The Teenage-Baby Phase

It’s been a week that it happened- yes a whole week- Ooyah turned EIGHTEEN months, which means 6 more months to the big TWO. *shudder*

She’s been her usual (over)friendly, playful and chatty self. She chats EVERYONE up, regardless of age. In a matter of minutes after the initial quiet scrutiny (she screens everyone first), she’d be drawing the attention of people who are close to her, either engaging them in her baby babble, or playing hide and seek (and yes, people DO oblige- it’s amazing.) If there’s a toddler or child, even better (for her). Before long the place would be filled with laughter, excited, high-pitched screams, and not to mention, things toppling over (not good for me).

She’s beginning to either run or walk VERY VERY fast, I can’t quite figure which, and appetite wise, not much different from what it’s been these past few months. She has some bread for breakfast, rice for lunch (quite a big serving), biscuits (oh we have such a wide array at home!) and fruits (and murukku) for snacks, and rice again for dinner. Of course when we’re out, it’s a whole different story altogether! *read: hor fun, pasta, prata, fish and chips etc. etc….*

She has taken to doodling lately, so we got her lots of drawing paper and crayons to satisfy her need to express herself artistically, and she’s a football fanatic I can tell, screaming ‘GOALLLL!’ everytime she kicks (even though she misses the ball sometimes). I attribute this to the fact that I was watching the World Cup ALL THE TIME when I was pregnant with her.

But one thing’s for certain, we DID notice a behavioural change in her lately- we truly hope it’s just another PHASE. She’s been VERY strong headed, demanding to have things her way. Her favourite thing to do is refusing to have us hold her hand when she walks, and even refusing to be carried or be put in her stroller. What this means for me is- ACTIVITY. Yes. I am moving more than usual, even running after her (although I leave this to her Papa when he’s around), so…. not good.

From the blogs books I’ve been doing research on, I guess this change is normal, and I do expect this phase to last maybe *gasp* a year or so *pant pant*; before the ‘i-refuse-to-walk-chuck-me-in-the-pram’ phase. Can’t wait for that. I call this stage- the Teenage-Baby phase. Yeah. It’s a difficult stage. But it’ll do good (to my patience/body/vocal muscles).

When she finds a playmate outside, it’s hard to tear her away from the scene. We secretly hope that her playmate would leave the scene first because she will gladly wave goodbye to him or her, but sometimes they stay FOREVER so WE have to make the ‘okay-we’re-leaving’ move. Ouh. Hate that.

On top of that, her nap times are getting shorter and shorter, and when I or Ramli’s at home, she refuses to nap AT ALL (knowing there’s a high chance we’re going out!) Because she is extremely sociable, she enjoys going for a morning AND evening walk at the neighbourhood park and from what her Tok Bak tells me, she does have regular playmates who visit the park daily. I think the daily playtime at the park plays a VITAL role in zapping out her energy so she sleeps earlier and longer developing her social and motor skills.

On days when we do go out, she won’t sleep in the daytime no matter how tired she gets. It’s as if she’s afraid of missing out on the fun. And we all know what a TIRED baby is capable of. Yes. Crank it up, baby.

So apart from when she’s running out of fuel and battling off dreamland, she’s pretty much her normal Ooyah self. She’s definitely more entertaining these days, what with her rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the Elmo Song and her all-time favourite, Majulah Singapura (yes, she’s patriotic too!)

We’re keeping our fingers crossed for our Vietnam trip this Friday, hoping that she’d be as manageable and FUN as she was in Phuket.

But of course, she was SEVENTEEN months then. Sigh. Those were the days.

* I’ve added a new page of a list of words that she is able to use, and will hopefully keep it updated as she learns more words. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier *slaps forehead*

Sawadeeka!

Sawadeeka everyone!
Yes, it’s been a week since I came back from my holiday in Phuket (i say Bu-ket, which is actually it’s real Malay name, okay, so Mama, I am pronouncing it right.)

