It has been 2 years since the 1st time I laid my eyes on you, our little precious.

2 years of endless happiness, occasional sweat and tears (your mummy could surely cry buckets if not rivers. She's a hopeless sentimental just like that.).

It's funny that you could actually love a little someone, a little too much and it's amazing to think of how she changed our lives.

Honestly, I'm still pretty amused and amazed at how wonderfully she mirrors my life-long expectations of how it'd feel like to have a family, to give birth to a little one to call our own and more. I am blessed, we are truly blessed with this 'gift'.

I'm forever grateful to Allah for giving me you, every single minute of every single day.

May Allah bless and protect you my darling, here and heareafter.

Happy birthday Myra♥. Mummy loves you, to the moon and back (like seriously, tho not like you know how unbelievably far is that, for now).

P/S : We'll get you a cake, probably something that your daddy likes - he works hard for us, kasi chance la eh? :P

This post is way overdue but I'd like to have a written memory of it. Owh well, better late than never.

Well, our family trip to Beijing was planned last year, and it was half materialized in November - as that's when we bought our tickets during one of those seasonal promotions by MAS.

Why Beijing? As we wanted to visit both Pak Ngah & Mak Ngah which are currently living in the country and to...you know, splurge on the cheap China stuff (this particularly applies to my mum,MIL and aunts - which will be mentioned from here on as mak-mak, us? Not so much.he he) and do all those touristy stuff for a bit.

Our flight to Beijing departed on 22nd March at 6.20PM - we got to the airport like less than 2 hours earlier, thanks to the scary Airport Limo driver (which sadly I didn't get the chance to ask for his name).

Scary what? Well, to start it off, he drives like he's drunken/sleepy which was blardy obvious, so much so that C*** had to ask "Cik, mengantuk ke? Kalau nak smoke ke,minum air ke, stop je dulu" which he quickly rebutted with "Eh, tak tak tak" along with a silly grin. Padahal a few minutes before it seems like he's about to doze off.

I was about to ask him to stop and let C*** take over instead. Second, he took the blardy wrong route to the airport. Well, it's Friday and anybody sane would be wise enough to not take the MRR2 + DUKE + Jalan Duta highway to the airport. So yea, a merely 45minutes journey was elongated to almost 2 hours. God knows how I fretted that we'd miss our flight.

Long story shot, we got to KLIA, queued to check in our luggage when we heard the final call for our flight passengers which were yet to check-in and we were ushered to the priority lane and we later proceed to the departure hall. Mum and Mak Su were already there - waiting for us as they flown in from Penang earlier (owh my Dad couldn't join us as he got to much to handle at work and baby brother's currently attached to his chambering thingymajingy).

End of the 1st drama bit of our trip. :P

The 2nd one came in a form of, well, apple juice and toddler's puke. he he. Yea, our little one drenched herself with apple juice (thank God I was 'beringat' enough to pack some extra change for her) and later puked on me, luckily most of em was on the blanket,so I was pretty safe.

Since she's still considered as an infant, she didn't get her own seat, so yea, I am her comfy seat - so much so that I didn't get to wee wee throughout the 6 hours flight + I couldn't feel my legs. Imagine sitting with a 10kg of weight for 6 hours. Sila kebas.

Us, 6 hours + banjir apple juice + baby puke + not dressed for the weather later.

So yea, we got there 40 minutes after midnite & it was freaking cold tho we were indoor (I was not dressed for the weather, our down jackets were in the luggage, little that we know that they are going to be a part of our daily getup throughout our stay) - much to my dismay( I wanna see the spring blossom ya see?), as by mid March it's supposed to be the beginning of spring, but it wasn't the case when we were there as it was still snowing a few days before, so it's still somewhat wintery. The cold person in me was not happy, but at least, we were well prepared clothing wise, thank God for that.

We had to wait for a bit for our baby stroller,boarded the aerotrain(the new airport is huge) and after the usual immigration stuff (read: the immigration personnel simply stood at the side whilst looking at us with half closed eyes, like yea whatever,sila masuk), we got to arrival where Pak Ngah was already waiting. We ran walked quickly to the car park where the driver waited for us. Masuk kereta + heater = I could feel my nose back.

We headed to the National Defense Uni in Changping - which is where my uncle and aunt are staying (cum our accommodation for the week long trip). Got there within 40 mins. Honestly, their foreigner quarters are pretty awesome whilst the ones for local adelah kesedihan. Bias much? I think the same applies even in Malaysia, if it's for foreigners, 1st class treatment segala. Locals, well, pepandai lah yer, you'll live.

So yea, we kong out almost immediately. Duvet + electric bed warmer = bliss.


