Potty Milestone

The ambitious undertaking started quite a while back- in June 08 actually- right after we came back from our Bali trip. But then Arissa didn't seem ready for potty training so I shelved the idea (and her toilet seat) for awhile.



When Mum got a new neighbour whose 2 year old daughter is fully toilet-trained, I got anxious. Really anxious. My mother didn't seem keen though, she was more afraid my daughter would soil her carpets in those unavoidable accidents that precedes any success story "Dorang tak sembahyang," she would say "Nanti tempat sembahyang kena najis pulak!" Hrrrr...

But try Mummy must as Arissa is already 3 months into her 2nd birthday (do I hear 'kiasu' being muttered there?). The signs were not all there- she was dry only at times, she would say 'poo' although she actually needed a tinkle, she can pull her pants down only after much struggle- but I was still convinced that I needed to get her in the mode first. And I didn't want to be buying diapers for 2 babies come July either, it was a cost-saving measure in these recessionary times (';').

The transitional strategy I had formulated is simple, I don't know if they're proven but it made sense to me. Firstly, I should get her to recognise what potties are used for- by sitting her there 5-10 minutes after every meal/milk feed. Stripping off the diaper should come a few weeks later, first with training pants then without.

So off I traipsied to Seiyu and Ikea to get her training pants and several potties. It took a few days of getting her to sit on the potty during bath time, she used it as a pail for her bubbles at first but then the breakthrough came one night when after 10 mins of me going "Icha, please pee in the potty" she actually hunched over it and squeezed in her belly in an effort to expel whatever was in there. She didn't actually pee in the damn potty that night but I thought it was a great advancement as it meant she knew what the actual purpose of a potty was (ie. not a bubble tub)!!

And this morning at bath time, without me urging, she suddenly grabbed her potty while mumbling "PooPoo", sat on it and pee-ed a bucketful! I clapped my hands and praised her as though she had just won the 100m dash in the Olympics.. that was how elated I was.

OK Spocko, granted it was potty timing, not training because she had just drunk a full bottle but a) she knew it was coming and b) she knew where it should go. No matter, one baby step at a time.. I still have 3 more months to de-diaper her. Erkkk..

Singapore Ghost Stories

In this modern day and age, one may be inclined to to diss anything resembling the supernatural. I, for one, admit that my 1st reaction to any ghost story is "pfffft..maybe its just your imagination!?" although I listen with fascination!

When I got pregnant with Arissa, my superstitious MIL gave all sorts of advice to protect me and my foetus from hungry ghosts, cheeky goblins and other species of the supernatural kingdom. She even made me carry a little cloth packet with onions and garlic and what-have-yous in it (I remember it smelled really rotten by Month #9, maybe the rotting herbs puts off the ghostly appetite?)

But then the supernatural really happened to me. And I was stumped for an explanation because any way I looked at the experience, I could not rationalise it.

In Tioman Island, our scenic beachfront chalet hid a village graveyard unbeknownst to me. Hafidz and I were walking to the restaurant at 730pm when in a distance, I see a large white satin cloth fleeting purposefully from the top of one raintree to another. Too big to be a bird and too small to be a kite, I simply looked away and started praying under my breath. I only told the husband after we've left the island at which point he said "Oh yea, there's a graveyard behind our chalet". Thank God it was not such a scary experience!

8 months and at my mother's house. Insomnia is my best friend at this late stage of pregnancy and the nesting is something I need to do even though its 3am and the husband is in JB. I was cleaning up in the kitchen when I hear very distinctly my (late) grandmother's voice calling out my name from the silent and darkened dining room. I stopped what I was doing for a moment and the voice in my head echoed out loudly "pfffft..maybe its just your imagination!?" So I stepped into the toilet to wash my mop and saw, with utter and total disbelief, a black shadow on the wall of something/someone tall and HUGE walking past the toilet door- head, body, everything! My head spinned from fear and goosebumps racked my whole body. This is the most scary experience by far.

In this pregnancy, I encountered another startling phenomenon of a little child calling out "Muuuuummy!" from behind the sofa at home. When I turned I saw no one (but of course) and I knew Arissa was fast asleep and the room door was closed so even if she had called out to me it would not have sounded so clear and succinct. This was in the bright of day too but I brushed it aside in my mind otherwise I'd go insane wondering who it was.

So there we have it, my supernatural experiences to date. I hope for no more over my lifetime please.

