Bathing tantrums

Bathing time used to be Vanessa’s favourite time. She used to love it that bathing twice a day seems not enough. But, not anymore. The fun are over. Lately, she doesn’t even want to step a foot in the bathroom! Let alone taking a bath. *sigh*

Before this, her bathing time is around 09:30 in the morning and 5 o’clock in the evening. Now she will only take her bath at 11am and 6.30pm…and not after she put up some tantrums. Bila saja sampai time mandi, misti mau berperang dulu … She'll scream and struggle when her clothes are removed. *sigh* I pity Mom and maid because they have to go through this tiresome task everyday except on the weekend where I will take over the task.

We tried various ways to persuade her. Talk to her, let her do it herself, let her bath with her rubber deer … macam-macam la. Did it work? Yes, but only for a day or two. After that, we have to find another way to persuade her…and we are running out of idea already. *faint* Ntah apa lagi cara mau pujuk ini budak kici…When soft-talk doesn’t seem to work, then we had to force her. She’ll end-up screaming, crying and throwing whatever item she can get hold of until the whole bathing process is over. It’s not a pretty sight and I would very much like to avoid it.

But some day when she feel like taking a bath, she will stay in the bathroom for an hour…nda mau keluar2 dari tu bathroom la pula. Eventually, we had to persuade her to leave and get dress. Aduii..this little girl is causing me headache…

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The hunt for Chinese costume

I’ve learned my lesson. Next year, I will decide early on whether to buy ready made cheongsam or custom made cheongsam for my girl. This year, I wanted to dress her in a red cheongsam but because of my indecisive/procrastinating, I couldn’t find one that fit her well. Yeah, I know, procrastinating is bad but like they said, bad habit dies hard. *smile* Next year, Mommy will get you a cheongsam, my dear.

After searching high and low at all the shops in Donggongon, Segama , Centre Point, Wisma Merdeka , I still couldn’t find her the right one. They were either a size too big or too small or they were not red in colour. Finally, we found this samfu at Servay Hypermarket, Putatan on 12th Feb. Just in time. Well, it’s not cheongsam but I guess, we were lucky enough to find this red samfu and the size is just ngam for my little girl…phew...

Though it’s not mandatory to wear Chinese costume during CNY, but children looks so cute in them. Besides, even without them saying so, I know FIL and MIL would love to see their granddaughter in one. *smile* It’s not everyday that you get to see them wearing such costume…

Alright, answering Just and Mouren’s bonus question, “How much angpau did Vanessa get this year?” *smile* Not as much as last year. But, I’m not complaining. Whatever the amount is, I am grateful for Vanessa’s rezeki. No doubt that all her angpau money will go into her saving. Most (if not all) parents will do the same, right? Or, you have better idea on how to manage your kids’ money? *smile*

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When your 2-year old toddler crave for something…

… it will be anything but a pretty scene! You had better prepare yourself with your child’s temper tantrum. Last Saturday, I had the chance to experienced the worst (so far) of Vanessa’s “terrible twos” moment. *sigh*

Vanessa demanded to have rambutans. And she wanted it pronto! Luckily, there were still a few rambutans left on our tree but it was scattered here and there. Susah juga la bah mau jolok. As hubby was out during that time, the Kakak had to struggle with the bamboo stick to pluck the rambutan. In the meantime, mom and I were trying our best to calm Vanessa. We tried to divert her attention by offering her to watch her favourite nursery rhymes sing-along VCD; offered her favourite Vitagen drinks etc, etc. Obviously, all the tactics didn’t work! She was crying on top of her lung, instead! :)

Nonetheless, the Kakak managed to get 5 rambutans. We quickly peeled the skin, separated the flesh from its seeds and fed the little monster. Whoa, the little monster finished all 5 in just a minute! Wiped clean her bowl…and….guess what? She wanted more! And she wants it “now”!!! *faint* Convincing her to wait again was even harder. Aduiii...