I had my first experience with the sea that my Papa is so in love with, and I can understand why. Because I TOTALLY dig it as well. Especially the SAND. DIGGGG it, mannn.

That’s me DIGGING the sand. So much sand to dig, so little hands.And I had a splashing good time in the beautiful clear blue water too, and I saw so many ISHHH swimming around me! The closest I got to ISHHH before this is of course, with my pet ISHHH in the fish tank at home. Of course my short little hands are never long enough to reach into the bottom of the tank to touch the &%*% ISH, so this time round, I got realll close. Pity I couldn’t squeeze ‘em.
Me and Mama in the sea. Notice how Mama’s face is layered thick with sunblock (she learnt her lesson after she charred herself the last time she was in the sea.) And that’s me doing the LUCKYYY sign (Aunty Bav and Aunty Angelina will know this sign very well).I was SO in love with the sea, I refused to leave. And everytime we got out of the water, I would whine and whine and would only stop when I’m put on the sand to play with my sandcastles. And then I refused to stop playing with the sand, so basically, we spent THE WHOLE TIME either on the sand or in the water. (Not good for my Mama’s skin).To prove to you how much I love the beach, I even serenaded a sad tune when told by my Mama to leave. (Actually, it’s a love song for my newly found Thai beau- more of this later.)Did you manage to hear me say “Oh mengapa?” (Oh why?) in the early part of the video? Why oh why, are two small hearts separated by the sea, one in Thailand, one in Singapore, oh menggg-ggapa????
My mama of course thought that I was doing the Azan or prayer call midway through my song, so she was trying to prompt me to continue. WRONNGGGG, mama. I’m singing a LOVE SONG lahhh. (Oh, by the way, I love reciting the Azan. One day I’ll put up the video hokay?)

Oh yes. Back to my love story. Our first night in Phuket, we stayed at hotel on Patong beach. The son of the hotel’s owner was there in the cafe, so that’s where it started. He tried to amuse me with his silly tricks, which consisted of (1)running straight into the wall REPEATEDLY with exaggerated sound effects (2)passing a straw to me and have me hand it back to him OVER and OVER again and (3)playing hide and seek with me. Now, while playing hide and seek, I hid behind my Mama who was seated on a chair (this is the best-ever place to hide, if you catch my drift), and my boyfriend actually snuck his head behind the chair and found me! Suddenly…. he stared at me with his big round eyes, and SUDDENLY, he planted his lips on mine! YUCKKKKK!!!!! (But I kept quiet anyway teehee).

THAT’s when my Mama turned back, and caught us in the act.
“SARAAHHHHH!!!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING????”
and THAT’S when the bo-boy ran for dear life.

That’s us in happier times, playing silly games like ‘pass the straw’. I’ve played better games, but somehow with him, I’m so easily amused. Sigh. The power of love.Sadly, as Mama was horrified by the whole fiasco, she forgot to take pictures of us smooching. What a pity. She managed to catch this though, a picture I can keep in my little red wallet:

That’s him, whatever his name is. He’s being lectured my Mama for kissing me.
Basically it went like this:

 

 

 

 

Mama went something like “NO (shakes head and wags finger) KISSS!!! (pucker lips)”. I think he got the message because we didn’t see him again. *sob*

 Apart from that, I also had another memorable experience (all thanks to Mama for this one). She actually thought of getting HER hair braided, but after remembering that she has to be back in school when we return, guess WHO had the honour of fulfilling her hair-braiding fantasy?

Mama trying to amuse me with horrific pictures of tatooed bodyparts. Me trying very hard to control my tears. I was SO SCARED because THREE STRANGERS were fiddling with my hair!

The end result?

 

Cool huh? My stylists said it would last 2 weeks but mine lasted 2 DAYS. Mama felt so sorry that the beads were bothering me when I try to sleep. But the truth is, I LOVE the sound of the clinking beads whenever I move my head. That’s why I shook my head a lot after the braiding.  

SO in SHORT, that was my fantastic holiday in Phuket. I can’t wait for Good Friday. That’s when we’re having our next adventure, to a place called VIETNAM. (I wonder if the boys there are cute.)