On Saturday morning, we're already up and running by dawn as we're already out of the house by 9am to catch the weekend tour bus that was provided by the campus. Field trip yo. Naik bus beramai-ramai. I can't remember the last time I was on one. The bus dropped us at the Street Market (kot? I is lupa the name) and the mak-mak went crazy over those quilt, bed spread, tablecloth and stuff. Me? Not so much, throughout our trips, I only ended up with a set of quilt and 2 small quilts for Myra, the mak-mak? Plenty ( some of them are still in Beijing, waiting to be shipped together with my aunt's stuff when she's coming back for good in August).

Mak-mak rambang mata session.

We later left our purchase in the bus, had lunch and shopped some more until it's time to get back home. Talks about shopping in China, you have to haggle with the sellers like your life depends on it, as if you're about to spend the very last cent of your money. Be prepared to have someone calling you stupid right in front of your face. (Grr grrr!) They'll scream and shout at you with life threatening words and whatnot but don't be timid. Shout back and you'll ended up happy (most of the time) as you'll get whatever you've bargained for - tho you might ended up with sore throat from too much of shouting and screaming. :P

Day 2.

We took the same bus, but on Sunday, it headed to a different place instead. The name escaped my mind, but it's somewhere which is very similar to our Low Yat - which didn't intrigue the mak-mak at all. Obviously. he he. So when we got off the bus, we quickly took the subway(which was quite confusing,they have like more than 10 lines, mengagau much?) to Tienanmen square to explore the city square, enjoy the crowd(not!) and yea, the mak-mak even went into Mao Zedong Mausoleum  to take a look at him. Me? I just (literally) sat around with C*** and the little one whilst people-watching. Dok bersila macam kat rumah sendiri. :P

These photos are my favorites. Someone asked whether I was freezing since I was pictured wearing my black skirt, well, nope, I had my thermal pants on else mungkin rasa macam pakai kain batik whilst sitting in a fridge. :P

Spot me!

We didn't get into the Forbidden City as the queue was very very very very very very very long. Waiting in  a line in the cold weather didn't appeal to us. So yea, we settled with looking from the outside.

We even went to this place that has the China Town feels to it for our lunch as there's a Muslim restaurant somewhere in the middle of the busy street- which the name also escaped my mind. The street were lined with antique-looking building, they sure are pretty. Owh yea,we got a handful of souvenirs from this street, I got myself a nice wooden comb and paid like 2 ringgit for it. Super cheap - maybe modal membuatnya is like 50 cents kot? I should have bought like sekodi of them - menyesal sudah tidak berguna lagi. Probably should have listen to my MIL, "Biar menyesal beli daripada menyesal tak beli". he he.  :P



After breathing in the scenery and whatnot, we headed back to the pick-up point to wait for the bus and got back home. It got really cold and windy after 5PM, so it's wise to head back and stay inside.

Day 3

On the 3rd day, we decided to take it easy and just went out to roam the small town of Changping on ehem, bicycles.  Well, the mak-mak rode the bicycle whilst C***, the little one and me rode on the electric bike. (Not like I don't know how to ride a bicycle, I is pakar mengayuh basikal you see?) Owh so romantic. Rasa macam from Taiping with love sungguh - too bad that we didn't manage to have our picture taken whilst on the bike.

There are a bunch of mall/hypermart around, namely the Wu-Mart(apparently the Chinese version of Walmart.he he), Walmart itself, Suning etc.We went to the local mall Suning that day,which is somewhat similar to the Street Market but in a smaller scale. Got my hands on some cute high-cut sneakers for the little one which cost us less than RM50. By noon, the mak-mak were not showing any sign of slowing down whilst our little one was getting cranky as she's getting sleepy, so we headed home and the mak-mak only showed up hours later (should I mention that they brought along like tonnes of stuff?) & complained about their aching feet segala. T_T

Later during the evening, I went out with mum and aunts to the ehem, rumah urut. We had to massage the stress away yes? So yea, my masseuse's partly blind, but she's awesome with her hands alright. I swear if we were to stay there longer, I'll drop by like everyday - after all it's only RM30/hour. Right after we're done, it's already super windy outside, so we just had a quick stop at the fruit stalls, bought a bag of chestnut, strawberries (they were big and cheap) and a bunch of unknown fruit which tasted like, hm.. guava + pear?

Owh, food in China - especially the Muslim food that we had throughout our stay adelah awesome. Their stir fry - especially the beef with leeks is to die for. Nothing beats a bowl of warm rice and a simple beef/chicken and vege stir fry. I can absolutely survive on that. :)

Will write about the 2nd half of trip later. Promise.

Myra's turning two in few weeks, a big red light is flashing - a sign for me to catch up on her milestones update.

Better late than never right?

