toot-toot and batrick

For the past 3 years (including this year), my birthday falls during Ramadan month.. no party, no balloons, no bundle of presents.. only cake and close family breaking fast together..

I've been telling Umi and Baba what I wanted for my 4th birthday (last August) since early this year..

and they gave me a pair of this... TADAAAAAA!!!

teenage mutant ninja turtles!!

YES, I got what I've always wanted... tiny turtles!! (actually these are tortoises, turtles only live in the sea.. I call them turtles because it is easier to pronounce..)

The small one is Toot-Toot while the big one is named Batrick.. NOT Patrick (like in spongebob), but Batrick.. hehe...

the top one is Toot-Toot, while the bottom one is Batrick...

I have to feed them once a day with these small little tortoise food.. I don't like the smell of it but for the sake of Toot-Toot and Batrick, I just need to bear with it.. every 2 days, I have to clean their small tank and replace with clean water.. this is tough job and a new responsibility to me.. but i enjoy every minute of it as long as I can keep them.. :)

Lately, for 2 weeks now, Toot-Toot refused to eat.. I don't know why.. I even tried to separate both of them to ensure each will eat their portion of food equally, if not Batrick will finish it all.. yesterday when i got back from the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale, Toot-Toot was not moving at all, just sit there frozen.. even when I held it on my palm, still no movement.. Umi said that Toot-Toot was dead..

Baba told me that we have to bury Toot-Toot.. me thinking, why do we need to bury it? What if Toot-Toot wakes up in the soil and couldn't open his/her eyes, and couldn't find any water?... Umi explained that Toot-Toot is no longer alive in this world.. Allah will be taking it to syurga and meet other turtles... hmmmm, I sure hope there's water in syurga...

the funeral.. somewhere at the back of our 'tall' house..

pre-school

WOW!! it has been 4 months.. where were babynadhrah? and it is almost February 2011?!!
What has been going on with me and my adventures? for sure there were a lot.. but unfortunately I was too busy (playing) with no time to update..

Some may already knew that I have recently enrolled to a pre-school at Gombak..
Last year, Umi was searching for the right school for me that can meet the following requirements:

1. Islamic based
2. provide English medium as well as Bahasa
3. provide healthy food.. not processed food, junkies or tea (like some tadika do)
4. small number of student in a class
5. teachers that work for the sake of children development and education, not merely because of
6. because of their job
7. near to Nenek’s house
8. and of course affordable…

Most of the pre-school that offers the above are really pricey and not available in Gombak area.. Umi and Baba didn’t have the luxury to survey the mushrooms of pre-schools there... It will be excellent if they could find one in the same neighbourhood as Nenek’s house… But none could match Umi’s requirement, as she’s very sceptical of handing me over to some stranger…

While on her way to pick me up from Nenek’s house after work, she noticed a car sticker stated “Iman Readers” on one of Nenek’s neighbours’ van. .. that definitely sounded like a pre-school or kindergarden, right?.. Nenek never mentioned that one of her neighbour running a kindergarden... So Umi googled and found bits about Iman Readers... the school has been operated for about 3-4 years.. quite new.. Umi didn’t really know the owner that much, but from the outside you can guess how the person is and the qualities that she has. So without a doubt, Umi decided to send me there even though it is a bit off from Nenek’s place...

Do I like the school? Too early to tell.. hmmm.. since I’m used to stay at home and less exposed to other germs and bacterias, watch as much TV as I like, being extra pampered by Nenek and not used with the crowd-like environment.. I’m kinda reserved and often say “Tak Nak Pegi Sekolah” every single morning.. hehe..

During my 1st day of school, I didn’t want to wear the school uniform because it was ‘boring’.. the yellow and black colour doesn’t popped-up my eyes… huhu. The school mascot is a Bee, that’s why those are the chosen colours.. at the end, I was defeated by 3 tiny jellybeans.. Yes, umi bribe me with only 3 little jelly beans.. I didn’t cry on my 1st day of school..

boring..


being bribed with jelly beans and balloons at 7.30am..

my 2nd day was really cheerful at home while getting ready to school.. but somehow when i reached school, i had this mixed of feelings.. i couldn't hold it anymore, it burst out into tears..

yeay!! i'm off to school!!


having goosebumps and refused to lineup..


uwaaaa!!!... UMI!! BABA!!

