Growing By Leaps and Bounds

Help, Aidan’s crawling everywhere!

My oh my, leave him for 10 minutes and the next thing you know – he’s under the radiator or stuck between furniture or biting my SLIPPER!

With the constant chasing, my days are getting busier leaving me absolutely no time to do anything – ie BLOG. And I miss reading too. A lot.

And looks like we have to start baby proofing the house very soon,  I caught him tweaking the amplifier twice already!

I am also making sure that he’s dressed in good crawling clothes so that his knees and elbows are well protected.

Getting cheeky with the camera

Last week he was getting a little hyper in the house so we brought him out for a walk – it’s so much easier to handle him when he’s in a stroller.

Here’s a picture of us trying to take a photo with the moving train.

This train is so cool, it doesn't need a track.

Anyway, Big bro and family have safely arrived in London last Thursday and I hope they survived the storm on Saturday.

They’ll be arriving in Dublin this week and I hope they don’t bring along the weather with them. There has been some sunny spells lately which is rare for November.

Can't wait to bring my nieces here!

I can’t wait to meet them – my nieces are such great babysitters

Bounce, bounce!

Aidan’s been jumping in our arms for a while, so we thought we’d give this a try – the Jumperoo!

So far, he’s loving it that he could spend a good 30 minutes jumping and jumping to his heart’s content!

It’s a great way of keeping him occupied whilst I’m in the kitchen making meals.

The downside? The music can be pretty irritatting after hearing it over and over again

Aidan’s Aqiqah

Phew, it’s been quite a week.

My jetlag was terrible this time round – waking up at 3am and in bed by 6pm. It took me a couple of days just to get over it. It didn’t help that Aidan was down with a terrible bout of flu ( his first! ) that I had to give him a dose of antibiotics. It did the job though and he’s now back to his chirpy self.

He was in this state for the first 2 days we arrived back in Dublin

All the smiling on the plane took a toll on his health

My laundry and cooking is also now back on track.  5 loads of laundry and imagine all the drying, folding and ironing that came with it too. The kitchen is also up and running, I couldn’t take another day of takeaway!

Anyway, I had meant to put up photos of our trip but never came round to doing so as things have been a little chaotic around the house.

In brief, the trip home was short, memorable and very meaningful as it was our first time living in our new home. It was also our first raya as a family plus I have not been back for Eid since 1999.

Mom was generous enough to give us her old furniture so we felt comfortable living in the new house. We had 5 days to make the house look more decent for Aidan’s aqiqah so you can imagine the mad rush to buy lights and fans.

Amidst all that fiasco, mom and I were on another mission to buy gifts for the Marhaban ladies and guests.

We were expecting a group of 15 ladies but suddenly at the very last minute they confirmed a bus load of 35 will be attending the do. So there was another panic of  ‘What should we get for them?’. Mom finally decided to buy them kain so we bought 35 x 4 meters worth of kain baju kurung!

At the same time, I was organizing little gifts for guests which included chocolates and cookies. Smallhouse Cookies and Coochicoo did a brilliant job on the orders that I would gladly take them again for another occasion, they were efficient thankfully. And it also turned out that the lady who runs Smallhouse Cookies was a friend of my SIL, the name Enolil was too familiar to her What a small world!

3 days before the aqiqah we went to back to Tapah to pay a visit to Nenek’s kebun. Hubby, all dressed in army gear went in search for batang pisang ( to place the bunga telur ) as shown in the photo below.

Hard at work- ada macam macho sikit

A day before the big day, we were busy moving furniture around, arranging and rearranging carpets every single corner of the house.

We had less than 12 hours – tired and drained but the show must go on.

Putting-up fairy lights

One knackered Usu, 2 nephews, 1 Hitler

The big day came and Aidan was all dressed in princely garb. Unfortunately the baju melayu that mom bought for Aidan was a little too big so out came the emergency romper and satin shoes that I had bought for him from Ireland.

My biggest regret was not taking a photo of him individually, infact to be honest we had taken very LITTLE photos being the host.

I know my uncle took some great shots – there was one photo of the 3 of us that I must, must get hold of.

An hour into the ceremony, he demanded to be carried.

Aidan being Aidan, he decided to show his true self an hour into the ceremony by wailing his heart out.

