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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MomBloggersPlanet Cutest Baby in NATURE Contest

I’m in the mood for contest. *smile* The fact that I haven’t had any luck in any contest didn’t de-motivate me from entering more contest…hehe…The generous sponsors for this contest are PhotoBook Malaysia and AliceWonders. Contest runs from 01st to 15th, November. For further info, feel free to browse the MomBloggersPlanet contest page . :)

Okay, I’m counting on these photos of Vanessa to stand a chance in this contest. Photo #1 and #2 were taken at the Keningau St. Francis Xavier Cathedral’s compound. It was Vanessa’s first sight of palm oil trees and its fruits. So curious that she went to touch the leaves and have a closer look at it...under our supervision, of course.

Vanessa Avery, DOB: 05 Oct,2007

Photos #3, #4 and #5 were taken at FIL’s kebun sawit. Since Vanessa is fascinated with the palm tree at the church, I decided to expose her to more of it. Where else to gain more exposure if not at FIL’s kebun ? Coincidently, FIL and hubby are going there after all. Me and Vanessa just kinda tagged along; FIL and hubby welcomed the idea. *smile*

Instead of watching the men at work (unloading some papan (timber) for the new sulap (pondok rehat / hut), I just lepaskan dia saja and biar dia sendiri explore the surroundings. More palm oil trees and padi bukit planted by her Po-po. She was so absorbed into 'exploring' that she didn't even realize mommy was snapping her photos...hehe...Nasib baik Vanessa didn't ran off to the bushes. Kerja-kerja membersihkan semak-samun ni masih belum siap bah tapi memandangkan hari itu hari Ahad, semua pekerja cuti rehat. :)

Hubby and I always believe that nature is the best teacher. Therefore, we never discourage Vanessa to play outdoor. As with other working parents, it is only during the weekend or holidays that we can take her jalan-jalan. During weekdays, we let her follow her Mama around at the backyard…helping her Mama weeds her plants. Vanessa loves the idea so far. *smile*

I think every parent should know that nature plays an important role in children development, be it intellectually, emotionally, socially, spiritually or physically. Studies have proven that children with early experiences with the natural world tend to be more imaginative and have stronger sense of wonder. Wonder is one powerful motivator for life long learning.

Lagi pun, experience with nature boleh membantu dalam menyemai perasaan cintakan alam sekitar dalam jiwa anak-anak kita. I totally agree with this quote by Anita Olds, "There's no way that we can help children to learn to love and preserve this planet, if we don't give them direct experiences with the miracles and blessings of nature." Kalau diorang ni tak kenal alam sekitar, siapa lagi yang boleh diharap untuk meneruskan usaha kita untuk melindunginya?

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Peers pressure

[ Girl : “Kakak, mari kita main badminton (Sis, let’s play badminton).”

Me : “Eh, kenapa tiba-tiba pula mau main ni (Why suddenly want to play)?”

Girl :” Sia mau execise bah, mau kasi kurus badan. Kawan-kawan sia bilang sia gumuk (I want to exercise, to lose weight. My friends said I’m fat). “ ]

That was part of a conversation I had with my neighbour's girl last Sunday. The last line was uttered in a quiet tone accompanied by a sad face. My heart fell when I heard the last line. She must have felt awfully bad by her friends’ comments. As we know, children are easily influenced by their peers. A comment like that will certainly hurt a child’s self-esteem.

Personally, I think genetic factor plays a significant role in this girl’s weight issue. Both her parents are quite ‘big’. According to her mom, the girl has always been a chubby child. Bless her for she has a hearty appetite. After being laughed at by her peers, she will try her best to restraint from eating heartily. But, often give in to hunger. Even we adults have a hard time staying on our diet, inikan pula budak-budak… :) But looking at a different perspective, peers pressure do have it’s good. It gives one the motivation to achieve his/her goal.

