Genting shortcation

31 agustus ini hari national day nya Malaysia n krn hari minggu, so senin diliburin ama pemerintah (kapan ya indo jg kaya gini). Anyway, krn sabtu kita udah ada acara, hubby decided (only on friday) 
that we should go out on sunday for an overnight trip to Genting.

I think he just wanted a quick getaway, a break from his load of office work. The hotels on top of the Genting hills were already fully booked. But we managed to get a hotel room on the foot of it, which we have tried once and is not that bad.

(Quite old, but has been refurbished).

So we went for a short vacation - shortcation.

Both Adam n me were recovering from flu, in fact my sore throat just broke onto a flu 2 nights before. So i packed n prepared very slowly for the trip, which was like few hours before we went off.

And when i say i pack, i mean pack for the whole fam.

The day before we went for a bbq dinner gathering w some fellow indonesian families here (made new friends), and as much as Alea is such a calm baby, she couldnt really sleep during our tenure there. And even since our lunch time. So in the next 24-36 hrs she was sleeping for very very long time (8.5 hrs nonstop the moment she reached home). I was worried she was going to be sick in genting or will wake up often due to huger cause of her previous long sleep hours, but thank goodness i was wrong. In fact she just continues sleeping like a p*g :), even as i'm typing now, already back in KL.

Genting, just one hour plus away from KL, is a bit like 'puncak' for jakartans to KL-ers, but much more nature preserved. The trees and forests are still abundant hence providing a much- much cooler air. On top of it, they built casionos n hotels n theme park. As always in a public holiday, it is overcrowded (the place is too small to cater such big crowd), and the indoor mall looks quite rundown. Yet, heaps of peeps are always coming, including us.

What i feel now with a 3years toddler trolling around, is who cares about the rundown place anyway, as long as the kid is super happy, spending time with us, right?

I took him to a (lame) train ride, circling a simple oval track 3 times, yet he was so happy and beaming with joy. There was a free stage show with men wearing rio n ice age characters dancing and he was giggling all the way, till the show changed to some robots fighting performance, which prompted him to yell at me 'aku gak suka!' And off we went away, yet he still wanted to come back there afterwards.

I regretted not bringing him a swimsuit for him n daddy - forgot completely about the heated outdoor pool facility at the hotel, but he had superfun in the room's bathtub anyway (we only have showers in our house).

We missed waking up early in the morning to enjoy a walk in the misty golf park outside, but we had a lazy long breakfast. Son enjoyed his favourite bfast (pancake) and i havent eaten a good nasi lemak for a long time. I ate so much that i skipped lunch.

At the end of the day, when we are back home n before he sleeps, the son says 'after sleep, we go to the mountain again ok', u know u have spent your weekend right :)

Good night my munchkins! Love.

Note: he is starting a habit to hug me when he's trying to sleep. Cant decide if this is a good or bad habit ;)

We started sleeping Alea in a 'tengkurap' position since i just discovered one side of her back head became flatter than the other (peyang), ho!

Pic: stopping over at Goh Tong for lunch, had thai style fried fish and spinach soup woth anchovies, yunmy! Alea opened her eyes for 5 mins and continued sleeping, she is so calm!

My one month little lady

She is such a calm baby, at least comparatively! 

I swear she starts to respond verbally to us already by oozing soft 'mmmhhh's when she can ( i wish i can just record her when she does it). She gets irritated when the diaper is soiled. She wakes up minutes before she poops. She does have some difficulty sleeping when she cant digest her milk well, but she can sleep back on her own once that clears, though most of the time i help her sleep back by feeding. She has started to sleep 2 consec 5-hours cycles, which is wonderful (for me at least)! And i've been able to pump on daily basis since her first week. Yet, she has gained a wealthy size, from 3.2 kg 49 cm to 4.6 kg and 55 cm.

She can sleep in a somewhat noizy enviro, ie. When her brother is around n making all possible noises. And she feeds fast! One side is enough for her till now, and sometimes in 10mins she's already full!

