I turned twee recently, and I kinda like it. I’m taller now, not much heavier though, and I talk a lot lately. A lot of times people around me do not understand what I’m talking about, but that’s because I’ve mastered a smattering of English. The queen’s English, mind you, all thanks to watching CBeebies all day and night often. So that’s why my family find it hard to understand what I’m talking about, you see. They use Singlish lah, and at most a semblance of American English (no offence, Divya babe, being an American chica and all)…

I’m still the same ol’ gal I used to be when I was one or two- crazy about nutella (must have it on bread everyday!), crazy about boiled eggs (only the white, cos’ I’m health-conscious like that), crazy about DelMonte bananas, crazy about chocolates, and crazy about pretending to reading. I make up my own story (and words) based on the pictures I see. Sometimes the same book can have English words, or Malay words, or both, for all I care!

And when I read, you’d better be listening. My papa got a painful lesson on that when I lost my temper one day and tried to catch his attention by whacking him on the head with my hardcover book. Naughty Papa.

My Mama has given up trying to pry my pacifier(s) from my mouth. Haha. She has finally come to terms with it and accepted the fact that some things will happen when it decides to happen. No need to rush. Don’t worry Mama (my fave line these days), one day your dream will come true. I’m quite sure I won’t be going into Pri 1 with my puting. I hope.

My tantrums are still around, but since I’m TWEE now, the terrible-twos stage should be over by now. What’s so terrible about it anyway? I thought I was quite well-behaved really. Tsk. What the adults don’t know is that there’s such a thing called TERRIFYING-THREES hahahahha. Good luck to you on that, grown-ups.

My folks call me names sometimes, they call me ASB, a spin-off from my initials ASR. ASB means Angin Satu Badan- tsk- I don’t even know how to explain it in English. But basically it means I’m temperamental and mood-swingy. Wateva…….

And also because I memorized this ad (and a lot of other things on tv). Don’t know why my family is so easily amused- I recite an ad to them and they go gaga.

Talking about names, I can also tell you what my parents and aunties and grandparents’ names are if you ask me. Especially my Mama’s name- I can pronounce it even better than some of the the adults she knows- nicely pronounced as Fa-de-linah. And my Papa’s name is Lam-be-lee. How about that?

Okay gotta go for now. Lam-be-lee is calling me. Catch up with you folks later.
Oh, and Samat Awi Waya to one and all! Hope you get lots of green packets!!!

Well I’ve been really busy, that’s why, spending all my time with my Mama who is now always at home. When I say ‘at home’, I don’t actually mean that we STAY at home- we go out. A lot. And that is always a good thing for me. (shopping centres = toy stores = whining = get toys).

First up, I want to remind you that time flies really fast. Can you believe it- I am already TWENTY-SEVEN months old? That’s about 9 months more before I turn THREE. Frightening, huh? The adults call the stage I’m in ‘the terrible twos’, and just for the fun of it, I’m trying very hard to live up to that belief. I mean, I won’t have the chance to ever be like this again when I’m twenty-seven YEARS OLD, you know what I’m sayin’? So I might as well ‘be terrible’ and get it blamed on my ’developmental stage’ thingy. Heh.

These are my favourite tricks. And my mom’s top pet peeves. Kikikiki!

1) insisting that I sit on the pram (even though we’re just going to the playground downstairs) AND scream ‘NAK PAKAI BELT!!!!’ for the adults to belt me up.

See how contented I am?

2) being clingy. And I don’t mean this in a figurative kind of way. I REALLY CLING onto my Mama. In the car, on the bed, in public places…. I just can’t let go.

That’s me being stuck on Mama. Teehee.

3) demand to go to ‘chopping chentre’ (shopping centres)/ KFC/ bowling/ swimming/ zoo/ birdpark as and when I feel like it. Kick up a big fuss even though it is midnight and those places are all closed. (And my Mama’s not lying to me either- it’s true, they’re all closed, but I just try my luck. )

NAK PEGI MAIN BOWLINGGGG!!!!!