So daddy came to the rescue and carried him around. It was already well  into his nap time so I don’t blame the boy for being cranky.

He managed to stay quiet in Daddy's lap

Whilst all this was happening, Aidan’s cousins were happily playing badminton behind our house.

This was obviously more exciting for them! Mana laa datang raket ni ? Sorang tu siap lengkap berbaju melayu!

Despite little hiccups here and there, overall we were happy with the ceremony. Eventhough we had taken very little photos, the happy memories will stay with us forever. Thanks to everyone who gave us a helping hand especially to Big Bro and SIL who went on a special quest to look for paperbags that fitted our taste and budget, it was very much appreciated!

And finally a photo of one of the gifts for the guests – I will try and take a photo of the rest when I get the chance.

The personalized chocolate

The last minute paperbag

And by the way, the show didn’t end there, we had an open house that very afternoon. I hope to put up the photos in my next entry!

Care To Shed Some Light ?

I am in my S.O.S  mood.

We will be heading home next week and does anyone out there know where I can get cheap, affordable readymade baju kurung ? So far nothing in my wardrobe fits! Mom also mentioned she bought Aidan his first baju melayu and I hope it fits him like a glove, if not – where can I get a decent baju melayu for a 4/5 month old ?

Despite getting all excited about our trip home, I am very nervous about the very long  journey. My biggest worry is his frantic screaming and I am all for sedating the little rascal on the flight if he gets a little out of hand but the daddy has strongly opposed the idea. So looks like I will have to pack his favourite blankie, toy and pillow along to recreate his bedroom scene in that tiny little bassinet, I hope it works. And that’s not counting the pre-sterilized disposable bottles and bibs, nappies, jammies etc that I have to lug too. Oh dear, oh dear – Wish me luck ! Any tips ?

I won’t be having much of a raya celebration this weekend as hubby will be oncall on Friday and Sunday eventhough we have been invited to a few houses. I’ll see how it goes. There’s so much to settle – we called the gardener over yesterday to mow the lawn which was looking rather desperate and Aidan also just had his 4 month vaccination and has been feeling rather contrary. He woke up twice in the middle of the night with a burning head. For the past 2 months, he has been sleeping alone through the night with no feeds, so last night was pretty alarming that he demanded a cuddle and that’s what he got, poor boy.

I am slowly organizing his Aqiqah from here – ordered little favours but I have yet to reconfirm with the people. I have warned mom to not bother about a decorated crib as the hefty boy is already rolling, topsy turvy! We have been joking about putting him in his bumbo seat but knowing him, he’ll be squirming to get out after 5 minutes. That’s why its best to have the Aqiqah when they’re 7 days old when all they do is sleep, hehe.

And…I haven’t come round to emailing you people about our open house! Now I wish I have Facebook, makes life easier. I hope to do so soon-ish (not Facebook)  so do check your email! If not, I have to rely on Momster for everyone’s number.  (How come I only have her number ?)

Some time this week I have to start packing our clothes, send the car for servicing, vaccinate Pepper ( I hope she doesn’t get a fever too) and prepare her food and lodging, clean the house as we’re expecting guests on Monday , iron hubby’s work clothes as he will be coming back to Eire earlier, juggle a very demanding 4 month old baby AND trying to read Dan Brown’s latest!  I know I can hire a babysitter as all of it can be done in a day or 2, but at the same time I know it’s feasible if planned accordingly. And then there’s raya too!

Okay, if you don’t hear from us – Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin! Have a safe journey balik kampung .

Sorry no formal raya photo of the 3 of us on the sofa and I hope this will do- a pleasant walk in the park before heading off to a friend’s iftar last Saturday.

He kept looking away !

We wanted to take a photo of Aidan in his Harvard tee to give to my father but he was getting too distracted by the other tourists. I caught his Tok talking to him when he was just born  – ‘Nanti bile besar masuk Harvard macam Tok!’

You can be anything you want Aidan as long as you love Mommy! hehe.

Future Harvard Freshman ?

Lovely garden - I wish my lawn is as green as this

And finally now he decides to look at the camera!

ps: All this written in 15 minutes and me sounding like a choo choo train.

Man In The Mirror

We bought this playgym when Aidan was 4 weeks old and he still loves it till today.