This is proving to be a different parenting experience already! Thank you Alea for introducing me to a new world! Lets walk this thru together 😘

My little man

He was wearing a tshirt with a boy wearing a cape pictured on it. He insisted  i wore a white shirt this morning, while i was adamant to wear my blue batik patterned shirt for our day-out trip. Its just a visit to the paed for Alea's vaccination, but i take all trips out of the home very seriously these days :) as in, i want to look good when i go out, it makes me feel good! Esp when most of my time these days are spent indoor with cosy pijamas :)

Anyway, to distract him from pestering me, looking for inspiration n all i could think was based from his tshirt pic, i told him 'i'll give u a matching cape'. I did use the word later/nanti/in the future.

For me, it could mean tomorrow.. Or next week. But for him it's next second, aka now already! So there he goes, successfully forgot about the white shirt, but now pestering me for the cape - which didnt exist yet! 

So upon reaching back home fr the paed trip, i cut an available large size felt, male it a slanted shape cape, n tied it around his neck, et voila! he loved it n insisted to wear it even for sleeping :)

He asked if he could fly with it in the room. I said no. He asked if he could use it to fly in the sky out there. I said no, only birds n characters in the movies can fly, i hope he understands. He asked later on if night comes he could fly.. Still no son..

(Of course this gives me chill that i should begin to lock my balcony...).

Fly in your dreamscape son, fly your hope high too, but i m a selfish mom, i dont want u to fly far from me,, no, am not ready yet for that. U grow up so fast, n one day u will soar so high, i will loose sight of you, but i will always wait for u to come back n visit, n tell me your stories of soaring up n far.

Last Preparations - 3 weeks to delivery

I felt quite accomplished since 2 weeks ago when i was able to tick all my pending items from my maternity checklist.

True, since this is the second one, i don't have to start from 0, as we can re-use a lot of things we have bought from Adam :). What? All those past puchases was a long-term investment to begin with ;p.

So my checklist was not too long:

- go to a baby fair to get some (girly) additional baby clothes. Yes, pink is now a welcome addition now.

- buy replacement harness belt for the stroller whose plastic clip is broken.

- review all existing baby clothes/stuff, wash, bleach if necessary. 

- buy extra breastfeeding clothes/bra/maternity pad for mummy.

- buy a comfy chair to put next to crib, for my breastfeeding days. (Last time such chair was available in our previous rented unit, but now no more).

- stockup newborn size diapers and cottonballs at least for a week.

- renew my visa poperly before baby is born. Better to settle this now.

The hardest was to get the harness replacement. As though the brand i'm using is one that Matt Damon is also using, the store which i bought it from in KL is no longer the distributor. They referred me to another local store chain, but the later couldnt help either. I browsed to see if i could get this mailed from overseas but to no avail. At the end my last resort was to check what ither brand has most similar harness form to mine, and just buy that brand. I will need to go to a taylor to somehow stitch / make it stick to my stroller. At the end, i bought a maclaren harness to fit into my cybex stroller. It's a pity i couldnt find a rep for the cybex stroller anymore here. I guess it's not popular enough, but i really like its frame and wheel sturdiness, not too heavy (abt 7kg only) and also that it came with an option to buy it as a travel system with its cybex onix babycarseat, at an attractive price (though in US the price is even cheaper by 50%! But that goes to all stroller brands). The plastic clip of the harness broke after we returned from our NZ trip btw, not sure it was because of the changing temperature during the trip? Lesson learnt? Its not a bad thing to buy a common brand instead, at least u're sure u will get easy post-buy customer support, esp for expensive things like stroller!

So ya basics are covered. Along the way, of course a woman is not a woman if her shopping list does not expand. I found a bumboo style-chair with tray in the baby fair at very good discount, deal! Then mothercare had a sale and i realized baby G(irl) didnt have skirt or dress yet. So i bought more clothes, n also discounted milk bottles. I bought some other stuffs which i wished i had for baby A: large muslin squares (can cover as stroller cover too when she sleeps), pillow to help put baby's head straight in stroller/carseat, and not to forget extra toys for my boy as gifts from his baby sister :).