Fortunately, hubby came home just in time. Pheww! When he saw and heard all the drama, he didn’t bother to step inside the house, but went straight to climb the rambutan tree and pluck whatever was remaining. He came back with two handfuls. Vanessa had two more then her craving was satisfied. *relief*

Nasib baik, our rambutan tree masih ada buah (itupun over ripe suda…hehe..). Otherwise, I don’t know if the Little Big Boss can wait for us to drive to Donggongon town to buy her rambutans. As the rambutan season is coming to its end, there was no more rambutan left on the neighbours’ tree. Tiada lagi tempat terdekat untuk membeli… *sigh* I just hope that she will not crave for the fruit when the season is over. Kalau suda limpas musim dia, mana lagi mau cari…. LOL…

Okay, all of you parents who had experience your kids’ “terrible two” moment, mind to share your story with first-time mom like me? I sure would like to learn how your guys handled the situation…hehe…

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Can’t sleep without them…sleeping buddies

People! Meet Vanessa’s sleeping buddies – Dora the Explorer, Tweety Bird, Buttercup, Teddy Bear and Kiko the Harp Seal…. :) Every night, ALL her buddies must join her in bed…satu tertinggal pun tida bulih kunun. *sigh* Nasib baiklah, she relent to taking only Dora and Kiko along every time we go back to Po-po and Ye-ye’s place. Otherwise, not enough room in my Kancil. *smile*

The gang sitting on the sofa.

Every night, before I tuck-in the little princess, I will arrange her buddies at the bedside. Her courageous buddies will protect her from the scary labah-labah hitam (black spider) or the kuda hitam (black pony). *smile* Hmm, since Dora is her favourite buddy, she’ll get special treatment. Dora gets to sleep near the little master. *smile* If she’s lucky, she’ll survive the night in that position. If not, she’ll end up on the floor in the morning...kana sepak oleh si tuan kecil…LOL.

Hehe…I bet your kids got their sleeping buddies or comfort toys or anything that they just can't sleep without, right? When I was a kid myself, I used to have a favourite blanket. Every time I go to my cuz for a sleep-over, I'll bring it along…hahahha…

Okay, about that kuda hitam that Vanessa feared so much. It’s not a real pony, mind you. Hehe…it is only a rubber pony that belongs to her cuz! Once upon a time si kuda hitam looks cute and colorful, something like this pic, but now…its colour has transformed into black with “panau” (wear and tear la) here and there…hahahaa….

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Vanessa’s 2nd birthday

Vanessa’s 2nd birthday falls on 05 Oct, but we celebrated it a day earlier. It was a cozy and merry event attended by close relatives and neighbours. As we are a small household, we do not have enough manpower to do all the cooking. We catered the main dishes from Kedai Makan & Minum Ching Fah. Mom’s cooked her sup soko (bamboo shoots soup) and hubby did the vegetable.

:) An aunty officiating the makan-makan session after the food blessing. The dishes (L –R): White rice; Deep Fried Chicken with Sesame Seeds; Sweet & Sour Fish ; Japanese Toufu with Salted Beans; Pork Chop in Stout Sauce & Baby Kalian vege. (In the pot) Sup Soko; Watermelon and Chilled Orange syrup drinks.

So what did I do? Hehe…I baked the birthday girl 2 cakes. Just the simple Vanilla Butter Cake and Pandan Butter Cake. Instead of buying one from the bakery, I was determined to bake them and decorate them as well. Begitu la semangatnya si Mama Mia…..hahaha…. I baked the cakes the night before and made the buttercream icing the next morning. In the process of doing all this, hubby had to bring Vanessa jalan-jalan di kedai. Otherwise, it there’s no way I can manage. LOL.

The cakes turn out a-ok. But in the end, it was hubby who got really excited to do the frosting and decorating. So, let him be. I did get to test my skill though. As you can see, we both need a lot of practice. LOL.

I had the kids gathered around to sing the Happy Birthday song. As she's too young to sing, Vanessa just clapped her hands. But when it was time to blew-out the candles, she chickened out pulak. Eventually, the other kids were more than happy to help her..hehe..

The verdict on the cakes? Finger lickin' good! (Or maybe I was a bit exaggerating there…hehe..) Anyway, both cakes were wiped-clean by the guests…no left over for tomorrow. :)

The event ended at about 6pm. And we all retreated to bed as early as 9pm. No humming any nursery rhymes that night cos the birthday girl fell asleep as soon as she hit the pillow. :)

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Mind your language

When I came home from work, I was greeted cheerfully by my little girl at the door. She even offered to carry my bag…hehe..Secara automatic, hilang trus segala penat selepas seharian bekerja…