4) insist on picking out the clothes I want to wear, be it for home, sleep or going out. And I will only wear the clothes that I choose OR ELSE…

5) insist that my Mama wears the clothes that I choose. ‘Mama pakai baju tu’ (pointing to used clothes in the laundry basket) and scream if she refuses. [Note from Mama: Just for the record, I DO NOT re-wear dirty clothes from the laundry bin]

6) talk NON-STOP and ask the adults questions:
“Ooyah nak pegi tempat… apa tuu?” (Just so the adults will suggest a good place for me)
“Papa dia, mama dia, nenek dia, atuk dia, kakak dia …adik dia mana?” (I pretend my fingers are part of a family)
“Papa dia buat… apa tuuuu????” (when looking at pictures of animals. I assume they’re with their family, of course.)
“Nanti balik kita tukar pamperssss, cuci mukaaaaaa, gosok gigiiiiiiii, tukar bajuuuuu, kita tidooooo….”
“EEEEEE!!!!! Apa tu? Apa tuuuu? APA TUUUU????” (whenever ANYTHING catches my eye)
“Tokkk?? Nenek??? Papa??? Mama??? Aunty Yus??? Mama Iza???” (I do my roll call in the car, expect everyone to reply, and REPEAT A HUNDRED TIMES.)

…. so that is only a few of the things I love love love to do these days.

Oh, and I’m thinking of calling my Mama ‘Mummy’ now. So when I feel like it, I call out, “Mummmmy”, with a somewhat British twang (I picked it up watching ‘The Adventures of Little Brown Bear’ lah). What do you think? Is ‘Mummy’ better than ‘Mama’?

Okay I’m off now to.. ape tuuu? Oh I don’t know… wherever I fancy. Gotta pick out some clothes now. Toodeloo!

First of all, a big THANK YOU to my Aunty Bav, Divya, Aunty Zalin, Hawra and Uncle Moby for the birthday wishes! All your wishes came true and I had a WONDERFUL BIRDDAY!

As you can see, I had a smashing good time on my birthday birthweek. Yes, birthweek, because it lasted almost a week. Until today I am singing the Happy Birdday to Kara song (it’s so catchy I tell ya!) and since the balloons and banners are still all over our house and my nenek’s house, I guess the celebration is still on!

There were so many gifts ‘hidden’ around the house that I couldn’t bear the anticipation anymore. So, on the eve of my birthday, I actually pleaded with Papa to open ONE present.

Elmo ACTUALLY spoke to me. How cool is that?

Well it turns out that it was a present he bought for HIMSELF. Hmmph. As soon as I took it out from the box, Papa hogged the remote control and the car started whizzing around the house the whole night. Thanks, Papa.

On my birthday itself, my nenek gave me a dress (which I wore IMMEDIATELY to show her how much I liked it) and she cooked us her delish chicken rice. My favourite. After dinner, it was the UNVEILING of my very own bedroom/ playroom (not that I haven’t been in there EVERYDAY before that…shhhh!) I totally love love love my room, especially now that it is full of toys! You won’t find me scampering around the house anymore, no siree, I’ll be in my toddler pad…

Only half of my dollies made it to the shelves. How sad.

I especially love the flower lights (to remind everyone that this is a GIRLS-ONLY room (Papa and my Atuks are an exception). I also have this radio and cd player in the room, spinning Radiohead and Omara Portuondo on loop. Hmmmm…. how fishy is that?

See where the other half of my dollies go?

Papa was so generous (hmmm….. fishy fishy…) that he even put an lcd tv in my room, and the playstation, and the xbox… hey wait a minute- does this mean he will hang out in MY ROOM NOW???

*groannnn*

I guess he sorta made up for it- the rest of the gifts were not beneficial to him (especially the dolls and the pony), so, it’s okay Papa, you can hang out in my room and KEEP AN EYE ON ME. How about that for a deal?

We got the melting ice-cream cake out of the fridge (smart thinking, Papa) but I took my time anyway blowing out the candles. I made a long hard wish. Can’t tell you guys what it is.

Mama coaxing me to blow out the candles because she wants to eat the cake.Next came the best part- unwrapping prezzies! I was too lazy to rip the paper off the gifts so Mama had to do it. She was excited alright. Maybe more than I was. THANK GOD none of this can be played by Papa! ALL MINE!

I love this gift the most! Muackkksss!

My parents got me the Sesame Street gang. Well almost all- but what matters most is Elmo is mine!

Hold yer horses!

So I decided to take things into my own hands, of course.