And as a fair thing to do, we also just took a maternity photo-shoot session package. This time we did in indoor studio, as i dont think i can cope with being outdoor too long anymore, n a 2.5 years old toddler to entertain to. I'm so glad we were able to do this. Though have yet to see the photos result.

So now my homework is:

- prepare a maternity bag - to go when d-day arrives

- prepare crib (need to raise back the bed to upper height)

- arrange bedroom furniture so my new chair can fit in ( bought the L cahir from Ikea)

- drill holes and install pegs for one more layer of woodboard in the wardrobe to store baby G's clothes.

I cant do the last 2 on my own as i'm afraid something may happen to the life inside my tummy :)

Oh n need to go for a haircut and stitch the harness-stroller thing! But otherwise shoppingwise looks quite done.

Longer term need is also to figure out which daycare Adam willl move to, as current one is to far for me to fetch n the 'bibik' definitely cant pick him up anymore once i returned to work.

On the other hand, hubby has bought a second car which i get to use :) esp during my maternity leave n also later last few weeks b4 due date if i have no more energy to take the lrt to go to work. Will also be useful once we move out of this condo which will likely to happen when the contract expires, esp if we move to a place not so accesible by lrt station (taking a bus is a pain). N i have just bought a toddler car seat for this car (discount!), so that hubby doesnt have to keep switching the carseat from 1 car to another. Anyway we will later on need 2 car seats once baby G overgrows her baby car seat at about 1 year old.

Ok so thats all the prep! Done and dusted (minor a few things). Bring on the d-day! Meanwhile pls babyG, stay put in my tummy while u grow a little bit more! I know, with the way you poke your limbs out of the sac, u cant wait to see the world either! Hope we can be the best family that u deserve to have.

Ow i may want to start freezing some home cooked meals too, at least for my first week meal. As my mum likely won't be here. And she's the only one i can depend on cooking food to my taste (surprise surprise). Bibik doesnt have talent to cook and my MiL as nice as she is, we just have difft styles of cooking n taste. But i'm not sure i have energy doing this kind of prep. Cooking tires me!

Photo caption (from top left to right): 1. my beloved cybex travel system, 2. The best harness replacement i can get (maclaren, 90rm). 3. Autumz.com nursin wear, a favourite local brand of mine, their materials are so comfy! 4. Malmo mothercare high back car seat (<400rm on disc fr nrm price rm 539). 5. Anbebe baby seat for later when she starts munching. 6. Ikea Poang Chair, with high back support, to accompany my breastfeeding sessions. Not too ex, just arnd rm 300. 7. 120x120cm aden nais muslin squares, apparently baby George of Kate n William use this brand too. 8. Samples of baby girl clothes bought - love! 8. One of the toys for the big brother - playdough set

Langkawi Maternity Trip

We took a short getaway trip this weekend to Langkawi. After almost 5 years staying in Malaysia, we will finally step on the soils of this little island north of Penang.

I figured this will be probably my last relaxed holiday trip before i find it more difficult to move around with a bigger tummy or a clinging baby :). So i decided to splurge a little by choosing a very nice kids-friendly resort, beach n swimming pool laden, as i just wanted to relax and make it easy to take care of Adam. I made the trip short enough too as i dont want to tire myself too much handling a 2 yrs old hahaha... I kept saying 'i' cause i had to assume hubby couldnt join the trip due to his work may need him to be elsewhere.

Anyway, the waited weekend came and fortunately hubby could join us, so he bought the extra ticket. Friday afternoon we flew from LCCT. AR loves flying, he gets very excited since morning as we told him we were going to take an airplane. So hop we go.

