. I think the blue ones are for cuter & nicer kids like me, cos they asked the other coloured-stickered-kids to have limbo rock kind of dance while we blue ones get to play in a nice little gym room. Hahah. No laa, I think it's mostly by their age group.

playing happily in the gym

Oh, my cousins were there as well! Umi got to bring one guest family, so cousin Sarah & Faiez came along. While cousin Aimar also got the invite due to being a gym class member at kizsports. So it was plenty of fun for all 4 of us little kids, together with all the other kids to play all over the place.

my 2 cousins was there to join in the fun

There were so many activities going on. There were colouring contest for kids, although I would be too artsy to join them. The kids are expected to colour inside the lines, while for me, I'm more of an abstract art kind of person, so there's no such thing as a line for me. So I didn't take part in them, but cousin Aimar did and produced a masterpiece!

Picasso beware!!

There were also talks by a nutritionist and another blogger. Umi and Baba took turns to join and listen. There were chances to win so many cool things like thumb drives. While yours truly continued to roam the playland!!

the slides were certainly the highlight of the playland! weeeee...!!

Lunch was provided for all, including the kids. But it's still Umi's yummy homemade food for me. They probably had a hard time feeding me, while my eyes was still fixed on the playland area.

discussing while makan time what we were going to play next

After the lunch, there was still time for a magic show from a magician who calls himself Mr. Banana. Hmmm, I wonder how he came up with that name.. Houdini himself would have been impressed. It was entertaining and some of the kids got to be involved as well.

some magic skillz on display

After everything ends, we get to the final, nail-biting prize-giving ceremony. We have been lucky with nuffnang before, and this time we got lucky as well with the consolation prize. It's no Disneyland trip, but the RM100 MPH voucher is still just as good. Congratulations to sawanila.com, they were deserved winners for their well-designed post.

yeay yeay dapat hadiah!! (pic from nuffnang blog)

There is still one prize up for grabs and here's hoping this will get me that 32' LCD TV for me to watch all those cartoons educational TV when I'm not on a day out. Thank you Nuffnang and Friso! It was a great and most generous event!

As usual, more pics can be found here.

aidiladha

Selamat Hari Raya Haji wishes to everyone...
We'll be going off for a holiday & qurban in Terengganu, so there will be no updates for a while..(as if there were any laa kan this past week.. i've been so busy growing up we didn't have the time to post new entries)
There are tons of new pictures, by the way.. so you can always check them out here

By the way, we went to Friso Family Day out the other day, and you can see me on nuffnang's blog here!! We'll probably do an update on that later...

.. till then, Salam Aidiladha!!

nature is beautiful

View the sunset from the seaside.
Stop and smell the roses.
Jump and feel the wind blowing on your face.
Take a nap under a tree where the leaves fall and life starts.
Build your own sand castle and watch the waves destroy them.
Run on the field bare-footed and scream like a kid.
Climb to the top of a mountain and enjoy the view with a hot cup of coffee.
Kopek the durian and eat them right after they fall from their trees.
Dive into the waters and play with the fishes.


WHY?

..because Nature is Beautiful!!

Friso Brings My Family Out

this is not how I want to spend my weekends...

.. because I always want to go out with Umi and Baba and play outside the house weehoo!! So when I have a chance to go to a very fun kidz sports and gym to play around, I'm not going to pass this chance! (plus, there's the small matter very tempting reward of getting a free trip to Hong Kong Disneyland for the whole family)

A Family Day out is important, first and foremost, because it's FUN! With Umi and Baba spenDing more than 8 hours at the office every weekdays, a family day out is when we have the time to bond and cherish each other.


It's when we enjoy being in each other's company, to smile and laugh with each other about all things funny.


It's the time when, together, we explore and discover the wonders of this colourful world.


It's the time to enjoy outdoor activities and be one with nature.


It's the time when we have an experience and adventure like no other that the wonderful world offers.

All in all, we love having family days just to be with each other and enjoy life.

p/s : This post is filled with clues. See if you can decipher them and get the answer!!!

open open house

This is so belated, but I just wanna share them, especially to the babies that I met along the way.

First up is baby seth haiqal's open house. It was on a very rainy day, but we're glad we made it becos I got to meet with a few of my playfriends, and Umi got to meet one of her favourite blogger, mama shmontel.