Lazy bones

I must say.. the 2nd pregnancy is rather different than the 1st one. There're a lot more ailments to deal with- rheumatism being one of them- I'm not sure if its the chilly weather of late or just my hormones causing the knee caps to ache continuously at night.

I remember how weak my knees felt for about 2+ months after delivering Arissa and I wonder if perhaps I hadn't taken proper post-natal care of my body (don't shower in too hot/too cold water; wear slippers at home to stop the cold from creeping into your body; don't drink fizzy drinks etc. etc.)??

[Note to self: Buy bedroom slippers today.]

Perhaps the worst ailment of all is laziness. I don't fancy going out- shopping is almost bothersome, meeting/chatting to friends are a rare occasion these days.. In a bid to bounce out of this phase, I've forced myself to stop giving silly excuses and say AYE! to meetup sessions..



















Raena & me at Ritz Carlton for Garick's lavish wedding. He's a friend/coursemate in Curtin and heir to Kea Building (y'know, the blue one beside Bras Basah Complex with the McD on the groundfloor).

My high school reunion @ Anderson Secondary School. The highlight was being picked up by Suzana in THE CAR, the Audi R8. For the uninitiated, this cult car carries a S$592,000 price tag and has a 9-month waiting list. GTR?? -pffffffffffft...

And speaking of fast cars, this one is not but then costs only 10% of the R8. Doing a friend a favour by going for a test drive on the Opel Corsa, requiring me to be behind the wheel for all of 3 hours! But there's just something s-w-e-e-t about a Conti.
~ SWW Feb 09 edition ~

And then there was Hafidz's 33rd birthday to plan. From my track record, events planning is something I still suck at so I left the important part of the planning- the eating- to Sapna & Anil, whose anniversary falls on the same day. And, of course, nothing in my part of the planning went according to plan that CNY day.

After dropping Arissa off at sitter's, Hafidz & I had to comb Orchard Road for a decent brunch joint, finally ending up at Swensons. Everything else was closed. I had planned a movie after brunch, a luxury we parents don't easily afford, but nothing on the movielist tickled Hafidz's fancy, it was either chickflicks (Bride Wars) or something that showcased actors/actresses he didn't like watching (Branden Fraser among them).

We combed Orchard Road again for a karaoke club, except K-Box do not offer hourly sessions and Party World was closed for CNY. We ended up in Basement 3 of Ming Arcade for a dinghy-looking family karaoke- but cheap! S$20p/h for a room and birthday boy belted out Nidji and Peter Pan to his heart's content. For me, it was a way to kill time to the next surprise...



















...meeting SapNil @ Carousel for high tea. I was still full from my late brekkie (I can't be full, I'm pregnant!) but the spread was pretty good and soon, we were all tucking in to the fine grub and having a jolly good time.


























And lastly, Anish's birthday present- giving Godpa a head massage.

*Burp* I've hardly put on any weight since getting pregnant, the weighing machine still says 48kg. Where does all the food go!

Learning Style

HOW YOUR CHILD LEARNS
by Dr Bill Maier

What we learn depends a lot on how we learn. Not all kids process information the same way, and a key to helping your child excel in school is understanding how they learn.

In short, "learning style" is the channel that kids use to organise information in their brain.

Some kids are visual learners. They work best when they can watch or read their subjects.

Others are more auditory. They need to hear, speak and discuss a subject in order to process it quickly.

A third learning style is called kinesthetic. These are children who learn better when they're moving around, flexing their large muscles.

And tactual learners work best when utilising their small motor muscles. These kids are likely to tap their pencils or twirl their hair while doing homework.

Understanding how your child learns helps you make informed decisions regarding their education.



~Excerpt from TODAY, 13 Jan 08~

Being pregnant, again.

In spite of whinging about the absolutely awful 'new' Parenthood Package, the husband and I have decided to extend our brood. It has nothing to do with answering the government's call to add 1,000 more babies in 2009 and everything to do with the fact that my aging body needs to complete its reproduction function a.s.a.p.

Ok ok! I admit, we weren't trying to get pregnant (at least not until Feb/Mar 09 so the next baby's EDD is timed later in the year, like Arissa or me). As with Arissa, "IT JUST HAPPENED" seems to best describe the situation. I suspect it had to do with the hormone pills I took in September to entice my eggs out of hibernation. Perhaps too many popped out unexpectedly.. because voila! that once familiar nausea and mild tummy cramps again ruled the days, and nights, come November. This is the story of trimester numero uno:

2 Nov 08, Sunday
Brushed my teeth that morning and started dry retching- what's this?! Told husband to buy a test kit from Guardian along with Sunday breakfast. He came home looking sheepish and .. sort of scared looking. Hee, too late now! Within 30 seconds we saw the line that confirms my suspicion.