Khop-khun kaa!!! (Thank you in Thai- That’s my FAVOURITE phrase to say these days, but I say it kun-kun-KAAA!!!)

Minah Melaka!

Oishii!!!!

Sometime last week, or last last week (I’ve had so many adventures nowadays that I cannot recall), we went to Ramen Ten to have japanese food.

It’s not my first time going jap, but I must say, having the whole family tucking in makes the whole sushi-eating experience so much better! (Beats eating with just my Mama and Papa, surely…)

So this is my adventure squeezing the roe of Ishhhh*. I love Ishhh and Ishhh babies-to-be.

Which reminds me- when will my 2 Ishhhh* at home start having Ish-eggs?

*Mama’s note: Ishhhh = Fish

Chin Chow Kapowww!!!

First of all, I wish you a VERY VERY HAPPY FABULICIOUS 2008! May all you Aunties and Unkles out there reading this remain young and cute always. Okay at least till the end of this year. (It’s tough being a grown-up, I know.)

 I tried a new dessert on Friday. It’s grass jelly but I prefer to call it chin chow (grass is that thing cows eat right? Ewww.)

Mama says she didn’t let me try this tasty chewy thingy earlier because it usually comes in drinks and I can easily choke on it if I slurp it up. Choke? Choking is for babies lah Mama. I’m no baby; I’m a T-O-D-D-L-E-R who is a pro at eating. Trust me on this, please.

At first I was a bit suspicious. It’s black. Whoever thought black was a good colour for food? Why not stick to PINK?

But after savouring it in my mouth for a few moments, I decided.
Chin chow- I LIKE!!!
(Please stock up on this amazing food okay, Mama? It helps cool down my heaty sweaty body.)

WAHHH! LaWAAAAA!!!

As mentioned in the previous post, my Mama ACTUALLY brought me to visit a doctor on Friday. On the pretext of ‘having the flu’, she squeezed in extra questions about MY APPETITE. *rolls eyes*

The kind doctor weighed me and told her my weight is FINE. I’m not the chubby-checker, plumpy-toddler type I know, and I don’t wish to be one. My Nenek Mak (papa’s mama) has been very worried about my eating habits and my Tok Bak (papa’s papa) (???) kept on saying that my arm is getting thinner and thinner by the day.

Attention, everyone: I am of normal weight. I am very mobile these days (I walk non-stop at home and try to climb whatever I can climb!) so naturally I’m burning more calories. And I don’t eat much these days because, well my body just doesn’t need so much food, that’s all. So please, Tok Bak and Nenek Mak, don’t worry okay. And don’t try to plump me up by mixing Appeton and what-not into my food please; I do not wish to be in the TAF club at Primary 1!

After the visit to the doctor, Tok Ayah (mama’s papa), Nenek Ibu (mama’s mama) and Aunty Waty fetched me and mama from the clinic and off we went for lunch! Yippeeeee! (See? I LOVE the idea of eating!)

We ended up at Hajah Maimunah’s at Jalan Pisang and as usual, Mama went ga-ga over the food.
See what I mean? I should have told the doctor about her. Her appetite worries me.

I had my own plate of rice of course. These days I just refuse to be fed, no matter how hungry I am so I will always insist on my own serving and my own cutlery. I INSIST on making a grand mess at the end of it all!

I take my food very very seriously. Can you tell from my clenched fist?

Upon walking back to the car, my Mama and Aunty were giggling over this.

To tell you the truth, I don’t actually know what’s so funny about it, but I just laughed as well. Whatever.

After lunch, we headed to Meritus Mandarin where my Nenek, Mama and Aunty went crazy over many many bags. At one point, they were so engrossed choosing their leather goods that they didn’t even notice me winking and giggling big time at a cute Chinese boy-boy in that shop. Saved by the bag, I say!

I had to go to the toilet to have my very wet diaper changed, and guess what I saw in the toilet?