After I had my bath and dinner, like usual, watch the news, Buletin Utama. All of a sudden, my little girl started to chant, “Anak Mia! Anak Mia! (Mia - yours truly’s, daughter)” over and over again. OMG. I looked at her wide-eyed, speechless…Since my attempt to stop her was fruitless; I tried to change the sentence to “Anak Mummy! (Mummy’s girl)”, but also in vain. So, I ignored her chant and pretended not to hear it, eventually she got bored and stopped on her own…because tida kena layan. :)

When I asked Mom about it, she said my helper took her for a morning walk and they met an aunty who asked my helper’s the question, “Anak si Mia ka ni? (Is this Mia’s girl?)” Somehow, Vanessa find it amusing that she quickly pick up the key words, and started chanting away. Not that my helper and Mom didn’t try to stop her. She would repeat them whenever she feels like it….*sigh* This morning, I didn’t hear her chanting. I sure hope that she had forgotten them. Keeping my fingers crossed…hehe…

At this age, kids are very sensitive to audio-visual experience. They are sure to copy anything they hear or see, be it something good or the opposite. Therefore, all at home are trying our best to filter our language. No swear words or bad words are permitted in the little girl’s presence. But the tricky part is to get my neighbour’s kids to comply with it. Every now and then, I heard them saying lines like, “Buduh bah kau! (You’re stupid!); Kau gila! (You’re crazy!) I know, they don’t really mean those words but, how do you like it if your kids say those line to your face? Or worse, says those words to other ppl in public?! *slap forehead* Other ppl may not be that understanding, they might get offended by it.

I remembered an ex-colleague's son's remark on another colleague's bald head. The kid just walk up to the guy and cheerfully said, "Hey Uncle, how come you have no hairs on your head like evrybody else?" The Uncle, smiled and politely said, "Why don't you go ask your dad about that?" When the kid left, the Uncle confessed that he feels like strangling the boy right there! LOL. Oh, the boy never came back to the Uncle, so we never knew what his dad told him. The parents must have scolded him about his offensive remark.LOL.

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1 year, 9 months, 1 week and 3 days…

Oh my, we are already in the mid of July. It might sound so cliché but time flies so fast, especially when you are watching your own kid grows. There are times when I found myself wishing daughter Vanessa would grow faster and yet in the same time, I want her to stay as she is. I guess many mothers out there feel the same way about their kids.
Okay, in her 22nd month, Vanessa now weighs 11.5kg and 87.5cm tall. She was such a darling on her recent visit to the clinic, giving the nurse full co-operation. Here are some of the milestones she has reached:-

~ Able to point out body parts
~ Able to identify animals especially domestic ones (anuk = manuk/chicken; ingaw = tingau/cat; abau = kalabau/buffalo; ambing = kambing/goat; utik = putik/duck)
~ Remove her clothes (with help, on the buttons)
~ Brush her teeth (with help)
~ Speaks and be understood most of the time
~ Increase in vocabulary (her current favourite words are, kiu = thank you; tuada=kotohuadan/thank you; apap =hapap/ feet; melo = watermelon; belo = balloon; odop = modop/sleep)
~ Able to make short sentence (Mami balik uda = mummy is back; Au bulih = no can do; kiu Mama = Thank you, Mama)
~ Graduated in potty-learning (but some times she wet her pants juga la… hehe..)

Last week, BIL, his wife and 5 months old baby son came to stay with us for one whole week as his wife had some course to attend in KK. Vanessa was so fond of the baby that she insists to rock him in the cradle. Is this a sign that my daughter is ready for a baby brother or sister? Hehehe…

She wanted to be near her baby cousin all the time, watching him sleeps, bath, feed and even nappy-changing. That last activity brought her to the discovery that her cousin has something she doesn’t. Baby Ivan has a penis. Vanessa seems so concerned and curious about their difference. Since then, I often caught her looking inside her pants checking her private part. I think I should get one of the simple illustrated book to help in explaining the difference in a boy's and girl's anatomy. :)

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Balloons at the Carnival

Have you ever listened to MUZIKfm? Hehe…I never but I accidentally visited their Carnival last Saturday at Stadium Likas parking lot. The carnival and concert was held from 3 – 5 July 2009. I was driving by the stadium when I saw all the white canopies erected at the compound. Underneath the canopies were stalls selling foods, drinks and women accessories. Almost all the food sold were identical from one stall to another, Nasi Lemak, grilled chicken wings, fried noodles, etc.

