At Six Months

It wasn't the best day to take photos since it was cloudy and chilly outside. But I was so excited that it has been six months now.


I gained 10 lbs already (from my normal weight). I've been experiencing shortness of breath and pressured tummy almost everyday. And sometimes I have heartburn. Amin said it will stay like this for the next 3 months so I better get used to it :S

Around the House

We have been busy since last week rearranging our new furniture and doing some house cleaning. Up till now, I would say we are at 40%. More things to do with our basement and bedroom. But don't worry, Amin did almost everything whenever he is free - with the wiring and cleaning and putting things together; while I only did the shopping part :D

We got our new 46" TV first a month before we went back to Msia. It was a very good deal and affordable: price was $1,500+ and we got financing 0% interest for 18 months (which basically means we pay about $50 per month only for 18 months without interest). But Amin couldn't get the TV setup and wiring done yet at that time, and all the cables looked so messy on the floor urghh! Why? - because we need a new audio tower to store our gaming consoles and the receiver for our home theater, and keep the cables in order.

And after we got back from Msia, I had a very serious back pain from sitting on our old couch. I used muscle rub almost everyday to soothe the pain, and that was when we decided to get new furniture for our living room.

We bought new sofa, loveseat, audio tower and carpet from Nebraska Furniture Mart. It is a wholesale store like IKEA that has a variety of selections and sells branded furniture at a lower price.

The new living room :) I love it so much and I think it's worth it!

The audio tower looks great too!

And thanks to Amin for his hard work. This was the most tiring part (figuring out which cable goes where) and he did this in 2 days!

Amin then set up the old TV in our bedroom. Now I can watch TV while on the bed, and I feel like I'm being pampered hehehe :D

Now, moving on to the basement: we plan to setup our old entertainment center down there with an old TV we got from Amin's friend. Plus the old futon and couch. Will update more when it's done :)

And here are some photos for Janet: Irfan toys

Lego Mega blocks. Like new.

Little tikes slide. Like new too.

Playskool vacuum. Looks okay.

Playskool mower. This looks okay too, but I think the most used among other toys.

Also the little people garage: didn't have photo because it is in the basement already.

Amin said.. too much toys!!! *pening*pening*

Irfan di rumah

I have sooo many things to work on tapi rasa macam malas sgt. Alih2 this few days rasa mcm rajin je nak update blog huhu.
Went to take some family pictures at the studio yesterday. Irfan did pretty good, no tantrums or drama syahdu. But he was so hyper la tak tahan nak jaga. Lari sana sini, jerit2 buat muka tak malu betul la.
The lady that took our pictures keep tickling him to make him laugh for the photo shoot, and also main2 peekabo. Then I saw Irfan covering his face with both of his hands and he peeked through his fingers, then took his hands apart and said 'Boooo!' to the photgrapher. Muahahah anak aku pandai main peekaboo rupanya. Ntah mana dia belajar, I bet from the daycare. Sedihnye Zuhri and I didn't even know that he knows how to play peekaboo until today. So ignorant la...mak bapak ni.

Below are some pics that I took last week. Irfan showing off his muscular , comel lote, tanned body. Nak practice jadi model ni huahua.

Tengokla ketiak kecik dia tu. Selalu gomol-gomol huhuhu

Look at his One pack abs... booolaaattnye perut buncit gomol-gomol lagi

Irfan chuckle. Cute.

Weekend's activity

Selalunye weekend memang la penat and rasa kejap sgt. Especially when you have a little one, a toddler to be more specific. Nak kemas rumah, masak, basuh baju, day out activity, main2 dgn irfan, getting ready for the week ahead.. i wish the world could just stop spinning for couple of hours so that I can get caught up. See my weekend schedule doesn't include keje langsung that's why I was so behind in work and nampak mcm pemalas. urgh.

Anyway yesterday we went to Tulsa, 1.5 hr away from Indy. It'a a very busy city ala2 tempat Gem but the traffic is way crazier. Did a little shopping, last2 terbeli banyak la pulak.
Initially we wanted to get a trike for Irfan, then dah kat Babies R us pegi tgk stroller pulak so in the end bought a trike and a MacLaren stroller (ergh memang tak patut Irfan dah ade 2 strollers) for Irfan. The thing is we have a Zapp Stroller yg tak boleh recline and kesian sgt bila tgk Irfan tido dlm stroller tu. Mcm sakit tengkuk je sbb tido kepala tersengguk2 kan. When we tested the Maclaren Irfan memang suka sgt so we decided to go for it dah alang2 ade 20% off.
Both Zuhri and I were so amazed by this stroller - lightweight, easy to handle, Irfan sgt suka and comfortable in it so beli jela. I think Gem should get this one too for the baby.