I saw this REALLY PRETTY AND CUTE AND SWEET AND ADORABLE little girl (I don’t mean to brag but I think this girl looks a lot like me). She was SO GORGEOUS that I HAD to give her a kiss. A wet wet one of course.

On our way back after dinner, everyone was a bit groggy and sleepy, except me (I was dancing to the music in atuk’s car). And then SOMETHING caught my eye, and I shouted “WAAHHHHH!!!! LAWAAAAAAAA!!!!!” (Wow, NICE!) Waking everyone up and thanks to me, everyone managed to catch this beautiful sight!

So colourful right? So bright! I cannot wait to get onto it even though I was very very scared when I was on the Eye on Malaysia. Nevermind. The beautiful lights on this wheel will help me overcome whatever fear I have!

That’s my adventure last night. Reporting to you from Jurong, this is me, Sarah LaWAAAAA* signing off!

*Nenek: Sarah yang mana?  (Which Sarah is it?)
 Me: Lawaaaa! (Pretty Sarah)
Nenek: Sarah apa?
Me: LaWAAAA!!!!

Night Out at Vivo

I woke up early today to go to my Nenek’s house in Teban. Apparently, my Mama had made an appointment with a massage therapist (‘not makcik urut’, she says) to have her body pummelled and twisted and brutalized. Adults do the weirdest things sometimes.

Needless to say, after being tortured like that (Mama was writhing in pain on the massage bed- when I saw this I whimpered so that the lady who was torturing her would stop, but she didn’t!) Mama was knocked out. The lady even said that Mama may come down with fever; it usually happens after a rigourous massage like the one she had (more like battering to me!) Good thinking on my part- I pretended to sleep when it was my turn to be tortured. No thanks, lady. I don’t need no massage.

At long last, Mama woke up, so off we went to Vivo. Funnily enough, it was me who eventually came down with a slight temperature. I was sneezing quite a bit, and before long, I felt all funny and feverish.

But was I ’subdued’? ‘Weak’? ‘Lethargic’?

Hell NO.

I walked a great deal. No hand-holding please, I can manage very well on my own. *beams*

I try to walk as far away as possible from The Adults. But before long, Papa blew my cover (of pretending to be an adult too) and managed to catch me. Dang it.

I even had the energy to wail and bang on the closed sliding doors at Crocs, my favourite shop. (The colours drive me CRAZY and I go wild trying to arrange and rearrange all the shoes!)
“LET ME IN!” I said in my Baby language, “I’M WEARING YOUR SHOES!” but they refused to let me in. The NERVE.
I’ll get back at you one day for this injustice, Crocs Crew- I’m gonna mess up your displays BIG TIME!

Then we went to Gloria Jean’s coffee. This is me, with my favourite hand sign.
It means…. wait- I don’t know what it means. I just do that sign whenever I feel like it.

Atuk: Eeeekkkkk!!!! Are you picking your nose, Aurelia Sarah?
Me: NO!!!! OF COURSE NOTTTT ATUK! That’s so EEEWWWWW!!! *hides giant booger in Mama’s cake*

I even got Papa to take a picture of me with Atuk in front of a Christmas tree which I think is quite ‘LaWAAAA!!!!’ (Nice). By the way, ‘LaWAAA!!!’ is my fave phrase these days.  

Fever didn’t stop me from playing catch with Atuk! You cannot catch me, nyeh nyeh nyeh! 

My Nenek Ibu and Mama. LaWAAAA!!!!! (Can I get another funky crocs, Mama?)

Mama trying to ’soothe her pain’ with the Chocolate Royale cake. She looks beat, doesn’t she?

Then it started- Mama started to make silly, twisted faces at everyone (we ignored her of course.) I think it could only be two things that caused her to be like this. (1) the chocolate cake+ toxic booger (mine), or perhaps (2) the massage therapist (“NOT MAKCIK URUT!” mama insists again) had hit a wrong nerve in her head. Poor Mama.