However, I am well behave at school (according to the teachers).. Lately I fell sick due to the new routine in my life, it was the worse fever, cough and flu I’ve ever had... I seldom fell sick.. I have yet to recover from my flu. Umi is worry if this condition continues…

Last week there was a taaruf (introduction) session for the parents at my school. From the feedback given by the parents' of former students, without a doubt this a good school… not only in academic but also in child behavior and confidence level… The founder aka Headmistress used to be a full time housewife and has no experience teaching in schools.. because of her passion in education and child development, she wanted to share her teaching method at home to other parents out there.. Umi really hope that I will adapt to the new routine and starting to love the school soon… will I?

3 years old!!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

Btw, check out Umi's for our Ramadhan sale. Check out our cute range of kids' clothes, shoes and headwear ;)

Ramadhan mubarak everyone...!!

two-weeks taska experience

[Memoirs from Umi and Baba]

This is a long overdue story, when Nenek went to Umrah for 2 weeks in early January. All this while, we have been sending Nadhrah to Nenek's place on work days, and have never thought of sending her elsewhere.

sending Nenek at the airport...


..where I got to see the air plane!! (of course, this is only the kids' playland airplane)

When Nenek's impending flight to Umrah came, we set out to look for a nursery where we can send Nadhrah while we go to work. It needed to be close by to our place, and we encountered upon Taska Oren, which was located inside the compounds of the Matrade building, pretty close by to us. The facilities looks fine, the cost was also very reasonable, and their terms was nothing out of the ordinary.

So we paid the registration fees, with plans to send Nadhrah for a month as a testing period. If everything goes well, then we will continue to send Nadhrah to the Taska, where she can have friends her age and learn plenty of new things.

We started the build-up to her nursery days by continuously telling Nadhrah that she will be going to school, have friends, play around, learn new things and all, and she seemed excited to go. Everytime we send Nadhrah to Nenek's place, we would pass by a few nurseries and schools, and Nadhrah would always say "Nadhrah nak pegi sekolah tuuuu..."

So the first day of nursery came for our little girl. Umi was so concerned and couldn't stand the emotional roller-coaster that she asked Baba to send Nadhrah to the nursery. The first day Baba sent her, it seemed uneventful. Baba passed Nadhrah to the teacher, said some encouraging words and kissed Nadhrah goodbye. When Umi fetched her back at the end of the day, her face was so sebak, but the teacher said she was okay and enjoyed her first day.

Then the next day came. Immediately after she woke up, she said that she didn't want to go to school. She cried and cried and repeatedly said "Nadhrah tanak pegi sekolah...". When Baba's car came to the nursery's compunds, she cried and didn't want to be let go. It was these kind of heart-wrenching stuff that Umi wouldn't have been able to handle.

Over the course of the first week, she continuously said "Nadhrah tanak pegi sekolah..." whether it's in the morning or at night. We tried asking her some of the stuff that she learnt and experienced in Taska, but she would become all emotional and teary-eyed whenever the words "school", "taska" or "sekolah" came up.

In the second week, Nadhrah got some fever and flu. We thought she was recovering during the weekend, so we sent her to the nursery on the Monday as usual. But on Tuesday her fever got worse and Umi had to take an emergency leave for 2 days to take care of Nadhrah. We sent her to the nursery on Thursday, and on Friday Baba sent her to TokMama's place in PJ instead just to entertain her and let her play with cousin Aimar.

The next week Nenek was back from Umrah and Nadhrah was happy to see Nenek and get some presents from her. Nenek also asked Nadhrah how was her experience in school but she would get emotional again and we didn't really get to know what was her actual experience during school.

wearing my presents from Mekah

We knew the eating part would be a bit difficult cos Nadhrah does not eat certain foods that they were preparing such as bread (she feels like throwing up everytime we toast bread at home cos she couldn't stand the smell of toast!!). But as far as other things she did, like playing with other kids her age and learning new stuff, we didn't really know how she coped and what she did cos she didn't wanna tell us anything.

In the end Nadhrah's nursery experience was only on those two weeks plus one day on the third week. We sent her to the nursery to give Nenek some time to rest, but Nenek would ask us to send her back to her place again after that. We don't have anything bad to say about the nursery, we think they did a good job, but unfortunately Nadhrah's own feeling and emotions towards her experience being left with strangers wasn't so great, and it wasn't a good experience for us as well dealing with her emotional days.

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One fine day, way after her nursery experience, we learnt that she did learn something... Suddenly, out of nowhere :

Nadhrah : Allahumma barik ana... fima rozaq ana... waqina azabannar... amin
(Baba looked at Umi, and Umi looked at Baba, startled)
Baba : Uiks!! Mana Nadhrah belaja tu?
Nadhrah : Kat sekolah..
Umi : Sape ajar Nadhrah?
Nadhrah : Cikqu Tiqah (her teacher's name) ajar..

