Alhamdulillah..

We are back from Tulsa with wonderful news. Irfan had his echo and EKG done and they turned out good alhamdulillah. We are grateful beyond words.

The chest x-ray that was done earlier in Wichita was not accurate and seems like his pediatrician didn't do a good job in interpreting it. He's not a cardiologist after all.
So, alhamdulillah the echo that we did in Tulsa showed better images of Irfan's heart and the size as well. Nothing concerning so far.. and I pray it will stay that way forever amin.

Your life could change in a split second, take a look around and you will see the faces that you love. Never take them for granted.. and never let them down.

Prayers for my baby

Things are not going too well with Irfan. As you may know, he had kawasaki (K) when he was 6 months old and it affected his heart. He had a small dilation/ aneurysm at his LCA that regressed after awhile. It took him 4-5 months before he stopped taking aspirin. Life was definitely devastating.

Soon after his echo result was positive and he was off aspirin, we moved from Oregon to Kansas. He has been an active healthy kid since then. He got sick on and off because of the daycare, but NOTHING close to the K that he had. I really don't like to say the word K**. I feel like it's a cursed.  

Irfan has been able to live the life like any other kids. It was a bless for us seeing his smile again and alhamdulillah his echo result for the past two years made us feel like we were given a second chance.
All was good until last week. Irfan and I went to see his pediatrician for his annual 3 year old check up. We requested an x-ray for his upcoming echo that will be done in Tulsa this coming Monday 10-17-2011. We were about to leave when his doctor came back to the our room and told us that his heart has enlarged.
I was shocked.
I managed to pull myself together and asked several questions.
I cried while waiting for Irfan He was playing at the play area in the waiting room
I just couldn't describe my feeling.
I am scared, I am devastated, I am furious, I am pasrah..
I keep asking myself, why Irfan... why does it always have to be Irfan
I have no answer.

Please pray for my little Irfan. Tolong doakan his heart is functioning at it's best and it is normal with no signs of abnormalities. Tolong doa for Irfan's health aminnn..

A tale of a three year old

Irfan turned three several weeks ago. Since then, he's been acting like a 3 months old. He constantly cries, with no reason.

He starts his day by crying. He's usually up around 9:30 am, and play for a little bit. Then as usual starts his new routine by merengek.. Then I'll try to pujuk and tell him that he needs to brush his teeth. Merengek, merengek and merengek lagi.

Then time to go inside the bathtub to wash his face, pee pee etc- merengek and eventually cries really hard. And next, start bergolek2 dalam bath tub.

After continuos yelling, he'll stop for a little bit. Then he'll dress up (if he's in the mood to put on clothes, kalau tak nak, dia nangis lagi). Then he'll eat breakfast, etc.. and starts to play with his toys. And the continuos crying begins. Arggghhhhhhhh....
If I start counting, I think he cries at least 40 times a day. I've done some reading on toddler and their behaviors. All this while I thought tantrums start at age two and stop at three. Nope. A three year old is a Professional-two-year-old. So they're taking their 2 year old attitude to the next level, like a PRO. Can you believe that?! Arrrggghhhhhh....

Well, if you talk to the old timer, they'll tell you to rotan, or better yet they'll tell you to get busy and make more babies. How is getting pregnant and raising another baby can resolve your problem? Please people, stay focus. Rotan is definitely not something that I want to try. It's immature to penalize a kid with rotan, with all the bleedings and scars, I don't think anybody would do that to their loved ones. Well, at least not me.

As of now, my only method to get Irfan to listen to me is by yelling. Something that I am not proud of.. how people how? Any thoughts?

Eid 2011

Selamat Hari Raya semua.. even dah berzaman.. now when I have the time to sit and write about it, cite pun dah basi. Aduhai..
Alhamdulillah another Syawal. We were planning to spend some time at KC this raya, but had to pass it because of school work. Sedihnye tak dapat pegi open house. We had ours, but mana la nak sama dgn pegi open house org kan. Hosting an open house is like hard core cooking for several days and by the time the food is ready, all you want to do is lie down and sleep. No desire to eat anymore huhuh..