So that was our evening at Vivo. I still had a fever when we got home, and Mama’s been force-feeding me with awful medicine. I put up a fight to stay awake till 2am, just to prove to her that I’M ALRIGHT. (She really DOES worry too much!) Anyhow, I hear she’s gonna bring me to a baby doctor tomorrow, for the fever, and also to check up on my ’lack of appetite’.

I told you she worries too much.

My First Game of TAG!

I’ve been tagged by my (crazy) Mama, and since I am NOW WALKING (YES I AM!!!!) I am very excited to play this game of tag.

Oh- this one is not that kind of tag, issit?

Oh. *malu*

Anyway.

Remove one question from below, and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag 8 people in your list. List them out at the end of this post. Notify them in their chatbox that he/she have been tagged. Whoever did the tag will have a blessing from all.

1) You like rainy or sunny day? Why?

I like both for different reasons, can?
Rainy: I don’t sweat so much so my hair is not so mashammmm (sourish-smelling) and people don’t make jokes about my smell. (Not funny, ok).
Sunny: Higher chance of me going out- my mama becomes a biiiiiiit lazy on rainy days. (Lazier than her normal lazy).

2) At what age do you wish to marry? 
Is this that thingy like when papa and mama put on fancy clothes and take hugging hugging pictures? 
My papa says 30. My mama says 25.
I SAY 3! (My mama is 3 years old, right?)3) What colour do you like the most?

I don’t really care actually, but my mama makes it seem like I love pink. Whatever.

4) If you have the chance, what would you probably say to your beloved ones?

To my Papa: I love you, but I hate it when you scold me. You cut me deep. Can you be less fierce please? 
To my Mama: I love sleeping on your fleshy arm every night. You feel better than my pillow and I like the smell of your deodorant too.
To my Nenek Ibu: I love sitting on your lap in Atuk’s Ka Ka Ka (car lah). But most of all I love giving you a shock when I wind down the window muakakakkaka.
To my Tok Ayah: I love love love you very much, that’s why I always wave at you when you’re driving. I love it when you RESCUE ME from any scolding anyone’s about to give me. You save my life, Atuk.  MMMUUUUAAAHHHH!!!
To Aunty Wati: I love it when you teach me new things. I can absorb things much easier when YOU teach it. Why ah?
                        And when you scold me, I get very scared. Why ah?
To Mama Izah: I love it when you give me a wet kiss (even though Aunty Wati will scold you for it). And I love it how I always mistake you for Mama, but it doesn’t matter at all. You’re just as comfortable!
To my Ish: You’re all so cute and slippery and shiny and one day I’ll get my hands on all of you when no one’s looking. You just wait, okay, Ish?

5) Where is the place that you want to go the most?
Any colourful toyshop like Mini Toons, Kiddy Palace, and Toys R Us! 6) Which part of you that you hate the most?

I love all my body parts! I wanna kiss em all! I love my button nose most!

7) When you encounter a sad moment, what would you do?

Sad is when….papa/nenek/aunty scolds me. (Mama scold me I laugh. So funny when she scolds!)
So when that happens, I cry and cry and cry until they say SORRY. Nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh!!!!

8 ) What is it that you are afraid to lose the most?

My hairclip/ rubber band. Then Mama will scream her head off and panic and say “OOYAH! YOU GOT ME INTO TROUBLE AGAIN!!!! YOUR NENEK IS GONNA GIVE ME HELL FOR THIS BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA….” I don’t listen to the rest, because she’ll start screaming at Papa after that. Hahahahha.

9) If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her? Or would you keep it to yourself and observe from afar?

I’m like my Mama (I read her blog too). I would wave at the boy-boy, flash my sweetest smile to show off my pearly whites. If he’s close by, sometimes I would poke his hand/eye until he looks at me. They always like me back.

10) List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you.

Mama is the best mama in the whole wide world (I notice everyone says the same thing about their mama. Why ah?)
Mama is the most beautiful woman in the whole wide world (same for this one. How come YOU think YOUR mama is the most beautiful woman ah?)
Mama is very good to sleep on. That’s why papa and I fight to sleep beside her every night. I ALWAYS WIN! (Papa will cheat sometimes and transfer me to the cot as soon as I start snoring.)