Alhamdulillah, bile besar jadi budak baik yek...

giGi

Baba's finger were sore for a whole day being bitten by this cute lil monster

p/s: It was Umi's fault. She enticed me to bite Baba while feeding me. So I duly obliged!! Hihihi...

eating woes

Nadhrah used to have a problem eating. We try to make her eat as much healthy home made food as possible, but she just won't eat them. So we went to see our paed to lay down our concerns. She said it's just one of those times when play takes more priority than eating. It's true, nadhrah loves to play and play and play that sometimes she just doesn't want to do anything else.

So the paed said it's best that when it's supposed to be nadhrah's meal time, than we have to stop all play and make her focus only on eating. In our case, we bring her to the dinner table where all the food is prepared. She also gave us appeton with lysine to be given once a day to get nadhrah's appetite back up again. She told us not to be too worried as her weight is still inside the desired range on the growth chart.

Another advice she gave us was just try to feed her anything that she likes. I used to prepare porridge for her almost everyday, but I guess she got tired of that. So I tried different things everyday to see whether she would like it. But then again, I know that I can't keep repeating the same menu even if she like something, being afraid that she might get bored of that some day. Of course, we need to keep the diet balanced and get healthy food in there, not just all sugary and salty junk.

keep them coming, Umi

Alhamdulillah, her appetite is getting better now and we pretty much know her likes and dislikes, and also some patterns while eating. We found out that nadhrah loves spaghetti. In any form or way. Bolognaise, carbonara, aglio e olio... she would just chomp on them. When eating rice (no more porridge nowadays), she likes to have the dishes separately. She won't have the carrot or potato or chicken together with the rice. So I need to give her rice first, then the other dishes each on its own without mixing them.

makan sampai ke siku

She likes to eat with her own hands. It gets messier compared to when I spoon-feed her, but eating with her own hands will make her eat more, so I just bear with it. I think it's just that she sees what us adults do, and insist on doing it herself. E.g. even though she have her own straw bottle, but she likes to drink from a glass like everyone else.

beware, I'm the pasta monster!!

It's all part of us discovering what our child loves, and it's so exciting when we get it spot on. I just wish that she'd take things slower than this rate, cos my little girl is growing up oh-so-fast...

yeayy I'm all full and cleaned up!

the teeth

Beware. The teeth are getting bigger. And more of them are popping up!



It's a struggle nowadays for Umi/Baba to brush my teeth. I would squiggle and squaggle and move my head out of the way of the toothbrush.



And don't simply put your fingers in this mouth. These teeth are strong, and man, can I bite!

p/s: We would be out of town this weekend, going back up to Sitiawan for a family arrangement (Umi's dear uncle is going to Hajj, and he's throwing a kenduri). Seafood products, anyone?

the toddler

am so happy (and noisy!) that I'm starting to toddle

approaching 10

Translation of the above video :

I'm turning 10 tomorrow.. how time flies really fast. Without me realising it, I'm going to celebrate my 10th month being in this world. I would definitely describe the time as the best 10 months of my life (seeing I have only been around for 10 months).

Most importantly, it has been the best 10 months of Umi and Baba's life. It is definitely one big up-down-left-right adventure for Umi and Baba. You all probably know this already, but having a baby changes everything. Responsibility, sacrifices, sleepless nights, chaotic schedules, lifestyle changes, temperaments and attitudes, concerns and worries - they all come in one magical moment of Umi painfully pushing me out from her wombs and Baba declaring the azan and iqamah on my ears.

And now - after 10 months - I'm crawling, eating, sitting down on my own, climbing stairs, growing small little tiny teeth...

I'm growing up..

days of being wild

I'm climbing stairs now!! Huhuhu...

What do you think happens next in the video?
A - Nadhrah successfully climb up till the top and do a victory dance
B - Umi comes back from the toilet and freaks out to discover Nadhrah climbing the stairs (all this while Baba's taking the video)
C - Baba's camera runs out of memory space, thus you don't really know what happens next
D - All of the above

on all fours

Have you seen this movie? The scene at the end, where sadako comes out of the TV and crawls on all fours, is probably the most scary scene in horror movie history (I might be exaggerating here.. hihihi).

Wanna see something similar? View the video below... I'm warning you, it's not for the faint-hearted!! Even the sound will make your hairs stand up (bahasa org kite) and leave you with goosebumps all over your body. You can't help but feel like being chased by something out of this world, and like it's going to jump out of your computer screen and continue its pursuit anytime...