8 Nov 08, Saturday
Bad Bad Bad.. Arissa's birthday chalet and all I wanted to do was, well...nothing. Exhausted doesn't come close to describing what I felt that Monday morning.

13 Nov 08, Thursday
Popped into Lawrence Ang's. Again. He appeared surprised that we have again conceived unexpectedly, given that I suffer from PCO. 6 weeks and 6 days, position ok, growth fine, it's looking good! Little Astronaut looks like... well.. a dugong. A little sack with a small circle for the head and a longer oval for the body.

17-26 Nov 08, Tuesday
Woozy all the time and totally flat out by 7pm. My 'morning' sickness is worst at night, starting from around 6pm. In the daytime, the usual acrid taste in my mouth makes me want to gag in the office and let the whole world know I'm preggers. Haven't told bosses yet but MD has asked me countless times "Are you pregnant? Are you like... late?" which was too funny.

I haven't been able to deal with Arissa as she is becoming oh-so-boisterous now and a little too heavy to handle (all of 16kg). I'd end up losing my temper and smacking her for a small fuss so Hafidz has been doing all the Daddy things like showering and changing her and fixing her milk (yep, things he should've been doing from ages ago). All I do is wait for her in bed and read her a bedtime story before snuggling up together in her tiny bed. I'm trying to accustom her to her bed before baby arrives- what a disaster to have 2 kids in bed with you at night! But this has got to be damaging on my spine.

We've gradually introduced Arissa to the concept of 'adik' and the 'baby' in Mummy's tummy. I think she understands because when I ask her to "kiss adik?" she will push up my top to reveal my tummy and bend down to kiss my bellybutton. Hope she doesn't equate
bellybutton = adik.

3 Dec 08
When I was pregnant with Arissa, I remember clearly having vomited only on two occasions- once at Arab Street after dinner with Izzah & Alfie/Sapna & Anil; the other when Hafidz made me eat bread dunked in a glass of hot Milo (he believes this cures gastric- ya right! I puked so much it came out of my nose!).

By today, I've officially exceeded my previous pregnancy's threshold. I've forced myself to vomit on 4 occasions, all in public toilets which are in itself vomit-inducing. Sanah, once again my pregnancy mentor and who is 7 months preggers herself, thinks this pregnancy is more challenging because its a boy.. I secretly hope so!!! But when I brought it up to Hafidz, he brushed it aside with a "Doesn't matter la Na, boy or girl, as long as it's healthy".

15 Dec 08
This is the week of endless self-questioning:
Fidza told me about this prayer to be performed before the foetus is 3 months by the husband to 'request' God for a baby boy. Ok yes I know.. Science dictates that gender is determined from the point of conception but miracles do happen riiiight!? ..and what better way for a miracle to happen than with God's will? Now I wonder if I should bring this up to Hafidz as it requires him to place his hand over my belly and pronouncing the prayer. Uh oh.. I can imagine the look on his face right now- not so much incredulity, more "why fix something that ain't broken".

In that same book, there is a mention that male gynaecologists are only allowed in times of darurat (emergency). In other non-emergency situations, a female obstetrician is a better option. Do I believe this fully or should I seek a 2nd opinion? I really like my current gynae but the internal exams were kind of embarrassing last time..

28 Dec 08
Shabanah's birthday party @ Loyang View. The buffet stretch was irresistable- BBQ crabs, BBQ corn, fried rice, chappati, kheema, bubor pulot hitam, satay.... :)

It must be so funny to see 2 pregnant women- 1 barely looking it, the other halfway there- eating continuously for 45 minutes at a stretch. Amzhar & Hafidz were beyond amused, looking at Yani & me but who cares, we're both in our 2nd trimester, albeit at different points of it, and are actually now able to eat!! Yippee...

6 Jan 09
Another visit to gynae, EDD's now been pushed from 4 Jul to late Jun. Baby's too long and heavy to be 13 weeks, says Lawrence. He tried scanning for gender- it does look like it could be another girl but he says it's still to early at this point to be sure.