11) What are the requirements that you wish for your other half?

You mean – I am HALF of something else? Like….siamese twin issit?

Ohhhhh you mean ‘my other half’….as in…that one is it?

1) must be a boy-boy *giggle*
2) must be older than me
3) can play peekaboo with me for 6 hours non-stop.

12) Till now what is the moment you regret the most?

Bungee jumping off my parents’ bed. Now I’m left with a dent on my forehead.

13) Which type of person you hate the most?

People who stare at me when I cry. What? NEVER see baby cry before is it? If you CANNOT TALK, or more like, people cannot understand what you SAY, you will cry also okay!
People who don’t smile back at me when I wave or smile at them. How UNFRIENDLY!
People who hog the kiddy rides and refuse to give in to a baby like me.14) What is your ambition?

I want to be dancer but my Mama and Papa won’t hear of it, so…
I want to be a baby forever. (Hahahahhaa how’d you like THAT, papa?)

15) What is the thing that will make you think he/she is bad?  

When they do not respond after I smile or wave at them. Something wrong ah?

16) Christmas is coming. Who do you like to celebrate with?

Errmmm….. will I get Green packets during this celebration? Or – will there at least be pineapple tarts?
Oh…. don’t have is it? *wails*

17) What do you think is the most important thing in your life?

My family lah.

18) Do you go to pub after married?

My mama says it’s a BAD BAD BAAAAAAAAAD place to go to (Mama’s exact words “It’s like going to hell. Nobody likes going to hell.”
So i say, no. I will NEVER go to that Pub place. *shudder*

19) What’s your fav things?

My milk. My ‘Kate’ (cat- Mama says I’ve got thick Malay accent like my idol CT Nurhaliza- ok what….) My Ish (Fish). My Bay (bear).
And my FAV FAV THING- lights! Any light- street light, traffic light, car signal lights…I love…..

20) My Question: What size diaper do you wear?
I’m wearing L Mamy Poko! I like!

 & this tag will be passed on to:
Ayeed
Divya
Hawra
Nuha
Nunu

OKAY! YOU GUYS ARE ‘IT!’ or is it- ‘THEM’? *scratches head*
Nemmind, GO GO GO!

My Adventure in Micasa

My Part Time Job

Yeah, I do have a job. I don’t think it should be part-time though, since I’m at it for many many hours a day. You see, I arrange things. I take things out from something, then put them back where they came from, then I take them out again… I repeat this process until I see perfection. But I rarely see perfection. Mama thinks I’ve got this neat-freak-arranging knack from my papa. And she’s very happy that she will have another assistant in the house to help organize her ‘organized mess’. Hrrrmphh.

Anyway, I was at my Aunty Wati’s workplace the other day, and tsk tsk tsk….I saw SO MANY THINGS that needed my expert-arrangement skills. So off to work!

Aunty, WHY is this chair out here?  *glares*

This one should go up here lah…why so out of place?

It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it. I enjoy the challenge though. Even if it makes my ponytails go haywire, one up, one down.

Hmm…this is rather tricky. A stuck chair. Hmm. Gotta move this aside first. It’s like a fun puzzle!


HYAKKKK!!!! HYAKKKK!!!! Alamak why must it be so heavy? How to lift up like that?

So that’s how my work is. This one being the most challenging since I haven’t worked with arranging chairs before (the ones at home are too heavy to even budge!) I was tired out at the end of the day of course, having used up all the baby energy in me with all that lifting and pushing.

So Aunty Waty, no need to thank me okay. Just…surprise me with, erm, I dunno, an amazingly BIG toy or something. No rush.

P.S: Aunty Bav, I so LOVE this outfit you gave me! My grandparents love it SO MUCH TOO! They think I look like a schoolgirl! (They can’t WAIT to get me outta the house, can they? SCHOOL??? MY AGE?)
But yeah, i agree. I do look cute in this. *beams*