Landed at LIA (Langkawi Intl Airport) without delay. We picked a car-rent service from one of the many counters in the arrival hall. Unfortunately the initial service was not good, the man waiting for us outside for the car was very rude about some miscommunication we had and hubby cancelled the service. Took a taxi instead, hotel is very nearby anyway at pantai Cengah. Had a dinner at hotel as it was almost 9pm already when we arrived. We even dined before we stepped into our room n called it a night.

So after a full breakfast the next morning, we headed to the hotel's beach. AR was walking around in the water with hubby. I swam with him too and i loved his expressions. He's quite afraid with the deeper water but he knows good enough that he was safe with me. After a while he discovered he had more fun with playing sands on the shore. I lathered him with sunblock 3 different times as it was blazing hot!

After a while, we switched to the swimming pool and A had even more fun as the water was the correct depth for him n i guess there is no coarse sand below his feet. It was a bit hard to get him off the pool n at the end he enjoyed a warm dip in the room's batthtub before we finally dry ourselves up n headed out for lunch! Boy we were all hungry. A even expresses verbally "Adam mau makan" while still in the hotel. In the car, he munched his biscuits fervently.

After lunch, we went back to hotel thinking it is good time for A to take a needy nap. But he just wouldnt sleep! I think he was too excited with all the fun activities he had in the past 24 hours that he just didnt feel to sleep it off. I kept thinking in my head if i accidentally made him sugar high with some chocolate or high sugary food but could not recall anything unusual. When at 5 pm we finally decided to go out and drive to 1/2 hr away Pekan Kuah for some duty-free shopping, only then he finally dozed off! He didnt really sleep long, just one hour. He as expected woke up when the car wasnt running longer, we were already making stops at shoplots for chocolates and alcoholic drink.

Had dinner at a thai restaurant, A was still eating a lot. As the hotel bungalow was a bit far from the lobby, several times, we took the buggy car to drive us there, which is undoubtly one of Adam' favourite parts of the trip :) he gets really excited when the car manoevers on the bumps and bents of the hotel alleys.

Unfortunately we had to close the night fast as A suddenly gone haywire, too tired of the day and getting cranky. He even asked me to lock myself in the toilet with no reason! Hahaha

Well that was bits of how the short trip went. Next day first am was similar before we headed back to Langkawi airport to close our trip. It was a worthy fun trip, think every one of us 3 enjoyed the moments.

This morning Adam came to my bed, woke me up and he said "Adam mau berenang ke pantai lagi. Besok naik pesawat ya" ;)

Celoteh Adam

Percakapan2 lucu yg membuat kami senyum2 akhir ini:

- akhir2 ini Adam sedang asyik dengan kata2 sisipan/imbuhan khas slang indonesia: 'dong', 'tuh kan', 'mu', . Banyak kalimat yg dia tambah2in pake kata ini, kadang nyambung, kadang nggak:

- mama main dong! Mama main dong! ( klo ngajak gw maen, masih nyambung sih ini)

- mobil-mu mana? Bus-mu mana? ( di mobil liat keluar jendela mencari2 bus/mobil yg uda keburu lewat, padahal bukan punya gw jg itu kendaraan)

- naahhh, tuh kan... (Sambil nunjuk2 mobil lewat, apa coba)

- akhir2 ini gw lagi suka pake daster di rumah. Dia ga ngerti ya konsep baju cewe terusan gitu. Jadi suka meriksa bawahan gw, klo cuma pake celana dalem gw diomelin, 'mama ga pake celana! Pake celana!', sambil lari ke lemari kamar gw nyari celana n balik tergopoh2 nyodorin celana. Duh ampun deh nak!