22 & 23 month:

o1. It has been a while since the last teething-update and I'm happy to report that her teething stage is probably coming to the end (very) soon - which is pretty amusing, like c'mon, she got her 1st tooth during her 12th month and almost 12 months later, kapooff, gigi penuh satu mulut. The sprouting has been pretty quick lately that I'm losing count. Dah tak tau dah which one came 1st or whatnot for the past 2-3 months. She (almost) has a full set of teeth now - the better to eat all those yummy food - tho not like she gets to eat all the junk food and sweet stuff. he he.

o2. She's our little parrot (& clown). She repeats after us, most of the time. Absolutely the time to start being cautious of our words and actions. She calls her daddy, "yang" (thanks to me) sometimes. She'd act out her dad getting-ready routines (the perfume-spraying, deodorant-to-armpit rolling act & whatever not)  together with its sound effects. T_T

o3. During our last trip to Beijing, she actually learned how to count in Mandarin - from one to six. It's obvious that she doesn't know the different between one and six (tho she knows the different between satu and banyak)- but it's still rather amusing to listen to her chanting the numbers.

o4. She could tell the different between hot (both temperature hot and spicy hot) and cold. Yea, we let her dipped her little finger in chili sauce so that she knows what pedas is (from then on, she won't bother us when we're eating especially if we tell her that it's spicy) and let her touch our coffee cup to let her feel the heat. She'd go "sejukkkkk" especially during her cold bath with me (which she loves, sampai tamau keluaq bathroom unless being forced to) and upon browsing thru her own pictures clad in down jacket and mittens - point to herself in the pic and went "sejuuuukkkkk". heh.

o5. She's not a picky eater - as she's quite adventurous when it comes to food, just like her parents - but all in all it still depends on her mood tho one thing for sure, she never refuses her pasta.

o6. It has been a couple of months since we last weighed her, so I think she's probably around 11-12kg these days and I can't no longer stand to wear her on the front using the SSC, back-carry anytime - I even managed to climb the Great Wall with her on my back. Super mom. (yey).

o7. She's really really (I can't emphasize this enough) expressive these days. Tak dapat barang, menangis/merajuk. Not allowed to do something, she'd run into the room and trash herself onto the bed (oiih, drama la sangat but it's funny that she'd always find somewhere comfy and well-padded to jump onto). Upon being caught holding something unnecessary/dangerous/something she's not suppose to play with, she's most likely to hand em over/throw them away . he he. Well, none of those rolling on the floor drama yet (& not like I'm expecting it, like ever). Haih,temper tantrums much?

o8. Still could only be 'scolded' by C*** and never by me - not like I want to scold her or anything since it's not like she's big enough to heed my words, but then again, when it comes to me, it's like mencurahkan air di daun keladi (tetiba peribahasa). She'll tilt her head to the side and smile my scolding away. (Apparently giving your parents a big smile whilst tilting the head has a bigger heart-melting factor).

o9. She recognizes some animals (and their sounds), fruits and a bunch of alphabets, which is pretty amusing but I'm not crazy about pressing a toddler to learn numbers,alphabets and whatnot. Not like I don't want her to be clever and all that (which is the norm these days), but I just want her to enjoy toodlerhood and pick up on those stuff along the way on her very own pace. After all, she has years of schooling ahead, if semua dah terer by now, what more to learn in playschool? Calculus?

10. She loves wearing and trying on my shawls. Sungguh la makcik. Sometimes she'll cover her head with her bath towel and pretends that it's her telekung and performs her solat & whenever she sneezes, she'd close her mouth with her tiny hands and utters "Alhamdulillah" (in her baby slang of coz).

11. She's currently in her I-love-being-carried-by-mummy phase, she loves sticking to me like a baby panda - which sorta hurt my bad back sometimes (especially when we're out without the SSC or stroller), as she would refuse to be carried by her daddy by turning into a human-jelly(buat badan lembik) or cries her lugs out. So yea, to cut the drama (& staring accusing eyes) short, kena lah omak dukung. Sabaq je lah mak, if this ain't love, I don't know what this is.

Grow up well and healthy baby, I love you to the moon and back (despite all the drama).♥

I think that I'm losing my mojo to write - hence the almost-a-month hiatus. Fret not. I'm back (kot).

Well, it has been a week since we got back from our March gateway (& the bags are still pretty much unpacked except for those filled with dirty laundry & souvenirs).

I'm feeling pretty mellow since I've caught the flu bug few days back - so much so that I was on half-day MC yesterday. The runny nose, the sore throat and the urge to sneeze every 5 minutes finally got the better of me. C A N N O T tahan.

Gotta do something before people around me start giving me the accusing you-are-spreading-the-virus look, which in a way, I am lah. So I dragged myself to the doc office, got handful of pills to swallow and right after another signing session at the lawyer's office later. I drove myself back home - with the sole intention to sleep the flu away, but the moment I got back home, the little one started tailing me like a shadow as if the last time we met was probably a century ago.

So yea, I spent my so-called recuperating time entertaining her needs and sorting and ironing out heaps of C***'s work clothes and a couples of mine whilst watching Spongebob, catdog and the likes on tv. I am a super mummy. Yey me.

I'd like to write bout our week-long getaway (during which I somewhat learned to ride a bicycle again.he he), for memory's sake, but that hafta wait. Later.