Again our raya this year is a birthday + raya combo. Irfan turned 3... alhamdulillah. He's a big boy now (well, not really, he's still acting like a big baby).

Ok la I just don't feel like writing too much stuff. This blogger is so not user friendly, malas rasa nak update blog.

What the...

I told myself once that I should do an entry a day.Obviously it never happens. Ok here's my attempt to write once in two days, at least.
I was in the bathroom earlier today when I saw this

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Where the heck did that come from? Any guess what the heck this is?
Irfan's PJs... in the trash can!! Then I remember Irfan was asking me if he can put his PJs in the laundry last night. Instead of putting it in the laundry basket, he put it in the trash can. Hahahaha.. Irfan.. Irfan... one day when I'm 80 or so.. I hope I can read this again.. and smile :)

Oh Boy!

At 2 years 7 months old, Irfan talks a lot. He's really a chatter box although we can hardly understand what he's talking about. Some of his favorites are:

1. Yeaaa... Ohhh yeaahhh.. yeaahhh...!! - he says that when he gets really excited for example when meeting new friends.

2. Is that a grasshopper?? - he likes to draw on the 'doodle board'. He keeps asking us, is that yada yada yada..? All we can see is just some scribbles haha. @_@

And today.. he said couple of things that made me went ....what?!?!! Did he just say that?

It all started this morning, as usual I made breakfast for Irfan. And the menu for today was some buns (dinner rolls) with honey butter. As I was washing the dishes, I kept reminding Irfan that he needed to eat his breakfast.
Me: Irfan... eat your breakfast..eat your roti Irfannnn...
Irfan: Eat roti everyday...?!
Me: @_@ What did you just say?
The thing is, I have never ever heard him using the word everyday. And now he's complaining that he has to eat roti everyday? LOL

Then we were getting ready to go out. I'm having my period and as I was 'terkial2' fixing my pad, Irfan came into the bathroom and looked at me with his round eyes and said 'Mama's diaper...mama's diaper' pointing to my pad!! And I was like... bila masa pulak budak ni belajar cakap mcm ni.. nak samakan diaper dia dgn kite pula. He said that because the pad looks like his diaper! LOL

Geleng kepala jela dgn Irfan ni. He's getting smarter and smarter... and growing really fast too. I know that I'm going to miss this phase of my life.

Potty Train recap

I can proudly announce that I have successfully potty trained Irfan hehehhehe =)To tell you the truth, the potty training journey wasn't too bad at all, infact I think I might have enjoyed it.

That's my boy.. rasa mcm tgh yak when this pic was taken hehe

Ape la yg dia buat tu.. I'm watching him from the outside, dia tak bagi duduk dlm toilet

Let me recap the whole potty thingy-
Nov to Dec 2010-
Started training Irfan months ago, didn't do much just showed him some potty videos, bought some potty books, let him sit on the potty chair etc. In the mean time I was doing my own research too- read some potty training books, online tips, read all about the frustrations from some blogger mommies etc... hmmmph the latter one didn't help much la. It actually made me feel that both Irfan and I were not ready hahha salahkan org la pulak kan..

Dec to Jan 2011-
Then I was on holiday mode, sakit mode etc so all the progress was on hold. I petty much was a bit demotivated after reading some horrific stories about potty train.

Mid Feb 2011 (First three days of extensive training)-
I think it was Feb 16 or 17 when I was so determined to just go for it. Diaperless that's it! I was having a hard time at first b/c Irfan was under the impression that diaper= pee/poo. So everytime when he's diaperless, it took him hours and hours (up to 6 hrs!) before he finally said that he wanted to pee, and he'd pee/poo as soon as you put the diaper on (in our case I made him wear diaper right before he naps).
Me on the other hand kept taking him to the potty every half an hour or so (I got this from all the books that I've read); which was so ridiculous b/c he won't pee within 0.5 hr gap. So I stopped doing that and for couple of days I collected some data- basically writing down bila Irfan minum and bila dia pee. After couple of days I got the pattern.
Viola, it gave me some guidelines that if I give him something to drink about 10 am- he'd pee about 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm. Between 10 am - 12:30, I can peacefully browse the net or watch tv haha.. well there were some accidents but it's not too bad considering that I didn't have to take him to the bathroom every 30 mins! Usually the accidents happened around 12:30 or 2:30 mcm tu la, it's slightly before/ over the time frame.