I'm not sure how I honestly feel then, lying there listening to my baby's heartbeat. It's terrible that I should feel this way but there was a teensy bit of disappointment at first. I come from a 50-50 gender split family unit so in my warped mind a boy would close the gender gap and concurrently, complete our family unit. Hafidz comes from a family of boys so he doesn't think this is strange at all. Pah.

I begrudgingly admitted my thoughts to him and in his strangely comforting pep talk, urged me to think about how Arissa will have a sister (that I myself never had), barely 3 years in age difference to hang out with- now wouldn't that be lovely? They can share clothes and shoes, like he and his brother Haridz does, and go out together without me ever worrying excessively. And besides, he admits... having never handled a girl sibling his entire life, girls are a whole lot cuter and more affectionate than boys.

Ok Daddy, point(s) taken. However it turns out, I'm sure its for the best. Mummy just needs to get over it and start thinking positively (';').

Sucking Up

I love my adik so much...

..I wanna suck her out.

Our NY announcement

We had planned our NYE celebrations 2 weeks in advance- Hafidz & I, Sapna & Anil. And yet I welcomed the arrival of 2009 in bed, hearing faintly the fireworks from nearby Johor Bahru and fire crackers from the sparse gathering of people downstairs. My phone, left on the dresser, is being spammed with NY wishes I'm sure but I could barely reach over for it. Arissa is happily reading (loudly) her Thomas & Friends book and the hubby is in the living room watching National Geographic.

I had just puked bucketfuls and could barely move my tired body.. Yes, I'm 13 weeks pregnant and all I want to do these days is sleep all day (and night), but at the rate things are going neither will happen anytime soon.

Where is the honeymoon period called The 2nd Trimester?! (';')

Biker Girl

I love my spanking new Vespa!!



Thank you Godma & Godpa for the best birthday present ever!

xoxo
Ana Icha

Asian Television Awards 2008

Apparently its a big thing in Asian TV. I went last year but IFA only had 1 documentary submitted- Hyper Rescue Tokyo and that didn't win an award so the ceremony didn't leave much of an impression on me. Also because the food was crap last year and I was so hungry by the end.

This year I thought I had safely ignored the multiple invitations sent until I got a last minute call from my MD in Bangkok saying he wants to buy a table (at S$3000- waaaaaaat!!) and everyone involved in the projects should attend. "Tell everyone I'm in town honey, and I expect them there, it'll be a fun nite!", coming from the effervescent DC, I knew instantly it would be a nite of continuous boozing.

So everyone flocked to Intercontinental Hotel dressed to the nines, but me- I had back-to-back meetings with Frank Smith that Thursday and didn't get home to change or manage to stumble into Suntec to buy anything resembling 'cocktail'. Erin, Nellie, Varsh and Camille all looked stunning and Frank, DC and Jesse looked polished and well, different in their suits and black ties- too bad no one remembered to bring a camera! Duh.

And from the moment dinner was served, in spite of the red/white wine offered by the banquet staff, my dear DC was ordering champagne and whiskey and tequila shots from the bar downstairs intent on getting everyone sloshed. I declared myself a teetotallar and sat this one out.

Bumped into a couple of industry people and cornered by some Italian rats who stunk of alcohol before the night started and was asleep before the awards ceremony began. His pickup line to Camille is worth a mention here:

Rat: Hi, did it hurt when you fall?
Cam: Huh? I didn't fall.
Rat: I meant when you fell from heaven.

Bahahahahahahaha!

And for all the hard work in 2006/7, our team (minus Joe Peter who was filming a Tatler event that night) finally got to see the blood and sweat and tears 'pay off'. The only annoying thing was because these were fully-commissioned projects by Discovery Inc. and MDA/EDB, the IFA name was totally taken off the credit list and made to look like the Discovery team produced them. Grrrr...

Best Natural History or Wildlife Programme or Docu-drama
WINNER
Kingdom of Elephants
Discovery Asia Inc.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Soul of a River - Cambodia
Discovery Asia Inc.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Soul of A River - China
Discovery Asia Inc.

Best Cinematography
WINNER
Kingdom of Elephants
Discovery Asia Inc.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Soul of a River - China
Discovery Asia Inc.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Revealed Hajj
Discovery Asia Inc.

Best Direction
WINNER
Kingdom of Elephants
Discovery Asia Inc.

Frank grumpily went up with Discovery EP, Lynn Ng, to receive the awards but they were snatched out of his hands once they got to the Discovery table. He mooched back to ours at the back of the room and gladly downed the tequila shot that was lying untouched in front of me. Next time, we demand back-end revenue and co-funding!