Next one is baby danish miqael's open house. He was so eager to play with me, but unfortunately I was in one of my unplayful + sleepy + scared-of-everyone mood.

Last but not least, we went to baby hannah's house in Tanjung Malim, on our way back home from kampung@Sitiawan. It was such a lovely visit, Umi & Baba got a break from all the driving & we got treated to some great food from the hosts. Baba tried to make the pictures look like we were playing together, although we were actually tengah berebut-rebut. Heheh.

This year's was definitely a raya to remember...

babywearing

umiNadhrah : bes ke kene babywear ni?
Nadhrah : sangat laa bes!!

I'm still a n00b (l33t speak for newbie.. if you don't know what's l33t, google it or read megatokyo like Baba always does) in babywearing. We didn't even knew that carrying a baby in a baby carrier has a name and it's called "babywearing". We just sort of understood it as carrying-your-baby-in-a-baby-carrier-so-that-your-back-and-your-hands-won't-feel-the-pain-and-ache-afterwards, or more frequently observed them as bawak-baby-dalam-karung-kain-batik-ala-bibik-bibik-indon.

I'm sure that if we were not blogging, then we still wouldn't know about babywearing. But I always thought that it was a good way to bring your baby around and have them close to you, without all the hassle and bulk of a stroller and without the pain and ache that comes with carrying your baby for long periods. We also have to raise our hats off to our friend MommyAdam, educating us with multiple posts about babywearing very early on in her blog, and now turning that babywearing+sewing passion of hers into a business. (More on that later)



Since it's international babywearing week soon, there are a few contests and giveaways available all over the internet, and I'm gonna try to share those that I'm aware of here.

1. Snuggbaby Mei Tai giveaway
You can see the little box on the sidebar, and you can enter for a free Mei Tai giveaway here. There will be 2 winners, one will be chosen based on the amount of traffic your blog directs to Snuggbaby, and another will be chosen by the relevance and experience of the blogger with babywearing (which I'm sure won't be me).

2. LaStellaBlu Baby Sling giveaway
This is also on the sidebar. It's something that came up in my email a few days ago. You just need to direct your link to LaStellaBlu's website and the winner will be based on traffic directed to the site. You can view the details here, although I don't know when the giveaway ends.

3. Malaysian Babywearers Photo Contest: Funny Babywearing Moments
If you have any funny babywearing moments photo, then you can send them and you might win a ring sling or a pouch! The contest ends on 30th November 2008.

4. Malaysian Babywearers Story Contest: What does Babywearing means to You?
For those eloquent writers, you can write your babywearing story starting with "Babywearing.." in no less than 500 words and you might win a mesh pouch. The contest also ends on 30th November 2008.

5. Malaysian Babywearers Photo Contest: Babywearers other than Mom
This is another photo contest, and all you need to do is send a picture of a babywearer other than the mom. I'm not sure if bibik indon also qualifies though, as you can get those pictures very easily. The contest also ends on 30th November 2008.

6. Malaysian Babywearers Kids Colouring Contest
This one is for the kids. Just download the print out and let your kids colour them, and send the entries to win something the kids will love - a Peek-a-Doll sling. You can teach your baby to babywear (or in this case, dollwear) at an early age. Your entry should reach the organisers by 30th November 2008 as well.

We also wanna highlight our friend MommyAdam's new online sales blog, AidaFiqs Lovely Handmade Items. Here you can get exclusive handmade Mei Tai that you cannot get elsewhere, because it comes with buckles! Imagine how easy it would be to buckle them instead of tying them up. They have a promotion of free shipping for the first 5 customers, but last we checked, out of 4 items they have made available, 3 are sold and the last one is already booked. So you need to watch out for their next HOT item.

There's something in there for everyone. And there's more activities to come when the International Babywearing Week starts on November 12th. Let's all join in the fun!!

xtreme

When you were a baby/toddler, what did you wanted to be when you grow up? A fireman? A policeman? A lawyer? A doctor? Laaaaaame... I wanna be..

an Xtreme Sports Athlete!!


this is just a start to my rock climbing adventures


getting used to cliffhanging before I do the real thing

p/s: All action stunts are done with adult supervision. Babies, don't do this at home.