Second week of extensive training-
After 2-3 days of training, Irfan didn't really show any progress. He won't pee in the potty, melepas sana sini huhu so I introduced some treats to him- chocolate roll and M&Ms after pee or poo. He's getting the hang of it, but still..
Until one day, he actually pooped on the carpet! Euurgghhh... pening pening.. so before cleaned it up, I told Irfan that I was so upset with him, showed him the poop on the carpet besar mak oii and kept telling him-
"Irfan, see you yak on the floor. Now I have to clean it up. Look at yak, you're not supposed to yak on the floor. Irfan is aaaa....(then Irfan sambung) BIG BOY... big boys pee in the  POTTY!"
I kept pointing to the yak and grabbed him and showed to him the toilet next. From his face, I can tell that he's a bit shocked seeing his poop on the floor in the middle of the living room!

From that point on, Irfan will tell me whenever he wants to go. There were some incidents here and there, but just some minor ones. I think after the 'yak in the living room incident', there were only 3-4 times Irfan terlepas pee pee, but then dia tahan and proceed kat toilet. Oh and he calls 'yak' = BIG PEE PEE.. hehe comel..
And now it has been almost 6 days without any accidents.. he would tell me when ever he needs to go, and he's not wearing diaper during nap time either. Big achievement ... I'm so proud of my boy.

Next step is diaperless during outing.. macam mana tu. I might need to do some reading again. Folding potty seat dah beli... we'll see how it goes, berani ke nak keluar sorang2 dgn Irfan yg diaperless? *nervous mode*

Here's the potty seat that I bought for Irfan way before getting the potty chair. Irfan likes this better than the potty chair.

This is the foldable pottu seat- for travelling etc

Here's how it looks like after it's folded, kecik je boleh masuk handbag *euuw*

Zuhri said I should get something nice for myself.. for all the hard work training Irfan... hummm this is what I have in mind for 'something niceee'

Boleh tak? .. I promise this is the last one =)

Diaper Pouch

This is  my third entry for the day. I just want to show something that I made yesterday! It's lovely!
Sejak asyik keluar bawak Irfan ke sana sini, library la, shopping la, playground la I always keep a diaper and some travel wipes handy in my handbag. Malas sgt nak bawak diaper bag cause that means that I have to carry two bags with me: a handbag + diaper bag and most of the time Irfan nak dukung pulak.
So makin banyak la isi dalam handbag tu kan dengan diaeper and wipes, makin banyak makin la berterabur. So I decided to get a bit organized mueheh.. so I started to think about buying a diaper pouch for $15 + shipping. That pretty much going to cost me $20...!!! Something that simple cost that much?!

Then I started googling on a DIY diaper pouch. Easy peasy.. in the morning I went to Hobby Lobby to get the materials- kain etc then by the evening the pouch is done. Viola! presenting my lovely diaper pouch home made with love... I'm so in love with the material. Actually there are a lot more, I just pick something that suits me best thou memang dah rambang mata.

Brown, pink and purple are my favorite colors

A closer view

I wanted to add some special look to the pouch - not any regular pouch so I added teddy bears ribbon. Kind of regret it because the pouch was lovely as it is- without the bears. Huhuh that's ok I'll make another one without.

Here's how it looks like with a diaper and wipe case in it. I need to add velcro to it too.

The proud standing pouch. OMG it is BEAUTIFUL.