This is the trike that we bought for Irfan. Memula nak beli the one that cost $90 then when we actually look at it rasa mcm kecik pulak. Memang the design is for 9-36 mo but looks too small for Irfan yg makin tinggi. Plus the price is just way too $$$ so we settled with this one for $40.

I also had a hair cut yesterday. Zuhri thinks my new look is sexy auuuwwww...
Hari ni pulak nak pegi photoshoot. Dah lama nak get a family portraiture in a stuudio- we have a DSLR tp jarang amik gamba sekali. It's either me + Irfan or Zuhri + Irfan in the picture. Ye la kalau tak sape nak jadi cameraman kan. I wanted to do this since Irfan baby lagi tapi takde la masa... until at one point Irfan kena kawasaki so memang la tak terbuat kan. Hope the session wil turn out good. Puhleasseee Irfan behave ok... jangan la cranky nanti...

Laugh of the day

My conversation with Zuhri this morning went like this..

Me: KB mimpi something yg pelik tadi..
Zuhri: Mimpi ape?
Me: KB mimpi Amal (Zuhri's youngest sis) dapat offer letter to Jepun, dentistry kat Kinokawa U
Zuhri: Huh?
Me: Tu la pelik sampai termimpi2... I'm suprised I remember the U's name K.I.N.O.K.A.W.A (ntah ade ke U nama tu kat Jepun tak tau la huhu)
Zuhri: Ler..
Me: Ye la asyik tgk status Amal kat FB... waiting for phonecalls on that interview to Jepun
Zuhri: You know what that tells you?
Me: ....what? (I care too much about your family ke? in law mithali ke huhaua don't think so)
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Zuhri: It means you had too much facebook going on. Stop looking at facebook je.
Me: Ahahhahaha Whatever (didn't expect he's going to say that, mcm tak related to my mimpi je huhu)

More videos of the Daycare

Some videos of Irfan at the Day Care

Both of the videos were taken early this month. The narrator is Ms Brenda, Irfan's teacher. The other lil guy in the video is Irfan's classmate, Cayden.

Anak bujang

Another milestones. Lama dah tak tulis ape2. I'm just going to write something short since I have tons and tons of other things to do. Keje rumah jangan cite la.. as I keep saying the-never-ending-chores. Urgh.
Summary of activities from last week: Went to KC to visit Gem yg dah 5+ months pregnant. Perut memang nampak besar but I don't think she gains too much weight. I brought some pregnancy clothings and books for them
Both gem and amin just got back from Msia so we got lots of Msian goodiees. Thanks to Gem, Amin, Mak, Ayah and Meng yg bersungguh cari barang for kami di sini. The kerepek, bahulu etc are superb. Irfan Zuhri and I really enjoy the kuih deram sangat sedap. Gem cooked lontong with sambal sotong and sambal kacang when we were there. Adoi the sambal sotong is really something else, sangat sedap menjilat jari. Kind of remind me of sambal sotong that mak usually cook during raya. Gem is one hell of a cook! Forgot to tak pictures thou.

Ni gamba2 Irfan while at Auntie Cah's. He was trying to put on dada's shoes which is so comel.

Irfan bulat in his car

As of April 12th, Irfan is 19 months old. He is very vocal yet a little shy when it comes to stranger.

• Dah panjat2 all over the places, our sofa is like his play area now. When he watches Yo Gabba Gabba he'll sit at the corner of the couch with his elbow on the arm rest, sungguh nampak mcm Couch Potato (mintak dijauhkan... amin) heheh.

• His favorite activity is menyelongkar segala laci and making big mess. Pening nak kemas. I always ask him to help me clean up the toys, pick up the blocks, put the toys in the box etc... he'd do it most of the time. He can understand simple instructions very well.

• He can use fork and spoon moderately. Not proficient in scooping food just yet but manages to suap ke mulut which is a good practice for his motor skills.

• He can puncture the straw that's attached to the juice box, and take a sip...ahhh heheh

• Tantrums makin melampu. Everytime when we get home from work/ daycare, we'll take Irfan for a short walk kat belakang rumah. Pegi la tgk kucing ke anjing ke burung kehuhu Irfan is amazed by all sorts of animals. Bila time nak masuk rumah he'll scream like someone yg kena dera tsk tsk tsk. Keraskan badan, bended his back bone ke ape. Menangis2... tu yg malas nak bawak keluar. He wants to stay outside and play all the time!
  

• Dah pandai turun katil sendiri. Our katil is quite high about 4 ft tall and Irfan boleh turun senang2 je. He knows how to position himself so that the leg will go first. Naik tak boleh lagi la. Maybe soon.

Look at his grumpy face

Meeting Janet, Zuhri & Irfan

They came to see us for the weekend. First thing I noticed, Irfan's behavior is so different from the last time I met him. He is very shy (again), and I think he doesn't recognize me and Amin (again). He stares at us a lot, and sometimes hides behind Janet/Zuhri. And he doesn't listen to people that much.