Every morning before his feed, I would give him 10 minutes of belly time  even though he absolutely hates it. So lately, I would put the playmat right in front of the TV hoping he will keep his head up longer.

I had the camera out the other day and almost got a photo of him looking at me through the mirror.

But he got distracted by the Disney Channel

I have to say this wonderful playmat has  been a godsend to us – the flashing lights, fun music and  colourful animals  can keep him amused for a good 30 minutes while we run around the house running errands. Hehe.

It was well worth the money but I wished it was more purse friendly though.

Bonding with the animals

Alrighty, it’s another hour before we head off to a friend’s house for iftar and I need to do a little packing.

Earlier, I managed to prepare a quick and simple dessert for the feast tonight.

scoop, scoop into the little jelly cups

My aunts in Taiping went crazy over these during our trip home 2 years ago,

as it is so easy to make them and tastes yummy too!

So nowadays my mom would make sure I bring a couple of packets to Dublin.

Mango Dadih - almost ready to be chilled in the fridge

ps: Happy Merdeka Day!

Pitter Patter

I could sit and stare at these tiny little toes all day.

Anyway, I did the craziest thing on Saturday waking up at 4am to catch the sale.

Here I was thinking I was already super-kiasu to arrive at 5 am (the store opened at 4am) and boy, was I wrong!

Parking was a great challenge and people were already walking to their cars with tonnes of shopping bags.

Rushed into the store and grabbed as many clothes for baby Aidan. I didn’t have time to browse as everybody else was simply grabbing, I think the recession is really hitting everyone.

Luckily there is a very good return policy so I wasn’t worried. Hey, T-shirts for 2 euros, jeans for 4 euros, wouldn’t you do the same ??? Luckily the daddy was very supportive as he knew we could save a lot. Plus why spend a bomb when they grow at lightning speed.

The result = Enough clothes to last him until the next winter sale

A very fruitful weekend and I am one very happy mom too!

My Superhero

More photos from my phone.

A normal day at Belfry Lodge :

si superhero memekak nangis tak malu mintak susu

and

si superhero happy tengok kartun bila kenyang

How to ‘Save The Day’ like this ?

It’s Pouring

It has been raining every single day the past week that we had to put on hold any plans for a BBQ at our place, at least until the sun returns again.

And with the gloomy weather,  we haven’t been playing much with the dslr as we having been staying in most days.

So for the folks back home (my parents have been demanding a photo of him every time I call home), I hope this photo of Aidan from my iPhone will do – a bit blurry but you can’t expect much from a 2MP camera.

A close up to accentuate his chubby cheeks and you don’t have to guess far as to where he inherited it from!

it's not the best angle but you can't hide the pipi labuh

My Milk Guzzler

Here are very recent photos of Master Aidan.

As he was born really really tiny, he has quite a lot of catching up to do in terms of growth.

Thankfully at one month of age, he has gained another 1kg and I hope he continues to grow big and strong in the next couple of months.  We have to prepare him physically for that strenuous 13 hour flight to Malaysia.

Feed me pleaasseeee!!

Spend 10 minutes with him and he will throw you a little smile in return.

He loves to give a big coo

He loves to be cuddled and would easily doze off into la-la land.

yawwwnnnn

Oh, this is a miracle that I am updating 2 days in a row and I think it’ll be quite a while before my next one.

Aidan’s aunt was disappointed that I had no photos of him in my last posting, so here’s our birthday gift to you with love!

Doesn’t he just melt your heart ?

Hush Hush, My Little One

Sound asleep

I have survived 9 months of pregnancy with such ease and made it through the excitement of labour and delivery.

And now the battle begins with sleepless nights, panda eyes, baby spits and poos, and endless cries.

With daddy busy at work, Aidan and I are both slowly settling into our own routine. Sleep once again is a luxury and I am learning to function with only 3 hours of sleep in a day. When he is in deep slumber, that is when I rush to take a quick shower, make a decent meal, sterilize his bottles and pump some milk. And before I even get to take a little breather, he is up again demanding a nappy change and a feed.

I wish I had an extra pair of hands and 24 hours in a day is just not enough for me anymore.

Motherhood is a truly life changing experience and has brought along many surprises and lessons. Some came right smack in the face at the oddest of times, but who said it was going to be easy ?