Now my bag is a bit organized. Thanks to the wonderful creation of- diaper pouch hehe

Come to think of it, why la I made the pouch at this time of the year. Irfan will be diaperless in a few months huhu.. mana nak pakai diape lagi. Takpela I can use it to put Irfan's snacks.

So sape nak order? lawa tau.. I'll give you a special rate hehe

Potty Train - Pictures

Irfan reading while Toby sitting by his side.. patiently waiting for Irfan to pee pee

Sexy nye la my Irfan comel.. hehe

Momma wat ya doing?! Stop taking my pictures please!! I need some privacy!

I don't like an entry without pictures. So here you go.. pictures of Irfan sitting on the potty but no pee or poo for today aish... keep it up boy maybe tomorrow ler..

A weekend in November

Hanging out with my boys- one of the best way to spend my weekend. What can I say, I love them so much hehe (ayat bodek nak handbag boleh?)
Weekend baru ni Irfan turned 26 months old. Like usual I like to buy him something for his monthly birthday hohoh mana la tak kayap kan Well I used to do that when I was working now maybe every other month is okla..
Saturday went to a story telling session at Borders bookstore. Dekat je dgn rumah like 3 mins drive. Irfan got to do some coloring, main2 with some kids etc and the best part is dapat la hadiah free- a small ball, CD teddy bear songs, and a coupon $5 off for a teddy purchase at Build-A-Bear store. In the states ade Build-A-Bear store where you can pick a bear/plush toys that you like, then isi dgn all the fillings and put a heart in it so it's a bit special compared to buying a bear off the shelf.

Irfan 26 months old

Rambut comel

At Borders. The girl wearing pink asyik bagi color je kat Irfan huhu so sweet.

Me helping Irfan out.

Look at us! We look so much alike!!!

The teddy that we got from the mall.

His name is TOBY. Irfan loves him so much.

Sunday pulak went out to buy groceries and had lunch at this Italian restaurant close to our place. Can't remember the name but the food is absolutely delicious and the price is so reasonable but it's just a small portion la kan. Gem, nanti datang sini boleh la gi makan.

Our lunch. Both were so yummy! Gem kena try bila dtg sini..

I LOVE the pasta.. one of the best i've ever had so far. That's my gucci bag, so should I buy the black one?

Irfan busy with his toddler cup.

Zuhri with the food. Nak makan!

 Thanksgiving is couple of weeks away. Kena plan nak masak ape.. shopping ape hehe. Can't wait for the Dallas trip.

Nursery time

Today has been quite a tiring day. Zuhri just got a new baby over the weekend read a preloved honda civic as our second car. So today Irfan and I got a chance to go on our own so I thought the library might be a good place to start. It's a medium size building - not as big as the one at the down town area but the cool thing is it's next to a huge playground! Hehe I'm just as excited as Irfan..
So we went to the nursery rhyme- story telling session at the library for about half and hour or so. There were about 10 moms with their toodies in the room. Had a lot of fun singing and dancing around- Irfan being him just sitting there and watch hoh! But when it comes to story time and the teacher flashed some animal pictures, Irfan kuat je cakap 'Dog.. Cow.. Horse.. Sheep.. Goat' when  no other kids could tell what they are. Well I guess for a first timer it's not that bad. Then picked up some books and dvds. Irfan was holding tight to this one dvd that has a monkey picture on it, so when the librarian lady wanted to checked out the dvd, Irfan menjerit sakan mak ai satu library dengar. Me on the other hand just play dumb malas nak layan even though A LOT of people were staing at us! Huh!
Then we headed to the playground yippie fun time! Met this mother from Vietnam that has almost the same problem as me- having a super shy kid that won't mix around. It might be an asian thingy I don't know. Played for about an hour and ready to go.
These days, it's easier for me to make Irfan move on from one thing to another for example nak suruh finish up bath time, nak balik rumah after main kat playground etc. Most kids will scream like crazy mengamuk2 kan.. Irfan pun mcm tu jugak dulu until we started to say: ' Ok Irfan.. 5 more minutes then we have to go..' after couple of minutes, remind him again ' 3 more minutes Irfan...' the finally 'OK Irfan.. it's time to go..' lama2 dia mcm paham, and will be ready by the time I say' time to go'
By looking at pictures Irfan dah kenal Auntie Mah, Auntie Ani, Onie etc..
Potty train still fail la..  he's  not quite ready i guess.