But he is as cute as ever. And he loves to dance!

Introducing... Amin Jr.

We had our first ultrasound appointment yesterday morning. The technician also noticed that my tummy is quite large for 14 weeks and she also made that 'twin babies' joke :S

So first, she checked the baby's spinal cord. Then she took picture of the baby's abdomen and measured its diameter. To our surprise, the computer showed that the baby was 21 weeks and 4 days already! We didn't expect this at all. All these times, I thought that the baby could be 16-18 weeks the most. But 21 weeks... wowww that was really fast! And I only have 4 months left to get prepared?? Aiyoyoyo...

Then the technicians took pictures of the baby's heart beats, kidney, legs. And then she said, "I could tell the baby's sex." "Do you guys want to find out?"
We both said "Yes." She then showed this image on the computer screen:

And she said "Definitely a boy!" "No doubt about it."
I felt so overwhelmed. Still couldn't believe how big is my baby now, and then to find out that it's a boy..... it was such a wonderful feeling :) and I cried a bit huhu..

Then, the technician took pictures of the baby's arms, face, toes, abdomen and finally its head. We saw the baby moved around a bit, flexed its arms and legs, clenching his fists, and opened and closed his mouth like his was sucking or something. It was so cute...

Amin Jr.'s images from the side.

His face & abdomen. If you look closely, you can see him making a fist (right under the chin).

His feet together.

Here are some videos:


Amin Jr. made facial expression..


Look at his long arms.


His face, and heart beats (at the end).

He is estimated to due on August 12, which is also our Wedding Anniversary & the first/second day of Ramadhan.

Visiting Cik & Cik Ida

Kulaijaya was only an hour away from BP. It was easy to find Cik Ida's house since we were using GPS. We got there around 2pm. Cik Ida was very kind to cook lunch for us- ayam masak asam pedas, sayur goreng dengan sotong & ikan masin. She also prepared some appetizers for us - ubi rebus & karipap sardin.

We chatted for a while afterward. Hafiz hasn't came home yet because he had extracurricular activities; and Nurul was busy at school. So we didn't get a chance to meet them both. Well, next time then..

We left the house around 4pm, got on the highway. Just past the Sedenak exit (about 5km from Kulai), the car's engine broke down! Amin cruised the car to the side of the highway. We didn't really know what to do. At least here in US, we had Onstar which is a Roadside Assistance program for our cars. Basically if anything happened to the car, we can just call the toll free #, and the operator will find a nearby mechanic/tow company to help us.

So, we just called auntie. She was also clueless, and she said she would just call some friends/mechanic to ask about us. Well.. that didn't really helpful.

15 mins later, the Plus police came in a pickup truck. They helped towed our car to Simpang Renggam exit toll. The police said they could only help us until there. If we wanted to find a workshop, we were on our own. Auntie also called and said we had to figure out how to get to a workshop over there since nobody was coming to help us :S

Fortunately there was this guy, named Adik who stopped his car behind us because his car's engine got overheated. I think he worked at a workshop in BP, and he got connection to a workshop around Simpang Renggam. So he made some phone calls to help us.

It was so hot that afternoon. We couldn't stay in the car, so we just sat under the nearby trees while waiting for a tow truck to come and tow the car to the workshop. What was funny was that there was this guy who walked passed us, and he kept staring at us all the way to his car. I bet he might think that we were doing something bad like 'khalwat' kot :S

After 45 mins waiting, Adik was so kind he gave us a lift to the Proton service center and let the tow truck came later to get the car. It was so nice to get to the office since they got A/C there. We stayed for a while, then the car got there and the mechanic took a look at it.

The mechanic said that the part that dealed with sparks plugs wore out already, that was why the car's engine won't start. So he just changed that, and viola.. the car was back alive!

We left the service center and got back home around 7.30pm. What an adventure! Fortunately this didn't happen to E somewhere in the middle of nowhere. It would be harder for him then to figure things out. We were so lucky that there were good people who helped us during that time. Alhamdulilah.. may Allah reward them for their kindness..

Cuti-cuti di Malaysia 2010

It was overall a happy trip, especially when we were able to meet most of our relatives and friends in a short time. I was quite nervous at first, and I even told Amin the possibility that we might stop for a while or not able to meet some people if I got sick, somehow. But alhamdulillah, I am very grateful that I was able to keep up with our trip: from KL to Arau, to Sungai Petani, then to Temerloh & Kuala Terengganu, then back to KL and finally to Batu Pahat.

Hello Kitty station at Taipei airport. I guess the kids over here are crazy about Hello Kitty.