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Hehehehe... big news : I'm a CRAWLER!! And a really active one at that. After toying around with the idea, I finally got the hang of it. And now I just can't stop. Leave me for a few seconds, and chances are I'll be chasing you.

Or if not, I'll be under the table. Whether it's a dinner table or just the small coffee table, those places rock for me. Actually there is a story about this, which happened just yesterday:

Nenek, who is taking care of me when Umi and Baba goes to work, decided to leave me at the living room with my toys for a while to prepare the hot water for my evening bath. For just a few seconds at that. Usually, I will follow her back to the kitchen. But upon her returning back, I'm no longer in sight, and she panicked! She called for me, "Nadhrah, nadhrah", fearing something bad had happened. Seeing her panic, I answered her call with my normal "brrrwaaa..!!!"... from under the coffee table!! Hehehe. I'm turning into this cheeky cute pranskter!!

Umi nadhrah: Now Nenek is having a hard time taking care of this active lil' crawler! Hmmm, I wonder if we should get a walker??

youuuuu cannot catch me...

almost there...

easy does it...

sit-training

I can't sit up on my own yet, but Umi and Baba have been trying to sit-train me..

They started with the Bumbo baby seat in Baba's house in PJ. The seat is actually cousin Aimar's, and I've been using them freely since he's having so much fun blending in with the Japanese in Osaka. (Auntie Alma, gomen-neh!! We're using a lot of Aimar's stuff here, including but not limited to the baby seat, beep, playgym, diaper changing pad etc.) The seat's kinda funny looking, and if you turn it upside down you can clearly see the shape of a baby's buttocks!

What if you don't have a Bumbo baby seater? Well, don't worry... You can follow Baba's idea with an improvised seating device:

There is no rush to get me to sit up. After all, a baby's back is a fragile thing and it's only natural to let me grow up naturally and let nature take its course. Plus when I still can't sit up or move around on my own then I can get Umi and Baba to put me on their laps or carry me around, which is something that I really really like!


[Disclaimer : There are reports all around the Internet of hazards and accidents involving the Bumbo baby seat. So if you don't have one and thinking of getting one, I might as well get you informed. If you already have one, then do take care of your baby when using it.]


By the way, congrats to ChuNa for your excellent SPM results!! Yeay, we're gonna have a doctor in the family soon...!!

my first solid food xp-rience

Umi and Baba have noticed that I watch them very closely and with full of interest whenever they are eating. That's because I'm amazed with the eating process, y'all!! I'm fascinated by the way all you grown-ups put those big chunks of delicious, yummy, colourful food in your mouth and they just disappear. It's just like magic!

So recently, Umi made something for me to eat as a starter course, and here's how it goes...

Day 1 - Umi made some pureed banana for me. Umi blended the banana with some milk added in, just so that it wouldn't be so alien to my tastebuds. And guess what? I really love it!! I love how it tasted in my mouth. It's so different to what I've been having all these while...

I wonder how this is gonna taste


first bite..


..second bite..


..and now I can't stop..


..just keep it coming Umi!!


what u lookin at??


that was great... time to be like baba and take a nap after meals!!

Day 2,3 & 4 - Umi made the same pureed banana so that I'll get familiar with it. Just in case I have any allergies to it.

Day 5 - Umi made pureed sweet potato. Same like before, only this time it's sweet potato instead of banana. More milky fruity sweetness in my mouth, and I'm loving it!

hmmm... it's orange..


..must be delicious..


..put more on my tongue..


..I'm lovin' it..


..good times great taste..


I'm the puree monster!

But it doesn't end there...

Day 6 - My stomach started to get upset. I get cranky and I wake up crying every hour or so at night because of that. Well, right before I cried like an hour straight while everyone at home took turns holding me. My tummy just couldn't handle the sweet potato well and it became hard for me to poo-poo as well.

Day 7 - Went to the doctors for my 5 month jab. Umi have also stopped my food diet for a while, I'm back on the strictly milk pattern. The doctor told us that eventhough the fruits are finely pureed, my body system could not digest them. With fruits, the only thing I'd get was the vitamins, which I was getting enough from breastmilk anyway. She advised Umi to start with baby cereal, which is something closer to milk. It won't burden my tummy, plus the calories are much more helpful since I'm getting more and more active by the day! She also said that I can be introduced (back) to fruits and vege when I'm around 7-8 months...

Currently - I'm enjoying my baby cereal everyday!!

don't worry everybody! I'm fine! just pray for my good health okay!!