Here are some of my fave pics from my BB.. gamba lama. I never thought of transferring them to PC until today. 

Pic taken at our house at Indy KS

The day we moved to Wichita. Irfan was sooo excited.

Makan ice cream..

The first time he went down the slide on his own .. tinggi jugak slide ni. Irfan was really happyyy.

Riding his trike.. ok maybe pushing his trike. He doesnt know how to cycle just yet.

A recent picture.. taken at our apartment

The latest picture taken yesterday.. Dino is his fave toy now.

Picture from back home..

With Onie..

My first attempt

Today, Irfan said.. 'change..change..chage' when his diaper was full  with 'yak'.
Hahaha.. I'm so happy never thought we could have made it this far...
I know that I'm a bit too slow in training him.. yet he's making some progess alhamdulillah
Pat in the back KB... job well done * Poyos mode * please ignore.

Happy 18 (plus 10) to me!

Despite a gloomy year, I had the most wonderful birthday celeb this year.
On my birthday, I woke up to a dozen red roses, a box of godiva and a card on the kitchen counter from dearest hubby. And my cheeky boy sang the birthday song to me - of course with 'Haaaappy Biiiiiirthdaaaaay to IRFAANNNN....' at the end. He's still in 'his' birthday mode huhuhu...

Isn't it lovely?!

At noon, my besties took me and Irfan for birthday lunch at a super delicious italian restaurant. Had the best tuna sandwich ever.. Irfan got to play with his buddy Mukhriz kecik montel comel hehe. Right before we left the restaurant, the girls keluar kan kek pulak.. wah and it's my favorite red velvet cake! Sungguh terharu. Then we all ronda2 ke zoo with the kiddos. Bestnye kalau hari2 mcm ni hahah.. dapat hang out, lepak2 makan best2..

I was touched!

The cake!

Buddies!

Irfan and I look so much alike

With my favorite boy on my birthday

My two dearest friends that put a smile on my face all day long!

Irfan missed his nap, so he was a bit restless. Me on the other hand had the greatest time ever jalan-jalan.. and the zoo is suprisingly interesting and I did enjoy the trip considering me the-i-never-feel-like-going-to-the-zoo had such a fun time there! I will definitely go there again. 

Irfan and I getting ready for the zoo!

Oit makcik bergayo kat zoo haha! I think I was a bit overdressed or should I say over-shawled hoho

My present from tiger- A BIG WET KISS!!

Malam tu we were supposed to go out for dinner but Irfan was too tired from lepak2 and trip to the zoo so we ended up going the next day.

Friday night, had dinner with my two boys. Irfan was so cheeky and happy that night. I think he's just way too excited for me hehe. Went to Olive Garden, had a fine romantic dinner andd tiramisu of course! I had pasta with clams and shrimps, not really a fan but it was ok. Zuhri had fetucceni yg sgt sedap..

Irfan looks so different in this pic

Ouch my arm yg berisi.. sigh

Handsome looking Irfan- geramnye buat muka nakal

The pasta

My favorite dish

Saturday, gem amin and feyruz datang. I made nasi kerabu yg tak berapa jadi and zuhri made some mee goreng mamak + tadoori chicken. Zuhri invited the whole Wichita to our small apt...The occasion was movie night - turned out it was my birthday celeb (again)! Banyak pulak series of celebration kali ni.. huhu Perut kenyang, makan kek sambil tengok movie- what a great combo!

The lovely cake. Thanks abang!

The new addition to my Le Crueset collection. The rectangular poterie is from gem & amin

Love my bday gift.. and the matching color! Tinggal nak beli periuk and I'll be happy for the year haha!