- klo mau bobo udah tau besok bisa maen lagi jd udah ga ngamuk2 klo lampu dimatiin tanda mau tidur: 'besok maen lagi ya.. Besok jalan2 lagi ya.. Dst' kata2 terahirnya sblm memejamkan mata n akhirnya tertidur :)

- secara di daycare dia pake bahasa inggris, ada hari2 dimana dia akan nyebut frase2 inggris di rumah yg jelas2 bukan kami org rumah yg ngajarin. Awal2 kata2nya seperti, 'dont touch', 'no hitting', 'finish', 'eat'. Terakhir ini gw iseng2 gangguin gelitikin dia, eh dia retaliate by saying 'stop crying!'. Haha dia rupanya blm ngerti persis itu artinya apa, cuma dia tau itu sejenis larangan, makanya dia ucapin aja pas gw gangguin. Tp gw aga heran krn nurut gw adam ini jarang nangis lah, lagian klo nangis segawat apa smp dimarah2in gurunya gt. eh besoknya adam ngeracau lagi pagi2 'stop crying ... Zaenab'!  (Nama temen kelasnya). Oh rupanya si zaenab yg suka nangis di kelas, phew! 

- kemaren jalan2 sore ngelewatin tempat parkir yg isinya truck n pick up truck, his favourite! Begitu dia lewatin 2 pickup, dieluslah sama dia satu2 tuh bamper pickup sambil ngomong 'sayang-sayang'2... Gw aja ga pernah digituin ama dia hahaha!

- i just had one of my best mornings when he moved to my bed in the morning, i was still sleeping, he took his car toys with him and started playing on his own, all while talking out loud speaking happily about his toys, talkin on his own. I purposely just closed my eyes so i can listen to him more. It's the most beautiful voice to my ears. I think it lasted more than 1/2 hour.

I love this 2 years old phase, when he understands the world around him more and more, at times at a pace that i had not thought he was already capable of. Never underestimate your little loved ones!

The case of over abusing the word 'no'

Sebenarnya kata 'no' udah dimengerti sama kiddo sejak lama, n mungkin salah satu vocab dia yg pertama. Tapi hari-hari ini bener2 di-abuse deh penggunaannya sama dia. Kalo dulu, no lbh dia artiin dia ga boleh melakukan sesuatu or plainly something thats forbidden. Tapi klo sekarang dia gunakan juga sbg perintah ke orang lain termasuk gw. Case in point;

Pagi2 mamanya abis mandi milih baju:

M: *ngambil gaun ijo*

Kiddo: no no no *sambil geleng2* n nunjuk2 baju laen di gantungan yg dia ga sampe

M: *ngangkat si anak spy bs ambil bj yg dia pilih*

k: *ngambil baju kuning gonjreng*

Dan akhirnya gw pake d baju itu, hw pikir selese masalah.

E abis itu dia ribut teriak "celana celana"!

N berhubung celana yg dia liat tergolek di luar lemari cuma satu, yaitu celana pendek gw disuruhlah gw pake itu. Ga mungkin kan gw kerja pake itu. Akhirnya gw pake jg tu celana pendek smbl breakfast. Tp pas gw ganti ke celana panjang abis itu, kok dia notice aja gitu n marah2lah doi sambil bilang 'no no no'.

Terus diceritain tantenya pulang naek pesawat. Dia nolak2 aja smbl bilang 'no no' n sambil dia benerin 'tante naek boat' :D . 

Fast forward, kita ber2 berangkat ke luar rumah, gw kudu drop dia di daycare. Rencana mo naek taxi tp stok antrian taksi dpn rmh lg kosong n macet berat pula. Akhirnya gw putusin naek LRT dulu dgn harapan di stasiun berikutnya ada taxi or minimal bus yg nyambung ke daycare. Berhubung doi cinta banget ama train n bus, senang banget d dia tp yg ada gw makin terlambat.. N gw udah mo batalin aja naek busnya krn cepetan naek taxi. Pas gw bilang ke dia n 'ga jadi naek bus ya, naek taxi aja' sambil geret dia menjauh dr bus 'no no no' lagi d.. Ge ngalah aja d kali ini, sekalian nyoba pertama kali jg pagi2 ngambil rute bus ini.. (Yg ternyata total2 gw abis sejam nganter dia dibanding 1/2j full taxi :( ).

Tapi yg aneh begitu nyampe daycare dia ga bilang 'no no' . Udah pasrah aja dia bakal ditinggal disitu anyway hehehe.

He knows how to get his way.