Amin's trying the Japanese Vegetable Noodles at Taipei airport.

Meeting Aiman, Amin's little nephew. He is just 5 months old and totally the opposite of Irfan. He plays his toys all by himself & he likes to 'talk' & smile to people. Once I saw him laugh while he was sleeping.. he looked so sweet!

We met with Rizmie's family during our trip to Perlis. They were very kind to us & they made us feel like home. We stayed one night at their house before heading to Beseri to meet with Amin's uncle & his family.

We had lunch with Pak Jee's family at Hunan Chicken Rice Shop. Amin tried this Spice Hunan chicken rice while I just got chicken porridge. I also tried a new jelly they sold in Utara called jelly kelapa muda. It tasted really good and mushy like dadih. Yummy..

Then we met with Mak Ngah Amin's family for a while in Kangar. Mak Ngah is Amin's mak younger sister. She gave us ikan pekasam that I brought all the way to Batu Pahat hehe (thank you so much!)..

We stayed at Mak Tok Amin house for the night in S. Petani. She invited the other families (Mak Teh Amin family, Pak Su Amin family & Hanisah & hubby) for a dinner gathering. Amin enjoyed meeting his cousins. We had a great time together!

The next day, we went to Taiping to meet Amin's Tok Ayah, Opah & Cik Adah.

We love to come to Taiping because we got to eat & drink fresh air kelapa. Also the fact that Opah always save some frozen durian for us :) But no mandi sungai this time since I'm pregnant.

The next day, we met with Pak Aat Amin & family before heading to Temerloh.

We met with our newlyweds friend, Hase in Temerloh. They just got married a week before, and it was sort of an arranged marriage. His wife Aatikah was a bit shy when we met her. I think that they are a funny couple because they looked so awkward together (they even whispered while talking to each other)... while me & Amin looked like best buddies hehehe..

We convoyed together to Kuala Terengganu for Yeng's wedding. It was a bumpy trip all the way & I didn't really enjoy it that much. We got there quite late around 4pm due to heavy traffic. Fortunately other Penn State friends stayed back & we got to meet them all. What a reunion!

Then, a short trip to Pasar Payang & Losong for shopping for keropok segera. We then rushed to Kuantan to meet another Penn State Alumni family, Abg Zainal & Kak Wati.

The next day, we visited Pak Aa Amin & family. We stayed at their house for the night.

Then, we stopped at Segamat for a while to met Anyah, Mira & Nina while on the way to Batu Pahat.
Anyah cooked a lot of food, along with dessert & kuih2. My favorite was mangga kerabu with peanut sauce. We were so full that Amin got to take a nap for 2 hours afterward :D while I had a long chat with Anyah. To my surprise, Nina was a bit shy. When I sat at the living room, she stayed in the bedroom or hanged out outside the house looking at I don't know what haha.. I chased her here and there just to talk to her. Very funny..

In Batu Pahat, we went shopping at Carefour & BP Mall. We tried the new durian flavor donut at Big Apple at BP Mall. People said it was soo good, and their donuts are tastier than Dunkin' Donuts. Well for me, it tasted okay and very sweet. But can't beat the soft, moist donut at Dunkin'.

We visited Tok Mai & family, Cik & Cik Ida, Tok Timah, Pak Uda & Mak Uda. I showed them all photos of Janet, Zuhri, & Irfan. They were so excited to see it, especially Tok Timah. Also thanks for all the great food. I seriously ate a lot more than I should, and I think my tummy grew bigger a lot faster since then hoho..

I managed to meet Elya & another friend, Faradilla back from TMS. I was in 6 Biru class while she was in 6 Kuning. I barely remember her, but she recognizes me instantly on Facebook. The only thing that I remember is that I got a wedding gift from her back then in 2006. I didn't know who that was, and I still kept the little note she sent with the gift. After all this time, the mystery is finally solved :)

Saturday, the day before our flight back to US, we all headed to KL. Mak, ayah, Meng & Auntie stayed at a hotel near KLIA, while Amin & I went to Mak Long Amin’s house to pack our last baggage. We met with some more Penn State alumnus in Shah Alam.

Chineh & wife with their daughter, Aisya Alina. And Ranjit, Amin’s Best Man during our wedding.

Sunday morning, we had breakfast with Mak Long & family, & kak Mirah.

Then we went to LCCT to pick up E and straight to KLIA. We got there quite early at 11.30am. The earliest time to check-in was at 12.30pm. So we all lepak2 at KFC, and I couldn’t resist to get the Zinger burger!

Thank you so much for having us for such a short time. If we were going to stay in Msia for another week or two, then it could be more relaxing and we would have more time to spend together. But with so little time and so many people to meet, we tried our best to make everything worked out. Having said that, Amin & I had a wonderful trip, and can’t wait to see you guys again!