As for the badminton part, too bad I can’t play with her on weekdays because when I reached home at 6.30pm/7pm..it is already too dark to play. I really hope that this girl will continue her effort to shed the extra kilos, with or without me. :)

Er, did you notice the word "kakak" in the conversation above? Hehe...the kids in my neighbourhood are so accustomed to calling me as "kakak" instead of "aunty". I'm going to hit 30 soon...old enough to be called aunty. But, I don't mind at all, as "kakak" makes me feel younger everyday...LOL! Perasaannya si Mama Mia ni kan....hahhaha....

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Gardening in the morning...

Yey, daughter Vanessa is in her usual self again. She is back to her morning routine. Tailing her Grandma (Mama) at her mini vege garden…hehe. Copying her Mama every move…checking for snails, weeding and loosening the soil around the eggplant trees. Obviously, she is feeling much better now that her fever has subsided *smile*. Like any other 18mths old toddler, she was given immunizations, DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus) and OPV (Oral Polio Vaccine) during her last visit to the clinic on Wednesday.



She was in a good mood during her visit. She obeyed to stand properly on the scale and had her weight and height measured. She now weighed 10.7kg and 78cm tall. It was a totally different story during her previous visit where she refused to be measured. We had to sit her on the infant scale to weigh her and roughly estimated her height…agak-agak only la since she refused to lie or stand still… :)

This time, Vanessa was a good girl. She didn’t protest when given two drips of OPV. When the nurse asked her to open her mouth, to my surprise, she did so obediently, no fuss whatsoever. Even smile sweetly to the nurse :) . How nice of her! Unlike at home where she’ll only have her medicine after a long persuasion and the running around. Penatnya, kadang-kadang sampai habis modal bah mau pujuk baru dia surrender….hahaha….

Then came the jabbing part. I was worried right from the start. Worried that she’ll put up a struggle, run or anything to avoid that jab on the thigh. But once again, surprise, surprise! Not only did she sit kuai-kuai on my lap, she didn’t even cry out loud when she was jabbed with the DPT shot. Well, she did shed a few tears but only for a sec. She was back to smiling and waving and blowing kisses to the nurses when the whole process was over. Making all the nurses gerigitan…hahaha…Yup,that’s my little brave girl! :)

Btw, it is always good for us parents to have some knowledge on our children’s immunizations. Info Sihat is an excellent place where we can get educated about it. Info Sihat is the Health Education Division of our own Ministry of Health. Of course, the infos are not limited to children’s immunization only. At Info Sihat, there are information from A – Z on various diseases that affects both adult and children complete with the treatment/prevention measures.

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Yangon - Part 1

Yey! Hubby is back from Myanmar. His latest project required him to stay there for 3 weeks. Since most of his time was spent offshore, hubby only managed to jalan-jalan in Yangon City for a short while. It is summer time in Myanmar now. The temperature was as hot as 43 Celcius. The temperature di tengah-tengah laut, tida payah cakap la….

The market is more or less similar to our own open-market aka tamu. Hawkers selling their goods under the sky, some with under the canopy of a large umbrella. The buildings look quite old.
At the sidewalk, these hawkers are selling some tid-bits. In Pic #1, some looks like fried tofu pierced like satay; while in Pic #2, looks like some poultry intestines on the table. Hehe..hubby didn’t dare to try…

Despite being the country’s largest city and the most important commercial hub, Yangon’s infrastructure is relatively undeveloped compare to major cities in SEA. Amidst the city, beggars-children and adults alike is everywhere. The motherly heart of mine wept when I saw this picture.

The child looks no older than 18mths yet she is already wandering on the street, begging for food. Hubby was touched by this sight. He gave the poor child some fruits to eat. Upon receiving them, hubby thought that this mal-nourished child would consume them immediately but no. She carefully tucks away the fruits in her mother’s shirt. The mother was already lying down on the pavement; simply too tired to walk or too hungry…who knows.

Looking at the child, I am deeply grateful that our children are blessed with all the necessities-sufficient food, clothes, shelter and good education. We don’t see our children begging for food in our street. Even the PTI’s kids who loiter in our street begging for money are in better condition.

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