In case you don’t know by now (and I DON’T blame you since Mama didn’t mention anything about it even in her blog…), I am going to be TWO in TWO DAYS’ TIME! How amazing is that???

I’ve heard Mama whispering to Papa about the plans that they have in store for me this Friday. I think I’m gonna be celebrating it in the daytime at home and in the evening, in my nenek’s Teban home at night. So you know what this means right? Yeah, baby… TWO CAKES! Muahahahhahahah!

But Mama being Mama, totally forgot that everyone will be fasting (except me, because I’m still a baby whaaaaaat) in the daytime. She ordered two cakes only to realize that we won’t be cutting the daytime cake at home afterall. I babbled to her that I still INSIST on blowing the candles, cutting the cake, popping the Coke (my fave drink) and eating party food, and the adults can just watch. Hey, it’s my party and I’ll eat if I want to!

And and and- my parents think I don’t know it, but I SURE DO- that they have loads and loads and loads of presents for me all stashed in the storeroom and my spanking new room (more on this later). There’s even presents hidden in the Teban home heheheheh…. I have been snooping around the house while they are out (my grandparents think I’m just doing mindless baby things like peeking and groping around behind cupboards hehehe) and so far, this much I know:

- there’s a giant box which is wayyyy bigger than me tucked in the corner of the dining room. It’s too big to put inside our storeroom. I saw a picture of a horsey on it hehehehhehhe….
- there are not one, not two, but THREE boxes of something that has the Sesame Street logo on it (I know this logo even though I can’t read), and T-M-X… hmmm…. wonder what those are, but anything Sesame Street is good, c’mon, everyone knows that.
- in the storeroom, there are 2 big boxes- I remember Papa lugging these boxes back when we went to IMM’s Kids’ Mall few weeks ago. I kicked one of the boxes hard and guess what? I heard a BABY crying. How mysterious is THAT?! I didn’t know you could keep those irritating cute things in a box!

…and in my nenek’s Teban home, I counted- there were FOUR big boxes hidden in the spare room, all wrapped up with fancy wrapping paper! I did whine a bit and pleaded with nenek to let me open the ‘birdday’ presents (I screamed “NAK BIRRDDDAYY! NAK BIRDDAYYY!!!”) but she didn’t budge. Ah well.

I’m so excited and can’t wait for Friday. But I don’t know why, Mama keeps on saying “it’s so saaaaaaaadddd….” and she will kiss me all over, inhaling my sourish-sweet smell. I try to make her feel better by pretending to be a baby. Every night before we go to bed, I will cry my ‘newborn baby’ cry which goes ‘UWEEEEKKKK!!! UWWWWEEEKKKK!!!’ , clench my fists (like ‘em babies do) and act all weak and fragile. Sometimes she’s too engrossed watching TV to notice my ’newborn baby’ cry so I’ll have to signal to her and scream ‘MAMAAAA!!!! Baby uwekkkkk!!!”.  Then, she will happily swaddle me up with the comforter and carry me like a baby, then she’ll ‘burp’ me and pass me to Papa saying “Careful! Be gentle with her as her neck-muscles are still weak!”

Sometimes Papa will play along and put my face under his armpit (he says babies need the warmth) but sometimes he will just roll his eyes and tell us we make a perfect mother-daughter clown act. Well he’s just jealous, we say.

And about my room… my Papa has revamped the guest cum laundry cum storage room into a playroom so he’s been staying up late every night. So far, it’s looking really good! All my toys are in there- my drawing easel, my table and chairs, my laptop, vcds, dvds, and ALL my dollies and animals are arranged nicely! I’ve been playing in the comfort of the air-con room everyday (again, when they’re not home because the Great Reveal is supposed to be only on my birthday teeheehee…) so, KEEP IT COMING, Papa! More toys! More toys!

Tomorrow I will tell you more about my adventure on the FLAAAAAAAAA- yer. Yes. That’s how I pronounce it and if you ask me, I think that is how it should be pronounced.

…if I can get somebody to login to wordpress, that is….

See ya!

Love,
Kara (that’s what I call myself these days.)

But on this particular day off, we decided to walk a different route, passing by an infant and childcare centre located at the void deck of the block opposite ours. As we peeked in, we saw kids aged around 2 (or maybe younger) to 4 years old buzzing about their business, playing, fiddling with books, listening to storytelling sessions and lots of other fun activities.