Of all the stalls, there were two stalls that pull customers, especially the young ones, like magnets. They were selling these huge cartoon characters balloon. There were Tweety Bird, Spongebob, Spiderman etc, cute and very colorful. Any kids would sure drag their parents to these stalls. Even me, who was alone that time also attracted to have a look at this particular stall….hehehe Since there wasn’t any Barney or Dora the Explorer balloon, I thought of buying a Hello Kitty for Vanessa.

OMG! I had the shock of my life when I asked about the price. It cost a whopping RM8.00 per piece!!! What??! This colorful, floating thing that lasts only for 2-3 days max is that expensive?!! *faint* I thought it would cost RM4.00 the most. I pity those parents who came with 3 – 4 kids in tow... They must have burned a big hole in their pocket…hahaha….As for me, I settled for a smaller Hello Kitty balloon that cost RM4.00. Am I a stingy mommy? Maybe, I am. But I think RM8.00 for a balloon is just too expensive. What say you?

P/s : Happy weekend everyone! :)

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Here fishy-fishy...

My little girl insists to feed the tilapias in our small pond at the backyard. Mama tried to stop her but no use. Vanessa cried out her protests and shouted on top of her lung, “Mau! Mau! Mau!” So,as expected, Mama gave in to her request and let the little girl do the job. So, starting this morning, Vanessa is the official fish-feeder. Feeding the fishes twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon will be her routine. As long as Mama remember to allocate the fish food in a small can, everything will be fine. Otherwise, Van-van won’t stop feeding the fishes until there is no more food left in the container…hahahaha…

Vanessa loves feeding them. She will scoop bit by bit the fish food with a small teaspoon. Every now and then, she’ll break into excited giggles, pointing the fishes that came to feed. *smile* Hmm, she has yet to pronounce ‘fish’ or ‘sada’ (Kadazan for fish) properly though. So far, they come out sounding more like ‘pi’ and ‘da’ only…..hahaha… But it’s okay; I know she will get better in time.

Okay, to tell you the truth, I’m not really in the mood to blog-hop or even work lately. The reason being, I am already in holiday mood! LOL! I have already taken 2 days leave starting tomorrow, with the weekend and public holidays for Kaamatan included, I’ll be on 6 days break…wooohooo!!! I feel good!

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Bend it like Beckham

As the compound of our house is quite big, my neighbours’ kids like to come every evening to play. Some time badminton, some time football, some time just running around, playing the game of “Police and Thief”. Hehe…it sounds more like “Polis-sen-tep” though. LOL!

* sigh * Daughter Vanessa doesn’t want to be left behind. She also wants to join in the fun. When the kids are playing badminton, she wants to play along. She whines for the badminton racket and cry for a chance to hit the shuttlecock. Tapi, mana la dia pandai, interrupting their game ada la. Obviously, some of the kids, especially the boys, do not welcome her in the play…kacau saja, they said. And being the protective Mama, my mom always warn them," Kalau kamu tida mau kana kacau, pigi la main di tempat lain." (If you don’t want any interference, then go play somewhere else) hahaha...

In the end, the kids agreed to have Vanessa around but refused to let her play. Instead, they gave her an ‘important’ task, the shuttlecock-picker. Vanessa was more than happy with her task. Every time the shuttle dropped, she will scramble to her feet to pick it up and give it to the nearest person. Sampai berpeluh-peluh bah dia. A win-win resolution I must say. The kids get to play in peace, while Vanessa had her fun, picking-up the shuttlecock…hehe. While the kids are engaged in the play, she will watch at the side with Kakak, the maid. Waiting patiently for the shuttlecock to drop. :)

Hmm, that was the badminton fever. Now it was over. The latest craze in town is – football. Just as I expected, Vanessa will be crying, whining to join in the fun. Football is just too rough for her. She’ll get knocked-down if we let her join in the play. Ah, a tricky situation to handle.

This time, I don’t think she’s suitable for the task as ball-picker. It will be a laborious task for her as the ball is big and heavy…it will take her forever to deliver it to the players. And I doubt that they can wait that long. So, I bought her a ball for her to play. A smaller and lighter one. Phew! Nasib baik la my girl relented to it. She can play indoor football anytime. So far, she is happy with it, as long as there is somebody to play with. If Mummy and Daddy goes to work, then Kakak and Mama will do. :)

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