NB: Pictures to come, if any..

..and baby makes 3

Welcome to our world Hadi Bin Hafizi..



























..in this age of multiple names, your parents have been kind enough to give you a 2-syllable name. I secretly think its because they are:

a) too lazy to think of more names,

b) want you to be able to spell your name by age 1,

c) give you a headstart in exam halls whilst other kids are struggling to fill up the name field,

d) like Hadi Mirza and want you to be a singer when you grow up,

e) want to remember all their children's names easily now that they have 3 (and counting- ha!).

























.. and this little abang is obsessed with how tiny you are, wanting to see your little hands and your little fingers and your little nails. He will have his own plaything come March. :)

Village Life

Another long weekend, another family gathering across the Causeway where everyone is kept full and happy with endless gossipping, jibing, eating and merry-making (ie mercun firing, this is after all Malaysia). I turned 31 that weekend and enough people remembered so I feel important enough- heh.

It rained so much that we had to keep the kids indoors, much to their chagrin and to ours- try controlling 5 overactive children who kept smacking each other in a 10ft by 10ft resort room with the Astro down because of bad weather. Impossible!.. so after a while we let the kids do as they will whilst we all played pakau(I've lost my skill, last time I had it was when I was in NUS playing Chua Tai Ti endlessly with Haz, Theresa and the gang).. I think Arissa learnt some survival skills that weekend having to fight for her right with the bigger cousins.

But when the rain let up, we went out in droves to the Tangkak 'city centre' to romp around before heading back for the kenduri and feasting. Ah... nothing good kampung food and a lavish Hari Raya spread can't cure.

The geletis girl who can't keep still for 1 minute on the 2h drive from Singapore to Tangkak.


















The 'must-try' Tangkak chendol


























..and the 'must-try' Mee Bandung Muar
























Homestay
























The happily-fed faces


























Dad's family is in Muar, pretty close by, and Hafidz and I think its high time we brought Arissa there to visit seeing how she enjoyed the fresh air, the roaming insects and big wide fields of Tangkak. Perhaps when the monsoon season has passed, we will take her to the village I visited all too often as a child, chasing chickens around the house and picking fruits fresh from the trees. Too bad Dad's sold his 2ha field, the pleasure of eating fresh durians is indescribable (as indescribable as the stink afterwards) :D

Separate the sheep from the goats

..I'm not referring to the sheeps or the goats that are being sacrificed for the Qurban season. Although we are expected in Tangkak over my birthday weekend for the Qurban feast. I'm excited because Arissa will have her first taste of village life and being so hooked on the Upin & Ipin series, I'm sure she will enjoy it.

www.upindanipin.com.my

Just have to bring lots of clean clothes for she will get dirty and muddy running around chasing chickens.

But I digress. What I am referring to is separating the good childcare centres from the bad ones. You know, the bad ones are those where the teachers smack the kids around or smear their faces with chilli to get them to behave. Grrr...

Being a Nov baby, I forget that soon after turning 2, Arissa will be regarded as a 3 year old in 2009. Time to take the huge leap- for Mummy and Daddy that is- into school life. I'm still uncertain I will be able to leave her with a bunch of strangers while I head off to work but the apron strings have to be loosened at some point and Mummy just has to deal with it. After all, she is striking up conversations with kids her age at department stores or lift lobbies (gibberish aside) and loves to colour and read her story books (gibberish aside too).

So I drew up a list of criteria and right on top of my wishlist lies:


1) Location- Must be near mum's (in case of any emergencies)

2) Must be muslim centre (because I went to a Christian kindergarten as a child and accidentally ate a ham sandwich there).


So with the help of a very useful link (http://www.childcarelink.gov.sg/), I got one childcare centre that fulfils the top 2 criterions- rather sad really.

I called up the centre and the teacher on the other line sounded very professional and eloquent- pretty impressive. Fees are surprisingly fair, they have a mix of Muslim and non-Malay students hence a more secular education and I needn't worry about Arissa eating pork sandwiches- ha. Their curriculum includes art & craft, alphabet tracing and music amongst others.