And Ooyah looked in quietly, sometimes smiling to herself, probably wondering how much fun it would be to be IN that classroom and joining the kids who are around her age.

When we got home, we didn’t speak much about the childcare centre- Ramli and I thought it was a wee bit too… Oriental (we saw that most of the posters, signs and labels are in Mandarin, not so much in English).

Until last night.

We were in bed just before her bedtime; that’s when she would usually ask to be cuddled and she’d pretend to be a newborn baby (we actually do swaddle her with our comforter and she’d squint her eyes, loll her head and cry as if she’s only a few days old…real funny!). Last night was different. She crept up to me, looked at me in the eyes and said:

“Kakak nak kolah”. (I want to go to school- she calls herself ‘Kakak’ i.e  Elder Sister)

I was stumped of course. She must have been thinking about that childcare centre, the vision of promised fun and enjoyment must have been etched in her mind.

I told her that we’re thinking of sending her to a playgroup too, something like school. I said to her that she can go to school, but she cannot behave the same way as she does at home- there will be no ‘(T)Ok’, ‘Nek Nah’, no whining, no tantrums- basically she’d have to GROW UP. … I also told her that she has to learn how to share toys with her friends, and play together. While I said all this, Ooyah listened intently and looked as if she was full of thought. She was TRULY considering it!

After careful consideration (which lasted about 2 minutes), she then replied in a sing-song manner:

“Uhmm…kakak nak kawan. Nak main me-nan…” (I want friends. Play with toys.)

I told her we’ll look around for a suitable school for her around the vicinity, somewhere within walking distance. Her grandpa would have to send and fetch her to school, I guess, but perhaps it would be a good break for them too.

We have been toying around with the idea of sending her to a playgroup because she’s just loves to socialise and make friends. It would also do her good- surely she’ll pick up lots of other skills by being in a playgroup.

So I guess we’ll be checking out some places around our area, and of course those that are highly recommended by my Long who is quite the expert in this field. She knows which schools we should look out for.

*sigh* Our baby’s growing up real fast…

Happy 21st-month, babygirl!

That’s the word we’ll never fail to hear everyday, coming from Ooyah. When there is a computer in sight, ANY computer (even the PC in a travel agency will not be spared), you’ll be sure to hear her recite “Em-mo? Em-mo!” which basically means, “I am not asking- I am DEMANDING to see the cute ELMO on that computer NOW!”

(ALL) the videos on the sesame workshop site has to be watched EVERYDAY. Lest she has nightmares in the middle of the night, crying out, what else- EMMO…EMMMMO!!!!

She knows all the songs sung by the red furry monster; singing Ocean Emotion and Imagination while feeding her babydoll. One good thing that has come out of it- she can sing the Alphabet song, thanks to the Elmo+ India Arie duet.

Okayyyyy. It was OUR fault, really. Introducing him to her. Filling the house with all sorts of Elmo memorabilia (???!!!) and showing her all the videos. It was our fault. But we have realized our big mistake, and we’re totally paying the price for it.

In the past few weeks, we have decided to put her through some form of Elmo-Cold-Turkey. We do not give in to her demands of Emmo Emmo Emmo (repeat that a million times, gradually increasing sound volume and pitch), and distracted her with other ‘baby icons’ for example Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa Laa and Po (affectionately known by her as Kiki, Lala and Popo). We do not mention his name in the house (we codename him ’Om Le’ - making him Mas Slamat’s sidekick)(Om and Mas? Get it?) and have hidden any doll/ poster/ image of him. Sorta an attempt to let her memory of him FADE AWAY.

So far, so good. On top of that, everyone in the Teban family have stepped up on the Anti-Elmo movement by telling her how ugly Elmo is (with his unkempt fur and big big eyes) and that Elmo the ‘Traitor’  ’makes daily calls to Teban to complain about her misdemeanours’. She reacts quite strongly to this (she ‘pok’/ slapped Elmo severely), aghast that Elmo has indeed called her Aunty Wati to tell her about how Aurelia Sarah had snatched a bottle of fish food, emptied half of the whole bottle into the tank (god save the fish’s gut) and the other half scattered all over the living room in retaliation. How else could Aunty Wati know of this? It was him alright. How could he tell on her?

So we thought her obsession with Elmo has lessened. Well we thought wrong.

Today she begged again to watch Emmo Emmo Emmo.
To cut the long story short- I. GIVE. UP.

Ooyah: Nenok Emmo! Emmo! EMMMM- MOOOOOO!!!!
Me: NO!
Ooyah: *SCREAMMMMMM*
Me: OKAYYYY! SAY ‘PLEASE’?
Ooyah: Peeeeeeeesss?
Me: PLEASE WHO?
Ooyah: Emmo.
Me: NO. PLEASE MAMA.
Ooyah: Peeeeessss Emmo.
Me: WHAT? PEEESSSS EMMO? Salah. Please MAMA.
Ooyah: Peeeeeeeessssssss EMMO. (getting impatient)
Me: Say MAMA.
Ooyah: MAAAAA MAAAA.
Me: Good. Please Mama?
Ooyah: PEEEEESSSSSSSSSS EMMO?

*dunks Elmo doll in toilet bowl*

I guess we’re not alone in this. Apparently, he is a very much-sought after KIDDY ICON (WHY????), admired and loved by kids all over the world. Enjoy.

Oh. My. Gawdddd. This baby actually looks pleased.

This one looks horrified actually. Who wouldn’t be if ELMO ate YOU up????

So basically, this is what we want to do to Elmo. Kids, brace yourself.

We can  make it look like suicide, can’t we?

My mama has been very very lazy in updating my blog and she assures me that it is NOT because my adventures are less important than her daily rants. She says that she is just ‘way too busy’. Well, as long as she is not too busy to play my Elmo dvds for me, I’m good.

On Monday I will be TWENTY months. Wow. That seems so… grown up. In four months, I will be 2 YEARS OLD.

At this stage, I refuse to walk, and refuse to sit in my stroller. So how do I get around? Yep, that’s right. I demand to be CARRIED hehehhehe.

Even at home, I get my Tok Bak (whom I call ‘Ok’, not ‘okay’, ok, just ‘Tok’ without the ‘T’, get it?) to carry me around. And once Mama gets home, it’s HER turn to carry me.

Everyone says I am especially manja (affectionate) with my Mama lately. I need her to carry and cuddle me all the time, just to hold me close. I miss her terribly when she’s not there, and as soon as I see her face, I get so excited and happy! Then she is STUCK all the way with me, because I refuse to be separated from her. Everyday in my afternoon naps I dream of her and call out for her… Mamaaa…mamaaa….

At night, I either demand to sleep on Mama (she’s reallllly comfy, trust me on this one) or the least I need is to hold on to her fingers. Most nights, I even demand to be cuddled by her (like a baby, she says) and lullabied to sleep. On good nights, I lie in bed facing her and just look at her face until I fall asleep. Sometimes I am so afraid of closing my eyes because so many times, I do close my eyes and when I open them next, Mama is GONE!!!

Mama is never around anymore when I wake up at 9am, I don’t know why. I only get to see her at about 2 or 3. Gone are the days when I would wake up and see my dear Mama’s face, kissing me, and me kissing her back. Seeing her in the morning just makes my day…everything is going to be alright!

Today was one of the lucky and rare days that I wake up and see Mama next to me. I was sooo happy I clung on to Mama’s neckand woke her with my little voice, ‘Mamaaaaaa, mamaaaaa!’ and when she opened her eyes, I chuckled in joy. If only everyday is like today!

My nenek always teases my Mama and asks if I am going to get a little brother or sister soon. She says that’s always the case if a child like me is extra clingy and manja with mommy. Of course NOT, nenek, Mama is NOT having another baby okay, I am her ONE AND ONLY baby.

I’ve heard everyone talk about tomorrow being Mother’s Day, so Mama, and all Mamas, Mummies, Ammas, Ummis, Ibus, Emaks and whatever it is that you call your dearie Mama, this is for you!

Happy Mothers’ Day!

Hmm….. where is it where is it where is it WHERE. IS. IT.

I KNOW it must be somewhere around here. It’s in EVERY laptop, isn’t it? And to think MINE is the latest model. What a rip-off.

Ermmm… excuse me Mama… there seems to be a problem with my very stylish laptop.

….WHERE is the USB port? I really need to retrieve a picture of Elmo from my 4GB thumbdrive. NOW.