I've fixed an appointment for Saturday to view the facilities and talk more to the teachers. If everything pans out, Arissa would be well on the road to lifelong learning by mid 2009. And then Mummy can start thinking seriously about Baby No 2.. *faints*

Simply having children does not make mothers

What kind of a beast can beat a small child to the extent that it breaks their little backs or causes their brain to rupture? What kind of a Mother turns her face away and numbs her heart when she hears her child scream with pain and terror? Or worse, inflicts more pain on the little body?

Nia Glassie, 3 years old, died on August 3, 2007, from massive bleeding between her skull and brain, 12 days after being taken to hospital.

* Kicked in the face, causing her nose to bleed;
* Hit, slapped, punched and jumped on;
* Objects such as shoes thrown at her;
* Verbal insults, for example continually being told she was ugly;
* Forced into a television cabinet drawer;
* Dragged through the sandpit half-naked;
* Shoved into piles of rubbish;
* Made to bathe in cold water in mid-winter;
* Folded into a sofa and sat on;
* Flung against the wall;
* Held high in the air and dropped to the floor;
* Used for adult wrestling moves copied from a Playstation game;
* Whirled rapidly on a rotary clothesline until flung off;
* Put into a tumble dryer and spun on high temperature;
* Had her head and feet dangled into the fireplace when the fire was lit;
* Kicked repeatedly in the head because she was crying;
* Left lying in a coma for 36 hours without medical attention.


Baby P, 17 months, died in his cot 3 Aug 2007 after sustaining 50 injuries to his face and body including a broken back.

It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours.

~Joyce Maynard

Bikini model meets Speedy Gonzales

Thank you Nana for my se-xy 2-piece suit...

























even though I look like I can barely open my eyes, I'm actually enjoying my swim with Abam Speedy Gonzales Iki.

..and she's 2!

Here's another mental note to self. Well, a few mental notes to self AND husband in case one of us develops amnesia and forgets how tiring the whole affair was:

1) We should organise a party for our child(ren)'s birthday once every decade only.
The next one for Arissa would be when she turns 12. Her coming of age (21st) party can be with cousins/friends to ensure no old boring party-poopers are around including Mummy & Daddy.

2) We should NEVER have any parties at chalets because we end up 2 times more tired- having to lug the whole kitchen there and back (ladles, deep fryer, pots and pans, airpot, teabags, coffee powder, sugar, dishwashing liquid, sponges, mats, paper plates, forks and spoons etc). If we can't do without a chalet, make sure its no more than a 15m ride from our kitchen i.e. the BBQ pit at Sembawang park will do.

3) Get guests to send presents directly to home address to save boot space. Or provide appropriate gift dimension/price guidelines to guests.

4) Hire Amah-on-Wheels to do the cleaning up afterwards!

But, hey, you guessed it.. we were none the wiser this time round and broke all the abovementioned rules for Arissa's 2nd birthday party. To make life more difficult, both Hafidz & Arissa were sick and I was getting there too, having to breathe the air contaminated by these two people in the bedroom.


Me, MIL and Arissa's babysitter/aunt chilling @ Costa Sands Pasir Ris


















Sous chef & Chef de partie
























Lamb chop in black pepper sauce, hot from the stove


















Chicken chop, sauteed prawns and buffalo wings
























Our guestlist:

...but don't things always seem a lot more fun on hindsight.. we had a great party, the Aussie-style Barbie concept by Hafidz & Fendi was a resounding success (minus the Caesar salad which never got made somehow) and birthday girl had so much fun she wasn't able to wind down at night. We ended up driving home at 4am just so she can fall asleep in her own bed (aka my bed), then up again at 8am in order to get back to the chalet in time for the big cleanup & checkout.

The birthday gifts are still unopened because Arissa slept from 6pm on Sun all the way through to 9am on Mon morning, a loooooooooong respite for me & Hafidz to nurse our aching muscles with heat pads and a spot of Simpsons, The Movie (hah, thats how long I've wanted to watch it).



















I plan on giving her one package every morning to open to lengthen the excitement because after all, the next big party is 10 years away.. Gotta milk this one for as long as I can!

My thank you list extends to:
Yani, who secured us the preferred chalet unit (Q1 in case I forget) at a very competitive price,
Joe Peter for purchasing the KungFu Panda party favours from US,
Hafidz & Fendi who worked really hard preparing food for our family & friends,
Sapna & Anil for the very yummy chocolate truffle bday cake,
Sanah for helping prepare the party and sleeping over in spite of being 6 months preggers,
Friends & Family members who came all the way with your gifts, ang pows, potluck deserts and well-wishes.

xxx